The Dragon's Tongue bustled in the hot afternoon sun of Sunagakure on this beautiful day. The clear blue sky cut a stark contrast with the sand colored and covered buildings of the great shinobi village. As the heat beat down on the poor inhabitants of the town like sunlight through a magnifying glass torturing ants, villagers poured into the shade of the popular restaurant only to be met by an entirely different kind of heat. The scents of all different kinds of spices from the far corners of the ninja world mixed together with unique aromas of grilled chicken, beef, pork, and tofu. On a day like this the sweaty smell of overworked chefs and masses of hungry people on the lunch rush added to the distinct character of the establishment.

Here entered Akarui Kōga dressed in his usual outfit of a sleeveless hooded white shirt out of which hung a necklace holding a cheap blue gem. As he was off duty for the moment, rather than wearing traditional shinobi sandals, he chose to wear low cut civilian sneakers far below his high cut black capris. The young shinobi had quite a bit of trouble attempting to navigate the sea of prospective customers as he followed a flustered waiter to his table. Back and forth Akarui rocked as he was elbowed, stepped on, and pushed. Though he was becoming increasingly frustrated, he was doing his best to follow the clan way and continue his practice of showing no emotion. At least not to these sheep anyhow.

As the pair reached the table, Akarui was violently pushed down into his chair. It was a small table practically in the front corner of the restaurant. This position offered little protection from the sun, and Akarui's seat was taken up more by the wall then by his own body. The waiter flicked him in the ear.

"Thank you for choosing The Dragon's Tongue! You'll have to share your table with at least one other person. What can I get you to eat?" Even as the waiter yelled, his voice was nearly drowned out by the commotion of the busy restaurant. Akarui doubted the waiter would be receiving much in the way of the tips for his behavior, but given the amount of people dining here today he might have been very wrong.

"I'll have the green curry." Akarui said with a determined but ultimately far to quiet tone of voice. The waiter rolled his eyes sarcastically at the young shinobi and pretended to scribble something down on his notepad.

"The house special, got it. That'll be ready in... eventually." Without another word and before Akarui could even protest, the waiter had already disappeared back into the sea of monstrous people to claim his next victim. Akarui grumbled to himself, shoving his shoulder up against the wall almost in the hope that it give way of its own volition. There was one happy thought that came to his mind as he looked to the empty chair across from him, though. A singular blessing in this hell of a restaurant. At least he was alone.

527

Another day in Sunagakure no Sato and the weather remain a constant. The sun was a reminder that no matter the time of year, the sun would continue to shine down upon them with the occasional break rarely gracing the inhabitants with a change. While the inhabitants of Sunagakure no Sato grew to become accustomed to the weather, even he had as well, there were times when he wished for a change of pace, for days where it would remain cool and windy. Yet, no matter the case, the village kept on bustling, shinobi and civilians alike going about their daily business. Restaurants, shops, and food stands open like always, waiting for customers to come in and buy something. Perhaps it was the unique blend of smells of the surrounding shops mixed in with The Dragon’s Tongue that made one feel hungry, or the knowledge that the food provide would be more than satisfying that these businesses were packed to the brim on a consistent basis.

Gazing lazily as he trekked about, Seiryū wasn’t sure where he wished to stop by for lunch. There were far too many choices, many of which Seiryū had visited before, The Dragon’s Tongue included, that Seiryū couldn’t decide off the bat. The Dragon’s Tongue was easily one of the more popular establishments in Sunagakure, thus always had business, yet the aromas coming out of the building housing the restaurant were far too convincing to think otherwise. While normally he wouldn’t mind walking around in his usual clothing, Seiryū had opted for something casual, as he hadn’t bothered with any training for the day. Clad in a white v-neck shirt, a pair of khaki pants and brown shoes, Seiryū blended in with most of the crowd, stumbling in to the establishment as he was pushed from behind. Normally, he would’ve reacted, yet he couldn’t be bothered at this moment, as he sought out food.

Basically, upon entry, a waiter had begun guiding him towards a table, though Seiryū doubted there was a single empty table for him alone. Almost as if reading his mind, the waiter began to speak, as he was slowing down. “You’re going to have to share a table.” When the waiter turned, he pointed him to the corner of the room, where a red-headed male was seated. Knowing that he’d be stuck here with another individual, Seiryū offered a strained smile, both to the waiter and his fellow patron. As Seiryū took his seat, the waiter didn’t hesitate to speak, “What can I get you to eat?” The line came out as if it was spoken a thousand times already, as if he hadn’t figured out another way to say as such.

