Starring:
Kuma, Abel, Nariko, Hyjinko, Moriko, Uma
Date: Feburary 8th, 2010
Summary:
Kuma holds a bit of a contest to test some of Konoha's talent while scouting to fill out his team.
"The Finding of a Third Teammate"
Konoha, Training grounds
Kuma could be found by one of the three posts in the ground, leaning next to it, munching on a candybar, thinking to himself about the upcoming training and missions. Pondering about going into the healing field, and setting up a team, now those were good objectives to dwell on, rather than just thinking of his cooking profession. That would most likely get him nowhere when it came to being a ninja, unless he found some hungry ninja along the road that would just give up for a bowl of ramen. That would be somewhat amusing. He rubbed the stubble on his chin, his expression, one of contemplation and deep thought.
Walking up from the river he sees a face he have seen before. Which made walking up to him easy..Since it was the same boy that cut him deep in the arm. "So what are you doing her? Did you find some team members?" Abel holding two box lunchs his mom made him for his day of hard work and training sat down next to him and started eating. Without asking Kuma if he wanted any of it because he really didn't care.
The young lady known by most as Kimura Nariko wanders into the the training grounds, taking a break from her chakra based training for a short amount of time and wanting to focus on a bit of her taijutsu training. She believes that her hard work and perserverance will pay off in the long run but there is still a good bit of time before it will truely show effect. She takes notice of both Akimichi Kuma and the, honestly very annoying, Uchiha Abel over by the training poles as she enters. She raises one hand up in greetings towards them, but more towards Kuma; she really wasn't all that fond of Abel since their last enounter.
"I am thinking… as you can see…" Kuma chuckled, curious of why this kid was so curiously inquisitive. Perhaps he wanted to be on the team suggested the other day? He shrugged, but raising a brow, he pointed at him. "You aren't even going to offer me any? That's kinda rude, Uchiha Abel." He was frowning as he shook his head, swallowing the remainder of the candybar. He glanced over his shoulder to see the entry of Nariko-san. He nodded to her, chuckling as he could tell she had met his new friend recently. It seemed he was either just that observant or just that much smarter than he put on. He shrugged as he glanced back at him. "Abel-san…how about a spot of training, and if I beat you…and Nariko-san over there…. you owe me one of those lunches..?" It was an interesting offer. He could smell the food. And he knew all too well how Uchiha were. He had a bully of one when he was a Genin on a team. But he figured that if he could get this team to work, then possibly, he could teach Abel manners as well as how to be great one day…that was one of the reasons he was such a great asset. It was because he was able to teach and use information learned, quite skillfully, to the T, marked off, even. He pushed off of the training pole and rubbed his chin again. "What ya say? You help her beat me… you both get a bigger, better gourmet meal, on the house….not to mention being on the team..if you don't… you give me that other lunch and you are considered for the team?" He grinned. "Win-win situation…" He chuckled as he watched both of them.
"That was cool and no my mom made them for me!"Abel handed the box lunch over to him telling him he need the box back. "Since you wanna train lets do it if we win I'm team leader but if you win your team leader deal." Abel bows to the Nariko."Nice to see you again and I'm sorry that I don't have any food for ya maybe next time." Abel smiles and sits back down and begin working on his chara since its not right for an Uchiha to have back chara control.
Nariko looks at the Uchiha for a moment in consideration, "You're not qualified to lead a horse to water, much less a team of shinobi." She was pretty much blunt with those that she really didn't consider worthy of her time, and then she shifted her attention to Kuma. "Are you really considering this guy for the team?" Nariko asked. "He's little more than a fool with a hyper outlook, he couldn't even hold up to me by himself. How do you expect me to find a way to work with him to beat someone that was judged Chuunin material by the Hokage?"
"Don't second-guess my judgment… True… he isn't extremely strong…and I didn't get to agree or disagree to his conditions…which I obviously won't agree too. But his ambitious attitude is in the right place…. with enough training and a few lessons in manners… he will be a formidable ally." He placed the lunch down by the pole and walked out into a clear opening. The young Akimichi grinned, unbuttoning his vest and putting it on a tree limb, nodding. "We are all weaker than someone…and we all have goals… this team isn't about who is physically stronger.. It is about who's will can push them to heights they've never seen. Now… Attack." He grabbed a kunai from the pouch on his leg and grinned.
"Tsk is that what you think…do you not recall the last thing I told ya? When I obtain these eyes I will destory you!" Abel shurgs off the comments and resume his chara building training. Due to her comment his mind begin to be filled with all his failed jutsu and taijutsu skills. If that wasn't the worst problem he had no genjutsu skills.(He's like a naruto with a sharingan)."So is it good?" Abel smiles and open his eyes and every gave Nariko a smile hoping it might change what she thought of him.
Nariko generally ignores the incoming commentary and pushes past him to quickly lunge out at Kuma, since he told them to attack him, she intended to do exactly that. She wasn't one to back down from a reasonable challenge, as well that fighting someone larger than her will show her where her weaknesses are. As she gets closer she changes the way that she approaches, shifting slightly sideways and shufflestepping closer to Kuma as she strikes out at the larger boy with a quick jab.
