The sun rose in a pool of crimson and gold, spilling light all over the land. From freezing night, it turned to a warm and comforting day as the sun climbed towards its zenith. The sweet sounds of birds chirping, a cool gentle breeze, and small golden rays of the now risen sun entered the open window of Atsuya’s room. A new day had dawned and Atsuya’s gray eyes slowly opened. Before anything else the young Hyuga checked the alarm clock placed on the small table beside his bed. 6:12… It was still somewhat early especially considering that it was a weekend. He didn’t really have much to do today which was rare; usually he would have been making his way to a mission within twenty eight minutes, yet for the morning he had no plans… other than shopping in the market. Feeling himself fully woken from his slumber the male rolled out of his bed, stood up, and stretched in the direction of the sun just shining its warm golden light over the village. Morning groceries were something Atsuya quite enjoyed. Picking out fresh and raw ingredients that he would later turn into a delicious meal was no doubt enjoyable to anyone skilled in the culinary arts. After finishing his morning stretch he looked out the window to further inspect the weather. Looking up to the sky he saw high sunlit clouds which drifted across a clear blue sky. There was no need to bring an umbrella out, a fact which delighted the young man. Lately the weather seemed to be a little off; while he enjoyed a good windy weather more than any, he wasn’t too keen on rain as it delayed both training and missions alike.

Knowing the weather had taken a turn for the better the young man began his day. Atsuya walked through the opened door of his room and into the large, quiet, and empty hallway. It seemed as if everyone was still sleeping, a fact which somewhat delighted him. Holding a folded white kimono in his arm the young Hyuga walked through the hallways of the traditional Japanese house. While his father wasn’t the Hyuga head his family was still somewhat rich, as such their house was more of a mansion… competing with even that of the actual Hyuga clan head family’s house. Even with the large mansion only three people actually lived there. His aunt, his sister, and of course himself. Ever since the murder of his parents he wasn’t quite trusting of others anymore. Allowing servants from the branch house to sleep under the same roof as his sister or even be in the same house as her altogether was something Atsuya wasn’t so sure would be safe. After all their parents were murdered by branch family members, a fact which always sparked anger in his mind whenever thinking about the branch family. The young Hyuga entered the shower room and after a few minutes exited the room wearing the white kimono he previously held in his arms. Soon after taking a shower he grabbed an empty wooden basket just before leaving the quiet mansion.

With the empty basket held firmly in his left hand, Atsuya began his trek towards the market. Konoha was truly a sight to behold in the morning. The hardworking villagers were cleaning the streets, shopkeepers were just opening their boutiques, and a few shinobi seemed to be jogging around the village this early.  Atsuya couldn’t help but recall his first time buying ingredients; he was so worried that the shop his mother usually bought at wouldn’t be open, yet by the time he had reached the place the ingredients he needed were entirely sold out… he had to buy from a different and less high quality shop. Now, something like that would never happen to him; he was a regular at the shop and with the title came its perks. The sound of chimes filled the air when he entered the shop. While there was no door on the shop there was a door chime stationed at the entrance. Ever since he reached fifteen his head always managed to hit the bells whenever he entered… this would happen even when he would lower his head; it was almost like someone was lowering it on purpose to deliberately hit him… something which enraged him dearly. As per usual the shop was filled with multiple people, the store was nearly depleted of ingredients even if it had just opened. “Ah, Atsuya is that you?” a frail and old voice spoke; it was none other than the shopkeeper. “Yes it is. Good morning, Chiyo-sama.” Chiyo was one of the few people who Atsuya respected, yet she was rare as Atsuya respected her not for her combat skills... which as far as he knew were none, instead he respected her for her ability to cook and the always fresh, not to mention, high quality ingredients she sold… a feat which made her shop known as the best and most expensive ingredient shop around the village. “Good morning to you too. Just go on back, I’ll wait for you here.” With her permission the young Hyuga walked past the counter and towards a room in the back of the initial shop. Here was a room only accessible to a few people, a secret room which in a good portion of meat and all ingredients could be found… a secret room only regulars were allowed to enter. It was this room which allowed Atsuya to be lax about buying in the shop. There was once a time when he too was required to wake up at ludicrous times just to line up outside the shop and wait for it to open, when the time came whence he was allowed inside this room the young Hyuga was filled with joy. To this day he counted that moment in the top ten of his ‘happiest moment list’.

After filling the previously empty basket with everything he needed he was done. Making his way to the counter and seeing all the disheartened look on the leaving people who hadn’t woken up earlier and ran out of the ingredients they needed brought a slight happiness and enjoyment to him whilst he waited for the unbearably long line that had managed to reach outside of the shop to move.