“I’ll have the red curry.” Seiryū said with a slight tenseness in his voice. While he had wanted to dine alone, at least he could eat and be out of here before long. As the waiter began writing down the order, he also began to walk away.

Just before the waiter was out of earshot, Seiryū heard a voice, “It’ll be ready… soon.” Seiryū felt like he could hear an invisible ‘or later,’ ringing through the air. Seiryū looked blankly at the person before him, before directing his attention to the wall. He supposed, it could have been worse.

After a few moments of silence, he felt like this meal would be terrible if he just stayed silent the rest of their time here. So without much else to say, he offered up a single word. “Yo.” Though more under his breath, he muttered, “They could have at least hired a decent waiter.” It was more or less the truth when compared to previous experiences. At least then, even if the place was busy, they offered tiny tid-bits of conversation.

---

Post Word Count: 649
Total Word Count: 649

Akarui rapped his fingers against the small table. Even this, the dullest of beats, was practically enthralling to him compared to the prospect of continued waiting. Finally, Akarui spotted the waiter returning with a white haired young man. As the waiter explained the seating situation, Akarui's white haired new table mate offered what seemed to be an obviously only polite smile to him. Akarui appreciated it and offered a disgruntled smirk before looking back down to the table. At least he was trying. As he approached, Akarui attempted to raise his arm to offer a polite wave, but only succeeded in bumping his elbow painfully on the wall.

For a few moments the table was silent as Seiryu stared at the wall and Akarui looked intently at the table, but Akarui's table mate finally broke the silence with a singular "Yo." Akarui thought it was an odd greeting but he offered a slight chuckle in response to confirm his acceptance of the greeting. Akarui nodded as though he were being told a really bad pun as Seiryu lamented the poor quality of The Dragon's Tongue's waiter. "Honestly? I'd probably be a complete ass too if I had to work here on a day like this." As he said this a mousy old waitress appeared almost out of nowhere and placed a pair of cheap chipped cups on the table before the pair. Akarui stared at her with a blank expression as she filled one past the brim and the other less than half-way full with warmer than room temperature water. Before he could protest, the waitress was already gone and Akarui was left running a hand through his hair with a sigh, unwilling to choose a glass.

After another moment of silence with Akarui staring down at the floor, wishing he had something to do besides sit and talk, he remembered his table mate's order. "So... you like red curry do you? I'm a green curry man myself. It's what I always preferred growing up in the compound." He looked very intently at Seiryu, offering an awkward smirk as he attempted to read his face. Akarui had always been uncomfortable using the skills of the Kōga in everyday life, but he assumed he would at least be able to find something helpful to spur the lacking conversation. He had never been particularly skilled with it, but he knew practice would help if he at least tried. So he sat, looking over Seiryu with a slight smirk, water from the overfull cup seeping into the table cloth, and fingers tapping relentlessly on the place in front of him. Not a particularly happy scene in the life of Akarui, but not the worst day he had lived so far either. Akarui decided to leave his mood in the hands of this stranger. It could not possibly get any worse than complete and utter boredom, could it? Not unless he were some sort of mad murderous Kiri shinobi, at least. "By the way, how about we take bets on how long it takes the curry to get here? Loser pays for drinks." Akarui felt a pang of awkwardness as he said this. Why would he say something like this? He did not even know the guy! What if he actually were a mad murderous Kiri shinobi? Or perhaps he was some sort of rug salesman who weaved exclusively from red hair. What an idiot, Akarui. What an idiot.

585 + 527 = 1112

His eyes scanned the surrounding tables, taking in the various people, most of whom he couldn’t recognize, solely due to never having interacted with such individuals before. There wasn’t a single face in the crowd that stood out to him, though the person sitting before him gave him a similar feeling. While it was plainly obvious to Seiryū that there wasn’t much he could do to change his surroundings, there was only a limited amount of things he could do to make his mid-day meal enjoyable, and one such thing involved at least enjoying the present company at the table in the front corner of The Dragon’s Tongue.