Kuma had his attention somewhere else when he saw her come in from the side, his mind on the good smelling food and the words of the Uchiha. He scratched his head until he saw the jab, and threw out an arm, barely missing, and getting in his side. He shifted his weight as he coughed, sending a punch toward her, it aimed at her stomach in an attempt to knock the breath from her. In truth, this could be considered mean, but it was a spar and this war showed no mercy…. it only took a toll. He said it quietly where she could hear him "I took off the vest, because in real fights… it's not about your rank… it's about how hard you get hit, and how quickly it hits you. He'll need just as much practice as we did."
"Sweet lets really have fun." Abel dashes at Kuma and gave him a double palm thrust strike to the back if Kuma. With that Abel jumps back and looked at Nariko to see if she notice the kunai he dropped on the ground infront of Kuma. He smirks slightly and took in a deep breath to reset the mind so that he would beable to see the next attack.
Since most of her training was in the form of Taijutsu, Nariko expected some sort of attack retaliation of this sort, quickly stepping back and to the side. She then moves around to try to flank Kuma, striking out with a low kick to the back of his leg. At the very least it would be possible to 'weaken' her opponent in this way.
The double palm hit him in the back and kuma flinched, turning to see Abel as he felt the pain tingle down his spine, placing his hands together to form a seal, Nariko's leg going right through the image of him. The clone grinned as he faded from view and now there was three of him, each of them on one of the training poles. All three of them jumped down and ran at the two genin, one of them having to be Kuma….but which one….? By the time they noticed the none of them were him, a huge tree would be heard falling toward each of them. Apparently, he decided to use a palm thrust of his own, except in a massive tree smashing attack.
Nariko blinks as her foot passes through the incorporal form of the ninjutsu clone of Kuma, blinking a little bit. Then the crunch crunch and falling of a tree gets her attention. But not to worry, she was a quick little devil, jumping back out of the way of the tree before it hit ground. She narrows her eyes a bit at the unfairness of the action that Kuma took and jumped up at the one on the rightmost pillar, spinning around with a hard kick at him.
Kuma easily maneuvered away from the attack from Abel to one of the poles, and then blocked the skill of Nariko, seeing that Abel walked off limping on his own. Kuma scratched his head. "The pride of an Uchiha is like the stubborn-ness of a bull, I hear… I see that with his injuries and his feelings the way they are, he'd rather give up. His ambitions are not as strong as I thought them to be… I guess he will need to learn on his own path for awhile before joining a team…You did well, Nariko-san….you passed the test…even if he didn't…we will just have to find someone else." He hopped down from one of the poles.
Nariko drops her stance and tilts her head to the side in confusion as the boy leaves. Appearently the Uchiha was weak of mind and conviction as well, he couldn't even passed a simple test. Even if the odds were balanced against them in this battle. The test was to take it head on and try, not to win. And she of course did give it her all, even if she didn't really want to hurt Kuma. She looks back to Kuma and nods slightly to him, "We'll find someone worthy of the team I'm sure."
"Eh.. you're right… let's go grab some ramen, eh?" He noticed that all the food was gone that the young Uchiha brought, and he shrugged. "I have worked up my appetite…" Kuma hopped down from the pole, grinning to himself as he wiped some sweat from his brow and went to retrieve his chuunin vest from the tree, sliding it back on. "What'dya say? And after we can go do some more windmill training?"
Nariko nods a little bit and moves over to where Kuma is, "That sounds fine to me. I'm really not doing very much else. We have to fight for the right to party. Life, Liberty, and the Persuit of anything that isn't Uchiha."
Kuma chuckled. "I see… Glad to know you feel that way…well, follow me.. It looks like we are done here…." He smiled brightly buttoning up his vest and adjusting his hi-ate. He stretched a little. "By the way…. you got one hell of a kick." He chuckled. He didn't say anything about the hits that the young Uchiha threw, even though there was that first one that almost knocked him down. Abel Uchiha…strong of body… but not as strong of mind as he wished. The search continued, but it was good to know that this test had at least brought the two of them together.
Nariko walks towards the entrance to the training grounds area, reaching up to adjust the brass ring in her hair up a bit. She turns her attention to Kuma as she walks, "I should.. I spend a good deal of time practicing with it.. and my punches."
With that, they would leave, heading to go eat some Ramen and relax from the training session. He was sure he would hear it about the tree, but perhaps he could chop it up into firewood for the village or something, and not have to worry about the whole punishment for destruction thing. It was one of those tests that showed what people were made of. It proved a lot about the character of all involved, and it shined the light on the path ahead for these three individuals. Who knew what would happen to Abel Uchiha, but he did know that she was right, there would be plenty of other people that could join and plenty of work for them to accomplish. The description of this group didn't match the personality of Abel, and so the search would continue for someone with a strong will, a heart of iron that could help bring their ambitions and goals to fruition.
