Ezra smiled his pretty little smile as he walked down the sunny streets of Konoha. Chuunin Exams were over and he came out alive and a better ninja. It was time to celebrate. All he had done from the end of exams until now was rest. It was probably a good idea to rest some more but Ezra couldn’t be cooped up in that apartment he was lent anymore.

‘Ichiraku Ramen? Ichiraku Ramen?’ Ezra tilted his head and replaced the happiness on his face with a look of confusion. He looked to the left and then to the right as other citizens and visitors matched or surpassed his pace of walking. Out of the corner of his right eye he spotted a man giving out flyers. Ezra turned quickly and walked up to the young man. “Hey, Can I have one of those?” Ezra asked knowing it wasn’t necessary. The man already shifted his body to Ezra and stuck out a flyer along with a smile. Ezra smiled back and gave a nod because even though the man didn’t say a word it was one of the best ways to answer Ezra’s question.

Ezra opened up the flyer and continued walking down the street. “An Ichiraku Ramen flyer? What Luck? According to the address its only two blocks away.” Ezra said aloud as he put some pep in his step. As he walked the final two blocks his mouth started watering and his mind started wandering. 'I wonder what Gin-Sensei wants to talk to me about? I doubt she just wants to have a bowl of the rumored best ramen in Konoha with me.'

‘Ramen. Ramen. Ramen.’ Ezra couldn’t think of anything else as he walked in and sat down at the counter. “What’ll you be having?” A happy looking man behind the counter questioned. Ezra opened his mouth and said "A bowl of Shio Ramen please." before ending the interaction with a smile. He spun his body in the chair and scanned the room hoping to see his Sensei around. Ezra didn't know her to be the late type so she had to be around.

Gin stretched her arms over her head as she walked down the streets of Konoha. The young Kazekage was in a fairly good mood, after all. She had managed to get a good night's sleep and had been able to spend a decent amount of time with Sake the day before. The hot springs and done wonders fore her stress and muscle pain. Then again, so had Sake, but she would rather not get into graphic detail with what happened between the two the day before. The fact of the matter was that Gin had a large smile across her face that she doubted anyone could take away. Now, she headed down the streets of Konoha to Ichiraku Ramen. She had never really been much of a fan of ramen, but the place was something like a local legend within Konoha. She thought she might as well try it out while she was there. She had never really had the chance while she was a kid, when she traveled around the continent with the merchant caravans. Her mother had never let her wander off too far into Konoha.

In any case, she was meeting Ezra there now. As she approached the small ramen stand, she could see the young boy's blonde hair and strange attire from where she was. "Ezra~!" She called out in an uncharacteristically happy tone of voice. As she approached the young boy, she glomped him from behind, just as he was receiving his bowl of ramen. "How's my favorite student doing today?" She asked, smiling widely. She kissed him on the cheek and unwrapped her arms from around him and sat next to him. She spun around in her chair once before grabbing a menu and looking over the choices for ramen before speaking. "I'll have whatever he's having," She said to the man behind the counter. She couldn't be bothered to read the whole menu.

“Woah!” Ezra said his back towards the unusually happy Kazekage as she glomped him. His face almost went into the hot bowl of ramen. He could feel the heat on his face. She let up and kissed him on the cheek. Ezra blushed although he wasn’t quite sure why. He had been around beautiful women much like the kazekage all his life so it couldn’t be that. It was probably the combination of the glomp and peck on the cheek that did it. “I’m feeling great Sensei. How about you?” He almost forgot to answer her and asked a highly unnecessary question. Anybody with half their marbles could see Gin was as pleased as punch. “Why?” was the question. Ezra put it in the back of his mind as he watched the man walk away to fix Gin a bowl of Shio Ramen. He looked at his Sensei’s smile it was a bit much to take in.

