It would be silly to even assume that Takashi had traveled all the way from Konoha without tea in his pockets. By the way, those pockets didn't even get checked at the main gate. What if some of these tea leaves or powders were illegal in Iwagakure? Maybe even the catnip was illegal here. But that would be too strict.
After arrival in Iwagakure and completion of his assigned mission, Takashi of course first visited the marketplace. There were so many smells he already knew! But there also were interesting new ones. He did buy some of them, but he wasn't going to experiment on any of his clients now.
Yes, Takashi had borrowed a stall from local trader and was using it to serve tea in Iwagakure's living quarters while the trader was resting and not using the stall. Takashi had lied out his pocket's contents on the wooden stall. Numerous kinds of leaves, powders (he also had mortar and pestle prepared just in case), and fresh fruit and berries. There also was metal kettle on the table, a pot of honey and a jar for tips (however Takashi was really nervous about having tip jar in a foreign Great Nation). Those three probably were easier to notice from afar. But Takashi had also hidden some stuff for only his sight. Cups for those who hadn't any. Bag of ice - for ice tea. Some bottles with unknown liquid. What Takashi did here was almost an art performance since he didn't see what he was doing exactly, he was using his smell to determine what ingredient he was holding.
His free service was used by many locals of living quarters. They were given both tea for relaxation, or for focus. Children were served something more sweeter, but those of old age sometimes got alcohol in their cups mixed with tea. No one ever left the stall unsatisfied. It was free tea after all.
Some of those who evaded Takashi's stall were those in rush or those who didn't want to comply with his set rules. For free tea you had to do these four rules:
1. Introduce yourself;
2. Tell me about yourself;
3. Tell me about your greatest adventure so far;
4. Bring your own cup! Describe it!
They were written on a little blackboard besides the kettle. The stall's owner wrote those, of course, since Takashi's inability had never allowed him to learn the art of writing. Takashi sometimes daydreamed about books, poems, haiku, documents and papers in general. He knew what paper felt like. It was really small. He also knew what ink smelled like. But how did the ink stained paper was unimaginable for the poor blind genin. Were those some kind of complex paintings that showed exactly what was described? But how would one then write ''love''? And what were numbers? Takashi knew how to count on his fingers (and even do some multiplication and dividing in his head), but he couldn't imagine how these numbers looked like.

The sun was shining bright, and most people probably would choose to have ice tea rather than a cup of hot tea. But hot tea warmed you up from inside, not from outside like sun did, so there was no harm to drink a steaming hot liquid. Holding onto the cup however was not too advised, since that would heat up the skin. And the tea didn't cool quickly. Small sips were the best approach today. Takashi reminded it to every client. He had no intention to make their day worse. He only wanted to share awesome and gripping discussions with everyone. Elderly had amazing stories from their youth. Takashi even hoped that some of his customers would return and grab the second cup, so he could hear more. Some did return. Some even brought a different cup. Some brought a larger cup so it could fit more tea. Most excited Takashi was when he spoke with Iwagakure's shinobi that told him about the different traditions they had. The tea vendor hoped to find more shinobi willing to taste his tea. It was good for their own health, both physical and mental.
708

The great bear man walked happily with his bear by his side, going for a casual walk around Iwa to pass the time of day.  He decided to switch it up today, and instead of his usual black jacket, wore one that was the exact same, but brown. The chain on his neck rattled as he looked from left to right, grinning as he surveyed the surrounding buildings and stalls. One in particular seemed to catch his eye. With a clear walk due to nobody particularly wanting to get in the way of a man walking side to side with a bear, he plods his way to a small little tea stand. He looked to the person standing at the stand but only for a moment before turning his attention to the sign. Such odd little rules… He turns to his bear, Debu, declaring rather loudly “Debu! Go fetch the drink holder! Meanwhile I shall answer this sign that must be important!”

Continuing to ignore the person running the stand, the big guy began reading the details of the sign. “Introduce yourself… I see! An important question from an important sign! I am Oki of the Kuma clan, the great bear of Iwagakure!” he declared, flexing his muscles to himself in an act of shameless bravado. Pausing for a second to bask in his own greatness, he then proceeds to read aloud the second part. “Tell me about yourself… Oh of course I shall! I, of the Kuma clan, have trained to become strong like bear! Together me and Debu, my companion bear that you surely witnessed leave, will become legends among the village, and show all the power of the bear!” He was liking this sign. It was asking about him, and that was always something he’d feel he had to oblige.

He hummed for a moment, deciding that the mere mention of a bear should explain himself plenty… On to the next request… “Tell me about your greatest adventure so far… Aha! Fantastic! Feast your ears upon this tale of glory, blackboard! So, I, along with Debu my lifetime friend, once had this great quest to embark upon, to truly make us proven within the Kuma clan… To do this, we were to fight! The winner would get an extra fish, the loser, humiliating defeat! Now, you may not know this, but bears truly are great sparring partners… The fight lasted for an entire day, the two of us beaten and bruised by the time of nightfall! But, poor Debu, he did not expect me to have one last trick! I grabbed my good friend by the back, and suplexed him into the ground! It was my first ever suplex of many, however in my foolishness I also bashed my head into the ground! Aha oh the look of fathers face! As a treat for both doing so well, we both got an extra fish! It was truly a momentous occasion!” he grinned, giving a thumbs up to the blackboard. He hadn’t even waited once for if someone was talking, and as such even if the poor tea stall owner had tried to say something to the cocky man, it was unlikely he’d have heard it over his own boasting. “I will answer the last when my good friend Debu returns with the drinking receptacle!”

557

Street was quite active. People were passing often, though they rarely stopped for a drink. Takashi saw the issue with it - tea wasn't something that you can order and empty the cup immediately for it's hot. You need to let it cool and take it slow. But suddenly Takashi's attention was taken by some sounds out of ordinary - chain rattling. Iwagakure's people didn't walk their pets in chain leashes. During the time he had worked here, he hadn't heard anything of this kind.

As this sound approached, the boy could feel that the owner of this chain was someone big in size. His feet were big and they really drove the sole in the earth. And this person also had a companion. With four feet. Takashi had no idea what it was, since it was something big as well. Maybe a big dog? Then he heard the word "Debu". Perhaps it was a pig? It would be acceptable to own pig as a pet, but it's still weird to walk it in a chain leash. Some might even say it's cruel. What if it's a circus animal? Since pigs aren't common pets, there could be a travelling circus in Iwa. That would also explain the hugeness of the person.

Takashi snapped out of this over-analyzing when the guy started to talk. It more seemed like he was talking to something else than Takashi. It obviously was Takashi running the stand and there was no one next to him. It felt like the guy was talking to the sign. And it also seemed like this pig-animal is now missing. Anyway, Takashi didn't plan to interrupt the speaker. Instead he was having great time listening. The speaker's name was Oki and he was from Kuma clan in Iwagakure. It's the first time Takashi has heard about it, and the name of clan made him doubt if the pig was really a pig. Of course, he didn't find an appropriate pause to ask about this companion Oki had. The only pause Oki took was to do something with his hands. Perhaps he was waving his absent partner.

Just when Oki continued to speak, Takashi felt like he was finally going to have a conversation. No, instead, Oki was just reading the sign, he wasn't actually inquiring about Takashi. Oki told about his ambitions - to become a bear. So his companion truly was a bear. Takashi wanted to ask ''what is a bear'' since he had never seen one. The biggest animal in Konoha he had ever witnessed was a bakeneko. And only from afar, so it was really hard to really describe what bakeneko looked like. Perhaps it was just a big cat with two tails (he had heard this from tales), but maybe there was more to it. Once again, Oki asked a question that was not dedicated to Takashi. Instead Oki even addressed the board upon which the questions were written. It made the tea-server feel insignificant. Nevertheless, the tale that Oki told was an amazing one. It was something of a story that other Nekomatas used to read to Takashi when he was little - a story about good friends that also were rivals, who in the end were put one against the other and they had to fight. It had a great ending though - they both were the winners in the end and they still are friends.

Finally Takashi built up enough courage to say something. It started rather awkwardly:"You're supposed to speak with me!" the boy tried to attract the big Oki's attention. Takashi didn't feel offended since Oki's story was amazing! But still, he wanted to have an after word with his customer:"Can you describe Debu to me while we wait for him? Your tea will be served when he returns, if you don't mind," this was clearly the case when Takashi needed to serve for two. He had the image of what to give Oki, but he still wasn't sure what Debu would like the most. Also, Takashi was really curious about Debu in general. What are the general differences of a bear and cat clan? But these questions he saved for later - to talk over tea.
726

Oki’s attention was suddenly caught. Someone, a person that Oki had completely failed to notice, was standing behind the stand. His voice was, to the obnoxious bear man at least, underwhelming, quiet. Still, his words sort of made an audible “Oh” come out of the bear ninja. So, this person was the one Oki was meant to have been talking to, not the sign? Whoops. In his defence, the person should have spoken up sooner! Oki totally left opportunities to do that with his constant speech and bragging. That was totally an accurate fact about the situation. After all, the bear man was clearly very considerate in how much he was talking! He only rambled on for several minutes. Still, he should really apologise for not noticing the stalls owner. Should. But didn’t. Instead, he shrugged, adding in his usual tone. “Replace the times I said sign with you then stranger with the quiet voice!”

With a rather hearty laugh, he then listened the stranger’s request. Describe Debu? Had he not seen the chubby bear? Of course, who was Oki to deny a chance to brag about his best friend? So, inhaling a large amount of air, Oki began his prattle of a speech. “Aha! You wish to know about my good friend?! Debu is like me, of the Kuma clan! Although unlike my handsome black fur, he is quite a caramelly colour. Although I will add, he has quite the distinctive white blotch on both his belly and his nose, the little guy!” he laughed at his recollection and explanation of his good companion, patting his belly in emphasis as he continued to the next point “Furthermore, he is quite fat! He prefers the word chubby, but either way, he has even more of a belly than me! The foolish bear just cannot stop himself if there’s even a chance of snacks and fish, you know, as bears do!” He would go on, repeating himself every now and again, stating various aspects of bears in general rather than specifically Debu, although over exaggerating at nearly every point, and in some cases changing ‘facts’ that he’d said just moments prior. It wasn’t that he was stalling for time until Debu arrived. It was just that he was a… Passionate man. And so minutes of something that the person out of character will not subject you to passed, eventually leading to something that’d probably be a great thing; Debu showing up, and Oki shutting up. The bear plodded its way towards the duo, a container that looked more like a tankard than a tea cup with it, handle in its mouth.

“Aha! He has arrived!” cried Oki, picking up the bear with two hands and lifting him up. “Meet Debu, the little guy!” of course, Debu wasn’t little. Quite the opposite in fact, since his age was still young, yet here he was, weighing in at nearly two hundred kilograms! Debu, being the smarter of the two, took one look at the man at the stall, particularly focusing on his eyes. With a nod, the bear noticed a lack of focus in the stranger’s eyes, straight away assuming he was blind. Of course, Oki didn’t know this, and Debu couldn’t speak, so, that wasn’t going to mean anything realistically.

548 + 557 = 1105

Finally Takashi received some direct attention from his customer. Oki Kuma seemed like a polite man - his tone changed to a little softer when he first noticed Takashi. Obviously - an interaction with a fellow human was more sincere than interaction with a wooden sign that just dictactes the rules (although it seemed like Oki was enjoying the conversation with the sign).

When asked about Debu, Oki responded nicely. Takashi was very satisfied of the details Oki gave. Now Takashi had the idea of Debu's color, ears, nose, paws and other tiny details that made little sense to Takashi, since he had never met a bear before. And adding ''the little guy'' made Debu sound like someone really cute. Though perhaps the term ''little'' was inappropriate here, since Oki also let Takashi on a secret that Debu is actually quite a gourmet who rarely can deny himself a snack or a fish.

It was Debu approaching the tea stall. Actually, it could have been just a regular customer, but Takashi's customers don't weigh so much that they make a small tremble on each step. When the bear finally arrived, Oki even went through the introductions by lifting up his little bear friend and letting Takashi see him over the counter. Of coures, Takashi didn't see anything, but nevertheless he smiled and waved a little hello, unsure if the bear even was facing him. Although Takashi still heard something making a rasp sound from the little one's mouth. It must be a cup for Debu himself.

The idea of Debu bringing a cup for himself seemed so appealing to Takashi that he now ignored Oki and stepped out of stall go get even closer to the bear cub. "Heey there!" he felt like a child meeting a puppy, he extended his open hand and waited for the animal to get comfortable, instead forcing the touch. "I'm guessing you have something for me," Takashi was still smiling and looking at the bear. He wanted to get that cup Debu was holding on to. Taking it by force was definitely not an option. And during this close up meet with the bear, Takashi also had a more specific idea of what to serve the bear.


"You also have one more thing to answer," Takashi wanted to note, since Oki could be carried away when he understood that Takashi is supposed to be the vendor here. The water was boiling and the tea was ready to be prepared upon receiving an appropriate cup. Takashi's favourite part of this job wasn't talking with people (it was the second best part). It was serving them. Most people in the world haven't even tasted a genuinely good cup of tea in their lifetime. And their verbal expressions are so unique upon getting finding out that something so ordinary can be so good and pleasing. Takashi haven't served a bear before, so he was especially eager for this occasion. Ninnekos could speak and appreciate his tea, but this case was very special, since Debu would have to express in some other way.
523

Debu the bear, confused by why someone was talking to him in such a way or holding his hand out in front of them, simply looked back to Oki with a gesture of confusion. They were a ninja bear after all, so, being treated like a normal animal was just… Weird to it. Still, Debu assumed this stranger would have an odd personality. After all, as far as the bear could guess from the dilation of his eyes, the man was blind. Unsure of what to do, the bear looked back to its larger companion, Oki, who simply shrugged. Not having a clear way to act in the situation, Debu simply decided to roll with it, leaning forward and pushing his head against the hand of the blind man. While doing so, the bear opened its mouth, the large tankard dropping onto the stall with a clatter. It rolled in place for a brief moment, but otherwise remained where it had dropped. With a nod and a smile, the large bear man prepared to give his speech of an answer, Debu meanwhile simply letting out an audible yawn.

“The great drinking vessel that me and Debu share is a wonderful tankard gifted to me by my mother, to get into the family traditions of how best to enjoy a good drink! It is crafted with a fine pine wood, tipped with a steel hard enough that the tankard alone could be used as a weapon! Although I can assure you it never gets used as such! Ah, and of course, how could I forget! At the tip of its illustrious handle, there is a carving in the shape of a bears head! After all, we are the Kuma clan, and our pride is the most prideful you will ever find!” at this, the bear man began laughing once more, not having any idea why he was asked to describe the drink container but relishing the chance to brag nonetheless. After all, he was quite the cocky pain in the ass. Although, despite all of his bragging, there was always a bit of… Twisted truth. Not intentionally. Just from stupidity. In this case, it was the tankard not being used in fights. Were Takashi to grab the tankard by anything that isn’t the handle, he would find a large dent in the container. The story behind this particular dent of course, being that Oki once got in a drunken argument with his mother, and the duo decided the best way to settle it, was with a good old fashioned duel. Only instead of it being a normal duel, like a spar, they battled with their beverages as weapons. Like one would use a sword. Only with alcohol. Yes, Oki was an early drinker. Don’t question it.

Putting his pet bear back down on the floor, Debu rather unceremoniously flopped on the ground, having had enough attention. It didn’t really care about what was going on, especially so with Oki’s antics. After all, he was quite a pain to put up with.

510 + 1105 = 1615

Takamura was returning back home, loaded with a month’s worth of shopping. As he liked to take of as much work as possible off his mother’s hands, he also knew that his training and hobbies needed time, so he liked to do the minimum amount of shopping trips possible. So, he would buy as much as he could carry at the start of the month and leave the rest of the month with one less worry. It also served as bit of heavy roadwork in Takamura’s mind albeit that was up for debate on how effective it was. As he was making his way through the bustling streets as fast as he could, which was not much; his eyes picked up a new vendor among the usual merchants. He practically knew every merchant that set up stalls here and he was sure that that stall had never sold tea and the man behind the counter was a new face. As he passed closer by it, he could see that it was apparently offering free tea for a few “rules”. “Hmm, now that’s a good offer; Just in exchange for a good story and bringing my own cup. Can’t say no to free.” He thought to himself as he plowed on, deciding on coming back after he rids himself of his heavy load. Soon enough, he sorted out the shopping and put them in their respective cabinets.

Cooking some quick Red Miso soup for himself and his mother, He wolfed it down; Not wanting to be too late and let the free Tea run out and end up missing on such a good offer. Taking a quick bath and changing into a fresh pair of knee length slacks and orange floral shirt, he took out a stone tankard from the kitchen and set out to go back to the tea stall. Takamura soon made his way to the stall, noticing a hulking figure that seemed to be currently occupying the stall too. He could also see that this figure had what seemed to be a pet bear. Not really in the mood for causing trouble, he approached the vendor directly. Takamura would then lay down the Tankard on the stall, waiting for the vendor to be able to attend to him before he would start speaking about himself and his Tankard.

[390]

Takashi expected Debu to pass the cup into his hands. Instead, Takashi felt a soft and furry muzzle and a wet nose. It surprised Takashi, he didn't expect a loyal Kuma member to get friendly that soon with someone from a Nekomata clan. But perhaps the animals weren't all that different. The bear was just a few times bigger and it didn't purr. Takashi didn't even know which animals purred and which didn't. Although he also loved fish, he had never made friends with one to check if they also purred. Maybe it would become his new calling after he becomes the best tea vendor in the five great nations.

Takashi didn't have to wonder where the cup went, because a metallic sound hitting the stall's counter alerted him. This wasn't exactly a cup though. Maybe it was an ancient one made out of metal instead of ceramic material. But when Oki started describing it - it all made sense. It was a Kuma clan's special cup. Tankard to be precise. It was huge and could contain quite alot of liquid. It was reasonable, since Oki was a big guy. The metal layer of cup was a little issue too - some herbs do react with metal and it ruins the taste. But a more serious and unforeseen problem then approached - the tea was to be shared between Oki and Debu. They were great friends, so they would be okay with it, but Takashi had planned something different for both.

What Takashi had intented for the duo first was a black tea with moderate amount of whiskey for Oki and forest berry tea with honey layer for Debu. What was Takashi to do now? Somehow try to mix the two or choose just one? Whiskey could be potentially dangerous to a bear. Takashi just didn't know enough about bears and it was too late to ask. His clients were waiting to be served. In fact someone else approached at this moment. It was someone local, perhaps even someone who Takashi has served before. The boy didn't remember the footstep sounds of casual people. So he couldn' tell who it was - it could be Vairis, Juris or even Ritvars - this guy was especially surprised of effect that the green tea gave him.

But the approaching guy was not a regular after what he did. He placed his cup on the stall's counter too. It was too big and heavy for a regular customer. It was even heavier than the metal one. It could be made out of thick layer of ceramic or even stone for all Takashi knew. But the vendor's job was to be done here, he politely said while facing the direction where his new customer could be standing:"Hello! I will need you to wait a little. You can prepare your answers while I pour tea to these gentleman," Takashi cringed a little, since Debu could be offended by getting called a gentleman. He was clearly a gentlebear, but Takashi had to continue the formalities:"You can tell us your story while they enjoy their tea!" it seemed like a good idea to Takashi since both Oki and the new customer were using a heavy tankards. They could be rivals for all he knew. Wouldn't it be interesting to get along while drinking tea.

For this idea to work out, Takashi decided to combine the both tea recipes he had in mind for his first customers. He took the metal tankard and placed it in front of him. While handling it, he also noticed the carving of bear's head that Oki mentioned. Takashi dragged his finger couple of times over it and was convinced that it truely was a miniature replica of bear's head. Now, for the tea - first Takashi lied down some fresh leaves and berries in the tankard. He then proceeded to pour in the hot water. He wasn't sure how much water it could contain, therefore after a half liter of boiling water, he stopped and took the tankard in his hand to check how full it was. Luckily, it still had much free space. Takashi now lowered his hands behind the counter, uncorked something and added it to the tea. It was whiskey - Takashi had decided to take a risk and allow Debu the taste of it. After placing the tankard back on the counter, Takashi stirred the liquid and added more hot water. The cup was now full, the only thing that was left was to remove the leaves and berries using a spoon.

"Here you are!" with a smile on his face Takashi announced and pushed the tankard near the edge of the stall. "You ought to wait it to cool. I mean, you are interested in the tales of this young gentleman?" he was clearly referring to the next customer. The tea was hot enough to make them wait long enough. The whiskey could make them more interested and encourage Oki to ask questions. The taste of berries should and scent of nature should appeal to both of them.
863

Oki laughed, taking back the tankard rather happily, the liquid within barely keeping inside as he moved the drink rather with an abundance of joy. Stepping back from the stall to allow the other person to get closer, Oki took a deep, animalistic sniff of the drink. Something about it smelt… Strong. Strange, since as far as the bear man was aware, tea didn’t tend to have a super strong scent, aside from that of tea leaves. He hummed for a moment, deciding to take a step back and listen to the story of the stranger as he enjoyed his tea. Of course, he had no intention of leaving it to cool down. After all, he was Oki, the best idiot of Iwagakure! So, without even waiting, the bear man took a large glug of the tea… Followed by jumping up and down on the spot, rubbing at his tongue in pain and letting out a sound that, were someone not looking, could mistake it for an injured creature. Rubbing his tongue with his left hand, Oki looked around, pretending it had never happened.

He leant down low, offering the drink to his pet bear. Debu, looking up at Oki, could tell in an instant it was too hot, unsure of what the blended smell was and not altogether being comfortable with the idea of drinking an unknown. Regardless, Oki seemed fine outside of his idiocy, so the drink couldn’t have been that bad. Deciding to be the sensible of the two, Debu began blowing on the drink, like a person would with soup that’s too warm, before lapping a bit up with its tongue. The duo continued this almost comical way of drinking, standing there and watching, listening to the strangers stories and talking. Although from an outside perspective it seemed like the duo were growing… Flushed? A strange thing to happen from tea…

315 + 1615 = 1930

“I’ll take Iced Tea, If you will.” Takamura added whilst he moved his Tankard over to the Vendor, seeing as it was his time to order. Seeing as both the vendor and the man next to him where waiting for him to introduce himself and tell his story. "Well, err…I am Hattori Takamura, recently made genin of Iwagakure” he began, pointing to the headband that was tied around his shirt’s short sleeve. “I guess that means I hail from the Hattori Clan. My clan holds no Kekkei Genkai, so all my abilities come from training.” He said, unsure if to continue on that line of thought or move to the next question. Not really knowing what else to say about his Clan, he promptly moved to the next question. “Well, I am a Taijutsu…specialist I guess? Maybe more of a practitioner, I am not that good to be considered a specialist yet.” He said, regretting not thinking of something as he was making his way here. “I also am a Cook at the Rising Sun Tavern. My family owns it.” Takamura continued “In fact, the tankard you hold right now was made by my 5th-great grandmother. She was a Rokkaku and she made all the cups and plates we use in the tavern herself using her Kekkei Genkai. What you hold in your hands is probably the oldest and toughest Tankard in Iwagakure.” Takamura added. It was one of those random things that he knew and he never thought it would ever come in handy.

Noticing he had skipped a question, he gave the white board another glance to put himself back in track. “Now, In terms of my greatest adventure.” Takamura pondered as he fell into deep thinking. “It has to be New Year’s eve, a year back at the hot Springs!” he said as he jerked upwards and a wide grin opening on his face. “I have literally climbed a mountain and I still say that the view I have seen on that day, literally breathtaking.” He continued as he started into nothingness, remembering the “view” as trickle of blood began slowly making its way steadily from his nose. “I can remember it as if it was yesterday. Infact, I see it every time I close my eyes.” Takamura seemed to be in a state of bliss, phased out to the point where any questions directed at him would go past his head. After reminiscing a bit more, still oblivious to the steady stream of blood that was dripping all over the floor; Takamura shifted his gaze back at the Vendor. “You would be surprised how fast someone with big boobs can run when they are pissed.” He said, shaking his head sadly. “And they can hit pretty hard; Had to crawl my way back home.” He continued, cringing as he remembered the crushing pain “Still, best night of my life. Had to cut back a bit though, barely had time to enjoy myself lately with becoming Genin and all. Still have to be assigned a squad though.” He said with a frown. All this talking was making him thirsty and he couldn’t wait for that cold tea to be ready.

[390 + 530] = [920]

"Wait for it to cool," Takashi silently commented the absurd actions of Oki. It was already too late to shout it loud. Hopefully his client won't leave a bad feedback and scare off other customers. Nevertheless, there were no tea splashes on the ground or a tankard flying at Takashi's face, so it was safe to assume that the tea was being enjoyed by one of them at least. Those quiet puffs of air coming totally meant that they were now cooling the tea.

Without an invitation to place an order, the next customer did it anyway. An iced tea. Yeah, Takashi had prepared a bag of ice, but he didn't take orders. No idea if this customer expected to get the tea firsthand, but Takashi just stared over the counter and waiting for answers. Hopefully, directed at him this time instead of the wooden board. Probably confused by Takashi's inactivity, this person finally introduced himself with some stuterring in beginning. Takamura Hattori. Obviously, Takashi hadn't heard of Hattori clan. But thankfully Takamura elaborated on that. A taijutsu user.. Takashi was kind of jealous of people who could dive in hard hand to hand combat. Takashi has never been very good at it.
Takamura kept on revealing interesting facts about himself. He was a chef, apparently. Then he must really be looking forward a great tea. He also handed a heavy tankard to Takashi. The tankard that Oki used was heavy and big, but this was even mightier. Takashi placed it on the counter with a small bash to feel it's weight and material resonating in the air. Apparently, it was made out of stone. Weird material for a chef's favorite cup. Especially since the minerals in stone can react with contents of the tea. The adjectives Takamura provided for this tankard also added importance to this container.
Like an obedient child, Takamura proceeded to share his most cherished adventure with Takashi (and possibly Oki and Debu, though it was unknown how focused they were on the right now. They might as well be gone now - Takashi was very immersed in the tale that was about to be told by Takamura). His greatest adventure happened in hot springs. Yeah, hot springs were definitely an enjoyable place. Takashi too had a run-in with his good friend Kashizudoto there. Takamura apparently visited some foreign hot springs with great scenery. It was known term to Takashi, however he had never seen a scenery. But he knew that people like to go places to have a great view. Thankfully, it didn't affect Takashi. But apparently, a good scenery could be compared to someone's greatest adventure. It didn't make Takashi feel down (like some might think when speaking about great sights), instead Takashi just loved to feel that joy emitting from Takamura who at first was even a little confused. This was a proof that person can change greatly when asked about his best memories.
Takashi too tried to close his eyes at this point. To imagine something. Of course, he failed, he had no vision at all. And this little try made him lost in Takamura's story. It was about scenery just a sentence back, but now the boy was speaking about some kind of brawl. It probably wasn't a brawl as impressive as Oki's, but it's fine with Takashi if it's a good memory.

"Hi Debu!" sounded somewhere nearby. It wasn't Takamura's voice and it certainly wasn't Oki's. This day just got even busier if this guy will be another customer. Oh, this was getting interesting and Takashi wanted to see how these current events will unfold. "Excuse me for a bit!" he said and started to mess with his things behind the stall. He just wanted to delay things a bit and make it appear like he is preparing ingredients for Takamura's tea cup.
Upon being greeted by, Takashi politely answered "Good day!" This newcomer continued to greet everyone else (although Takashi wasn't sure if he was being greeted first). After a while of waiting in line, a question erupted. Yes, he did miss stories. But those stories weren't meant for him in the first place. Takashi almost got jealous in his answer:"Yeah, you did in fact. But I don't trade stories. I grant tea," Takashi didn't explain the functioning of his stall any further. The wooden sign should be easy enough to notice. However, this guest wasn't patient, just like Takashi hoped for. He attempted to make quiet reply regarding Takashi's inability. Obviously, this inability had granted Takashi a better hearing (and his roots in Nekomata clan too had a part in his enhanced hearing). Takashi restrained to answer this. It was actually impressive for someone to notice that Takashi is blind when the boy in fact was doing some stuff with ingredients behind a stall and facing down - which made it hard to notice his missing bloodvessels in his eyes. This made Takashi very curious about the next 4 answers he was about to get. Although he was about to get three, because this guest didn't bring his own cup. Of course, it was no problem:"You do get a tea. Under certain circumstances, of course!" Takashi still didn't want to reveal his curiousity and just hoped that this impoliteness wouldn't scare away his customer. 'Just look at the sign!' Takashi prayed and accidently even tapped on the sign to bring some attention to it.

And then Takashi finally started making Takamura's cup of tea. It was going to ice tea. Yeah, it seemed like Takashi was no fulfilling an order, but the point of this was to sastify the customer. There was no point in making a delicious cup of boiling hot tea if Takamura would just spill it in Takashi's face. At least he didn't have to boil any extra water. He used the leftovers in kettle when he poured the water for Kumas. For this water had already cooled a little bit. It was uncommon to start with water instead of ingredients. This tactic was used when you needed to make the beverage taste better in the beggining (this drink was going to be tasted by a chef and first impression meant it all). "Soo.. do you know where to get linden flowers around here?" he inquired to the chef, who should know at least something about local herbs. It wasn't a common ingredient for food, so it wouldn't be a surprise if Takamura had no idea. But it was worth to give it a try. Linden flower tea was something that everyone should taste. And who else would serve it better than Takashi?
Continuing with the tea, Takashi next added a whole variety of citrus fruit leaves. He also squeezed some orange juice in the cup and added some spices like cinammon and ginger. After this Takashi didn't stir the tea but instead just dropped in four small ice cubes. "You should keep hanging around. I have a hunch that this gentleman has a wonderful story to tell us!" of course this was a tactical advantage. He wanted to get praised by a professional chef. It would be honor if Takamura would ask for tips how to make great tea. And if Takamura would focus on this next tale, he would miss that this tea begins to taste more like water near the end.
1265

The redness of the bear and bear man’s cheeks grew more intense. Suddenly, as if it had been drugged, Debu just rolled onto its back, legs up in the air, and began moving as if it was walking. Of course, Debu didn’t go anywhere. But right now, Debu was on an adventure of his own. A drunken bear on a mission. A mission to fly. Of course, drunken stupidity meant that in reality, Debu was just lying on its back flailing its legs around. Oki meanwhile was less subtle. As Yusuke, the genin he’d recently done a mission with, said hi, Oki waved, then finished off the tea in a swig, head tilted back. A grin spread across his face as he stood there, swaying from side to side slightly, although in his mind, he was still as a rock. It was an interesting story by this oddly dressed person, although the drunken sixteen year old couldn’t figure out why his nose was bleeding. But then, there was something he said that just… Twigged with Oki. Something that seemed to anger the drunken fool, drunk without knowing he was taking alcohol, might it be added.

The strongest tankard in Iwagakure?

With a roar, Oki pointed his now empty tankard towards the stranger, as if wielding it like a weapon. Stance in an almost parody of a professional fighters stance, his voice raised to a thundering bellow, echoing through the dusty pathed streets “You! You believe that *hic* that your tankard is the strongest?! Prove! *hic* Prove it! Have at *hic* have at *hic* have at you!” was the large man’s warning, before, stumbling with his steps, swinging his tankard down in an arc towards… The left of the stationary man, eyes darting around like a chameleon… As in, who knows which way this guy was looking, so taken over by the alcohol. With a laugh, he cried out mid swing “Boy! This tea *hic* tea is great!” tumbling forwards onto the floor and… Falling asleep. That’s right. The giant behemoth of a man was in fact… A total light weight. Figures.

351 + 1930 = 2281

“Blind? I Hope not, He is making my tea.” Takamura whispered back to the new customer as he slowly he made his way back to reality from his “view”. “And in terms of stories, sorry mate but I just finished mine.” He continued, as he took out a what seemed to be a really lacy oversized handkerchief from his right pocket “Ohh, so that’s where I left them.” He muttered to himself. “You can keep a secret right?” he said with a grin to Yanagi. Putting back the “handkerchief” in his pocket, he took out a packet of tissues as slowly cleaned his nose, which by this rate has made a sizeable pool beneath where he was standing. He turned back his attention to the stall keeper, who seemed to be enquiring about where he could find some flowers. He didn’t catch the name of the flowers but he made an educated guess. “You won’t be finding anything but wild mountain flowers here, that’s the only thing that can grow in such rocky and dry conditions; So you probably are out of luck.” Takamura said. This was in fact true, as through the multiple runs and climb he made around Iwagakure; he would rarely see any plant life.“You might find something close to it from the merchants that pass through here, that’s where I get most of my herbs and spices at least. Those are the main source of “exotic” products if you will; Though most of them are just exotic to Iwagakure, which is not saying much.” He continued with a shrug as took a sip from his tankard. The cool liquid washed down Takamura’s throat, cooling him down. That’s all that mattered to him. He was turning around to face the newcomer when he noticed that Oki was giving what he assumed was some sort of intimidating scowl albeit from Takamura’s vast experience of scowls the second he would get caught peeping, this one would rank really low. He took another sip of the cool tea when Oki started to drunkenly talk, Takamura barely catching most of his words.

As soon as Oki took a step towards him, Takamura panicked and tried to put a bit of distance between him and the drunken oaf to at least put himself in a stance where he could counter any of the man’s blows. As soon as he took a step back, his foot skidded uselessly on the blood pool that he had left behind, putting him off balance. Takamura would have been able to do some kind of roll or athletic maneuver had he had he put the tankard down. Unfortunately, he still had in grasped firmly in his left hand. Not wanting to spill the good tea, He practically ended arching his back, his body protesting to this harsh treatment when he was supposed to be relaxing from the break. With his mug held high in his left hand, he ended up into a kind of a bridge position, his head hitting the ground as his right hand kept the rest of his body from hitting the ground. Thankful that not a drop was spilled from his tankard, that relief was slowly turned into fear as he awaited some powerful strike from the drunken oaf.  In such a position he would get utterly destroyed! He got up with as much grace as possible to at least try to face him. To his surprise he found Oki fast asleep to his feet. Turning towards, the newcomer; Takamura said ”Please, Don’t let that stop you from sharing your story”. He put the tankard on the stall as he slowly dusted himself, trying to hide his embarrassment. “Guess I will have to train harder.” He thought to himself.

[920 + 640] = [1560]

Debu's funny actions went unseen by Takashi. He would've enjoyed the little circus performance. Though the attention from Debu was removed anyway for a bear's roar emerged from Oki. It was full of competitive anger and rage. It made Takashi even shiver a little. As the situation appeared to be tense, and Oki's threats were serious ones, the tea vendor got ready to protect his stall. Actually, the real stall owner would just kill Takashi if the stall was destroyed. Nobody could see that Takashi had already cast ram and rat signs behind the counter, ready to cast boar sign too to perform a genjutsu on Oki. Thankfully, the need didn't arise when an obvious sound of a heavy object hitting the ground informed Takashi that Oki is already on the ground without the help of a genjutsu.

Before being attacked by Oki, Takamura managed to answer the questions about linden flowers. Apparently, linden trees indeed were a rarity in The Land of Earth. It's shame, Takashi is running low on stocks and he still isn't used to Iwa's marketplace. Maybe a tour would help fix that. "Where do you buy your ingredients? Local market?" Takashi inquired. "What can you tell me about the local marketplace? Maybe you could even offer me a tour of some sort?" the strategy of getting know locals started working just fine. If only his stall would become more popular amongst the rich class, he could extend his tea franchise in other great countries as well.

Next customer in line started with a rather interesting remark. But as Takashi said previously - he only grants tea. It was a shame that he wasn't a story collector. But those stories truly was the part he was looking the most forward to during his working hours. The tip jar that filled too slowly didn't bug Takashi too much. A good story was a sufficient payment.
Of course, this very same payment was being demanded from the next customer. However, first Takashi was presented with an analysis of with the most recent events in front of stall. So, this newcomer did indeed figure out that Takashi was blind, but he didn't foresee that other Takashi's senses were good enough to understand the situation. The only surprise Takashi wasn't aware of was Debu's situation. A cub laying on his back and attempting to walk? It must be a hilarious sight! These merry times were when Takashi felt the most bitter because of his disability.
Anyway, the speaker finally introduced himself as Yanagi Yosuke. An orphan and a genin - those were the similarities Takashi immediately noticed. Next, Yanagi also provided some insights of what he wanted to get. It kind of made Takashi's way easier, but also duller. Then he proceeded to tell Takashi of a mission he had gone to with Oki. So the two really were acquintances. Perhaps squad mates even! An idea popped in Takashi head - Yanagi should get something very similar to what Oki was enjoying. Of course Takashi's offered plastic cups couldn't contain as much whiskey as was provided for the big Kuma. But then Yanagi provided more information about the size of Oki and himself. It was now starting to be embarassing. You don't have to only rely on sight to get a general information on people. Over the years, Takashi has developed a fine sense of hearing of voice's source - it was easy for the the blind boy to tell height of people. And their size of muscles (and heart) could be easily told by their actions and personality. Oki obviously had a big body and a heart to support it. However, just after finishing his speech, Yanagi also noted that he doesn't want alchohol. That was an unfortunate turn of events.

Strong scent required black tea. The boiled water soon was being coloured in a brown pigment, but it wasn't enough to bring out Takashi's full potential. He then added some spices that really enhanced the scent and didn't meddle with taste much. They also easily dissolved in the tea leaving no chunks in the cup. Lastly Takashi added two spoons of sugar and ginger. After mixing it thoroughly and removing the tea leaves in bottom, the tea was ready to be handed to Yanagi. "Here you go. It's less than those two had, but let me tell you a secret - " Takashi leaned in focusing on the last place he had heard Yanagi speak from, turning his head away from the sound of snoring Oki and placing a open palm in front of his mouth, so the sound is more muffled. Hoping that Yanagi also leaned forward a bit, Takashi revealed the secret:"Your's is better," he then leaned back with a smile on his face.
818

Slowly, roused from its drunken haze by the barrage of sound and cluster, Debu rolled back onto its feet, clearly not a happy looking bear. Stumbling in its lumbering steps, the juvenile brown bear, Iwagakure forehead protector hanging from its neck, took a single, angry slash at the wooden stall, leaving a single scratch mark, before walking over to its big loaf of a companion, glaring at any person standing in between and making its way regardless of anyone intervening. Grabbing the large man by the leg, teeth sinking into his hairy skin, the bear began pulling away, walking backwards, Oki leaving a rather comical drag mark behind him, face bouncing up and down on random rocks in the path that Debu dragged him. Not that any of this woke him from his drunken slumber of course, Oki right now being nothing more than a sleeping beauty… Or something like that.

It would take a long time for the poor bear to drag the slumber fool back home, but the task was done regardless. Oki’s face, scratched massively, would likely take a bit to recover. Or would, if his father wasn’t good at first aid. That was how things were at home for him after all. His father, the better medic. His mother, the better fighter. A perfectly normal home life. Although this information is rather meaningless, and this fourth wall break only further adds to the word count. Regardless of the tangent, the bear, Debu, had dragged Oki home.

250 + 2281 = 2531
[EXIT]

Training:

(OOC Exiting thread because Oki is fast out, and it’s either that, farm WC, or be skipped, and Oki didn’t really have much more plot he could get out of, or add to, this thread)

Takashi seemed unhappy with Takamura’s answer; well, at least with the fact that he wouldn’t be finding what he needed in the wild. "Well, in terms of ingredients; I mostly buy from the market at the start of the month; That’s when you get the freshest meats and spices and as an added bonus most out of city traders come in the first week of the month. In terms of the local market place, it’s a pretty normal market place I reckon; Never seen another one except it.” Takamura said, scratching the back of his head. He honestly never went out of Iwagakure; He never had the opportunity nor the need to. He was hoping that once he was assigned to a Squad, at least a mission would give him an opportunity to see at least a neighboring village in the land of earth. "I mean the landscape of the market changes from month to month, not really much I can tour you to, I’m sure you can figure it out yourself with little to no problem. Even If I wanted to, right now I’m a bit busy with the tavern and training; but-” Takamura stopped here, as if to make sure he wanted to continue with what he was going to say. He was not lying, he was really busy and not making some lame excuse. Yet, this tea seemed pretty great and he didn’t want to be an arse and refuse to help him. Taking in a breath, he continued. "If you find yourself really lost, I might be able to find some time to give you some help.” With that, he turned respectfully to Yanagi to listen to his story, hoping that he wouldn’t have to keep that promise. Takamura tried to look as interested as possible in the Yanagi’s story but in reality his mind was slowly drifting to thoughts about training and other “important things”; well at least for Takamura that is. He already had quite heavily on his favorite pastime especially with is mother on high alert after he was caught 3 times in a week. His eagerness was making him a bit sloppy yet he knew that it was better to lay low. Or was it? It was just making him more eager so wouldn’t that make him even more sloppy. These thoughts and others like them moved through his mind as Yanagi narrated his story.

As he thought hard on his predicament, Takamura lay with his elbow resting on the stall’s polished wooden counter, the other hand holding the heavy tankard tankard; a feat that betrayed Takamura’s level of strength. He occasionally sipped it and it was slowly getting lighter and lighter albeit Takamura was too lost in thoughts to be feel the strain the tankard put on his arm, so much so that the remarks that Takashi might have spiked Oki’s drink were completely unheard and so did his exit with his bear companion. He put his tankard to his lips once again and silence took over around him. It looked like Yanagi had finished and so had his tea. "Wow, that disappeared down quickly” he said to Takashi. He also noticed that it had cooled him down pretty well too and he was not sweating as much as when he had arrived. He hasn’t felt this relaxed in some time. “Would you be inclined to give me a refill for another story?” Takamura said as he turned fully towards Takashi and raised his empty tankard and did his best not to come off as rude. He never ordered tea before, especially free tea. Well, it was worth the risk to prolong this cool and relaxing feeling. In less than a few days, he will be in a squad on a mission and thus he will have to train harder to be able to meet the exceptions of his sensei, whoever that will be; He must make sure to impress him if possible.

[1560 + 665] = [2225]

Oki's state was something Takashi hadn't foreseen. Now he even regretted adding whiskey to the tea. Its purpose was to make the customer feel more at ease not make him braver than he usually is. And the worst part of this is that when Oki wakes up hangover, he is probably going to curse Takashi.
And then Debu started to act up (or maybe it was Oki crawling, but it is clarified later on) - the bear with a slow unstable walk approached the stall and made an attempt at breaking the wooden planks that held the structure together. From the sound of it - his attempt did leave a mark. Takashi was left a little confused - the hateful anger should come to a person (or animal, though Takashi had previously seen (not literally) only drunk cats and no bears) when provoked. Oki seemed to have a good time bragging about his tankard, and Debu was obviously enjoyed himself too, from what Yanagi had explained, thus it made Takashi question himself - where had he gone wrong.
The sound of dragging and ocassional moans when his face hit a rock, drew a perfect image of what was happening next, in Takashi's head. At least the two wouldn't bother the customers further on.

On the other hand, conversation with Takamura was going well enough. Takashi wasn't provided with any secrets that only the best chefs may know, but then again - Takamura was a chef, not a supplier. Perhaps, if Takashi had asked for more specific details, Takamura could've provided more specific answers. Like - who was the best citrus fruit trader? Who sold the cheapest, best quality spices? Which stall provided kettle repairing services? The services were the hardest to find for Takashi, since you couldn't smell services. For products - you could easily find what you need by just focusing on the scent.
Some Nekomatas also made living by working in restaurants. Actually, Nekomatas loved to be near edible stuff. In this case, Takashi was interested in Takamura's trade. "Can you tell me more about the Rising Sun?" adding "the" to make it obvious he was talking about the tavern. "You think I could visit you?" and then Takashi shamelessly asked for a return of favour, "for a free meal?" He didn't blush or anything, he just wanted free food since he wasn't making much money from the tip jar and his reserves from missions he had done for Tsuchikage were starting to run low. In fact, most of his expenses weren't for himself - he bought many ingredients for tea, he rented bed (on some nights, not always though) and he also rented this stall (although the stall's owned gave it to him for free, but Takashi will certainly be asked to pay for that scratch Debu left). Actually, Takashi should ask the owner for some money for this stall smelt better during the days and attracted more buyers.
Then Takamura asked for a refill. It was something Takashi hadn't experienced during his time as a tea vendor. The living quarters was a place where everyone was in hurry. They sometimes had enough time to enjoy a single cup of tea (after subtly following the instructions), but never enough time to drink two. Of coures, Takashi would happily make tea for Takamura again, if he remembered what Takamura had drunk the first time. Was it the tea with cranberry juice? Probably not, since the bottle was still closed. Was it whiskey? Oki had had tea with whiskey and Takamura was acquintanced with Oki - they could've had the same thing. Black tea with honey? Maybe...
Takashi grabbed the heavy stone tankard and his hand shaked, unused to this weight. This time he put in some sugar cubes, added green tea leaves and poured over water. It wasn't anything special - just a regular green tea. Probably not what Takamura had had first time, but you can't really serve a bad green tea. Then he placed the cup on counter and said "Here you go!"

After fulfilling the first recorded refill, Takashi was ready to have some more interaction with Yanagi. Iwa's genin was being trying to be helpful. He admitted to having help out with Debu's attack. Takashi felt like Yanagi thinks of Takashi like some poor and homeless person who tries to make living like this. It was not true, Takashi was able enough. This kind of feeling from Yanagi made Takashi a little irritated:"Hey, listen!" hoping that Yanagi would listen more than Takamura, "I know that you have figured out that I'm blind." Takashi said in a serious voice, "but it doesn't mean you have to act like some kind of protector or justice warrior." Takashi was referring to Yanagi's regret of inability to help out with Debu, "I did add alcohol to their drink. It's on me. I'm in charge of this stall. If it was to go any further, I would have taken action. You don't have to feel sorry for just watching." Takashi didn't want to sound rude because it would totally ruin the tea drinking atmosphere. But if Yanagi felt like he had to be a helper and not a customer, it meant he wasn't truly enjoying his tea in the first place.
"I'm Takashi Nekomata," he finally introduced himself when Yanagi asked for it. "Sorry if I sounded rude previously. Hadn't intented to sound mad." Takashi now felt like he had ruined this tea session for Yanagi. He was ready to make an attempt to make it better:"It's true that I don't trade stories. But I don't this there's anyone waiting in line for another cup of tea. So I might make an exception," he made a gesture of looking at the wooden rule board, to remind himself what was written on there. Obviously, he couldn't read it, but thinking about it reminded himself of how he had came up with this set of rules:"This wooden board," Takashi tapped on it, "Isn't actually a part of this stall. I made it myself. And no, I can't write," Takashi wasn't ashamed of it, it's not like he had any use of writing when he didn't see the borders of paper to write on, "so what I did, I went to one of the local blacksmiths and traded him tea for allowing me to use his tools while he was resting. Obviously, I drugged the tea," now he realized this wasn't a fine detail to reveal when the listener was holding a cup of tea in hand himself, therefore he made a small adjustment, "well, not exactly drugged, I just made a strong green tea, that put him to sleep," this sounded even worse, since sleep could be interpretated as permanent sleep. "Anyway, you know that blacksmiths hate children tampering with their stuff, but children love it. So I gathered some children and allowed them to do play with the tools. I took precaution of them not touching the hot stuff, of course," this precaution sounded terribly executed by a blind person. "And I asked them to write things with heated pole on wooden board, to leave the burned marking."
Takashi didn't know for sure if what was written on board was what he had asked for. But so far everything has gone smoothly, so the children probably were obedient enough.
1262

“About my family Tavern?” Takamura swirled the tea in the rocky tankard, thinking hard. “No clue what it's named after, it has been there for a pretty long time. I mean; it was owned by my grandparents before it fell to our hands. I’m pretty sure their parents owned it and so on so on till my 5th-great grandmother, the same woman who made this tankard." he said as he raised it as if to show what he meant "Don’t take my word for it though. History is not my strong suit.” Takamura stopped here and took a sip from the tankard. “The best dish I can make is the Red Miso soup with Wasabi Takoyaki; So that is what you should expect from my cooking.” He took another sip from his Tankard.” Also, would you mind putting a bit more ice in my tankard, most of the ones you put the first time have melted.” He moved in the tankard to Takashi’s edge of the counter and continued listening to what he was saying to him. “Sure, I mean visit us anytime. I mean it’s not really the best tavern around but it’s doing pretty well right now.” Offering a free meal wasn’t something that he would never consider, especially when he knew that he probably will have to work an extra shift to cover up for that meal; but after all he was taking free tea from this man and he wasn’t giving him any small portions either. “Try to avoid the end of the week though, that’s when its busiest and you would end up waiting. Usually the best time to come is at middle of the month, early in the week.” Hopefully this would be another promise that he would have not to keep but he had no intention of to stop ordering tea, so that would be sort of even at this rate.

Silence soon fell on the stall after his brief conversation with Takashi and Takamura had no clue what to say without making it even more awkward. Thankfully, Yanagi sparked up a conversation with Takashi and asked him for his name; Only now had he realized that he had no clue what the name of the man serving him his tea, so he paid attention to what his answer would be.  Apparently the Yanagi and the vendor had some unfinished business which culminated in what seemed to be an argument but before Takamura could turn back to his tea and stop listening, the fact that Takashi was blind came out once again, this time by his own words. Unsure of what to do, Takamura was sent into a more panicked state when the still-unnamed tea maker admitted to spiking to the other man’s drink. Takamura broke into a cold sweat. What if this relaxing feeling was because his drinks were spiked too? It would be rude to stop drinking as he had no proof that there was anything suspicious in his tea and it could be that the now named tea maker, Takashi was just that good at making tea. Yet, at the same time he slowly regorged the tea he had in his mouth back in the tankard. Takamura had now stopped completely listening, immersed completely in worrying thoughts as actual sweat broke over him and the cool feeling that he had before was long one.

[2225 + 560] = [2785]

After a brief story of his tavern, Takamura asked for more ice in his tea. That was unprofessional for Takashi to not add more ice cubes during the first refill. Although if they had melted completely, it was good to know that they didn't ruin the flavour. Otherwise Takamura wouldn't have asked for more ice. However, Takamura placed the tankard dangerously close to the edge of counter. A gentle push would knock it over and spill the contents. Even worse - tea would probably be all over Takamura. It wasn't hot and you couldn't get burns. But losing precious tea was unimaginable. In this case, Takashi even tried looking at the tankard. During the conversation he tried to look at the speaker (it was mostly instinctive), but now he attempted to look at the tankard. Even though he couldn't see it, the idea of having an approximate position in his mind, made it easier for him to gently and slowly close his palm to the tankard and firmly grab it. A disaster was avoided, Takashi placed two fresh ice cubes in the container and placed it back on the counter for Takamura to pick up.

"Interesting," Takashi nodded when Takamura revealed his speciality. Boy loved strong flavour that you can't mistake for something else. And wasabi definitely was something you couldn't mistake for anything else. The young cook also provided some tips for not having to be stuck in line when visiting the Rising Sun. It was a place Takashi would write down in a notebook, to remind himself to go there.

Yusuke apologized too much. The little rant was something Takashi wanted to forget. It made him feel uneasy, it probably made Yusuke feel uneasy and it probably made Takamura just feel awkward, since he had done nothing wrong, possibly even somewhat bad for not realizing that the guy serving tea was blind. Not many people realized Takashi's inability so soon. The bloodvessels wasn't something people focused on. It was cornea that most noticed first, and Takashi had a beautiful brown cornea. He didn't put any effort in responding to Yanagi's apologies. For himself, it seemed like the right action to forget this little ruin of mood. However, he commented on Yanagi's sentence towards Takamura:"Why would he mind? It's business, isn't it?" with a little laugh Takashi tried to lighten up the mood.

It was a rhetorical comment. Obviously Yanagi just had a poor choice of words, therefore Takashi continued with a response about his origins. He did owe some stories to them for ruining the mood. "You are right, I'm not from Iwagakure." he wasn't sure if this came to other two as a surprise. Foreigners often visited Konoha, maybe it was different here in Iwa and Takashi only got in because of the mission. "I'm a genin from Konohagakure." even if they didn't have many visitors in Iwa, they should've heard of other villages. "If you haven't heard of Nekomatas and you have known that Oki guy, you will be most surprised to hear that we are actually quite alike! We too have animal familiars. Not bears though," although Takashi still didn't have any idea what bear looked like. It could be a big cat, for it had fur and it had huge, strong claws. Takashi didn't notice an elegant tail, but it could've had one. "We use Ninnekos for combat or as medical-nins. Cats." Takashi noted in case they had never heard of Ninnekos. It would be terribly difficult to explain what a Bakeneko is, thus Takashi didn't even mention the genjutsu purposes of S-rank Ninnekos. It wasn't hard to notice that Takashi didn't have a Ninneko with himself. The boy hoped they wouldn't ask. It was just too shameful to talk about it.

"Would you like a refill too?" Takashi offered Yanagi. It would just be cheap to give Takamura a refill, but not even offer one to Yanagi. And Yanagi's plastic cup was way more easy to fill than the big and heavy tankard that Takamura had.
703

Takamura was nearly frozen still, totally unsure what to do. It seemed that was had just occurred was not a big deal to neither Takashi nor Yusuke and they seemed to have regained good standing with each other as Takashi was introducing himself fully. Takamura wasn’t sure if drinking more of the tea would be a good idea yet at the same time he knew that “disposing of it” wouldn’t be a good either, so it he just placed down the tankard on the counter and tried to focus on what the pair were saying. Yusuke made some comment on visiting the tavern and all Takamura did was nod. Takashi began recalling his story and his training although this was at the same time when Takamura decided to put it all on the line and take another small sip from his cup. That cool feeling would be worth it. Hopefully. As Takamura grabbed the tankard firmly by its handle and slowly tilted towards his lips, a pair of words from the story of Takashi snapped Takamura’s attention to him. His eyes widened in sheer surprise and he instantly snapped his gaze towards Takashi.  “Konohagakure Shinobi? You must know the Hokage then, The Master of the Air Step! ” Takamura asked, somehow not spilling any of the tea that was still inches from his lips. Could it be? Would the blind teamaker that seconds ago was under suspicion of spiking his drink be the gateway to one of the ultimate ninja arts?  "If you can introduce me to him, I will give you a free 4-course meal. I will cook it myself!" Takamura half shouted, the excitement getting the better of him. He hadn't been this excited since the New Year's eve bath house trip and that was a moment in his life that few things would ever compare to it.

Takamura had heard rumours of a jutsu that was called many things, albeit Air step was the most common and consistent through the stories.; he had heard that it let the user enhance his speed and maneuverability through futon release and with enough mastery, one would be able to move at instantaneous speeds akin to the body flicker technique and even walk on thin air. These were all rumours heard from travelling leaf shinobi that he had served at the tavern. He did not know to what extent these claims were true but a consistent idea of what the legendary ninja art could accomplish was always made and even those who were in the depths of drunkenness told that the hokage was the master of this technique and only through him it was thought. It was a far shot, but the hokage was in Iwagakure and this might be just the chance for him to get introduced. A small first step, but it was probably the only shot he would ever get.

[2785 + 485] = [3270]