"So he just walks out and takes his food with him. In the middle of our sparring session. I'd hate to see if he can survive the chuunin exams.. actually, I'd love that. They'd leave him stranded in the forest for weeks." Nariko shakes her head a little bit, "That might straighten him out a little bit, if he survives it at all." She looks about as they're walking, "So, Kuma-senpai, where are we heading?"
Hyjinko's stomach is growling after some intense training with Kenshi-sama. Anything that was eatible sounded really good right about now. The boy can be seen strolling along the street with his hands in his vest pockets and his pet monkey perched on his shoulder. The boy couldn't make his mind up whether or not he wanted to stop at one of the outside diners or just pick up some groceries. Ember pretty much made up his mind though after passing a shop and seeing a lot of cakes on display. "Ember, you're just wanting that because its the first thing we saw." The says as he stands there on the side of the street while arguing with his pet.
"We are heading to the market….it's near my home and there is plenty of choices when it comes to what you want to eat…I actually thought about setting up my own food shop around here when I get the money to do it." Kuma said with a grin as he heard her ramble about the Jubei…I mean.. Abel. He chuckled, but said nothing. It was interesting to find this all out after not approving him. But he didn't have to approve him after the guy just walked out. He shrugged at the thought of it all as he pulled out a bag of chips. Opening them, he started snacking on them, noticing the boy and the monkey from before. "Hey Hyjinko! Wanna grab a bite!" He was trying to remember if Hyjinko was the shy one from the day before or was that someone else…someone left all shy like when it came to Nariko…who was it again…? Had to be him. Taji left early, the Jounin gave her herbal stuff…yep… He had no successfully matched the name with the face and corresponding attitude. MUNCH MUNCH MUNCH.
Nariko walked along wtih Kuma and listened to what the older boy had to say, sure he was a chuunin but he was also a guy that was just a bit older than herself that knew this area better than her. Not that she grew up out of town, she just didn't have much reason to go to the market place on her own. Her parents lived here in the village and her brother was kami knows where studying the advancement of the low grade electronics. She raised her eyes up and looked over to where the boy, Hyjinko, was with the monkey that he was talking to on his shoulder. Interesting. The boy that was all red and stammering when she met him last. She wonders what the encounter will be like today.
"Ok look, why dont we just check out a few more shops and if we dont see anything better we'll just come back here." Hyjinko says as he is now trying to reason with the monkey. That's when he hears his name and turns around to spot both Kuma and Noriko. His hard seems to skip a beat and his pulse is racing at the sight of nariko. Thank god his face mask is on or else he would completely give away his shyness to be around the cute girl. "Er, um…hey." The boy says while scratching the back of his head to regain compsure. "Kuma right? I remember you from the ramen shop the other day." His eyes move towards Noriko then back to Kuma. "Uuuh, sure. yea, the more the merrier. We just have to hurry up and pick a spot before Ember here goes bananas on me." Ember's head snaps to meet Hyjinko's eyes. "No not those kind of ban—oh forget it." He says to his pet.
"Alright… Sounds..good. Hmm..How about this place…?" Kuma nodded as he walked into a shop that read 'Akimichi's Finest'. When taking a seat at one of the tables, a hefty sized lady and man walked into view from the back. "Hiya mom an dad….brought some customers…could we get a meal…? I am sure I could work it off or something…" The man nodded quietly and went to the back. The woman grinned and nodded, her smile very bright indeed. 'What would you and your friends like, TeddyBear…?'
"Ma…eh…" Kuma sighed. His name meant Bear and that was her little nickname for him. He regained his composure and scratched his head. "I am not sure about them… but I would like some BBQ, some sweet Tea… and a few riceballs?"
Nariko blinks a little at the interaction, usually boys, especially teenage boys, do anything they can to get 'away' from their families. She shrugs, her family was probably a little bit different, maybe not so close knit. Anyway though, she looks up at the woman and smiles a bit. "Sliced tuna sushi, if possible. I'd go out and catch the tuna myself, but your 'Teddybear' here has kept me rather busy." She chuckles a little as she uses the nickname, maybe she'll be able to use it against him one day, mwahaha.
Hyjinko blinks and looks back and forth between Kuma and his mother. "Teddy bear? Thats um…cute." He says without trying to laugh. However, Ember has now buried his face into the side of Hyjinko's head to keep him from bursting out with laughter. "I'll uh…just have whatever teddy—i mean, Kuma is having ma'am." Hyjinko says still trying to hold in a chuckle underneath his facemask.