1076

[ ooc: Sorry for taking so long! I'll to my best to keep up the pace from now on! ]

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It was just about seven in the morning when Ginza was finally walking out of Konohagakure no Sato's Hospital after a long night shift that had started the previous evening. Aside from the shift being rather long, nothing eventful had really taken place while he had made his rounds and helped out where he was needed at any certain time. Of course, lack of events had made the night drag along, so he was glad that he'd finally been freed from his tether of commitment at the hospital after being replaced by a coworker who, mind, had been another two hours late. But, at least he was being payed for the overtime that he did. That was the one good thing about working hours at the hospital, if you worked overtime you would be paid for it.

Giving a yawn as he exited the building, Ginza stopped for a moment to allow himself a moment to simply let the welcoming light of the sun grace him. He lifted his arms up lacing his hands together as he reached up to the sky stretching before beginning to move forwards. He'd showered and changed into his usual clothes in the locker room that was available to the staff of the hospital so he was crisp and ready for the day, barring the fact that he smelled like the hospital itself. Though, that wasn't unusual considering how many hours he had been putting in lately. Really, he'd be surprised if he ever didn't smell like the crisp sanitation of the hospital. However, being able to shower at the hospital at the very least had given him a second wind, and he knew that it was very likely that he wouldn't be sleeping until the night that was yet to come.

Arms crossed against his chest he began to simply walk through the village without a particular goal in mind, which was actually unusual for him. Perhaps it was because he'd not really gotten much sleep in the past week, living on only a couple hours a night, or day, if that. Tonight though he'd be able to get a good nights rest unless something came up that would disturb those plans of his. A rare smile passed over his face as he moved, happy on this fine morning that didn't seem to be marred by the odd damp weather that they had been having lately. However, outwardly this smile didn't last long, dropping to his usual impassive stare as he watched the village and villagers moving about.  It was good to see the large amount of activity that bustled around in the mornings like this one, and soon he'd found himself in the market district.

Perhaps he would have to gather some fresh produce for himself. It had been some time since he had the time to really sit down and cook something for himself. Lately he'd been living off of Teuchi's ramen most of the time, giving them reason to scold him. His last visit Teuchi had told him off for overworking himself because of the shadows that the man had seen under his eyes. The man worried too much about a shinobi like him, but he supposed that after the amount of ramen that he'd eaten over the last four years the man and his daughter probably considered him to be a friend. Friends were such odd concepts for the man who had lost everything, and he was reluctant to call anyone friend, though if he were truly honest he would have to say that he was rich in the very few that he had.

The blond came to pause at a stall that a farmer had set up for the day, looking at the fresh produce that the man had brought to sell. Picking up a plum he looked at the rich color before tossing the man some ryo and making off with some plums and peaches in a bag. Perhaps he would make some pie. He knew that Teuchi... and possibly Amaya would enjoy some. He'd have to bring his younger sensei at least a slice if that was what he made. His thoughts about pie were distracted though as a group of children ran passed him and directly into a man. The first child fell backwards and looked up at the man immediately moving to apologise in spite of it being clear that he had scraped his knee and likely twisted his ankle in the motion. The man didn't seem to want to hear it though and began to berate the child. Ginza sighed. He wasn't going to have any of that right now. His pleasant mood would be ruined if he allowed that man to strike a child who only looked to be academy age.

"They apologised. Are you really going to make this larger than it has to be?" Ginza scolded the man, eyes narrowing as he closed the distance between them, immediately reaching to take the wrist of the man who looked to be about to strike the child who was already on the floor. "They are children."

The man looked just about ready to hit him as well for stepping in, but Ginza shifted, allowing his hitai-ate that denoted his position as a Konoha shinobi, to shine from the sun enough to get the man's attention. When he noticed the silver head band that was connected to Ginza's belt color formed on his face and he angrily tore his hand away from Ginza's grasp and stomped away. Good. Ginza hadn't wanted to cause a fuss right now, and he would have probably broken the man's hand if he hadn't walked away. Kneeling, Ginza scooped up some of the dirt on the ground and molded it with his medical chakra, before swiping it over the kid's knee and ankle. This jutsu was more popular with kids because of it's 'dirty' nature, rather than the more sanitary ones that were in a typical medical shinobi's arsenal. "There you are. You'll heal up soon," He reassured the boy, as the kid looked up at him with wide eyes then back down at his leg likely because the stinging had stopped.

