Finally, the food was just about to arrive. In truth, it was rather hard to follow everything that was happening within the restaurant. Asuka had burst out in anger and left, Shingetsu followed her cheer her up, Taibushi appearently paid...for the whole table...and left. The food hadn't even arrived yet. The ones still in the restaurant were Mao, Toko, Seichi, Reiji and Seiji. Damn, that was a mouthful. Through the event however, Toko had been talking with Seichi and a sudden flinch indicated pain, it was subtle but still visible for anyone who would be looking directly at him. He was trying to hide it, that much was obvious. Had Toko not had his eyes on the boy, he would never have noticed. "Should I comment on this?" The thought spiraled around in his mind but Seichi probably had a reason for hiding his pain. No reason was good enough, however. If he was in pain, it would endanger him and in length, his squad.

It was rather hard to get to know everyone when half the table just left and one of the remaining people was hiding his feelings. Reaching his hand out softly, Toko placed it on Seichi's shoulder and offered him a tender, warm smile. "You're right. Of course we should grow together as a team, in both skill and bonds. I hope that further down the line, we'll be able to always be honest with each other and be there for one another." While he meant every word, the young swordsman wanted to make it quite obvious to Seichi that he knew that something was up. He just didn't want to make a big deal out of it. There was no need to ruin Seichi's evening by prodding at things he didn't want to talk about.

Finally the sushi would arrive at the table. It felt like it had taken an eternity, but it was finally there. Twirling the chopstick between his fingers gracefully, Toko grabbed hold of a sushi and put it in his mouth. For any onlookers, it would be quite obvious that Toko had been taught table manners from a young age. With a straight back he chewed with his mouth closed and made sure to express his appreciation of the food. "I sincerely apologize for starting before everyone has come back. I was not able to surpass my hunger..." He shook his head slightly, looking to the entrance of the restaurant as he saw Asuka and Kanon coming back in. Now Shingetsu and Taibushi were left. "I believe we should all thank Taibushi-San for treating us to dinner." The boy would beam with his typical, tender smile as he looked at his teammates, reaching for another sushi on his plate. Toko would also make it quite obvious to Seichi that he genuinely cared for him. Pain in any amount should never be hidden from one's team. It won't help to move the mission along, but would rather endanger it later down the line. "It is quite sweet that we're already taking care of each other, isn't it?" The boy would speak softly, referring to Taibushi treating the group.

As for Mao, had he actually forgotten his wallet or was this another test to make the group grow closer by paying for each other? Toko's family had no shortage of money as it was and he could as well have paid. However, it would be incredibly rude to deny Taibushi his act of kindness by paying for himself.

Looking back at Mao made the boy freeze up for a moment, as if flashes of future events would pass through his mind every time. Back at the academy things were incredibly rough and he managed to pass by the skin of his teeth. Now he was a part of a quad, he was part of a unit whom all would look after one another and always be there for each other. He hoped that Mao would see what Toko could actually do and highlight those skills in both combat and outside of it. He was afraid that Mao would simply discard him shortly after their missions would begin because he failed to see what the young ninja could bring to the table. Moving his eyes back to the sushi on his plate, it was quite obvious that Toko was in deep thought and barely even noticed Asuka and Kanon returning to the table. Luckily, barely was enough for him to break through and managed a soft yet rather fake smile when seeing them. His worries had overcome his thoughts and it was hard to surpass them. "Welcome back Asuka-San, Kanon-San. By the looks of your expressions, I assume you two have mended your bond. I am glad." He would nod, but quickly returned to his previous state of silence and worry once he managed to get those words out.