Glancing back at his companion for this particular meal, Seiryū noticed the smirk on the other males face. After his greeting of a sing ‘Yo,’ there was a slight pause, though the noise around them kept bustling, even as Seiryū had mumbled something under his breath. It wasjust a few moments before the person before him spoke, offering a take on how he would relate if working in a similar environment. While Seiryū had worked in a restaurant, some time ago – for a mission no less – the time he had worked was far calmer and easier for him to enjoy the bits and pieces of the job itself. Of course, he’d much rather have done something far more exciting and adrenaline producing. Some form of actual shinobi work that involved fighting, yet he knew, as a genin, those were few and far between. With a barely noticeable nod, he supposed he could see the other side of things.

As the other male had led the conversation towards their choice of meal, Seiryū could only raise an eyebrow in response to where things were heading. “I like to try a bit of everything.” As he was speaking, his mind kept reeling back to the word ‘compound’ caught his ear, having lived his first eight years in such an environment, and Seiryū had to wonder what other clans in Sunagakure no Sato this person belonged to. For all he knew, they could be related, but Seiryū had only ever met few who shared his blood. They people who Seiryū had interacted with were his father and sensei, both of the Koga clan, yet neither seeming to care for what he did now. Sure his sensei had been kind during his stay there, but now that there was no more contact between the two, Seiryū had to wonder if it was all for show. While he could use his biological father’s – for he refused to acknowledge him as an actual father figure in his life – kekkei genkai to read this person, Seiryū always tended to avoid it, if things came down to it. Seiryū just blankly glanced back at the smirk that was aimed in his direction. As the redhead before him offered up a ‘game’ of sorts, more to pass the time from what he assumed, Seiryū just offered back a small snicker. Drinks, yes, he could use those. Besides, it had been a few days since the last time he actually went out for drinks.

“You know, I do like that bet.” Turning his features to a more relaxed expression, Seiryū’s tone turned from forced politeness, to something a bit more genuine. “I’d say fourty-five minutes before he returns with our food.” He wouldn’t mind paying for drinks, if the company was enjoyable, thus he spat out the first number that came to mind. Well, not the first per-se, as it would seem a bit odd to say a number that didn’t end in a five or zero, thus he just rounded accordingly. “You know, I don’t usually eat lunch with strangers, so let’s get the simple pleasantries out of the way. I’m Seiryū. Imada Seiryū.”

---

Post Word Count: 649
Total Word Count: 1298

Akarui grinned all the wider as Seiryu accepted his bet with a snigger. "Fourty-five minutes you say? Even I don't think it'll be that long. I'd have to say..." He dwelled on the last syllable of 'say' for a few moment, smiling mischievously. This conversation was making him confident, and there was nothing Akarui liked more than to mess with people when he was confident. "...mmm fourty-four minutes sounds about right. Not because it's one less than your number, but you know how it is." He almost did not believe it could be true, but Akarui was actually beginning to have fun at this dump. True, the service was bad, and the seating was bad, and  the food... well it had not even arrived at this point so he could not really judge. The company however was starting to make up for that.

As Seiryu asked his next question, Akarui went to grab the water cup filled to the brim, glaring at it as he tried in vain to slurp from the surface tension on top without spilling, water dripping down his chin and onto the table.  He sighed, putting down the cup and wiping his face on his sleeveless arm. Perhaps there was a purpose to wearing sleeved shirts in the heat after all, he postulated to himself. "Imada Seiryū? I can't say I've heard that name before. Good thing too; I would have been embarrassed to forget meeting such an interesting person!" Akarui grinned at his own joke, once more rapping his knuckles against the table. "Seriouisly though, it's nice to meet you. My name is Kōga Akarui, but you can just call me Akarui. Or whatever other name you can come up with. I don't actually care all that much."

Akarui sighed, lifting his water cup to his lips once more and glaring at the steam coming from behind the fabric divider which represented the end of the restaurant and the beginning of the kitchen. As much as he enjoyed the company, he was truly beginning to get hungry. If he had known things would take this long he might have just gone home and whipped up something cheap and fast to tide him over for the remainder of the afternoon. There was no going back now, though, especially with company at the table. Even as he convinced his mind that it had to wait for food, his stomach protested with a whiny growl that was obvious over the commotion of the busy curry shop. Even so, Akarui merely patted his stomach and looked back to Seiryu for his next reaction.

445 + 1112 = 1557

The moment the words escaped the redheaded males mouth, Seiryū debated whether he liked the attitude of the male before him, or if he wasn’t exactly sure what to make out of it. For one, the mere notion of making the bet was something he was completely accepting of, something he would have likely done, if the person across the table hadn’t done it first. The fact that he went to undercut him by a mere minute, not even bothering to increase the gap, was something he couldn’t particularly be upset about, he had done the same before, though with different company of course. Though, given how things were running within the restaurant and the marginal gap between the two times they assumed, it was pretty much up in the air on whom would be the ‘winner’ of the between Seiryū and the unnamed male that he was sharing the table with. Seiryū did not offer a reply in return to what was said, though only offered back a confident smirk. Regardless, he’d have a few drinks in him today, something he originally hadn’t accounted for this day.