"Wow! Thanks mister!" The child grinned and the others that had been with him helped him up before they were darting off again. A small chuckle escaped Ginza as he watched after them, moving to stand, taking his bag with his fruits in his arms again, calling after them with a shake of his head. "Be more careful!" Ah the innocent lives of children. It was hard to believe that he had been like them once so long ago.

Chakra 135/150:

WC: 1141

A snake? Perhaps a dragon? That’s how long the line was… or at least how it felt. It was a shame there was no secret cashier register available only to that of the regulars of the shop. The time that he would have managed to save if there was such a thing could have been used to for training. Today was a day with no written purpose as of yet no plans, no mission, and nothing to do… of course that would only remain true for the day; the next day Atsuya was to start his part time job as a baker of sorts. It wasn’t as if he needed money, as a main family member money was never an issue even without his parents, instead the job simply came with the want to learn baking… it was something that he was to eventually do, so there was no point in delaying the inevitable. Luckily his aunt managed to land him a job as an apprentice of sorts to one of her few friends who owned a bakery. From the stories she told the man sounded like a proper teacher; needless to say he was quite excited for the next day to start.

It seemed like thirty minutes passed until finally the young Hyuga neared the counter; business was definitely blooming for this particular shop, much to the dismay of his patience which the shop seemed to have a tendency to abuse. For a short time period this would be his last visit in the shop; with his new ‘job’ he would have to wake up much earlier and be expected at work early in the morning. Being that he wasn’t exactly getting paid in his job Atsuya only had one thing to do and that was bake… or learn how to bake. Outside of baking first thing in the morning he was free to do what he wanted, whether that meant taking off early or staying the whole day was entirely up to him. For shopping fresh ingredients and such he would have to leave that chore for his aunt, a fact that slightly bothered him. Hanako Hyuga was a great human being and an even greater aunt… what she was not, however, was a good cook and Atsuya didn’t really know if being a bad cook also meant that she would be terrible at picking out ingredients, but he didn’t keep his expectations at a high position.

Finally reaching the counter the young Hyuga placed the basket filled with cooking ingredients over the counter. “That’ll be two hundred and sixty five ryo Atsuya.” As usual the prices were absurdly high. Had this shop been some cheap two bit market he would have been enraged… as he was the first time he bought from this shop, now though he knew better than that and handed the ryo without so much as a single hesitant movement.  “See you tomorrow Atsuya.” Sadly he wouldn’t be back here in quite a while. “I forgot to inform you that I’ll be having my aunt Hanako come in my stead. I’ve recently acquired a job as a baker, sadly the job comes with the requirement of working early mornings. Until we meet again Chiyo-sama.” With a respectful bow that said ‘farewell’ Atsuya left the shop with the basket of ingredients in hand. While not the most emotional of goodbyes it did feel like a huge change for the young Hyuga. Ever since the death of his parents he had been buying from the shop every morning, now this would be his final time doing so for a long time. It was small things like these that made him wonder how things around him were starting to change. Time was indeed a cruel yet beautiful thing. With such thoughts in mind he didn’t quite feel like going home just yet, he was in a somewhat philosophical mood and he didn’t want his mood to be spoiled by the likes of his aunt’s terrible puns.

Not having a particular destination in mind the young Hyuga simply walked around the village. Already Konoha was busy. A good amount of people were already walking the streets, much so than earlier. Something interesting was happening… or at least that’s what a gathered crowed suggested. Atsuya made his way through the crowd hoping to see what all the commotion was. Stopping at the front of the crowd Atsuya observed silently much like the others who had come to watch the commotion. A group of children, a blonde shinobi, and a middle aged man seemed to be the cause of the crowd. From the words that were said it seemed as if the middle aged man was nothing more than a perfectly good waste of breath. Soon after the man stomped his way to the crowd and eventually moved in front of Atsuya. “Who do you think you are?! Move you foo-“ Upon noticing his eyes… his white eyes the man stopped his words. The man knew what clan he belonged to, and from his actions it seemed as if he knew how strong the Hyuga were. Atsuya shot him a cold glare until he scurried off to bother someone else.

Soon after the scene ended the crowd disappeared like ants running from a body of water. Soon the people returned to their business and only the two shinobi were left standing around in the area. “Kind of you to help the poor child. It is a terrible shame the man didn't retaliate; it would have definitely be entertaining to watch such a fool be humiliated publicly. I'll be off now, see you whenever.” With the whole debacle out of the way, Atsuya returned to his other chores for the day.

-Exit-

2052

C-rank jutsu TWC: 1000/1000
C-rank jutsu  TWC: 1000/1000

Leftover WC: 52