For someone so good at hiding his external emotions with a smile which was in the absolute majority of cases genuine, he wasn't quite as good at handling these emotions within neither heart nor mind, it would appear. Staring at a single piece of sushi so intently would however make his worries quite obvious. He was smiling at others, but not at the plate, as if no one would see simply because he wasn't looking directly at them. How ironic, he tried to get Seichi to open up about what pained him but Toko himself couldn't possibly bring himself to expressing these worries. He should have, of course. However, he was trying to excuse his inability to express it by proving himself on the field. But then, by that point it could be too late. He felt his hand shaking slightly but he quickly moved his other hand top of it to prevent anyone from seeing, and stopped the shaking. "Why am I so worried about this?" The answer was of course obvious. If he couldn't manage to live up to Mao's expectations, he would bring shame on his clan. That and his father while loving and understanding, would be quite disappointed. Not to mention the fact that Toko had to scrape by to get through the academy simply because they weren't able to let him bloom the way they should have. "I hope...I won't disappoint you, Mao-Sensei..." The words came out as a quiet, melancholy tune, almost a whisper. He was uncertain if Mao could even hear him but expressing that sentence would be enough for now.

Seichi relaxed as he felt the soft touch coming from his shoulder.

"You're right. Of course we should grow together as a team, in both skill and bonds. I hope that further down the line, we'll be able to always be honest with each other and be there for one another."

Seichi smiled widely at the boy's reassuring statement feeling much more confident. He quickly then glanced as Sushi lowered onto the table. The dango he had eaten earlier was still settling in his stomach but Seichi knew he could make room as he felt his hunger return shorty at the sight of the Shushi on the table. Seichi grabbed his chopsticks and quickly snatched a single shushi from the plate, slowly laying the shushi down onto his tongue and savoring its taste.

He would then glance up as Asuka and Kanon came back. He debated with himself if apologizing was needed. In the end, he overall felt that he took part in provoking the Kunoichi thus felt he was also to blame. He quickly chewed the shushi that laid moistened in his mouth and swallowed, rushing to clear his mouth. "Yeah, sorry if I said anything unnecessarily before." He added rubbing the back of his neck. He tried to respectfully bow but ended up pulling too hard forward and slamming his head onto the table. He would comically lift his head with a face that expressed his playfulness and held back tears.

Returning his attention to the shushi, he would glance at Toko who stared off worryingly. Seichi's first thought was that Toko obviously did not like the Shushi but did not want to complain on behalf of Taibushi's generous payment. He came to realize that Toko must have been worrying about him, putting the subtle hints from before together. Seichi put one hand on Toko's shoulder, trying to mimic as he did before to Seichi.

"You know..." Seichi would say grabbing another shushi off the plate with his chopsticks and dropping it into his mouth. "This shushi sure makes a guy feel better" He would hope his remark would help ease Toko's worries a little more. Siechi's personally had been doing his best to trick himself into ignoring the pain. He himself did not know if it was serious or not and he refrained from speaking to his parents about, knowing how they'd overreact.

Shingetsu shrugged to herself as Kanon pulled Asuka away and into an alley.

Like I said, she didn't mean any of it. Glad to see she's making amends so quickly.

She was just about to head back inside when she sensed someone's chakra from a rooftop. She quietly jumped up on the back side and watched as Taibushi created his ice sculpture. She looked down at the finished product appreciatively.

"Perhaps, friendship is worth pursuing, I suppose I should try to overcome my social ineptitude."

"I would say so. It's good to have people you can rely on, especially for us."

She smiled and took a seat a few feet away, on the rooftop's edge.

"I like that technique. It's quite a nice take on street art."

That goofy personality, the cartoonish behaviour and happy-go-lucky demeanor from Seichi was hard to place. It was really charming however and managed to pull Toko out of his drowning thoughts if even just for a moment. Softly reaching his hand up, Toko placed it atop Seichi's as his companion was comforting him, a hand on Toko's shoulder much like he had done for Seichi before. "Thank you..." The smaller boy offered, a minimal smile gazing back at the squad member he soon felt like calling a friend. It was sweet to see that the care for the group didn't just stretch one way, it was actually a give and take. "Y-yeah...this sushi really is good." Toko continued, dropping his hand down to the table as Seichi retracted his comforting touch.

