Kodai sat at the table reading the menu he was handed. "I'll take a spicy ramen" Kodai sat patiently as he waited for his meal, tapping the chopsticks off the table rhythmically. Why did it have to happen today, of any day, the one day I don't visit. There goes my training, What is a student without a teacher These things ran through Kodai's mind as he waited. Just a day ago his sensei, Saito Kigen, an old drunkard of man, but also the first Salamander Sage of Lavori Mountain, passed away due to an accident during Kodai's training weeks earlier. Kodai hadn't traveled to Lavori Mountain to check on his sensei yesterday so he missed Saito's passing.

Now, Kodai was doing the closest thing to mourning he could when their was no formal burial, which just so happened to be sitting in a restaurant by himself. Is there any way this day could get better?

Sayuri was hungry. Not that that was unusual by any means. And more to the point she was excited to try out some of the local food in Iwagakure. She imagined that it was probably not that much different than what was found in Konoha or Kumo, but her imagination was fairly wild. She thought perhaps it would be interesting to see if there was any truth to the tale of ‘stone soup’ that she had heard while listening in to stories told by old men and women around campfires to young wide eyed children. She thought that stones or rocks would make a horrible meal, however in her youth she had spent many a meal chewing sadly on bits of leaves and bark in an effort to make the hunger pangs lessen.

Getting dressed that day had been a rather uninteresting affair, she didn’t have too many clothes to pick from. Especially since she had an annoying habit of ruining her clothing every time she got into a fight. She opted for her well loved short black skirt and a plain white long sleeve shirt. She took the time to run her fingers over the lace of her favourite blouse, in her training session with Harichimo it had been cut along the left sleeve, and sewing was not something she was particularly good at. There was definitely a time when she wouldn’t have cared overmuch about her outward appearance, however her time spent with Tsuyo in Konoha had taught her the value of such things. Brushing her long white hair back into a ponytail she pulled on her white leather boots and grabbed her coat as she ran out the doors of the University. She was not technically breaking any rules, but she wanted the opportunity to explore a bit on her own before she had to do any more training.

Walking into the market area of the village proper she took her time wandering through the various streets and byways trying to get a feel for the layout of her current home. It was not terribly different from Konoha, in that most of the shops and food stalls and restaurants were all together. But that made sense to her, why have these things spread all over the village when they could be conveniently located in the center and relatively easy to find. Some people smiled at her as she passed, and although she was still mindful of the distance she kept from others she offered a smile in return. Her one blue eye and one green eye caught the eyes of many a passerby, a cheerful twinkle in her gaze. When the gurgling of her empty stomach overpowered her desire to stroll through the market place she turned off the path and pushed the door open to the only place she knew did sell food.

Blinking her eyes a couple of times as she entered the sunspots faded from her vision and adjusted to the dimmer indoor lighting. There were a few people spotted around the place, sitting at tables or at the bar. She was slowly getting used to the idea of being indoors, but the old familiar anxiety filled her as she heard the door click closed behind her. Taking a deep breath she would move quickly to a table and sit down in one of the chairs at it. At least sitting down she felt a bit less like bolting out of the place. It wasn’t long before a young man came by and handed her a menu, which she took out of politeness. Despite spending a bit of time here she had yet to really make any progress on the reading front and so she merely placed the menu on the table in front of her and turned to look at the server. “I’m very hungry, I’m also not from here. What would you suggest to try? I’m excited to see what Iwagakure has to offer.” The server gave her a smile and then scratched at his chin thoughtfully before replying. “Well we do make a pretty mean spicy ramen, I like it anyway. Did you want me to order you that?” Sayuri would smile happily at the idea of ramen before giving a quick “Yes, please.” and turning back to sit in her seat properly as the server hurried away, drumming her fingers on the table and looking around the room.

744

Sayuri waited as patiently as she could for her ramen to arrive. As it turned out she was not disappointed by the need for waiting; the food was delicious. She took her time savouring the meal, and finally once the heat of the soup had worn off her tongue, she paid for her soup and walked out into the village proper. With a full belly she was more than prepared to take on the rest of her day.

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{Exit Thread}

Stat Training

STR: B-1 > B-2 - 800wc + 200 ryo

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