Kuma's face turned a slight hue of red as Nariko called him that. He sighed to himself. This was a bit troublesome, being that it was a name he didn't like too much, but tolerated because he was no longer his mom's teddy. He was a fierce Grizzly of a Chuunin. That was right! He would become a great instiller of young ninja minds! A pure force of mass learning and mass eating destruction! And then Hyjinko and his monkey, Ember… He facepalmed. He was never going to hear the end of this. "Shuddup…at least I'm not scared of women…" He muttered under his breath before smiling back to his mom. "Could you add some fruit for Ember here?" He gave a glancing glare, but said nothing else. She nodded and smiled brightly still, his father and mother easily showing where he got his looks from. 'Be right out with it.' Kuma sighed some more to himself in a major facepalm."I have a feeling this is nonending….so Hyjinko…you up for joining any teams….it seems who we had in mind turned out to be something of…. well, a coward… he ran away in the middle of a spar."
Nariko chuckles a little bit and covers her mouth with one hand, watching the boy's mother head off to fill the order. She didn't order a drink but would probably bide with water for now as she expected to work up a nice sweat later on. Her attention turns to the shyer boy of the two, Hyjinko, her eyes keeping off of the little monkey lest she get it's attention and she might actually have to deal with it. "It was so strange, Kuma just dropped a tree on him and he ran away. I thought someone might be smart enough to run if a tree was falling on them."
Hyjinko raises an eyebrow at the talk of a fellow nin being a coward. "Well maybe there was something on the tree he was allergic to." The boy says with a laugh. "But no, i haven't been succesful in finding a team. I've been filling in my time with training with Kenishi-sama though and almost have a new techinque mastered. Surely by then the hokage will have assigned me to a team and i can get started on missions and such."
Well it's a nice day to walk the Markets and check out the various things within. Moriko actually managed to sneak out of her own family restaraunt, only so many dumplings you can serve in a day before one gets tired of serving dumplings. The often perky Jounin pauses just outside and then grins before hanging her apron up on a string and darting down the alleyway behind her family's shoppe. Once she rounds a corner, the woman spots another door, and grins mischieviously before ducking inside, this taking her into the back of the Akimichi place that everyone else is.
Mori blinks and gives a sheepish smile as she sweatdrops "Sorry, ducking out of my own place, I'll umm, just pass through!" Again a bow and the woman quickly darts her way out the door and into the main area, having someone actually ask if she was some kind of new waitress, what with her current mode of dress and all. Mo's currently wearing a blue and black silk chinese cut dress, this being rather short and ending mid-thigh. Also with the tight nature of the dress it's rather flattering on the girl's figure. She sighs and looks down, muttering "Shoulda changed." Before she pulls the chopsticks out of her hair andshakes it out. "Eef…" is the girl's comment before she begins looking around curiously and then she rubs at the back of her neck. "Hee, Akimichi run.. I should try this!" She mutters and still, the girl having that mischievious glint in her eye, she finds her self a table to occupy.
Uma had been strolling along the outer most ring of merchants, her hands gently caressing wrapped bundles of herbs to check for freshness; her free hand fondling a black silk pouch of coins at her hip. A few brief words are exchanged, and a transfer is made. With a gentle bow of her head, Hyuuga Uma turns her attention towards Hyjinko, her curiosity catching momentarily as his words fade into her perception. Despite her taking notice, it's Mori that draws the mischievous grin so common for Uma. It fades back into the stern facade while she carefully places the herbs into a separate pouch on her right. She says nothing though, stepping lightly from her position in the shade.
Kuma glanced to Hyjinko. "Well how about you join the Kamikaze team…we will call it kuma-nako-hyji! Or something like that… come on.." He grinned to himself as he asked the boy the curious question that he had not asked anyone just yet. He could tell a lot by a first impression, and the one he gathered from the boy and his monkey, well, that was a good one. He nodded about the bit spoken on the tree and Abel. "He was doing well…even the idiotic part about trying to hold the massive tree up that smashed him…he gave it his all until I dodged the last blow he threw, and then he just walked off. I just wanted him to give it all, period, but… I don't know what it was….maybe he needed to go pee or somethin…" He shrugged and then muttered. "Either way….I'll even let ya call me Teddy whenever ya want if ya join… if it amuses you so much."
Noticing the new arrival of the older woman, who looked nothing like an Akimichi, but a lot like a waitress, Kuma blinked. He watched as she removed the chopsticks and then pulled that dreamy hair flowing movie like thing. He tried not to drool at the thought of it, but he stuffed some of the chips into his mouth and began to munch on them, acting like he didn't even notice her until she mentioned it being ran by Akimichi. "Hai… my family cooks rather well…especially if you are interested in anything BBQ, smoked, grilled, or sweet…" He nodded then noticing a Hyuuga girl entering. "Konichiwa…" He then glanced to Hyji to see what he thought about the offer. True, they were not certifiably made into a team yet, but if they proved themselves they could become a major asset to this village. "Oh.. bah.. Didn't mean to be rude. My name is Akimichi Kuma." Around this time, the orders started coming in.
Nariko hms a bit and tilts her head just slightly as she listens, glancing over and back to where the Kirryu girl is, blinking. Even she thought the woman was.. interesting. At least at first sight. Then her attention is drawn away by the arriving food, hopefully they served the sushi with the sweet sauce, wasabi, and ginger. It wouldn't be all that great without it. She looks back over to Hyjinko and Ember, "I'm Kimura Nariko." She probably said it loud enough that anyone else listening could be able to hear if they wanted.