Placing another sushi in his mouth, Toko tried to silence the worrying thoughts in his head with the pure taste of fish and rice. It was honestly quite astonishing how someone could manage something that simple yet make it so incredibly tasteful. Yes, simple is indeed sturdy and a sure shot. The more complicated something gets, the more components you need to consider. "I appreciate your compassion, Seichi." Toko would continue, his eyes raising themselves from the plate and onto Seichi's blue orbs. They were quite enchanting in a way, a beautiful contrast to his black hair and catlike smile. Noticing how he had been staring, Toko quickly broke the lock he had on Seichi's eyes, feeling it rude to have been staring at him. "I look forward to participating in a mission with you. I believe we would do quite well together." He'd offer a faint nod. Seichi was so full life, it was someone who would truly bring moral to the group, a great leader given the chance.

Eating another few pieces of sushi, Toko looked out across the table and saw how the others were mostly eating in silence. It would appear that he was rather alone in the thought that this dinner could help them all get to know each other. Though, that was fine. Once training and actual missions began to roll in, their bonds would undoubtedly be strengthened. While a professional and disciplined stance was the way of the ninja, true friends to always trust was the way of success. No one could handle everything on their own, after all. This dinner would be over soon and after a night's sleep, their journey would truly begin.

Seiji sat quietly by himself, preferring to stay out of the drama that had been unfolding earlier. Kanon had managed to piss off Asuka, which wasn't that hard to do but it was quite humorous to watch. Seiji was amazed that even with the village on high alert that they were allowed to just eat a meal casually , shouldn't they be helping the village? He figured that they would be needed for something, a squad of eight genin could definitely be of use to the hokage. Seiji's scarlet eyes observed his teammates interacting, and for a brief moment he thought of joining in, but thought better of it. He knew he wouldn't be able to compete with Toko's extrovert personality, he'd just stay quiet.

The Onoda pushed his plate away once it was void of food, he did admit that the dinner had been quite delicious. Maybe it was because he had worked so hard that day or maybe the cooks were actually good at their jobs.

Seiji would have gladly paid for his meal but he was beaten to it. Another genin, who's name he unfortunately forgot, stepped up and used a wad of ryo to pay for the whole squad. The boy must be loaded to be able to pay for nine people without breaking a sweat. He had heard of the boy, a puppeteer, Seiji believed. Seiji had only sparred once or twice with Taibushi in the academy, and he only remembered enough to know that he used puppets and water jutsu. With fighting on his mind he wondered how effectively the group would be able to work together. Eight people was a lot to keep track of so maybe some sort of system should be implemented to smooth out the kinks in the group. Seiji knew for a fact that he wasn't able to cover seven other people while still holding his own. The only positive that could come out of this was strength in numbers. It was going to take a sizable force to take down eight genin and a jounin working in conjunction. Seiji hoped that this would all work out okay, trusting his teammates with his life was a tough thing to do. He'd have to assess their prowess in the field before even thinking about trusting them.

Taibushi Modobo

"I would say so. It's good to have people you can rely on, especially for us."

Taibushi looked over his shoulder, startled by the voice behind him. He had been certain he was alone up there, but there was the kunoichi from earlier. She sat on the ledge a small distance away.

"I like that technique. It's quite a nice take on street art."

"Oh.... Thank you. Um, I'm really sorry, but it would appear I don't know who you are. I'm Taibushi Modobo, and as for this," he said gesturing over his work, "I do things like this a lot, though not as grand, in scale or quality. I enjoy the arts, and I help my father with his performances often by doing things like this. Though I've never been on stage myself, no much social anxiety. Hell, I can't even look at you while I'm saying this, otherwise I'll stutter and tumble over my own words like a fool." He finished with a light smile on his face. Not much, but progress was progress, and he could be proud of that.