Hiccups.

Yup, Kaia~Mai had them. How, you may ask? Well, she was pretty accustomed to eating quickly – afraid food would be snatched away from her before she had the chance to finish it. That was far from the case these days given the way her life had turned around for the better but it was still a very hard habit to break. Given the large amount of food she had just consumed, seated outside of a tiny little café at a table with a huge umbrella sticking up out of the center, it was a surprise she hadn’t exploded yet.

Kaia~Mai had begun to change a bit from the way she had first been when Strafe had found her. She was still skinny and small but nowhere near the sickly thin she had been. Her light blond hair had even begun to grow again and quickly too; it was working its way down her back which was why at the moment she had it up in pigtails with her village headband around her head and keeping any stray pieces of hair from falling into her face. Even her clothing was new and in brand new condition. She no longer wore the old outfit, and had In fact thrown it out. Instead she was dressed in a black tank top with a white short sleeved top over top of this that hung off her left shoulder in a stylish manner: the shirt had graffiti styled writing on it that said “Hope is a Waking Dream”. She wore a black pleated skirt that went almost to her knees and a pair of leggings also black in color with this: while feet were firmly planted in a pair of black shinobi sandals.

Bright blue eyes shinned brightly as she leaned back in her chest and patted her stomach with a giggle that ended in an abrupt hiccup which only resulted in even more giggling. Kaia~Mai felt no need to be quiet or serious when she wasn’t training or doing missions; so outside of that she was a child who giggled and laughed, who was happy continuously now.

A nearby waitress caught the sound of her hiccups and looked to her empty glass of sweet tea before bringing over the pitcher and refilling the cup. “Drink up. Keep hiccuping like that and you might fly away.”, she said kindly before walking off to handle another customer.

“Thank—“ Hiccup. “—You.”, Kaia-Mai responded before picking up her glass and taking a sip of it.

Word Count: 420

Strafe still didn't know his way around his new home. It was different in almost every way, but he was loving it anyway. He still could find the basics though, which caused him to walk towards a little place that Kaia loved to eat at. His stomach rumbled causing him to grin. Money would never be a problem with how high Calvin was in the village, not to mention Kaia and he doing missions and things. They could practically eat out every day and it wouldn't matter much. His multi-colored eyes sat below his deep blue hair. It was a bit messy, but he didn't have anyone to impress. A white shirt with blue accents and pants to match were what he had on, along with his shinobi sandals and the usual equipment. Sure he stuck out like a sore thumb, but it didn't matter much to him. His sense of style was always different than everyone around him, so nothing had changed.

He saw Kaia from a distance and smiled. The young girl was a blessing, as she was kind and sweet. She kept him entertained too, which was nice. They had pretty much adopted her at this point and he couldn't be happier. He was just glad to be able to help her, as she didn't deserve the trouble she had until this point. Getting closer to the place, he spoke in a mildly loud tone. "Hey there! Mind if I join you?" He only spoke up so that she could here him. Konoha was a packed village and could get noisy at times. He crossed the gap between them and took his place across from his new kid. "Did you enjoy your food?" He asked with a grin, knowing that she had been regaining health and strength the past few days.

A waitress walked up and immediately asked his order. He just gave the woman a friendly smile "I'll have whatever she had." He said with a nod of thanks. The woman scurried off, followed by another growl from his stomach. He just hoped they would be quick with the food.

Perception D>D-1 Training: 325/325
Endurance E>E-1 Training: 37/75
Total Wordcount: 362

The hiccuping was growing old and fast: they weren’t the type of hiccups that actually hurt but they were still pretty annoying, especially when they happened each time she went to take a sip of her delicious drink. A familiar voice reached her ears mid-hiccup and she turned to see Strafe approaching. She grinned from ear to ear and nodded. “It was---“ Hiccup. “..good.” She giggled and covered her mouth with her hand as if that would help; but it only caused more hiccupping to occur.

“I ate too fast—“ Hiccup. “..again.”, she said as a way to explain the hiccups that were plaguing her. She brought her cup back to her lips and took a sip of it in between of the hiccups, hoping that the liquid would help some.

The waitress was returning at that point with food for Strafe as well as Kaia~Mai’s desert – a strawberry milkshake with a load of whipped cream on top and two cherries. Kaia~Mai’s ear to ear grinn couldn’t get any wider but her eyes began to twinkle in happiness over the sight: the sundae looked amazing and she was sure it tasted just as good as it looked. The waitress put the food in front of Strafe and then the sundae in front of Kaia~Mai. Kaia~Mai switched the cup of sweet tea for the sundae. She pulled off one of the cherries and moved it through the whipped cream before popping it into her mouth. “Yuuuum!”, in her distraction from such a delicious treat her hiccups subsided – though she barely noticed as she brought the straw to her lips and drank up some of the delicious goodness.