Hyjinko hmms at the offer Kuma is giving him then looks to Ember. The monkey is pondering the thought as well as he is rubbing his little chin. After a moment or two the monkey turns into the boy's ear then starts whispering to him. (As if anyone else but Hyjinko understand him anyways?). The genin nods a few times then looks to the monkey when he is finished. "Alright then." Now looking back over to Kuma and Nariko the boy goes to give his answer. "I think it's only fair if i were to try out for the team just as the others have done in the past. I don't want special treatment and plus im always looking for a good challenge to help push myself. Then after the tests you can see for yourself whether i really do deserve a spot on your team or not."
Thats when Moriko seems to wonder by and grabs Kuma's attention. The genin couldn't blame him though. "Akuu Hyjinko." He says after Nariko's introduces herself to everyone. Just as the food hits the table, Hyjinko lowers his mask from his face and takes the chop sticks in hand. Ember too has already pounced on the table and is sitting indian style by his plate of fruit.
Mo yawns and suddenly stretches her upper back, then grabs a ribbon from around her neck, unties it before quickly using it to tie back her hair into a pony tail. She settles into a seat, but the girl hasn't seemed to notice Uma.. yet. Uhoh, wide open she is! The girl then begins glancing around the place, looking up as if kind of in a bit of a daydream as she glances around. "Oooh, sooo bbq stuffs… Oookay… Wannum ummm… BBq pork, spicy, and some BBq'd shmimps!" She calls out and then the girl beams again before adding "Would like a pint of milk and of course tea as well! Am in a good mood, that and need something to eat on while I hide from duties back at my family's restaraunt. Am tired of pushing around a dimsum tray…"
Realizing where she was, Uma /snorts/… "I find it interesting that you find refugee from your restraunt in.. a different restraunt.." The newly promoted Chuunin moves carefully around the floor towards her destination; a large table near the center where she might have easy access to any sort of gossip that shoots from person to person. A faint grin pushes its way on her young, wrinkle free face. "I don't know if I've ever dined here.." She looks towards the Akimichi. "What do you suggest?"
Kuma grinned as he heard him speak. Hyji was very humble and that made him smile. He tossed a whole riceball, the size of a softball, into his mouth, devouring it with one easy bite. All orders were accompanied by a variety of sauces, including the usual stuff that came with it. The sushi would have these things as well. The fruit had a side of caramel dipping sauce and other sweet like toppings that the monkey could go hyper crazy over if deciding to do so. This place was well known when it came to anything Sweet, BBQ'd, or Really Spicy. He glanced from his teammate to Hyjinko "Very well, I shall test you tonight to give you the equal treatment that I gave to Nariko-san and Abel. If you pas the series of hidden tests in this spar, then you shall be admitted, if not… then you shall not…but I'll give you an IOU for the shop here….one free meal. Just because I am generous.." He popped the collar on his chuunin vest and laughed heartily, the pieces of the rice all over his face from quick consumption.
"Mom!? We got an order of some Spicy BBQ Pork and some Grilled BBQ Shrimps!" The hefty sized lady would return with his tea and three glasses, bringing one to the table that Nariko, Hyjinko, and Kuma was sitting at. 'Yes Teddy.. I mean Kuma, dear…I will start making it right away.' She poured from the pitcher into the three glasses and nodded. She didn't write any of the order down. She looked rather cheerful. It seemed when it came to food, just one mention of it and she knew exactly what it was and how to cook it…. As she turned to leave, he noted what he heard from the Hyuuga girl previously to his mom coming out. "Eh…uh mom? Yeah…what would you recommend for this girl here…?" His mom turned and glanced to her and rubbing her chin, nodded. 'Fried rice, green tea, and…hmm….cream cheese crab puffs.'
"Ooo… good choice, mom… I want some too!" She grinned to him and went to the back. Those were the best. He sighed rubbing his stomach dreamily. He took a napkin from the table and wiped his face clean befor sipping at the tea in his glass.
Nariko mixes some wasabi and sweet sauce into the dipping tray, wiggling a piece of gensing in it to get it's flavour in there a bit too. She nods a bit to herself and dips the pieces of sushi in before eating them down quickly until her whole order is down and gone. She nods lightly to Kuma and nods, "I'm sorry to eat and run but I should get back to my training. Tell me how this guy does, I'm sure I'll be impressed." She winks playfully at Hyjinko and nods to Kuma as she stands up, placing a few coins on the table to pay for her part of the meal, even though she didn't have to before jetsetting out.
Hyjinko nods to Kuma. "Alright we have a deal then." He says as he goes to take a bite of rice. That's when another girl catches his attention from a few tables away. He tilts his head slightly as he doesnt seem to of reckonize the hyuga in front of him. As Nariko was getting up, thats when he realizes he was in his own little world while thinking about Uma. Seeing Nariko give him a wink as he gets up makes him turn red. However, it was Kuma's mother who came in and saved Hyjinko from embarassing himself. The boy narrows his eyes and looks to Kuma as he goes to order more food. Looking up in the direction the chuunin's mother was walking away in, Hyjinko calls "I'll take some too!" The genin then looks back towards Kuma with a competative grin on his face.
Moriko grabs her food and moves to join Uma, not even bothering really to ask if it's ok. That's just well, Mori sometimes. She then asides "Yus, sure am, huge difference between serving food and eating it. Besides, I was hungry and didn't want Dimsum… again." she adds and sighs before looking skywards. "One does get tired of the same thing over'n over again, and as busy as the cook area was with takeout and all I couldn't just make my own. So here I am!" She doesn't mention that she's also tired of tending customers who like to sometimes make innapropriate jestures and whatnot. "So how're you doing? Back I see?" She says, suddenly the girl turning bubbly.
Uma turned to notice Hyjinko lost in his own little world looking in her direction. There is a moment where she blink-blinks, and offers a sarcastic wave, her eyebrows arched and a faint grin on her petite mouth. To the Akimichi, Uma nods, "Sounds absolutely delicious! Though, may I have steamed rice, perhaps? The oil makes my skin break out.." God forbid. She leans back in her seat, her piercing, milky white gaze landing on Moriko for a second, "I see.. point taken." A smile is offered, but it quickly fades as she mentions Uma being back. The Chuunin's features turn hard and stern as she considers, "Yes.. I suppose. For now at least." Whatever they're talking about, it seems to be a sore topic for the Hyuuga girl, and she casts a glance from the table to Hyjinko, a curious expression playing across her eyebrows.
Kuma watched his mother nod to accept the change to the meal idea for her and then go grab two more orders of it for Hyjinko and Kuma. "Keep mine fried." He chuckled as he glanced to Hyjinko. "Ooo.. the ladies man had a competitive appetite… bring it." His eyes seem to twinkle as he sips on his tea, tossing another rice ball in his mouth, and munching on it loudly, slurping a little tea after. "And then.. we spar… I want to see what you can do, Hyji-san…even Ember can have extra if he'd like….you will need to eat as much as you can to do well." That was actually not a good idea for anyone who was not an Akimichi, but there were a few people he had seen who could eat as much as he did. He was deep in though, meanwhile, all this talk was going on around him. But he did know one thing. Hyjinko added some cool points in the Akimichi's book of opinions. He waved to Nariko as she left, having to catch up to her after the spars and training ahead.
Hyjinko chuckles at Kuma, "You're the one that will need the energy big guy. I'm pretty good." He says pointing his thumb at his chest. Even though he is in conversation with Kuma his eyes seem to go from Uma at the other table and back to Kuma. Of course Hyjinko was trying everything he could to keep his face from turning beet red. The genin was awfully surprised that the really cute hyuga girl had just dismissed Hyjinko altogether. That thought alone makes the bashful genin even more bashful. If it weren't for being in conversation with Kuma, Hyjinko would've probaly scurried away by now. "Your place has some really good food, Kuma." He says as he tosses a riceball of his own into his mouth.
Moriko blinks and tilts her head "Eef, didn't mean to raise blisters." The girl then beams and puffs her chest out a little it. "I got promoted the other day, Made Jounin!" She says and then exhails and shrugs. "Dunno why, just kept up with work and stuff, guess they figured it was time or something.." She says and then rubs at the back of her neck "Oh and my Ninjutsu's gotten better since we teamed up… I can back up taijutsuists better, and I've been learning Medical Jutsu…"
Uma snickers quietly and leans into whisper something to the Jounin girl, all the while glancing back to Hyjinko as she chitters to Moriko. Whatever is whispered goes unheard, but Uma stops short. "Jounin??" She frowns. "I was just promoted to Chuunin! So not fair.." Then she shrugs, "Oh well, I suppose you deserve it!" The cute Hyuuga girl finally speaks towards the boys, "Ohh, you two are going to spar? You don't mind if little ole me and my friend here watch, do you?" She offers an adorable smile, her eyes big and innocent… she obviously knows how to puppy-dog her way into situations. The food arrives just in time, her chopsticks lightly dabbing at the food on her plate.
Kuma watched as Hyjinko matched him, riceball for riceball, tea slurp for tea slurp. He snickered under his breath, seeing the new arriving bowl of rice and Crab puff rangoons. He was oblivious to the conversation at the other table. He grinned as he stared at Hyjinko. "Go." He began shuffling the rice into his mouth with the chopsticks, all that could be seen was his hi-ate, chuunin vest, and the table empty dishes. He placed it down and began by tossing the cream cheese and fried crab meaty goodness in like little tiny snacks that he was just munching away at, finishing it with a slurp down of a large glass of tea. He glanced over to the girl, a good bit of rice stuck in his goatee. "Hmm? Whatdya say?" He was totally oblivious, and it showed.