With a raised eyebrow, Seiryū watched his unknown companion attempted and pretty much failed, at the simple task of drinking a bit of water, even if the glass seemed to be filled to the brim. Just from the sight alone, a slight chuckle escaped Seiryū as he simply looked onward. Once the male had wiped the droplets of water from his face, he finally spoke up once again, regarding the introduction on Seiryū’s part. He wasn’t surprised that this person did not know him, not many did. Thinking on it now, he even doubted his own father would recognize him. He knew his mother wouldn’t know him at all, though there were days he wondered how much he took after his mother when compared to his father. Though, with having a father as powerful as his was, and with the was the Kōga had set up the education of their offspring, Seiryū doubted he’d ever have a chance to find out who his mother was, though it wouldn’t affect him at all, it was mere curiosity. As far as Seiryū was concerned, it was him alone in the world, mainly fending for himself, and that’s how it would be.

What did catch Seiryū’s attention was the mentioning of the name of his compatriot, someone who shared an inkling of blood with him. The mere notion of being related was something Seiryū chose to ignore at once. Nothing would come out of it. And as far as he was concerned, he wouldn’t bother with the Kōga as long as they returned the favour to him. This would be a single meeting, yet, he supposed that as long as this Akarui was unaware of his ancestry, and as long as the clan knew not of his location, Seiryū would be fine with things. The words that followed after Kōga Akarui’s name were lost on him, not bothering to pay attention to them at all. Instead, Seiryū closed off for a moment, lost in his own little world. This was all a chance meeting, him meeting others of his father’s bloodline were rare and few between. The only one he knew that he would eventually have to see more than he would wish to be was the one whom currently could be called the Kazekage, Kōga Suzume.

Internally, Seiryū shook himself out of him minor stupor, his eyes becoming a bit more focused. He wasn’t sure how much time had passed since his inner thoughts took over, but it couldn’t have been more than a few minutes. “Can’t say I’ve heard about you either. I doubt you’d like any names I can come up with, so Akarui it is.” Seiryū’s eyes went to scanning the area around the restaurant, wanting to get food within him as soon as possible. Perhaps, it would have been a smarter choice for him to have gone to a food stand that were scattered throughout the village and grab a quick meal from there. Not the healthiest of options, but they offered food that one couldn’t obtain at any restaurant, each having their own spin on things.

“You do know, if you end up paying for drinks, I won’t be going light. Best to get the most out of your offer.” There was a smirk still on Seiryū’s features, slightly more subdued, yet still present. Even if he lost this bet, he’d likely end up drinking the same amount regardless, something to get his mind away from the thoughts that were in his minds just seconds ago.

---

Post Word Count: 806
Total Word Count: 2104

Akarui noticed his companion's change in mood as their banter went back and forth. Seiryu continued to smirk and joke of course, but Akarui felt something was off by this point. Something about his attitude had changed. Even as Akarui attempted to brush off that feeling, he too began to exhibit a change in behavior. He brought his elbows up onto the table and clasped  his hands before him, only half a foot or so from his mouth. Foot tapping softly and heart rate accelerating in the most minute of ways, Akarui's usually light hearted eyes took on a more serious, focused form even as a smirk crept its way across his face. The young shinobi assumed that whatever was going on in Seiryu's head was due to fatigue or hunger, or perhaps he himself even had a mustard stain on his shirt and Seiryu was doing his best to be polite and ignore it; Akarui did not know. Whatever the reason for Seriyu's behavioral change, Akarui had to play his little game. It was in his blood after all.

"No, I suppose it wouldn't make sense for anyone to know the name of a basic genin, would it?" Akarui offered a slightly stifled chuckle in response. He smiled as he turned back from viewing the back corner of the restaurant. "Well now, I wouldn't have offered that bet if I knew I were helping a recovering alcoholic!" The young shinobi laughed quietly at his own joke while he returned to observing Seiryu's body language. Akarui always assumed that quite a bit could be learned about a person by how they reacted to jokes about themselves. Granted, he had not ever tried it out in 'the wild' per say, but he considered this meeting a field test at this point. There certainly were not going to be any life or death consequences from this lunch of curry with a stranger turned acquaintance. That was, at least, so long as the food was relatively fresh.

