Jamie had recently found a shoe for a strange old man who told him that ramen was a delicious dish that he should try out some time. Filled with excitement Jamie dashed out the door with his old broken shoes he got from the old man as he made his way through the market area not noticing that one of the shoes went missing and the other one broke along the way as it fell apart.

Jamie finally reached the store as he looked up at the sign and then down at the piece of paper. He looked up again as he read out the name in his head, Ichiraku Ramen. He moved towards the entrance, but entering a slight panic from being too excited he backed away again as he noticed a couple go inside. It was some experienced looking teacher like shinobi and some young kid who looked a few years older then Jamie. He waited outside his heart racing as he lost track of how long he was staring at the entrance, then the two came out and the boy now had a forehead protector on his head as something strange came to Jamie's mind. Was this a shop for the legendary ramen or was it where people became shinobi.

He was a bit confused as he made his way to the entrance again before entering slowly as a man and some girl gave him a smile and a good greeting as he moved a bit closer noticing the counter was rather high. They told him to take a seat as he climbed it and sat on it as they finally asked him what he wanted. He was about to ask and then his eyes looked to be filling with tears as the girl panicked slightly and asked him what was wrong and then he looked down. He noticed something on the board earlier that bothered him, it asked for a certain amount of money which Jamie did not have as he finally looked down sighing as he turned around.

"Sorry, I forgot to bring money" as the old man just gave an oh as if it was obvious as the daughter seemed to be begging the father with her eyes. He was being strict since he did not want to go out of business from giving every hungry kid who comes along free ramen. Jamie was disappointed as his heart wanted ramen, but he knew it would be wrong to stay any longer as he stood there not able to back away as he started smelling some of the freshly made ramen.

(437)

As the sun reached its zenith in the sky, Nayoko tool a moment to stretch his arms out above his head while he yawned. He then rolled his shoulders and his neck before finally twisting his back round, each movement producing a satisfying pop as he relieved the tension on all of his joints. It was once again a beautiful day in the Village Hidden in the Leaves, deep within the Land of Fire. Ever since Nayoko had returned from his journey to the Land of Water, it seemed like he had brought the beautiful weather with him, considering that it had been bright and sunny almost every day. Then again, he may have just become used to the dreary fog of the Village Hidden in the Mists and so now even the slightest amount of sunshine raised his spirits.

Regardless of the reason, the weather was beautiful once again, and Nayoko was still taking a break since he still needed a little bit more time to allow his bones to heal after the beating from Tano Koyanagi. But Nayoko did not mind that he was getting a bit of a vacation; in fact, he was enjoying every second of it. He had missed his family dearly while he was away in the Land of Water, and so he had spent  great deal of time relaxing with his father and even training a little but with his sister, who was still young but was coming into her own as a kunoichi. But today would be a little bit different. His father was off at work, and his sister had to be at the academy, so Nayoko had been left alone. He had spent most of the day sleeping in and reading in his house, but now he was beginning to get a craving that he had not felt in a long time.

He wanted ramen.

But not just any Ramen. No, not at all. Nayoko needed ramen from the famous Ichiraku Ramen shop, where many a shinobi spent their evenings consuming the wonderful noodles. And so, not wanting to waste any more time, and at the behest of his grumbling stomach Nayoko made his way to the ramen shop, talking his time walking through town, but not swaying from the path to his destination. It did not take long until he eventually stepped through the entrance to the shop, glancing around to take in the atmosphere and taking a deep breath to appreciate the smell of the place. There were a few people in the ramen shop: a couple sat at the far end of the room, giggling and whispering as they took turns eating out of a bowl of ramen they were sharing, an older gentleman who was eating alone at the other end of the establishment while reading a newspaper, and a young boy.

The boy could not have been older than twelve years of age, his small stature making the Hattori wonder if he was any older than his little sister even. The other surprising thing about the boy in front of Nayoko was that he was the only person in the establishment who didn’t seem to be eating anything. The girl who was working the counter with her father seemed to be very concerned with the boy, and it wasn’t long before Nayoko realized why. Quietly, Nayoko was able to overhear the boy admitting that he had forgotten to bring any money with him, and the young Hattori’s soft side took over almost immediately. Sliding up to a stool next to the kid, Nayoko pulled out enough money for two large bowls of ramen with a smile and set it down on the counter. “We’ll take two large bowls, thanks.” He winked to the girl behind the counter before glancing down to the boy beside him. “I hope you don’t mind me stepping in; I just couldn’t see you go hungry with all of this amazing ramen so close by!” He extended a hand to the boy, the smile still spread across his face. “I’m Nayoko, a jounin of the village. Now who do I have the honour of sharing some ramen with?”

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Jamie felt like his heart would simply break and that his tummy would never be filled again as he looked at the ramen taunting him. Then some old man slid up into the stool next to him and ordered two large bowls of ramen smiling as he felt like he could cry as he sniffed the smell of the epic bowl of tasty noodles nad soup. Also some other stuff was mixed in as well as he began to wonder just what was happening as he thought for a moment the man said we as Jamie had a look of confusion as his heart was now beating slowly as he tried to understand what was going on.

The man said he could not bare to see Jamie go hungry as he did not smile, but he blushed and looked like he was in a better mood as he climbed up the stool a bit carefully since it was a bit high for him. He noticed a stretched out hand and grabbed hold of the man's arm to help pull himself up as he now sat on the stool. His savior said his name was Nayoko and that he was a jounin as Jamie tried to remember the rankings again as he knew there was genin jounin and there was probably a rank he was skipping.

"Thank you" as he bowed his head slightly as his eyes seemed to keep glancing to the side at the bowl of ramen. "I am Jamie" as he kept looking at the ramen as he sat there like a well behaved boy before looking to the man again. "Am I allowed to eat yet?" as he asked for permission to start eating as he felt his tummy caving in and the smell was so strong now that the bowl was so close to his nose, he could almost taste it in the air.

(319)
[756]

For moment, Nayoko was worried that the boy was going to break down and cry, apparently not understanding that Nayoko had just bought him a bowl of ramen and not large bowls for himself. But then something seemed to click in the kid’s mind as he glanced up to the Hattori, confusion dominating his expression but an eventual understanding coming over him as Nayoko explained that he was sharing with the boy. The innocence of it all reminded Nayoko of his younger days, back before his mother passed away. The world had seemed so wide and exciting, no matter what he was discovering. As long as he was discovering it with his family, he was happy. But those days were long past him, and the least he could do was try to pass on some of that feeling to the next generation, regardless of who this kid was.

Nayoko smirked as the blushing boy climbed back up onto the stool, taking the Hattori’s hand to help him climb up rather than in greeting. Nayoko deftly lifted him up so that he plopped down comfortable on the stool. The bowls slid in front of the pair just as the boy made himself comfortable and introduced himself, though Nayoko could tell that he was distracted by the bowl of soup noodles at his eye level. "Thank you, I am Jamie." Nayoko nodded to himself as he continued to see Jamie's eyes lingering on the bowl before him. "Am I allowed to eat yet?" At that, Nayoko let out a soft chuckle to the boy, the politeness in his voice an even further reminder of Nayoko’s own childhood. Manners had always been stressed by his mother, even when she was in the hospital. “Pleasure to meet you Jamie. Of course you can eat; it’s yours. But be careful, it’s hot!”

With that, Nayoko turned toward his own bowl and started eating. It was delicious, and the young Hattori quickly remembered why he loved this place. Making the mental note to himself to show up more often, he continued to eat while he tried to figure out Jamie’s situation. He didn’t have a forehead protector that would identify him as a shinobi, but he seemed a little to young to be out on the town without family of some kind otherwise. So, Nayoko concluded that his best option would be to just ask. He waited a bit to make sure that the boy had a chance to enjoy his ramen before asking his questions. “So Jamie, what has you out around town on your own? Parents didn’t feel like bringing you for dinner so you took matters into your own hands? Or are you a shinobi like me taking a break after a mission?”

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Jamie thought of Nayoko as a really nice old man, even helping him up without making any complaints since he did have a few encounters in the village that were a bit negative. He found it strange that they would slide the bowls instead of just placing them down, though he accepted that it was just something silly they always did at some eating places. The truth was simple, it was just faster when you had other orders to take care of as well.

When Jamie asked for permission to eat the man gave out a chuckle that made him worry, but he did not show it clearly on his face, but you could see a hint of worry as he nearly reached out to grab the bowl and run, but resisted as he pulled his hand back and placed them in the middle in front of him. The man said he was allowed to eat because the food was now his, and he mentioned something else as he went in nose first tilting the bowl slightly and using the sticks he saw others using and he managed to not spill anything as he just had it in his mouth as he gulped the first portion as there were slight tears in his eyes. The lady at the counter was quick to help out as she told him to be careful since it's hot as she gave him a quick glass of water before rushing back to another person waiting for their order.

After a while waiting for it to cool and blowing on it a bit he slowly tasted again and after a few seconds of realizing it was perfect, he did not even notice that Nayoko was already done. He just took the bowl and devoured it faster and faster and then he got some soup on his forehead, nose and chin as well as a bit on his cheek.