Word Count: 278 + 420 = 698

Strafe chuckled a bit as the young girl hiccuped in the middle of a sentence. He missed the days when he was a young kid. Those were some of the best times. "I'm glad to hear it! You might want to calm down on eating so fast, you'll have a lot of food for a long time." He said with a smile. He could still remember how thin and sickly she looked when they found her. It really broke his heart, and he couldn't turn away. They had the resources to take care of her, so why not? He liked kids and Mitsuo was a great guy. He got to do important work and Strafe could chase Kaia around and have fun. What was not to love about the situation? He just hoped she enjoyed staying with them as much as they enjoyed having her.

It was about that time when the waitress brought out his food and Kaia's treat. The strawberry milkshake did look good, and the sparkle in her eye showed that she felt the same way. He immediately started eating his food, taking the first bite and chewing it. "So, now that your healthy, what plans do you have? Gonna do some missions?" He asked with a genuine curiosity. He had only known the girl for a short amount of time, so he didn't know everything about her. He just wanted to talk and enjoy her company. He would take another bite and chew it up, waiting for her response.

Endurance E>E-1 Training: 75/75
Perception D-1>D-2 Training: 220/400
Post Wordcount: 258
Total Wordcount: 620

Kaia~Mai took a momentary break from sipping at the deliciousness that was her strawberry sundae at Strafe’s comment. A giggle escaped her and she shrugged lightly. “It’s just a habit to eat fast, I guess.”, she explained before continuing on with sipping her sundae. She knew better than to drink it too fast because she knew that would only result in a very painful brain freeze. But, at the same time, it was too good to put down so she just made careful sure she wasn’t eating too much too fast.

At Strafe’s question she titled her head to the side, straw still in her mouth. “Hm… yes. Lots of missions and lots of training! I want to become super strong and super fast.” She grinned, having already planned this all out in her head. She momentarily pulled the straw out of her tall glass and licked the whipped cream off before mixing what was left of the whipped cream inside of the cup into the rest of the tasty treat only causing it to taste even more sugary than it originally had.

“I also hope I can find out more about my past. I’ve been trying to meditate, but I only get a little bit at a time, and most of the time it’s like a dream – so I don’t know if it’s real or not.”, she explained before stuffing the straw back into her mouth and continuing on with drinking her sundae down: the glass was over half empty and at the rate she was going she was going to end up wanting another one.

Word Count: 267 + 698 = 965

As Kaia continued to enjoy her desert, Strafe continued to eat his food. The girl seemed happy, which was a major step up from when he found the girl. He was just glad to be able to help her and wanted to continue to help her in any way possible. Her next response sent a smile across the Aisu's face. "I'm glad to hear it, maybe you can be a leader of the village like Mitsuo one day!" He spoke with encouragement as he realized that he was already done with half his plate. He had been so busy with moving and settling in the past week that he didn't realize he wasn't eating as much as normal. He chewed another bite and swallowed before hearing Kaia add one more comment in. It was about her past, which was unknown for the most part. The poor girl knew nothing about herself, and Strafe couldn't imagine how that felt.

"No need to worry about it or push yourself too hard to remember. It will come in time. Things tend to fall in place like that!" Strafe said with a smile, despite the concern in the back of his head. For all he knew, her past could come with some dark people, but he didn't care. Mitsuo and he would protect her from anything that tried to hurt her. She didn't deserve anything but the best. By this time he was almost done with his food. "How about we go do something fun after this? You can pick!" He asked with a grin, hoping to keep her entertained. He didn't have much to do today, so it was for his entertainment as well.

Perception D-1>D-2 Training: 400/400
Unused Wordcount: 109
Post Wordcount: 289
Total Wordcount: 909

Kaia~Mai kept slurping at her delicious desert; the sundae becoming thinner towards the end and easier to drink through the straw the lower the substance got in the beautiful glass cup. When the drink got to the bottom there was a moment of a slurping noise from just air coming through the straw before she sat back and placed the now very empty glass on the table. “Poo, all gone.”, she said with a playful frown. She knew she could have just ordered another one, but she was more than stuffed: even if the idea of guzzling down another strawberry sundae was rather appealing there was no point in making herself sick. Besides, it wasn’t like she couldn’t come back later and have another one; like Strafe had said earlier she would have more than enough food for a long time to come.

So, she focused on what Strafe was saying about her past and how there was no point in pushing herself too hard. She knew he was right, she would remember things in time and perhaps it wasn’t a good idea to push it anyway – she knew her past had been bad, she had had more than enough injuries that required healing to prove that – so who knew? Maybe it wasn’t such a good idea for her to remember anyway. She was happy now and that was all that truly mattered.

A grin spread across her face as an idea came into her mind. “Let’s go swimming!”, she said excitedly in response to Strafe’s question of doing something fun. Kaia~Mai might not have had a natural affinity when it came to being able to use or manipulate water but that didn’t mean she didn’t take to it like a fish. She loved water, it brought an inner peace that made her happy, and swimming was a very fun thing to do. Besides, maybe she would be able to try and catch a few fish with her bare hands – it was always a fun game to play. “I love to swim.”

Word Count: 342 + 965 = 1,307