Even as he continued to observe Seiryu, however, the rattling of porcelain on porcelain graced his ears. A little old lady only about four feet tall was slowly approaching the table. Dressed traditionally but for her dry white hair and flimsy spectacles, she seemed something almost out of an old story. Held high above her head, that is, high in the relative sense, she carried a large brass platter. While she certainly seemed to be doing her best to walk as smoothly and stably as possible, the platter still wobbled dangerously. Two miniature bowls on tea plates rattled against each other on the platform, a watery brown liquid lapping at their brims as they threatened to spill all over the floor and likely the patrons.

"O-oooh deary me!" She cried out in the gentlest, softest old lady voice Akarui had ever heard as hot liquid landed on her old, wrinkled hands. Weaving back and forth across the restaurant both for lack of balance and the strange arrangement of tables, she soon arrived at Akarui and Seiryu's table.  "Oh, I'm so sorry for the wait, gentlemen, but could you get your soup off of the platter for me? I don't want to spill all over my poor old hands, you see." Akarui smirked as he looked to Seiryu expectantly, going back to take a sip of his water. "It's not your meal, you see, it's just some onion soup to tide you over until your food is done. Very busy we are, very busy." She turned to offer Seiryu a grandmotherly grin, showing off her oddly yellow teeth which were adorable in the grandmotherly way. Looking at the soup, it would be clear it was little more than a tea cup's worth of beef broth with fried onions and sliced mushrooms.

648 + 1557 = 2205

His mind was idly wandering back and forth between things he could be doing and what the current situation was. Seiryū doubted that this Akarui character did not know of his origins, nor would he simply have reason to find him or do anything with his heritage. Beyond that, it was mere speculation that he was bound to run in to more Kōga’s here in Sunagakure no Sato, after all the current Kazekage was a prominent member of said clan, as was his father, and the clan compound was likely still bustling with whatever it was they did on a daily basis.

Idly, as Akarui was speaking, Seiryū crossed both his arms, waiting for time to pass by. Usually, he enjoyed the atmosphere that restaurants presented, though it was far more enjoyable when the establishment wasn’t as full as it was now, when there was less than half the maximum occupancy, those were the days he found that the atmosphere being the most pleasing. His right index finger, almost as if moving on its own, started to tap again his left bicep. Seiryū leaned a bit farther back in his seat, so as not to sit up completely straight. It felt far more relaxing this way than forcing himself sit in a rigid posture. His head dipped down slightly, for no peculiar reason other than to stare blankly at the table. As Akarui jokingly called him a ‘recovering alcoholic,’ Seiryū let out a light chuckle of his own. He supposed, he could get along with others related to him by blood, as most likely had no influence over what his father’s choice was. Really, it ultimately was decided among two people. “You may say that, but who’s to say you aren’t an alcoholic as well? You were the one who made a bet out of the blue.” His head tilted slightly, righting himself up a bit before once again glancing across the room, though knowing that there food would still be a ways away. For all Seiryū knew, the character sitting across from him could easily be trying to read him, as that’s what they were trained, as all who inherited the Kōga blood were trained to do. He could easily throw him off his scent, by playing another role, or he could just act as normal as possible, as not to give away his blood. It was an interesting game, one that Seiryū could easily have a lot of fun with.

Out of the corner of his eye, Seiryū caught the movement of a short individual making their way towards them. Short was an understatement, as the person was easily around four feet tall, and old due to the white hairs that occupied what once could have been differently coloured hair. His own hair, he needn’t worry about tit with age, as he was already used to the colour of his hair. The platter she was carrying was wobbling and likely hot to touch, given the steam rising out of the porcelain. Even if he could avoid it, the struggle the old lady presented only made Seiryū feel a bit sorry for her, not in the sense of her lacking strength, but rather having to carry the platter from the kitchens to where they were located, all the while manoeuvring between the tables that occupied the majority of the floor.