Just as he was about to say thanks Nayoko spoke to him. Jamie just sat in his polite position again, like the seiza position in a stool according to how he placed his hands. He was asked why he was out in town alone and asked about his parents not wanting to give him dinner and mentioned something about shinobi as he tried to think for a bit before looking down.

"Thanks for the food" as he looked down to the side after. "I do not have any parents, my friend is out on a mission..." as he finally paused for a moment to think on the last question again as he kept thinking about it then finally answered. "Someone said i was a ronin, since i do not belong to the village"

(456)
[1212]

Despite his warning about the heat of the soup noodles, Nayoko could not stop the young boy from diving in head first to the bowl of ramen. As he ate his own, Nayoko watched out of the side of his eyes to see Jamie fighting back the tears produced from the heat. Seeing that, Nayoko guessed the answer to his question about being a shinobi; considering how he didn’t really listen to Nayoko, the boy was either still in the Academy or just a nice kid who needed ramen. Either way, Nayoko was happy that he could share the magic of ramen with the kid, considering how much he seemed to enjoy it after the initial burning of his mouth. Jamie ha been careful at first, but it did not take long for him to glance back at the older Hattori and notice the fact that Nayoko was already done most of his meal. With a renewed vigour that the jounin had not expected, Jamie began o tear into his own ramen with a vengeance, soup flying all over his small face while he slurped up what he could.

It was quite a sight, and seeing it made Nayoko long for the chance to taste great food for the first time again. There was nothing quite like having an experience for the first time in the Hattori’s mind, and that wasn’t limited to just good food. Whether it was reading a new book, perfecting a new jutsu, or even seeing a new land; that experience of doing something for the first time with such an innocent naivety was so refreshing and energizing to Nayoko that watching Jamie go through it with something as simple as ramen made him want to laugh uncontrollably. Fortunately for his dignity’s sake he managed to hold back his laughter and simply smile as the boy as he asked his questions. Though the response he got to his question was unexpected to say the least.

He thanked Nayoko for the food, which was normal enough, but the follow up answer gave Nayoko a start that he barely contained, only stopping the emotion from registering on his face thanks to his own shinobi training. "I do not have any parents, my friend is out on a mission..." The boy’s voice trailed off as he was deep in thought, but Nayoko’s own thoughts were already rushing through his head trying to make sense of what the boy had said. The last bit of information about him being considered a ronin only added to the confusion. Orphans were not that uncommon, especially if the boy really was a ronin considering the danger of that kind of life, but for a boy so young to be wandering around the village, not even crying at the mention of parents that were no longer with him? It was confusing at the very least, and Nayoko was more curious than ever about Jamie’s origins.

Not wanting to make Jamie uncomfortable, Nayoko merely spun on his stool to face him before asking him some questions tat he hoped would not be too weird to not only the boy himself, but those around the duo. “A ronin eh? Well that’s pretty interesting. I’ve only ever met one other person who has told me that they are a wandering ninja in my whole life, so I’m honoured to meet you, young Jamie.” He paused for a moment to collect his thoughts, sipping on a cup of tea that had been brought to him. “I’m sorry that I mentioned your parents, I guess I should not assume that despite your age they would be around. Who is this friend you mentioned though? Another ronin like you?” Before asking his last question he set the tea cup down just to keep his hands busy, as he was finding it difficult to have such a serious conversation with a boy barely older than his sister. “And if you’re a ronin, that means that you’re a shinobi like me, just from where ever you want right? Do you help with missions for the Village Hidden in the Leaves?”

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Jamie was eating and then Nayoko was spinning, though it was just a short spin Jamie was too busy eating to tell how many times Nayoko spun so his mind just filled in the gaps as Nayoko spinning like a top. Nayoko told Jamie he was interestingly pretty as he blushed and looked down as his eating became disrupted. Jamie wondered if he was really that beautiful or pretty that it was an honor to see him as he felt really nervous. The food had gone to his brain as he was a bit lost not understanding the true meaning of the way he said pretty.

Nayoko seemed to be sipping up his tea as Jamie just looked up slowly and bashfully like a puppy begging for attention, although that was just him not knowing how to react to being called pretty. He got a bit more nervous as he was asked who his friend was as he was not sure who to mention, between Arashi the literal split personality shinobi and the strange drinking girl Airi it was tough since he wondered if he had to choose between the two.

Jamie was getting more nervous as he was nearly lost for a moment until he got snapped back to reality when Nayoko asked if he was helping out with missions as he looked down to the side. "I help and..." as his thoughts seemed to trail off as he could not speak again. "Do I really look pretty?" as the boy asked while tilting his head to the side a bit. The misunderstanding might have hit Nayoko now as he skipped the question on his friends as he was not really sure how to talk about other friends at this point yet.

(293)
[1505]

Nayoko raised an eyebrow at the reaction he got from his question. The boy seemed embarrassed by his questions, and though that Hattori had expected a sad, or even angry response to him prying into the boy’s personal life, the bashful look he saw now was far from any of those things. The blushing reddish brown haired boy slowly looked up from his bowl of ramen, his eyes large and almost begging for attention that Nayoko was unsure how to react to. In truth, the embarrassment of the young ronin was making Nayoko more uncomfortable than anything. He tried to hide this though, simply sipping his tea as he waited for Jamie to answer his questions. There was a brief look of nervousness that did not pass under the jounin’s notice, though it did not really explain anything about what was going on in the boy’s little head. Instead, it simply confused Nayoko even more, making him wish that he had never asked his question.

Finally, it seemed that Jamie was pulled back into the moment, though he did not look at Nayoko as he responded, instead looking off to the side when he spoke again. His voice was not focused, and just as soon as he had started, Jamie’s voice trailed off into silence, deep though clearly etched across his face. But then, as his head tilted to the side he spoke again, and Nayoko had to stop himself from spitting his tea out. "Do I really look pretty?" Choking back the tea that had been in his mouth, Nayoko gave a clearly confused look to the boy, not understanding at all where the question had come from. He then jumped into damage control mode. A boy that young asking Nayoko if he had said something like that was not only strange, it was down right creepy, and Nayoko did not want people thinking he had said that.

Glancing around the shop, he was relieved to see that nobody had reacted in any way to Jamie’s weird question, so he was able to focus in on the actual issue, Jamie’s confusion. “Uh…I’m not sure where that question came from…And to be honest, if you really want to know the answer to that question, I’m not the one to ask.” He made a show of looking around the shop again, though he already know what his play would be. Glancing behind the counter, he saw the teenage daughter of the ramen shop’s owner, and he knew that she was nice enough that she would get a kick out of Jamie asking such a strange question. Gesturing to her, he looked back down at Jamie. “If anyone could tell you the answer to your question, it would probably be her. I don’t know much about that, I’m more interested in your abilities as a shinobi from the wilderness. But if you really want to get an answer, try asking her.”

Nayoko then turned back to face the counter, filling up his tea with a teapot that had been set nearby and drinking it. This was getting to be a bit to weird for Nayoko, and it might be time to head out sooner rather than later…

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Jamie had a slightly worried look when it looked like Nayoko was choking on his tea, as the lady working there had enough experience to not laugh when she figured the situation out since she had to listen in case the customer's needed anything. Nayoko's confused look seemed to make Jamie confused too, was the man just saying he was pretty to be nice or was it meant for the lady instead.

Nayoko said he was not sure where Jamie's question came from as he wondered how to answer that since he was sure the question came from himself and no one else. Then he said if Jamie wanted an honest answer he had to ask someone else. The young lady felt like laughing so hard deep down inside, although the fact that he was using her was a bit of a bother as she knew that call would soon come. Jamie did not really get why Nayoko was interested in wilderness abilities when Jamie did not have many of those. He was going to start taking part in some herb gathering missions after noticing them on the mission board, but other than that he did not know much of the wilds.

When the girl arrived Jamie was about to speak as she just patted Jamie softly on the head, "You are cute, pretty is for girls" as she ruffled his hair he felt bad that Nayoko might have thought he was a girl. "I am a boy", as a part of him pouted as he felt defeated as the girl now felt bad as she meant to get back at the guy and not poor little Jamie as she sighed. "He said you were pretty interesting, not pretty" as Jamie then thought about it for a bit then blushed as he looked down. "Sorry I did not hear you right" as he felt bad as he was now dampening the mood as the girl and Nayoko were now starting to attract attention as some old lady whispered. "poor boy"

(343)
[1848]

Nayoko could not help but feel a pang of guilt when the boy began to look so worried. He did not mean to upset him or anything like that, but the Hattori could not deny his discomfort with the whole situation. Regardless, it seemed that his worries were short lived as the girl behind the counter came to his rescue. He made a mental note to tip extra well tonight before turning his attention back to the boy who had just tasted ramen for the first time. He apologized for misunderstanding and Nayoko simply chuckled as he continued to hold his tea and relax once again. “Not a worry Jamie, it happens to the best of us.”

