______________________________________ The anger quickly faded, not so much by being soothed, but sufficiently distracted with so much happening at once. With the soft tug on his sleeve, he looked over wondering what possibly could be happening next, and it was that girl he'd landed on earlier. With widened eyes, he thought for sure she was going to be angry at him for earlier, yet instead she apologized and asked him how he was doing. "Um... I'm uninjured. Teammates... You're Ami Uzumaki?" With a glance down her outfit, and at her demeanor, Rashiku partly wondered if she was really a shinobi. She seemed very different than the others. Shinobi graduates had, at least partially, a predatory nature honed into them. She seemed to lack it almost entirely, and he didn't see much equipment on her in the obvious places. Perhaps there was a mesh armor weave layer within her dress for protection.
Sensing movement from the direction of the man challenging him, Rashiku instinctively put one hand on his sword, ready to draw it, while the rest of his body got ready to move into a battle stance. With Ami still on his arm it looked as if he was guarding her, his arm going back slightly over her midsection. But it wasn't Tenshi who had moved, instead another man had flashed between them, angrily questioning the man from Kumogakure. This new arrival introduced himself as Rashiku and Ami's Jounin instructor, presenting gifts... Ducks? Rashiku reached to take them, his movements unsure as he kept an eye on the adults.
Tenshi had approved of Rashiku's response, and yet the tension didn't ease at all. The man was still looking for a challenge, pushing it onto Takayuki instead. Rashiku at first moved to interrupt, as he could simply just tell Taka what he'd overheard about Tenshi being the Raikage's son. But instead, he let it be for the moment. Despite not knowing why, it was clear that Tenshi was looking for a fight. He'd known how it would feel to have the use of his weapons questioned, yet that's the exact tactic he used to get under Rashiku's skin. If the ambassador of an alliance wanted a fight with a jounin so badly, it was probably better to just let him take the thrashing...
"Rashiku-chan! Ami-chan! You made it", called over a strange pink-haired boy in a flowing floral white and cherry blossom kimono, "We were just about to order you some lunch! It's so pleasant a summer afternoon, don't you think?"
The boy motioned over to himself and two other genin, a short and overweight boy who nodded while slurping on noodles and a small girl in a navy jacket who peered at Rashiku with inquisitive and cautious eyes.
"H-eh...?" Rashiku quietly let out to himself seeing the other person calling to them. It was just one thing after another, a nonstop barrage of being pulled this way and pushed towards that. And somehow the... boy? Girl? ... Boy.... Probably... Knew both of his name and that of the girl beside him. He didn't recognize any of them, and it was becoming clear that he'd failed to gather much vital information for living in this village. People in this place knew each other much more closely than in Kirigakure. 'Discreetly' grabbing onto his Teriyaki bowl that had been sitting on the counter, he pulled it close and made his way over to the others. What they wanted wasn't clear, but it was certainly a good opportunity to escape the explosive scenario on the other side of the small ramen hut. "The leaves do... have a pleasant scent." The boy let out, trying to continue the conversation and not be too out of place.
"Oh! A man of few words, but well chosen ones", said the pink-headed one, "the turning leaves bring the smell of the trees from miles around... A summer afternoon is like a little adventure, isn't it?"
After brushing the pink locks luxuriously out of the way, an intense look appeared across that soft face, "Summer is the time of love and growth", and then came a sigh as those pink eyes looked out into the sky, "before the fall... But summer love is most intense, don't you agree?"
Rashiku recoiled slightly from the other boy's comments, a faint hue of red flashing to his cheeks. His hands raised a small bit, like if in a guard stance against the incoming blow of such a discussion. "I've not participated!" The defense was particularly stronger by accident, having just a bit prior been accused of engaging in the worst kind of activity one could do in that category.
"...sorry about this...", said the one who was definitely a girl. She turned away from Rashiku as she said it and looked into her untouched bowl of ramen, which looked to be getting a little cold. The short heavier one finished slurping up a mass of noodles and also greeted Rashiku, "Hey! You're Rashiku! I saw you at practice! You're real good with a sword", and he gave a thumbs up and a wide grin, "I'm Chotzu! We didn't talk a lot, so you probably don't know my name, but the way you came into schooll! Bam! Huzzah! Whack! Real cool! You really know your stuff!"
Chotzu made Rashiku wonder what he'd actually done to make the impressions he had. Many of them seemed just to be mistakes, such as not knowing at first that training with other students involved the use of practice weapons rather than real ones. Drawing his blade at that time had garnered nasty looks of multiple ranges. At least this other boy didn't seem as scared. "Correct, I didn't know you." For a second Rashiku had just said that, but it felt like what he said could easily be taken a way he didn't intend. Quickly continuing, he managed to speak again before his previous statement would stick out too much. "I do now. Thank you." Looking at the seats, there was a shortage. Just one. Not enough for both him and the girl who'd gone with him. "I'll return shortly... Here." Reaching out he handed Ami one of the carved ducks from their jounin earlier, before he temporarily returned to his old seat just long enough to pick it up and bring it over to the other group, which would allow Ami room to sit down as well. | ________________ ________________ ________________ ________________ ________________ ________________ ________________ One push is all you'll need A fist-first philosophy We watch with wounded eyes So I hope you recognize I'm on the front line Don't worry I'll be fine The story is just beginning I say goodbye to my weakness So long to the regret And now I see the world through diamond eyes________________________________ |