As the old lady began to speak, asking them to take their soup off the platter, Seiryū noticed the smirk that Akarui displayed, as he took a sip of water. Shaking his head slightly, Seiryū turned fully towards the lady, offering a polite smile as he began to reach for the miniature bowls containing soup, not their actual meal. “Of course.” As Seiryū transferred the two bowls, taking the tea plates as well; so as not to burn himself, he placed one in front of himself and the other a bit out of reach for Akarui, as he’d rather not lean over the table. His years of practicing archery, keeping a steady stance and hands, allowed the movement of the soup to be swift, with nothing spilling over the top. “Thank you.” He stated quietly, as she offered him a grin before turning and going back to attending more tables. His gaze slowly traveled towards Akarui. “And here I thought I was the terrible person, a recovering alcoholic, helping  out an old lady while you just sit there and watch. Didn’t anyone teach you simple manners?” The look upon Seiryū’s a bit condescending, though the sarcasm present in his voice easily identifiable.

---

Post Word Count: 775
Thread Word Count: 2879

Akarui had initially responded with a simple chuckle to Seiryu's retort. He was all for a few good jokes, but he certainly did not want to take it any further than he had to. It was nice to have a casual laugh with a stranger every once in a while. Even as he was enjoying his time at the table, he was still worried at the prospect of going to far with his jabs and ending up with an awkwardly passive aggressive lunch. The red haired shinobi was certain that lunch with someone who disliked him would be far worse than awkwardly silent lunch with a stranger he might have had earlier.

Even as his smile was maintained while Seiryu turned to assist the old lady, Akarui's eyes were anything but light hearted. A certain degree of focus overtook his expression as he tried to read Seiryu, becoming more and more disgruntled. For all his trying however, it seemed that Seiryu was simply calm and casual, with nothing more on his mind for what Akarui could see. He had thought he had seen something in his eyes earlier, but for the moment Akarui could not find a trace of what might have once been going on with Seiryu's expressions. A mite disappointing in his mind, but at least it was not Akarui's only form of lunchtime entertainment. Akarui sighed audibly, looking down at the table and running a hand over his hair once more. Disappointed as he was, he still wore a smile as Seiryu skillfully brought the soup to the table and sent the old lady off with a smile.

The golden eyed shinobi's ear twitched as Seiryu poked fun at him, the tables turned on Akarui in less than an instant. As proud and pretentious as Akarui was, he still recognized this was all in good fun. Leaning ever more on the table, the red head brought his chin ever closer to its center, wide smile offered to his table mate. "Sit here and do nothing? How rude. I just gave you a chance to do an act of kindness. Practically took a kunai for you there, I did." Akarui chuckled once more at his own joke. Even as he noticed himself doing this more and more, his self-esteem almost demanded that he pat himself on the back after every half baked one liner he told. It really did feel good to pretend he was some genius, even though he knew he was nothing of the sort. Akarui knew he almost certainly had issues, but he preferred to think of them as quirks that did not harm anybody around him. At least not yet.

As dark thoughts of responsibility and failure clouded his mind, Akarui turned once more to the thought of food; his head turned towards the kitchen all the same. His hunger was beginning to subside as his mind came to terms with the idea that he might not be eating lunch today; Akarui had not even touched his soup yet. Although his body was adjusting to the prospect of emptiness, he tried desperately to turn his thoughts towards the tardiness of his food, even if only to change the subject of his thoughts. He sighed once more as he sat up straight, turning to Seiryu. "At this rate all the bars will be closed by the time our food gets here." He offered a sad smile to his lunch partner, looking down at his untouched soup. He exaggerated in terms of time of course; hunger and self esteem tended to warp reality in the most inconvenient of ways for him.

Quickly enough, Akarui attempted to change the subject, looking back up at Seiryu. "So, how is the soup?" He had not payed attention to whether or not he had actually consumed any of his soup. Akarui merely wanted to keep the small talk going so the restaurant could feel more like a home and less like a prison or a hostage situation where he was forced to wait for his beloved curry. Curry, oh curry. Why had it forsaken him? At least if he had curry Akarui could focus on the flavor or the burning sensation instead of being forced to wade through his own thoughts. Those rarely ended up leading to bright sunny places, even in Sunagakure. More likely was the idea that he would focus on the sandstorms and scorpions of life instead of the beautiful sunny days and wonderful people around him. Maybe that was where he needed to start, Akarui though to himself. Maybe he just needed to focus on the people.

777 + 2205 = 2982

Returning to his relaxed position that he had taken earlier, prior to being brought the soup, Seiryū went back to looking around the restaurant. Still, the crowd didn’t seem to die down at all. It seemed as if when one patron left, another came in to fill the same seat that was occupied. As Akarui replied back to his jest about manners, Seiryū only listened as much as he could. He didn’t exactly care particularly much of what the reply would be, knowing that it would most likely be returned as a joke. Seiryū knew that from the atmosphere of things thus far, it would take a while for either one to be annoyed, though he could only truly speak for himself and not his companion, as they had only been in each other’s company, for possibly twenty minutes, at most.