As he glanced around the room, he could tell that the meal time rush was ending and people were settling up with the shop before heading back out to take care of the rest of the plans they had for the day. Before too long Nayoko expected that the shop would empty out, and he would have to follow suit. He had received a message earlier in the day that had been mysterious to say the least. Despite bearing the markings of an official message from the village administration, it had not given certain details that the Hattori had grown to expect from these mission messages. He was to meet an ally in the woods that evening, and if he was going to prepare for a meeting before a mission, he would have to get home and outfit himself appropriately before heading out. On top of that, he was getting pretty tired, most likely thanks to the bely full of soup noodles, and figured he could probably get in an hour long nap before heading out to that he would be operating at peak condition.

Even so, he had a little bit more time before he figured it would be good for him to head out. Smiling as he looked back to Jamie he began to pull out some more ryo to leave as a tip for the shop and addressed the ronin. “So Jamie, I gotta ask. Did you like the ramen? Because we have the best ramen in the world around, and trust me, I’ve been all the way to the Village Hidden in the Mists and there wasn’t a place that could even come close to how great it is here,” he said while nodding to the owner. “In any case, I’m glad that your wandering brought you all the way here, and I hope you like our village Hidden in the Leaves. Keep up the good work helping out around the village, okay?”

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Nayoko was a really nice man, even chuckling and saying it happens to the best as well. Even if it was a lie, Jamie decided to accept the man's good intentions as he tried to smile a bit, but ended up just showing a plain face. The shop began to become empty as people started leaving one by one and some couples also began to leave as Jamie had helped himself to another bowl during all this as Nayoko may have not taken note that his bill was actually increasing as the people decreased.

As Nayoko seemed to be deep in thought as the forth bowl piled up followed by a fifth as Jamie was also not paying attention at this point before finally being interrupted as he began eating from the sixth bowl of ramen as his tummy was starting to feel full. It seems Nayoko was a rich man, he did not even check for his change and left the money on the table as the owner just smiled as they took the money, it was a lot of money and he had no idea how many missions it would take to get that much ramen as he wondered if he would be able to have ramen like this again.

Jamie simply nodded when he was asked about liking the ramen, and Jamie was wondering about wandering to the mists. However he felt he could not leave this village with all its nice people, though there were not really that many he could call friends, he got free bread among other things while he was here and so he would stay until he knew what he wanted to do. Jamie looked down as his head seemed to be bowed forward expectantly. He was expecting something other then praise, he was hoping for the ruffle, though Nayoko was saved the trouble as the lady ruffled it for him as she seemed to come around the other side.

"Thanks for the tip, and sorry I forgot to tell him that you only ordered two at first" as the beautiful girl put on a smile as it appeared they were packing up early today. "We are closing early today, so when you ready just close on your way out" as the lady walked away and began helping with the packing away of chairs and clearing of tables as the last few people were also leaving.

"Thank you, Nayoko" as Jamie bowed his head a second time.

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[2264]

Despite being deep in thought for some time, Nayoko could not help but notice the copious amounts of ramen that the young ronin with him was consuming. He had a hard time being upset about all of the extra ryo he would have to pay for the boy though; after all, it was his first time having ramen ever! Nayoko could hardly blame him for scarfing down as much as possible. His question about Jamie liking ramen had already been answered by his stomach for the stuff, but regardless, the boy gave him a quiet nod as the young lady behind the counter came around and ruffled the boy’s hair. She then smiled as she informed the pair that the shop was closing don early today, which was actually good for Nayoko considering he probably would have continued to sit in the shop, wasting the day away until he was forced to leave for his mission otherwise.

Glancing down at Jamie as he thanked the Hattori once again, Nayoko simply smiled to the boy. “You’re welcome Jamie. Thank you for keeping me company! I would love to stay and chat a little longer, but I have an important mission that I really should prepare for. I hope you have a great day buddy, and if I see you around the shop again, it’s my treat!” With that, Nayoko stood and stepped out of the building, glancing over his shoulder and waving as he did so, bidding a last farewell to the young wandering ninja.

Now it was time to get to work. Not wanting to waste any time, Nayoko took to the rooftops to head back to his house, jumping from building to building in hopes of reaching the designated meeting place before it was too late. There were rogue ninja on the loose, and Nayoko needed to deal with them…

[Exit Thread]

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Training:

Jamie felt rather welcomed by Nayoko, and was even thanked for keeping him company. As Jamie was feeling a bit happy Nayoko was gone, he barely even had a chance to do anything other then raise his hand to wave as Nayoko waved him a good bye and it was something that scared him. At that time Jamie was walking around and got lost in an alley way, though later he would soon discover that this world was a dark cold and scary place.

(84)
[2348]

2000 Training Bukijutsu C to B
+325 Perception D to D1

2325 Total for Training
2348 Total words for Thread

Exit Thread