KFC Meet & Greet

Yūjo was in fine spirits today. The day was beautiful, the sun shining,and the breeze blowing mildly but that wasn't why she was in such a good mood. She'd bumped into TWO handsome gentlemen today and while they got away she had managed to squeeze an ass or two before they could. Legs for days and a bodacious butt that didn't quit, he was her kind of man and she told him as much. But he hadn't taken her compliments well nor her gentle grope of his derriere while doing so. So he took his fine eyed friend beside him and ran for the hills. Men. She couldn't get enough of them but she couldn't understand them either. She'd seen a man do just that to a lady the other day so she was sure it was behavior that they wanted reciprocated! Well, at least she knew he wasn't husband material. No man who ran that quickly was.

But it wasn't her hunt for a husband that brought her to Kumogakure Fried Chicken today, nor the food. Well, not entirely the food. She'd posted an unofficial mission earlier asking to meet up with some of her fellow ninja. She hadn't been in town long and she wanted to meet some of her fellow shinobi. The two she'd met already were characters but kind souls that she greatly appreciated meeting. Hopefully, it was a sign of more to come and today she would find out. Who knows, perhaps she would even find her husband today! If her luck holds at least one of her new acquantinces would be a handsome feller. Maybe she could see if backside bumbling was off limits just to the man from earlier or all men. Though on second thought, she might not want to risk a bad impression. With a sigh, she realized she just might have to keep her hands to herself.

WC: 317

It was a beautiful morning as Asuka arose before the sun and prepared her and Akira breakfast. Since the two of them had begun living together, they had developed a bit of a routine. After their morning activities and breakfast, Asuka would take a quick shower as she began getting ready for the day. Recently she had been trying to put herself out there more and pick up missions to help throughout the village in hopes of making new friends. One flier, in particular, caught her eye, it was a simple request to meet for lunch at Kumogakure Fried Chicken to make some acquaintances.

She’d spend the next few hours preparing herself for the meeting, wanting to look her absolute best for the event. After she looked up to her standard, she’d give Akira a brief hug and a kiss before leaving for the day. Making her way into the streets, she’d find herself easily snaking through the crowds while heading towards KFC. Attempting to stay away from the more congested parts of the village, she decided to take some back roads, which would cause Asuka to take a little bit longer to arrive at the restaurant.

Thankfully it wouldn’t be too long before she arrived, though to her misfortune the place seemed rather busy. After quickly placing her order and finding a table to sit at, Asuka would scan the room looking for the others who may have arrived already. To those who examined her, they saw a young woman, roughly in her early 20s, with long white hair that laid flat against her back. Her greyish-blue eyes would give her clan away immediately, at least to any familiar with the Hyuuga family. A dark blue kimono with white flowers embroidered into the fabric meshed beautifully with her pale skin tone and wrapped snuggly against her body.

A friendly and welcoming aura was nearly radiating off of Asuka as she looked around the crowd for the remainder of the group. Should anyone approach her, she’d offer them a warm smile and offer for them to sit with her after introducing herself.

WC:352

Hibiki felt filled with a general cheer and joy as he dashed across the village rooftops, despite the ever threatening clouds, rumble of thunder and crackle of lightning he couldn’t help but feel it was a great day as the sun even managed to battle through, bathing the village in light. All of his chores had been completely promptly and with no missions allocated for the day he was free to roam and relax as he pleased, or at least relax as much as his position as a genin could allow. His brief stint on guard duty had made him reflect on other ninja outside of the village and he was particularly wary of outsiders after his recent experiences.

The paths and villagers beneath him blurred into movement and colour. He had planned to carry out more studies into the specifics of living puppetry, entirely theoretical at this stage of course, but had changed his plans when the request came through from his kohai to meet and talk. Hibiki felt a sense of responsibility upon seeing the request, Yujo still had much she could learn about being a ninja and as his first kohai, Hibiki was determined to be the best teacher and provide a good example for her to follow. This included not being too tardy when arriving for mission and so he dashed along at great speed. Hibiki also considered the possibility to discuss the elite ninja group known as Geisha that Yujo was raised by as well. His further subtle attempts at extracting further information from his mother had hid a definitive dead end and it was all Hibiki could do not to reveal who he had been discussing the secretive group with in the village. For the whole he decided it was best not to risk putting his kohai and friend in trouble with the village. Clearly it was something very secretive and he was sure he would be told when he was ready. How it was connected to the body smuggling operation in the massage parlour he still could not quite figure out.

