Life was definitely a strange thing for the little ninja that could: okay, she wasn’t little in the sense of being young – unless one counted eighteen as still young – but considering she was only four foot eight inches tall? She was definitely littler than the average ninja. Of course, that seems to be simply one of those curses life had placed upon her: she had always been short for her age, even when younger. Of course, her small size came in handy during fighting and sparring, though that was the last thing on her mind today as she made her way through the busy market; glancing at the sun which indicated from its position that it was nearing about eleven o’clock in the morning. The market was fairly packed, but it was nothing compared to how it would be in just about an hour to two hours time when everyone was wandering around looking to grab a bite to eat for lunch. In fact, Kaia probably would have been making her way through for her ritualistic morning cup of bubble tea a lot earlier had it not been for the fact that she had stayed up so late reading over a new technique so she hadn’t actually passed out till nearly four in the morning. Thankfully she didn’t need much sleep to survive the day – she did need her strawberry bubble tea, though.

As she made her way through the crowd, having to navigate by what she saw on the sides of her instead of what she could see in front of her due to her height, she noticed that some people actually bothered getting out of her way – though likely because of her definite shinobi attire. As per usual when she decided to do something other than read all day she was dressed in her training clothes which doubled as her on duty attire: a black v-neck t-shirt, black pants which were tied off right below her knees and made of a baggy enough material to allow for free movement since she relied on her Taijutsu just as much as her Ninjutsu at this point, black standard shinobi sandals, her weapons pouch tied around her right leg just within reach, and her village headband hanging around her neck loosely, and her flak jacket actually on. All in all it screamed that she was working even if she wasn’t – which worked out well enough in this situation to get people moving out of her way so she could reach her favorite tea vendor faster and easier.

Just as she was about to reach one of her favorite people in the world, she reached back and pulled her long black hair up into a ponytail save for the strands of her bangs not long enough to stay in place, and which dangled in front of kind and gentle bright blue eyes. ”Hey Aki, can I get a straw---”

”Strawberry bubble tea… “ Aki finished the sentence for her and Kaia simply nodded with a grin. There were a dozen or so other flavors Aki offered, but strawberry had long since become her favorite so it was what she stuck with on most normal days. She watched in silence as Aki made it, passing over the ryo as she was handed her cup. She glanced toward the small line behind her before moving off to the nearby seating area; circular tables with benches attached that had holes in the center which giant open umbrellas were shoved through. She picked and empty one and sat down with a sigh; immediately bringing the tea to her lips and sipping it with a satisfied groan. ”Mmm… definitely worth braving all of the people in the market for.”, she spoke out loud, though she hardly expected a response.

Word Count: 635

Market days were never a bad thing. They were always interesting in the sense that you never knew who or what you would come across in the streets and stalls. There were weaponsmiths out to sell their latest creation with the claims that it was the sharpest blade in the lands, food stalls that claimed to make the best of whatever local ethnic meal of the area or sporting some exotic food style form some foreign land, armor smiths that claimed to have created some armor pierce that could not be penetrated. Hell, if one had the coin and knew where to look, they could possibly find something a bit.... stranger for them that fit their tastes.

For Kayn, he was not looking for anything in particular on this fine day; no, he was simply out to observe and contemplate. He simply wanted to observe people, to see the interactions of them and their daily habits, and to think about his actions and choices of late. It was something that came over him periodically, and something he took great pleasure in. He had a lot to reflect on at this point, especially given the state of his dreams lately and the meeting with that guy from Kirigakure beside the Naka river. There was a lot on his mind, and he was not sure he had made the correct choices that day.

People watching often helped clear his mind, and allowed him to process things better, and so here he was, making his way through the markets of Konohagakure no Sato. He was sure he could find something interesting so that he could empty his mind. He moved through the crowd with confidence, taking great care not to sully his clothing: a sleeveless black shirt with a funnel-like collar, with white trousers that are black from the knee down and just a little short of being full length jeans.  Rivets can be seen on his pockets and on the ends of his trousers. Around his waist, Kayn wears a white sash similar to an obi, into which he kept tucked a sword. His feet are wrapped in bandages up to his ankles and his hands and arms are also wrapped in bandages up to the elbow. Even his blue hair was washed and styled to perfection, at least in his opinion.