Akarui’s reply did enter his ears, though his brain barely registered the words, as he wasn’t particularly too interested in the reply, as they were mostly joking around. Seiryū offered no reaction to the verbal reply from Akarui, yet he still enjoyed the atmosphere surrounding the vicinity. Nothing to really worry about as far as he was concerned. “I doubt that was taking a kunai for me. If anything, it was me who took the kunai for you. After all, I’m the one who knows simple courtesy around here.” His eyes travelled to the steaming soup sitting in front of him, debating on if he should try some now or wait for It to cool off a bit more. While they did have soup, Seiryū knew it wouldn’t be enough to satisfy his appetite. As he heard a slight noise coming from his stomach, Seiryū mentally rolled his eyes, knowing that he may as well see if he enjoyed it to decide if he would continue to sample the soup as they waited the curry to arrive. Reaching for the spoon that came with their soup, Seiryū lifted it up, the silverware holding just a teaspoon of the steaming broth. As the steaming liquid entered his mouth, there was no burning sensation, only the feeling of hot soup upon his tongue. As for the taste, he couldn’t specify how exactly he felt about it, as he was no expert on soup, or food, but it tasted decently well, and that was enough to satisfy him for the time being. Never one to really order soup, Seiryū could only categorize it as ‘fine,’ knowing that his knowledge of various soups was rather limited, as the only times he could remembering having it were when he was sick.

At Akarui’s joke about the bars closing by the time their food got there, Seiryū automatically knew what his response would be. With a grin gracing his face, completely disregarding Akarui’s supposed ‘sadness,’ Seiryū spoke like he knew the exact solution the their problems, even if it was all in a humorous nature. “Ah, sad that your wallet won’t be empty by the end of the night? Don’t worry about that. As a recovering alcoholic, I know how to get alcohol no matter the time and day.” The mischievous grin that Seiryū commonly wore returned now, knowing that it was all in good fun, though attempting to read the person before him wasn’t exactly what he wanted to do. It could basically give him away, so instead, the Kōga bastard opted towards playing the role of someone who knew not of the Kōga bloodline. For he was, after all, an Imada, not a Kōga.

He hadn’t been expecting Akarui to ask about the soup that was placed in front of him, thinking that he would try it for himself instead of asking how it was. Seiryū, not exactly sure about how to go about describing it, offered a slight shrug of the shoulders, with only two words to describe it. “It’s… good.” Honestly, he could care less about the soup for the time being. All he really wanted at the moment was something more filling. The curry could easily provide him with such, yet the waiting was always the most difficult part, especially when hungry. While he did lose track of time, never really caring about who won or lost the bet, Seiryū went back to just leaning back in his chair as he waited. While still in the mood to chat a bit, he didn’t have anything specific to say at the moment, thus Seiryū just returning to a relaxed posture while his eyes scanned the restaurant, trying to find their waiter who would be the likely individual to return with their curry.

---

Post Word Count: 790
Total Word Count: 3669

Training:

Akarui chuckled as Seiryu jokingly responded to his banter. Once again he was relieved that he was able to deal with a lighthearted fellow instead of a rude and obnoxious one. Knowing Sunagakure as he did, it seemed like a toss up as to whether any individual Akarui met was the kind and generous type or a complete and utter asshole. At this point in his life Akarui did not truly know whether this same sort of personality tossup was in effect in other parts of the world. He had only really talked to one person from another village for any reasonable length of time, and it seemed a bit imprecise to Akarui for one to make assumptions about the rest of the world based on a singular encounter. People he had just met from his village though? Akarui was entirely alright with judging them. Even at the very moment as he spoke with Seiryu, Akarui was silently judging him both intentionally and subconsciously.

"Well, you certainly know something, Seiryu. I'm not sure if it is courtesy, though." Akarui smiled once more now noticing that Seiryu had gone after his soup. With a shrug, Akarui went to grab his own spoon and soon began to stir the fried onion soup. It was nothing special he had not yet seen. Simply fried onions and chopped mushrooms in a broth. Rarely did restaurants like these actually include meat or green in single serving free soup dishes, and Akarui was honestly impressed that the restaurant had even included the chopped mushrooms. While it perhaps helped the prestige of the restaurant, he himself was somewhat miffed due to his distaste for the item. He enjoyed all kinds of vegetables; indeed he had so considering Sunagakure was in the middle of the desert, but the texture of mushrooms never sat well with him. That combined with the fact that the taste was not overwhelming in any direction led Akarui to believe they were a worthless addition to any dish.