Hyjinko's vision is disrupted by the bowls of food that arrive at the table. After Uma had asked her question and batted those beautiful eyes at him was when Kuma said, "Go." Shaking his head he snaps out of it and goes to grab his bowl three seconds after Kuma had started. Tilting the bowl up into his face just as Kuma, he too begins slurping down what he can. Its no use though. On top of the akimichi's head start, Kuma was just more experienced at eating and had beaten the genin by a long shot. Setting the bowl down and wiping his mouth clean with the back of his leather gloved-hand he seems to be really nervous about something. If Uma comes to watch him spar, Hyjinko make fail and look like a big loser to her, but if she does come he could maybe impress her and those puppy dog eyes are really hard to say no to…Hyjinko just leaves it to Kuma to make the decision.
Mori blinks at Uma and tilts her head, being the everlasting tomboy doesn't really help too much, though she's learned some about feminine wiles. "Umm, if you say so." She asides back to Uma, she then looks to Hyji and asides again. "You should wear that skimpy short-dress nin outfit we saw in that store.. that immitates the one from that Manga…" She says, winks cheerfully and finishes the last of her shrimp. As she sets it down, she sees a short little grey-haired woman, staring at her, a broom in hand, that's currently being tapped against a hand. Mo Sweatdrops and blinks before smiling and waving "Umm, hello gramma…" She says, and gives a nervous laugh… "I was juuuust getting back to work.." Eek caught! With that she smiles "See ya later Uma.. And she whispers "Soon as I sneak out… again." Then beams and waves to the boys. "Night!" She says and leaves the proper amount on the table as she starts slooowly backing away, the old woman sloowly advancing. Slowly the two speed up, and Mo's fleeing headlong out the back door, with cries of "Get back here you lazy whipper snapper. I've got half a mind to bend you over my knee and give you the spanking of your life!" There's a whined noise as Mo calls out "But I'm a Jounin now, I'm supposed to do nin stuff!" to which she replies. "I wouldn't care if you're Hokage, you're going to wait tables and that's the end of it!" There's the sound of "WHAP!" in the background and Mo calls out. "I don't like brooms!" is the last one might hear as the running footsteps dissapear in the distance.
Uma smirks at Mori, "My mother would beat me if she caught me in that dress.." It takes several long minutes to finish her food, unlike the quickly-paced devouring that the two boys are indulging themselves in. A slight look of disgust is temporarily flashed at the Akimichi, yet she answers with a civil, humble nod of her head, "I said.. you if you guys are going to spar, mind if I watch?" She doesn't include puppy dog eyes this time… seems you only get those once per situation.
Kuma sees the look of disgust and chuckles, glancing over to Hyjinko. "Sure… I bet loverboy over here would love it if you watched his match." He scarfed about three more meals into one giant one, let out a loud burp, and then said loudly, "Itadakimasu! Mom, Dad, your the best!" He cleaned his face again, his manners no less than that of an animal, and they never had been any more than it either. he stood up, brushing some food from him and nodding as he headed to the door, stopping. "You two coming…?" He said with a grin as he glance back around towards them. In truth, he look just made him feel more proud that he was a good ninja, a good eater, a good cook, and a good teacher. That look proved what years of persecution had instilled into him. That he was a one of a kind Akimichi ninja, and he was proud of being the 'Bear' Ninja.
Hyjinko lets out a sigh then goes to rub his eyes. <I'm doomed> He thinks to himself. He watches as Kuma heads to the doorway. Looking over to his pet monkey who is now just lounged out on the table with a full stomach, Hyjinko goes to poke him. "Hey buddy. Let's go. It's show time." Slowly but surely the monkey waddles up to his feet and then leaps onto the boy's shoulder. Getting up and heading to the door he almost accidently bumps into Uma. "Oh uh…s-sorry." He says again blushing a bit.
Uma beams! "Awesome." She stands with ease and agility, a few coins dropping from her hand onto the table as she moves towards the exit. Hyjinko would've bumped into Uma, but the Hyuuga was one of the most talented Hyuuga Chuunin's when it came to Taijutsu and she side-steps with an ease unseen in a good majority of Jounin. "Blushing as much as you do can't be healthy.." She offers a wink… it might be hard to tell if she's flirting or.. just being a big ole tease.
Kuma watched as he led them, watching as they talked and did their little flirting, and in a way, he envied them. He envied anyone who could get on that level with a member of the opposite sex, who's life had a romantic future possibility. But as a ninja and a good cook, he didn't necessarily have to have that option to be happy in life. He just had to do well in everything he attempted…. if he did well, at least once, anyway… then he would be happy. And he seemed pretty happy. "This space is clear… open… with many roads… if you decide to travel…missions… you will have to prove you can fight on the go. So…when you are ready, young one…you may hit me with your best shot." He popped his neck, unbuttoning his chuunin vest and tossing his bag to the side, placing it on top of it. One might notice that when it came to fighting those under him in rank, there was no rank in his mind, and that vest and all that it stood for was out the window when it came to those of his home. All were considered equal in his mind, and all had to pull equal weight. Not to mention he had a full stomach and it felt a little too snug at the moment. He seemed pretty focused at the moment.