“So what else did you want to talk about Gin-Sensei? Is it about me becoming Chūnin?” Ezra asked as he turned his attention to his plate. He grabbed some chicken and noodles with his chopsticks and scarfed them down. He had to admit it was great Ramen but maybe there was a bit too much hype behind it.

Gin sat happily in front of the counter at Ichiraku. Her smile was still plastered on her face. Had she not been in such a good mood, the young Kazekage would have probably said something snide or sarcastic about Ezra pointing out the obvious. However, she wouldn't say anything like that. "I'm in a very good mood, Ezra," She stated instead. "Had a wonderful day yesterday, hadn't had a chance to relax and have fun like that in months. But I won't make you uncomfortable by going into detail about how Sake and I got to third base at the hot springs," She said. Gin had no filters, really. She was fine with discussing just about any topic in a casual conversation. She didn't shy away from what most people considered awkward or even rude. Instead, she was straightforward.

The man behind the counter handed her the bowl of ramen. Gin split her chopsticks and began eating happily. "I saw your performance in the second round," Gin began, speaking before fully swallowing her food. "I have to say, I'm impressed. You managed to improve your skills in a matter of weeks," She paused briefly. "So! I'm promoting you to the rank of Jounin!" She said casually. She wanted to let it sink in before she elaborated on why he was being promoted so suddenly and what being a Jounin would entail for him now.

Ezra held back a smile as he sucked in some noodles from his ramen. The ramen was better than he originally thought. Ezra turned his head at an angle just to let Gin know he was paying attention to her. He wouldn’t want her to think he was more invested into a bowl of ramen than what she had to say. He held off on the eating as she began to speak.

Gin told him she had witnessed the second round of the exams. Ezra grinned and nodded waiting for what else she had to say. He was much more proud of that round than the first. He felt that he used his techniques wisely and the strategy on his part was there so he wasn’t worried about being scolded, and plus she looked too happy to be about to scold him. Gin said Ezra had improved in a short time and he felt like he did so that wasn’t any surprise but the next thing she said came as a big shock to him.

He blinked a couple times as he thought. His face was expressionless but his eyes were a dead give away of the confusion in his mind. He had just become Chuunin and now Jounin so quick after. Most people in his situation would be confused. His usual smile reemerged on his face in a matter of seconds. “Thanks Sensei. I honestly don’t know what to say.” Ezra was happy but he sounded a little unenthusiastic.

Gin turned to Ezra, now. The look on his face was that of pure shock. However, she could tell that he was please, if not ecstatic. "You don't have to say anything, Ezra. You've earned your spot," She said, taking a few more spoonfuls of ramen and a good gulp of water. "But don't think this means your training is over. If anything, this means you have to train more. And.." She paused for a second, rummaging through her items. She pulled out a folder and handed it to Ezra. "Be careful not to stain this," She said. "It has the profiles of your new students. We've been a little underhanded lately, so I thought I might as well go ahead and assign you your new team. You're responsible for overseeing these three while they train. You're mature enough, despite the fact that you're younger than the average sensei. I know you can handle this."

“I know. I’m going to train my hardest.” Ezra said as the Kazekage pulled out some folders. Ezra opened the folders the second after Gin passed them to him. He skimmed over the profiles and listened to Gin’s words. He blushed a bit as she complimented him on his maturity. In all honesty though Ezra was a little worried about the maturity level upon hearing he would have students. He wasn’t worried about his level of maturity but rather his student’s. They all seemed to be around the same age as Ezra. Was it possible for them to respect him and listen to him despite his being so young? Ezra was taller and that much more well built for somebody of his age so maybe it wouldn’t matter.

Ezra closed the folders and put them on his lap. He realized his ramen was getting cold so he picked up the chopsticks once again. “Thanks for believing in me Sensei.” He looked at the Kazekage. It was easy to tell Ezra was still at a loss for words. He ate and swallowed the last bit of ramen. “I guess I have one question for you. Do you need a Jounin escort back home sensei?” He asked jokingly but still there was a sense of pride in how he said it.