With a sigh the red haired shinobi drew his spoon back out of the broth before slowly lowering it to the surface of the water. There was little he could do to avoid the mushrooms at this point, but this strategy would suffice for now. Calmly the oily broth filled Akarui's spoon, not a single solid object making its way through the pure stream of brothy goodness. With a smile he took in a long breath through his nose, enjoying the scent of the soup which so offset the strong spicy smell that permeated the rest of the restaurant. Akarui had seen few natural water features in his time, but he imagined that his little waterfall of broth was the equal of if not superior to the greatest oases in the world. It certainly pleased him as well as he supposed any waterfall could. Daintily Akarui drew up his spoon to mouth level, examining its contents closely. He was a bit displeased at the fact no fried onions had made their way into the spoon; they were his favorites after all. But, he assumed it could not be helped so long as he desired to refrain from eating the broth soaked mushrooms which populated the bowl below him. Carefully now Akarui brought the spoon to his lips, a whirlpool of oil spinning over the surface of the soup as the slightest of forces carried the soup to the shinobi.

A wave of pleasure drifted over Akarui's tongue as the soup similarly washed into his mouth. It was certainly better than he was originally expecting the soup to taste. Just the right balance of saltiness and savoriness. Even in their fried state the onions had offered a hint of sweetness to the combined flavor of this oily broth. As much as Akarui loathed to admit it to himself, the mushrooms too played a part in this symphony of basic flavors which brought the shinobi's mood to new heights. It might have been that the young man's hunger had unfairly increased his enjoyment of the dish, but for the moment Akarui believed this to be the best food he had eaten in a lifetime. It almost made the lengthy wait worth it. Almost.

As if on time, Akarui and Seiryu's food arrived. Seiryu had said something about Akarui winning the bet, but at the moment he did not care too much for those antics. Desire and taste for food had overtaken the young shinobi and he cared not for how much he had to pay to receive food or drinks. "Well, let's both hope a recovering alcoholic like you has a taste for good alcohol and doesn't buy the cheap stuff. I would not want to ruin this fantastic meal with sub par drinks." He smiled in such a genuine way it might be hard to tell whether Akarui was being serious about his pretentious tastes or whether he was merely so happy to be receiving his meal he was simply glad to be alive. Either way the young man took up his soup bowl and slowly drank directly from it, savoring every drop of broth that the restaurant had offered him. Just as his green curry arrived, Akarui placed back down his bowl, offering a smile now to the waiter. "Ah, perfect timing. Let's hope the curry as as good as the soup!" Akarui joked with the server as they rolled their eyes, placing down a bed of rice and a thick stew of green curry containing peppers and chicken. Even as his jokes were rebuffed and the waiter made off with Akarui's soup bowl still half full of chopped mushrooms, the young shinobi was not miffed. He was still simply happy to be eating good food in good company.

Humming to himself, Akarui took the thick spoon which stood upright in the thick green curry which sat before him in a bowl. With a singly graceful movement he evenly distributed the main portion of the stew-like sauce over his bed of rice, and the green coloring quickly began to be absorbed into the originally plain steamed rice. This time as Akarui took in a deep breath through his nose, he was greeted by a distinctly different symphony of smells from the soup he had eaten earlier. It was surprisingly different from the spicy, peppery smell which had burned itself into the wood of the restaurant; this green curry also contained a certain level of sweetness which, rather than clash with the definitive spiciness and meatiness, joined together with it to create an even more desirable smell and, Akarui hoped, taste. Akarui's humming became a whistle now as he retrieved a pair of chopsticks from his side of the table; the cheap bamboo kind which were so often thrown away after every meal. Indeed, bamboo would practically be useless on more than one meal of curry due to the intense color and flavor in every dish. Eyeing his dish hesitantly, Akarui tried his best to determine the best way to enjoy his meal. The first taste was the one which set the tone for the entire meal, after all. Then, Akarui remembered something. Looking up at Seiryu, he offered a friendly smile. He had been enjoying his meal this entire time, after all. This was merely the quiet portion.


1234 + 2982 = 4216

Training: