"The Shushuya is a restaurant/pub in Konohagakure that sells their own brand of choice sake and serves large-platter cooking. The restaurant is large with pillars that supports the building, high ceilings with multiple small lights, a bar with stools that display most of their alcohol, and multiple wooden booths for the customers to sit in." ~ subforum descriptor

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Ooooh boy. Taste evening at Shushuya's and her purse filled after finishing a mission. That meant she was down to spend the evening night at the pub, 'tasting' about everything she could while occasionally actually paying for a bottle of whatever appeased her palate at that moment. It would also mean a scolding from her parents once she got home, drunk and fumbling as quietly as possible to make her way to her bed, in the progress stumbling her toes against one or another wooden stair - because the Hyuga estate had its buildings all raised on wood but not sufficient stairs to actually decently climb them during the night for some weird reason or another. Most likely she'd swear the living hell out whatever soul that was nearby, wake up her parents who had the perception of hawks and spend the night standing straight in the courtyard for 'training' until she sobered up. Man, life was tough at land lubber's estate...

But all of that were sorrows for later, right? The prospect of tasting high quality sake for free and enjoying some later down the evening with a good platter of fresh fish brought in from one of the docks was already reasons to have her mouth water with envy. To the genin in a privateer's outfit, it sounded like the perfect way to spend a calm night after the hard work of a mission. Tricorne on her head, long leather coat over the black and red sailor's outfit she generally wore, and a rude but exotic parrot on her shoulders, Alexa would step inside the building.

Red matte eye betraying the Hyuga heritage would glide over the insides of the establishment, briefly resting on every of the current patrons present sitting at their respective table. Who, how many and how they looked would all be memorised in a matter of seconds, a brief assessment of every person's skill made. With 'skill' being meant if they held any signs of being a shinobi or not, as some actually wore a Konoha headband or were known as instructors by Alexa.

Spotting an empty place just a little away from a corner, she'd sign if it was fine for her to go sit there and, as she got a nod, sauntered to the place to take it. Removing her long coat and hanging it on the chair behind her, tricorne resting on one of the two decorative knobs, she'd make herself comfortable before allowing her ears to linger around and tune in on the general atmosphere. A casual air lingered around, here and there a patron already inching on the border of getting drunk as they had arrived much earlier or simply couldn't deal with alcohol as well, casual gossip and silly jokes being shared on other tables. Nothing that seemed to hint at a crazy evening of dancing and face-smashing just yet, but the evening was still young.

The waiter appeared at her table, serving her a handful of small tasters of sake and explaining in quick succession what each of them were. She'd nod, pick up one, take a whiff of its scent and gulp it down in one swallow. Licking her lips for the aftertaste, she'd smile pleasantly as the warmth of the alcohol glided through her throat.

"Aye, that's a good un. I be stayin' for some eats an' a sip o' sake too. Ah... I'd be up for sum fresh salmon dish an' that golden quality sake. The one with tha' smilin' Buddha on it, you know?"

Nodding, the waiter took notes and left after all was said and done, leaving Alexa with the four remaining cups of whatever sake they were - he certainly had named them but she already forgot again. Her finger trailing the border of the second cup until a full circle was made, she'd pick it up and gulp that one down as well. Woah.. That one certainly oiled well, the scorch in her throat sufficiently strong for her to rub away an upcoming tear. Great stuff, but perhaps a little too strong to decently enjoy the evening for this moment. People might get weird thoughs otherwise...

---

709

Trying out number three of five, the softer taste of the sake was refreshing and pleasant though would do little when it came to getting drunk. Or rather, it would perhaps to other people but not to a sixteen year old that drunk rum for breakfast, noon, evening and desert too if that was still possible. Some were of a mind she had an addiction but those were generally the people that never had a taste of rum in their whole life. Let's be honest here, the ignorant would better keep their mouth shut rather than run their mouth about things they know nothing about, right? That's what Alexa thought, and so the fourth taster would disappear as well, leaving but one to try out before she hit the real bottle.

