"REV UP THOSE FRYERS AND GET ME TWO DOZEN DUMPLINGS ASAP"

A head of black hair poked in from the outer curtains of Ichiraku Ramen, eyes full of wicked abandon and wanton need for wontons. This was Yoshihiro, of the Joe clan, in fact, the only member of the Joe clan- he had made it up after all. Still, the face of this boy was plain to see for any normal customer sitting at the ramen bar that night, this boy was starving for some ramen and gyoza. The usual owner gave a tired sigh, his fingers twitching already a bit. Making gyoza in itself was a tedious task, two dozen of the stuff though? Lord, why couldn't he get his daughter to do it for him instead of aggrivating his borderline arthritic fingers.

All that the old owner could do though was give a small smile of acknowledgement to the regular customer, "Ah, is that all?" he asked. "WELL NOW THAT YOU MENTION IT I COULD GO FOR SOME MOCHI ICE CREAM TOO" he said loudly in a borderline shout. The owner's eye twitched, kami save him. Still, he was business, and good business at that. He turned around and began working on cooking up the order for the one-man-band Genin.

Yoshihiro looked around the bar, twiddling his hands as he sat up on the stool. He had been training like a wildman all day long. While his ninjutsu had been picking up steam, his physical prowess remained woefully under-par. If he wanted to do well in the Chunin Exams, he had to kick his butt into shape! If he was going to do that though, then, well, he was gonna have to eat a lot. Oh, he was gonna have to eat A LOT even. To put it bluntly, Yoshi wasn't that physically impressive of a specimine. Sure, he had graduated from the academy as a Genin, and sure he had been able to do his missions fine, but if he was to excel, he would have to really amp up his daily physical training. No more pulling all-nighters reading and experimenting with ninjutsu, nor could he let the days go by without accomplishing any personal goals. This was the big leagues, and to really win, he was gonna need a big league diet!

To that end, he had come here, his favorite place for dumplings in all of Konoha, to sate his great hunger. He could feel his blood sugar falling off the face of the earth, if he didn't eat something soon he was pretty sure that every cell in his body was gonna start flipping out. Yoshi's eyes were half open, a weary warmth causing him to slouch forward in his stool, head resting on open palms as his elbows sat on the bar. He was tired, and anxious- never a good combo. It wasn't as if he could help it though, the Chunin Exams were anxious for just about every Genin out there.

They were your shot to make a name for yourself as an upstart with no background at all! For an orphan like Yoshi, one with no clan or lineage to speak of, they were his first, and maybe only, real shot to really step into the wider world. Kami help him he wanted to become a Chunin, if only to not need to take these exams again. He had nothing to lose in life, but everything to gain, a double edged sword if ever there was one... So he sat there, waiting for his dumplings, stuck between anxiety and a hard place.

611/611

"What're ya training?" a bemused elder asked, pivoting on his stool as he looked down along the bar at the boy who now was waiting excitedly for a big hearty helping of food. At hearing the voice, Yoshi looked over and grinned, at last, someone he could talk to! "My son was a Jounin, I watched him train much you you do" he added, giving a small toothy grin at seeing the spunk with which the young teen carried himself. Yoshi bowed slightly to the old man, showing his elders respect was important after all! He could only imagine the kind of things that those weathered eyes had seen, everything from the decimation of the village by Tame and Tatsumaru, to the recent time of peace and prosperity following the alliance between Konoha and Kirigakure.

"I'm working on improving my physical body to match my jutsu skills" the teen nodded, giving a broad smile as the first round of dumplings was placed on the counter in front of him. Sniffing that familiar scent, the teen's eyes went wide as he saw the gyoza steaming, freshly cooked and ready to be devoured. He grabbed onto one of the bulbous edibles, plopping it into his mouth with little fanfare and chewing ferociously. God he was starving! The display earned a chuckle from the old man who seemed amused by the sight of the hungry teen looking to make it big in the world. "Do you want to win the tournament? To prevail as champion?" he asked, curious to pry deeper into the boy's mind as to the whole affair.

Yoshi paused as he was eating, swallowing a clump of food as he thought the question over. He didn't want to have to hurt anyone if he could, but knowing that was never going to happen, he didn't want to step on anyone's dreams to become Chunin either. Thus, he could only shake his head, his eyes closing momentarily. "No, I just wanna promoted to a Chunin" he stated, looking at the empty plate in front of him. "I never had anything in my life. I'm an orphan, the bottom of the bottom. If I can work hard, think smart, and seize the day to become well known as a strong ninja, then that's something that I think I'd risk everything for" he stated. The resolve in the teen's voice was not lost on the elder, who turned to look at the chef behind the ramen bar and placed a fat stack of ryo on the table. "You'll be needing your appetite with that kind of ambition kiddo, dinner's on me" he stated, looking again to Yoshi with an aged but youthful smile.

Yoshi's eyes twinkled with amazement. What generosity! This was turly the epitome of kindness. "Thank you very much sir!" he said, bowing down a tad, much to the chagrin of the old man who waved him off. As the bowl of ramen and extra dumplings was served, the teen would devour them rapidly. He looked up to the wall of fame, those who had eaten the most ramen at this timeless family business- the Hokage had, and now he was. Yoshi wondered if a long time ago the Seventh Hokage was hungry like he was. He liked to think so.

As he finished his bowl, Yoshi watched the old man get up, leaning on his cane as he meandered away from the bar. "Hey, wait a minute!" Yoshi called over, watching the geezer give him a curious look. "Your son, what happened to him?" he asked, tilting his head a tad as the old man's face grew placid, his eyes closing before he spoke, "He died. Many years ago. You remind me a lot of him, he liked dumplings too" he said, a soft smile forming at his cheeks as Yoshi watched the gramps tremble a tad in place. Huffing at the sight, the teen lept up off his stool and walked over to the old man, holding his weathered hand with his calloused grip.

"If you don't mind... I'd walk you home if you talk more about him" he suggested.

The old man smiled, his eyes glistening with what looked like hidden tears forming. Yet, as the sun set, he knew he had found a friend.

Together, the two disappered, stomachs full of ramen, and their hearts becoming just a bit bigger that night.

[END THREAD]

752/1363

Total WC: 1363

• Training Endurance D → D3: 1175/1175

Left over with 188 WC, letting it be wasted.