When he arrived he frowned at the business of Kumogakure Fried Chicken but shrugged it off. It was a good sign that business was doing well and could only mean good things for the village as a whole. He waited his turn to enter the establishment but it still took him several minutes to spot his kohai sat down not too far away. Hibiki smiled but chose not to shout in the restaurant so as not to disturb the other guests, instead he opted to throw his voice using Puppet Art Ventriloquism to have his voice appear at Yujo’s shoulder. “I am just queuing up for food but will be with you shortly. Hope I didn’t keep you waiting too long” If Yujo looked over, he would give an energetic wave as a greeting whilst he waited patiently in line. Whilst looking around he spotted a lady in a beautiful blue kimono with silver hair and white eyes. The eyes easily identified her as at least being related to the Hyuuga clan. Were it not for his studies and the common knowledge of the Hyuuga traits Hibiki might have thought a Yuki Onna had wandered down from the mountains though the young genin was sure it would be a great deal colder were she indeed an icy ghost.

The woman appeared to be looking for someone or something and Hibiki decided to forsake his place in line and see if he could help. He approached her with a wide grin, his forehead protector worn around his neck and messy hair pulled up in a rough ponytail, making him appear a little taller than his actual 5 foot and 3 inches. “Good afternoon Miss, you look a little lost, are you looking for someone? I can help you find them if you would like?”

WC: 651 TWC: 651/651

Hikari's affairs more recently were ones of integration and interaction with others. She found herself troubled more often than not now. She was at a weird middle point when one considers where everyone else was aiming their lives. The young Kitsune felt distant even with the recognition of others around her as she began to make a name for herself to the Raikage himself but also to the other shinobi of her generation, past, present, and future. The youth in her ached for more remedial affairs to partake in whereas the aspiring scholar in her knew there was no time like now to take leaps and bounds forward in her life. Vocalizing her intent to Ichigo, she still needed to find time with her sister to sort through her own emotions involving their bloodline let alone their clan.

Internally she felt the presence of an old wise essence that stirred within. Her tails flowed with newfound elegance and regality as she peered towards herself in the mirror in her room. It was plain, simple, and barren. A few shelves of various tomes, scrolls, and leatherbound books filled the space and gave it some color as she went to her closet to change. Her purple robes were replaced with attire more befitting of the young adult in the modern era, unlike her scholarly attire. Her hair color deepened as she took on her human-guise before departing in search of a meal to partake in. She had grown intermixed in her mind and so felt that time away from her room would prove beneficial but something called her not to lose herself in her books at that time however, so she went to where she could find some of the best grub this side of the village, Kumogakure Fried Chicken.

Human Form/Present Appearance:

Upon entering she found herself arriving late to what appeared to be a gathering of people she had met. She stood in the doorframe briefly with the door open before shaking her head lightly. She could feel her face reactively contort to a light smile at the sight of her newfound friends. From those older such as Yūjo, to those closer such as Asuka, and finally to the young aspiree of the village Hibiki, Hikari found and encountered them intermixed and mingled with others. Still, she was growing as a person finally. Isolated due to her health and graduating from the academy late, she found herself a foreigner in most social groups but it appeared luck was on her side to bring together an assortment of the various shinobi whom she had made acquaintance with and eventual friendship.

From there, however, she felt a bit timid in her approach, pushing her discomfort away from her mind as the ageless wisdom within the young Kitsune tugged at her heart. Opting to not order right away she approached the forming group before offering a small light wave, "Apologies for interrupting but perhaps there might be a seat for myself here too?" Hikari asked gently.

WC: 500, TWC: 500

“I am just queuing up for food but will be with you shortly. Hope I didn’t keep you waiting too long”

Yūjo started as she heard the words as if someone was standing right over her shoulder. As she turned and recognized the voice she she spotted her sempai and gave them a wave back. She hoped the young boy had forgotten the more scandalous bits of the missions they completed not too long ago. She had no desire to fill him in on the adult education he was sorely lacking. She had a sinking feeling his parents had not taken the time to educate him after their infiltration of the massage parlour. It would be just her luck if he brought it up.

With slight trepidation she approached Hibiki who seemed to be talking to a beautiful woman with white hair. I wonder if she has a husband... Yūjo thought to herself and skipped up, hoping her day was to continue getting better. Maybe she'd learn some romance tips from the girl, after all, she hadn't had any luck on her own. Loud and proud, Yūjo got right to it. "Heya! I hope you're here to meet up with some fellow shinobi because it seems sempai here has chosen to sit with you."

Getting comfortable she sat right next to the girl and leaned in conspiratorially, "So... Looking like that you've gotta have a boyfriend, tell me all about him! I'm dying for romance tips! Anything you could teach me would be much appreciated."