As she spotted the waiter with her dish of salmon in the distance, her attention was stolen by a woman clad in black, black curls and bla- no, dark eyes. Aside from wondering just a minute who had died today, the woman seemed to be in discussion with the bar man. He didn't look happy having her around, then seemed to reconsider for some reason. There was something about her. Something likeable. Maybe the Konoha headband she wore, perhaps the thought she was an adult with the presence of a bonafide rogue in the way she moved and had that streak of mischief, but when the barman moved his hands to a darker bottle seemingly hiding a little behind the others, she finally figured it out - rum.

Oh hell no, she wouldn't. Not only did Alexa went twitchy as the realisation she hadn't noticed the presence of rum in this house, but now she would have a rival at that. Gulping the last teaser of sake to drown the upcoming sorrows, the waiter would arrive to set down her requested platter of salmon and the carafe of 'Golden Buddha' sake. He was about to leave as quietly as he had come, bowing to the corsair at the table who seemed oblivious of his presence as she was transfixed by the rum bottle, trying to read the label on it, but as he turned about she grabbed his arm with resolution.

"Who be that lass o'er there?"
"A-ah, well... That would be Amaya, a... regular.", he'd reply, hesitation in his voice as he tried to hide the 'other side' of her reputation so as not to talk ill about patrons to complete strangers such as Alexa.
"She smells like trouble."
"W-well..."
"Why dinnae tell me you there be rum on the shelf?"
"U-uhm..."
"Oi, quit stammerin' an' talk, will ye?"
"Arr, sent 'im swimming with the sharks."
"Shut it, salt-beak."
"C-can I go now? I have wo-"
"Aye, walk tha plank."
"Ney, I told ye to-"

And gone was the waiter. Both sailor and parrot watching him scurry about like a crab in search of shelter. Having served Amaya her drink, the bar man would lean a little to the side to eye the commotion in the back of his tavern. As he took note of the girl and the bird, he'd frown suspiciously for a moment but since nothing too bad had occurred, he'd leave it at that. For now.

Sulking in her corner as the catch of the day had run off to complain, Alexa poured herself a cup of sake and eyed the fish that laid swimming in the sauce. She was actually hungry enough to put the thought of rum out of her mind just for a moment, but rest assured that she'd be getting some of the good stuff later in the evening. When people would be a little more mellow and less skittish.

---

634
Total: 1343

Th-the whole bottle?! Noooo... That meant there would be none for her. Well played, stranger. Wait. Why was she coming this way? Popping a piece of fish into her mouth, Alexa's eyes would follow the black-clad woman's cadence towards the back area of the tavern who then took the table right next to hers. Oh. She was good. Taking the rum for herself and sitting nearby in quiet taunting, throwing in a simple greeting at that and acting as if she was innocence herself. No woman could be that oblivious, and Alexa herself would know that considering she would be doing exactly the same thing if she had the chance.

But here was the thing. This woman was known. Wife of the former kage sort of known. Leaf ninja, high rank, scary lady. If Alexa considered her parents already a bunch of tough cookies to deal with, this one here at her side was nothing less in terms of power. She couldn't say if the woman, looking to be in her thirties, was just as stiff and measured as the common clique of Hyuga that made up her family, but the presence of such a woman, aside from stealing her rum, could pretty much mean Administration had been running their mouths again. Honestly, it was only one chair, one table, two glasses and a single man bleeding from his head. The rest of the brawl and therefore the rest of the damage was not her doing, and yet she had been scolded by Administration and then her parents as if the whole deal was her fault. "Responsibility", they called it. Scapegoating, that was what it was.

"Aye, hello to you.", Alexa would reply with a nod after she finished her bite of fish. "You 'ere to scold me? 'Cuz I ain't done nothin'."
"Yarr, that be a fine wench.", Arrchiburd the parrot would throw in, a habit he had picked up since young from his former master, Captain Arrchibald, renowned smuggler of the seas. Even now, the bird found it necessary to make a selection of women that would have befallen the now dead captain rather well, not quite understanding (or not quite willing to understand, as could just as much be the case), that his new owner was not interested in women on the same sort of level as the former.
"Don't mind the parrot. Former owner was a well-known captain. Heard he be sleepin' with the fishes now but the bird kept the salt."