Gold eyes were cast through the blue locks, locking upon a vendor. this particular seemed to be serving drinks of some kind, and judging by the line, it was fairly popular. He would take up a position in the line, right behind a smallish girl wearing a flak jacket. It was not long until she reached the front of the line, and it was then that the male could hear that the vendor was selling bubble teas, something that Kayn enjoyed very much. When his turn came, he smiled to the tender, a girl by the name of Aki, if his hearing and her nametag were to be trusted.

"One peach and pomegranate bubble tea, please."

Aki smiled and nodded in return to Kayn, hustling away to prepare the tea. When she was done and returned, Kayn smiled in return before handing over the appropriate money. With a parting gesture of thanks, he turned away to make his way off to find a place to sit and enjoy his drink. Unfortunately for him, the seats taken near the vendor's stall were full, with the only place being free was next to the girl wearing the flak jacket. Taking a small breath, Kayn mentally flipped a coin to decide if he should bother with asking for the seat. Groaning as his mind told him to stop being a little bitch and go have a seat, the blue haired male would make his way over to the girl, waving his hand as he got closer to gain her attention. When he was sure that he had it, he offered his most charming, please do not think I am a creepy pedo smile before speaking.

"Hey, do you mind if I sit here? Everywhere else was is full..."

Hopefully, this woman [girl? child?] would be willing to let him sit and enjoy his drink. If not, he could simply find someplace else....

---

713

As Kaia looked around, watching the people move about with their various food and drink items as well as their purchases, she took another sip of the delicious tea sucking up one of the little balls from the bottom as she did so and groaning in enjoyment as she bit into it. Just as she was beginning to wander what all she was going to do for the day she noticed a wave and glanced over to see a blue haired male standing there with a drink similar to her own. He inquired as to whether or could sit with her or not to which Kaia nodded, her usual happy smile spreading across her face without actually having to be forced. She had never seen the male before – she was fairly certain the blue hair would have stuck out in her mind otherwise considering it was a rarity – and she had no issues in trying to make a new friend.

”Please, feel free.”, she would comment as she waved her hand in indication of the empty space. Pausing to take another sip of her delicious strawberry drink she sucked up several more balls which were bitten into – though she kept her groan of delight to herself. It didn’t matter how many times she had this drink a day, or the fact that she drank it daily, each sip was like the very first: absolutely amazing.

Considering Kaia was a fairly polite person most of the time she decided to introduce herself, “I’m Kaia by the way.” Pausing for a moment she contemplated adding the second half of her name she usually tended to leave off, or her clan for that matter; she was never one to go around boasting – yes, she thought her clan was great, but she didn’t feel the need to rub it in everyone’s face and she didn’t want to risk being judged because of those things anyway – not that she thought the individual before her would actually judge her. Can we say paranoid?

Pulling free from her own inner voices – and beginning to think she was going a tad bit crazy in the process – Kaia fell momentarily silent and simply gave the male a chance to introduce himself and response if he so decided to do so. Once that pause had been made though she would nod her head in the direction of his cup all while taking a sip of her own delicious tea, ”What flavor is that?”, she would ask, both for curiosity sake as well as keeping the conversation going. ”I’ve tried many of Aki’s flavors, but I’m partial to strawberry myself...”, she would add, though the pink color of the liquid within the cup, as well as the general scent of strawberries wafting from it, would likely give that away already – then again, there were so many other scents within the market that perhaps it wouldn’t or couldn’t be picked up on? For Kaia getting her delicious strawberry bubble tea was an everyday event, and thought it was just as delicious as the first cup she ever tried, she found it quite interesting to get the perspective of others as well as their take on the delicious drink; thus her question.

Word Count: 545 | 1,180