As she got out the words her friend Hikari arrived. "Apologies for interrupting but perhaps there might be a seat for myself here too?"

Yūjo beamed at the girl and gestured at the bench across the table while saying jovially, "Sit sit! No need to be polite when you're with friends Hikari! All that could make this reunion better is a brewski, am-I-right???" She said while elbowing the white haired woman good naturedly.

WC: 328
TWC: 645

Asuka would smile at the young man as he approached her, maybe he was one of the people who had agreed to meet up. She’d offer him a nod as he inquired if she had been looking for someone. The only issue was she wasn’t exactly who she was looking for, but felt he might be able to help her. Before she could respond, however, another woman approached the table and proudly exclaimed that she hoped Asuka had come for some companionship since the young man had decided to sit with her. A giggle escaped her lips though she quickly stifled it as she moved her hand to briefly cover her mouth. Speaking up, her voice was rather quiet and could be considered calming by some.

”That’s actually the exact reason I came here, I had seen a posting about a get-together and figured it would be fun to get out of the house. It’s lovely to meet you both, my name is Asuka.”

The woman would then pull up a seat directly beside Asuka, lean in close to her in a conspiratorial fashion, and inquire about her boyfriend. This immediately made her panic internally, her relationship with Akira was far from normal and she was unsure of exactly how to describe it. Thankfully before she was able to respond, a young woman who Asuka recognized as Hikari approached the table. Feeling relieved by her appearance, and seeing the blonde woman's attention now shift to her, Asuka would let out a small sigh of relief. The woman then beckoned Hikari to join them, then nudged Asuka slightly while mentioning something about a “brewski.” She had absolutely no idea what the word meant but wasn’t planning on bringing that up.

After letting out a bit of a nervous chuckle, Asuka would speak up once more with a sweet smile across her face.

”Ahh yeah, a brewski would hit the spot. It’s wonderful to see you Hikari, how have you been fairing in your studies? You must come by someday and tell me all about it.”

The last time they had met, the two of them had gushed over academics for some time, though she was sure this wasn’t the time to do so.

WC: 378
Total WC: 730

Hibiki smiled as friends old and new congregated and sat at the table together. He responded to Hikari a moment after Yujo herself had spoken out. “Of course Hikari, no need to ask to join us! You are always welcome to join in and chat, what kind of team mate wouldn’t make time for another? Well not that we are an official team in the village but I still like working with you and Minami. Speaking of Minami I haven’t seen her too recently is she doing okay?” Hibiki would listen to the answer before realising that he had been rudely ignoring the new girl with pale hair and eyes. He extended a hand to shake if Asuka chose to do so. “My names Hibiki Sato, it's a pleasure to meet you miss… sorry I don’t think I actually know your name. Are you a Hyuuga? Its just I have been studying kekkei genkai and your eyes have the distinct look commonly found with the Hyuuga bloodline.”

Hibiki gave a little bow and spoke again quickly. “Sorry I shouldn’t ask too many questions its not polite, you don’t have to answer if you don’t want to. If you need any help with missions or anything at all let me know as I don’t mind taking on another kohai alongside Yujo!” Hibiki gestured towards the tall blonde woman as he spoke, clearly trying to reinforce who he was talking about for Asuka’s benefit.

Hibiki directed his attention towards Yujo with an inquisitive look "I wouldn’t mind trying out this brewski thing, is it a medicinal like a herbal tea or something?” Hibiki was momentarily distracted from further questioning as the food arrived and the plate of fried chicken was put in front of him and he froze and flinched a little as the smell of the cooked and fried meat entered his nostrils. Hibiki pushed back the memories that had kept him up at night recently and put on an even bigger smile than usual as he pushed the food towards the centre of the table. “Actually on second thought I think I will give the food a miss today, help yourself everyone my treat. If I eat here too much I will be too big and slow to use surface walking anymore haha!” Hibiki hoped that his joke would be enough to throw off the scent of his slight uncomfortableness and it would perhaps seem a little out of character to those that knew him that he refused the food as usually he had a very rapacious appetite for Kumogakure fired chicken.

Hibiki caught the tale end of Asuka’s comment to Hikari and Hibiki sprung on it, happy to turn the conversation towards anyone but himself. He had no desire to whine or moan and ruin his friend’s day and it was simply part of being a ninja so he would bear the weight he felt pressing on him alone. Hibiki consoled himself that it would surely pass eventually. “I imagine Hikari reads a book for breakfast! She is always coming out with really big words I don’t understand and she knows about everything. I hate studying, its so boring but it does work I suppose.”

WC: 527 TWC: 1178