Honestly, she loved as much as she hated the parrot's comments. She was not of a habit to apologise for the bird's foul-beaked comments but in this case she was a little worried it could mean the end of her favourite miscreant. Alexa would put another forkful of fish into her mouth. The tavern keeper might not have mentioned any rum but at least he knew how to prepare his salmon. Not the best cooking she tasted but above average quality. Sufficiently for her not to spit it out and feel an urge to rub the waiter into the platter or something. Her musings on the food would be disturbed by the random comment of the woman next to her. Upon noticing that her first glass of rum was already empty, inner Alexa would instantly pull up big eyes in surprise and point at Amaya in accusation of being a true and through drinker. In the blink of an eye, a second glass would be filled, ice cubes clinking as they danced around under the pressure of the fresh golden brown liquid treasure. A-another one already? As if beckoned to a quiet challenge, Alexa would take her own cup of sake and drink it up. Casually. Then fill it up again. This stuff wasn't quite like rum but even then... she couldn't allow a stranger to get the best of her, right?

---

662
Total: 2005

Hm. So she wasn't here to scold her? Then she was certainly here to keep an eye out. Alexa couldn't underestimate her drinking opponent, being high ranked and all. She could easily be feigning ignorance, trying to lure the genin in a trap of false security. There would be none of that! With a mouthful of fish, she'd reply with a casual, "Oh, no reason.". The last thing she should be doing was having someone else starting to dig through her infamous reputation in Administration. The times she had been caught red-handed in a bar fight was known though it remained to see to what extend a jounin was actually aware, or cared, for such things. She couldn't let her guard down, even when the woman next to her was talking about her desire to see a talking parrot.

"Aye, Arrchiburd's th' sort to rarely keep his beak tight. Heard he was a real charmer on th' shoulders of Arrchibald, the ol' bird now having toned down some. Sort of talk most land lubbers would cause a murder for. Bird's a smart un. Jus' has bad timin'."
"Arr should cut yer tongue out for this."", he'd reply, puffing up his feathers to make himself more intimidating, tiliting his head as if to make sure his one eye noticed her really well. Alexa would push him off her shoulder as she took another bite of her salmon, the parrot instead opting to stand on the tricorn instead. Its claws digging into the leather of the hat, he started preening himself.
"We gener'ly end up shouting at each other for a while. Got to keep spirits up."

Finishing her meal at last, the cup of sake would be used to rinse her mouth. In the distance, the bartender seemed to be staring at the two of them for no reason. Ignoring his stare, she was about to refill her cup when the woman offered to share the rum. An offer that didn't need repeating even if the last part of her sentence seemed off. As if she was trying to get Alexa drunk so she could be the one starting the trouble. Was this some unspoken trade offer? Alexa drank, started to cause trouble and the woman would go free? Some 'free drink' in exchange for her 'dropping responsibilities' or something? There were worse trades the Hyuga had been offered.

"That'd be mighty kind of ye.", she'd accept while offering her cup so the woman could fill it with rum. "Innkeepers in Konoha are such stick in the muds. I get me fun in Kasai. Economy's not the best there but taverns don' mind a bit of life as long as things get paid for. Gets the people riled up an' workin'."

Most likely Alexa would end up living there if only her parents could let her go. A town-city with faltering economy but a working port. Teased by pirates, lacking the means to pay for protection and generally relying on sea trade to get the economy up and running. The perfect place for a sailor such as her looking to make a name. Clinking glasses with the woman, she'd drink it up bottoms up.

"Cheers, lass. This be better than sake."

---

555
Total: 2560

While others would have probably pushed for more details Amaya simply allowed the topic to drop when the other female failed to elaborate as to what she spoke of in regards to why Amaya would have been there to scold her or not. Amaya wasn’t really the type to pry or push her way into other peoples business, and considering she was currently off duty it was simply not her problem (#NotMyProblem). Instead she kept her focus on the other female as she listened to her go on to explain more about the bird, her stormy gray colored gaze darting to the bird as it spoke once more before puffing up its feathers, something she knew most animals did in general to make themselves look larger and more intimidating: Amaya hid the amused smile that would have otherwise shown up upon her face.

As the cup was held out to her Amaya didn’t hesitate to fill the glass, not being stingy at all with the rum, and throwing a pointed look at the bartender once she was finished which caused the man to look away while shaking his head and mumbling something beneath his breath. ”I stopped drinking around here quite a while back when my own knack for trouble began to get too much. You’re right - other places tend to handle a little bit of a fun a lot better. Then again, any shinobi causing trouble tends to irk people more so than just a civilian.”

Amaya was about to open her mouth, to perhaps say more or make another comment, but the sudden arrival of a masked messenger practically appearing next to her - the door barely registering having been opened or closed - caused her to take pause: though without a startled response. Glancing to the masked messenger a brow would raise in curiosity, becoming more pronounced as no words were said but rather a scroll was held out to her which she took automatically. A small burst of chakra would pop the seal keeping it binned before she unrolled it and took a quick scan of the contents inside, the smallest of frowns forming on her face. “Very well, I’ll take care of it… Tell them I’ll be there in five minutes.”, Amaya would comment softly before the messenger would take a bow and then leave as quickly and suddenly as he or she had come.

Turning her focus onto Alexa, Amaya would pick up the bottle and reach over to place it on the other female’s table. ”It would appear my fun has come to an end before it’s really had a chance to start. Do me a favor and enjoy that for me, would you?”, would be all Amaya would say before allowing the front two legs of her chair to hit the ground nearly soundlessly as she stood and made her way around the various tables as she headed to, and then out, of the door: pausing only to offer a nod at the bartender who seemed a bit relieved to see her go even though he tried to hide it.

---

536 | 2,725

Learning D-Rank Fuuton (3rd element): 2,725 - 1,500 = 1,225
Learning Chakra Anesthetic (チャクラ麻酔 ~ Chakura Masui): 1,225 - 750 = 475
Discarding 475 words

There it was, the wisdom of the ages. It wasn't just Konoha playing the fun police, it was being a shinobi that made people annoyed. As if bearing that Konoha emblem on their protector came with an invisible package of responsibilities and etiquette. With an 'amen to that', Alexa took a gulp of the newly served rum like she wanted to erase the sour attitude of the villagers around here. Her eyes resting on the Konoha headband hanging around her throat, Alexa realised that people had only grown increasingly annoyed with her attitude once she had 'deserved' this for having potential as a shinobi. Her parents started expecting more since that day. Something about pride of the clan and more of that. Never caring one minute where the genin would have wanted to work her magic. Only expectations.

Alexa was about to say something to keep the conversation going when a messenger entered the establishment and requested the attention of the woman next to her. A masked man. No sign of his presence up until now. Could they be an ANBU? Alexa popped the last of her salmon into her mouth as she watched the interaction between the two. Wordless, all secrecy. A scroll unsealed with chakra, only meant for the woman's eyes. Either high rank intel or ANBU things a genin like her was not supposed to know about. Then, the messenger vanished as spotless as they had come. And with them, the upcoming fun was taken with them. The woman would place the bottle of rum on her desk. Neat. But also leave for unspoken business. Bummer. Just now that the evening could have been fun... Alexa would tap her hat as a sign she fully understood the value of the gift and watched the woman disappear as much, leaving her alone with the remainder of rum.

Plate empty, company gone, Alexa didn't really feel like continuing the evening much longer. She'd lean back on her chair, making herself comfortable as the waiter removed her empty plate of salmon and sat quietly contemplating her own future as she savoured the last few glasses of rum. The bird would be in luck this evening, provided with plenty of petting and rubbing as it was the only company to pass the evening until the bottle of rum would end up running dry.

At that point the alcohol ran deep in Alexa's blood, eyes seeing double, legs remarkably stable as she moved to the counter to bring back the empty bottle. With a tap against the tricorne, she'd bid the man behind the counter farewell, not noticing how he rolled his eyes at her. She'd move out of the tavern and slowly walk her way home under a sea shanty, ready to endure whatever scolding she'd be served for getting home too late. Just another sin to chalk up to the already massive lists of don'ts her parents expected her to follow...

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[EXIT]

500
Total: 3060

All Stats: E-3 -> D-3 | 3000 of 7375