Hyjinko looks around at his surroundings and takes it all in. After a moment he looks back to Kuma who is now ready to begin. The boy raises the cloth up to cover the lower part of his face. He nods to Ember as the monkey leaps off his shoulder and goes to stand close by Uma. Of course as the genin watches Ember take his stand by the hyuga, he couldn't help but to look at cute girl too. "Alright, here we go." He says looking back towards his opponent.
Hyjinko takes off running at Kuma in a dead sprint. The boy kicks off the ground and leaps into the air only to fall back down with his foot extended at the Akimichi's chest. Hyjinko's body would then crouch all the way down on the ground to attempt with a leg sweep.
Uma smirks once again as the boy looks in her direction. It's when the monkey goes to stand by her that she tilts her head curiously. Not everday you meet a boy and his monkey. She pushes her hands together in a few short seals. The ground rumbles lightly below her feet, and she side-steps as a mound of stone rises up. Her hands unclasp at the last moment as she wipes away any dirt from the surface of the make-shift seat, which she soon finds herself seated. Quite a bit of effort for a seat.. yet she seems quite comfortable as she leans back against a tree, her milk white eyes locked intently on the battle.
Kuma dodged the incoming blow, bringing his foot down to stomp the sweeping leg, but he missed and with that got knocked on his butt. He sighed, looking up at the sky. "First test… passed. You didn't hold back….you used more than one attack…I give you major props on this. Now…" He chuckled under his breath, stretching a little bit as he eased his way back onto two feet. "My turn." The first test was based on initial attacks. The second would be initial defense. This meant he tested Hyji's first attacks, and now he would test his first defense in the spar. He smiled as he formed a series of seals, a group of genjutsu based clones of Kuma appearing around him in a cloud of smoke. Each of them began to swarm at him, a total of five of them completely, meaning four were clones and one was actually him. Each of them would do a series of two punches and a kick, attacks that held back his true strength. This was not a test of brute force… no it was of wits…which would he defend against, which would he attack, and that choice made this second test harder than the first.
Hyjinko watches as Kuma became five. He let out a sigh as genjutsu was his weak point during the academy. As the other Kuma's came in to attack, Hyjinko can only dodge and block the on coming attacks. The boy manages to block one punch but two other clones are coming at him and he is pressured to think of an escape route. No use, as he tried to dodge the next series of attacks he is caught with a punch and a kick which sends him stumbling back while holding his chest. The genin performs a few hand seals and suddenly two other clones pop out next to the boy. However, instead of attacking he simply waits for Kuma's next move.
Uma watches silently, eyes wincing shut as Hyjinko takes several hits.. he did manage to land one or two of his own and she nods approvingly, but not enough to let him see. She didn't want to distract him after all. Kuma was a Chuunin after all.. she can't help be smile at how well the Genin boy is doing. Hyjinko is then regarded with a smirk.. not caring if he accidently sees.
Goh sort of leers from afar from the branches of a tree, watching the scene play out before him. How dramatic. "Hm.. Hyjinko.." He mutters to himself. Mutter mutter. Mumble mumble.
One attack blocked, the other two landing, all of the clones of Kuma had a curious look on their faces before smiling brightly. A voice would come from behind the five surrounding him . "You did well. You were put in a test of defending against multiple opponents… each of them doing the same attacks. True, you only blocked one… but who could block all 15 of those attacks…? Not any Genin I know… not realistically, that is." No it wasn't 15 attacks, but in a real life situation, it proved that he didn't back down. Not like Abel did in his test. "Now….Let's see…hmm…what was that last test…." The five clones disappeared, he was sitting on the ground behind them thinking out loud. He was not even in the group of them….he was indeed more clever then most people would give an Akimichi credit for. No wonder he made Chuunin. "Genjutsu…Taijutsu….I don't think I'll use that Ninjutsu… eh…I guess that would make you as good as passed, ladies' man." He chuckled as he grabbed a candy bar from his bag of goodies next to the chuunin vest on the ground."You talk it over with her here for a minute… I need to talk to someone…You did well… You are in." He also grabbed a bag of chips and headed over to the tree, holding them up to Goh. "Your favorite flavor…" He said as he munched on the candybar of goodness.
Hyjinko straightens up from his readied stance. "Huh? You mean that was it?" He asks as his clones disappeared. Ember gives a tilt of his head as he is a little confused as well. "I was just getting warmed up though…" A disappointed look was on the boy's face now as he was ready for a full fledged spar match. The boy was still a little confused as to he wasnt even sure what he did to prove that he was good enough to join a team. just how bad was this abel guy.
Uma blinks a few times as well, "Whatttt…" The Genin boy is given a sympathetic look before she turns to face the Akimichi.. "He didn't even break a sw-…" Her milky white gaze levels to the Genin again, "You didn't even break a sweat… that's not a fair test.." She crosses her arms, "I think I will need to perform my own testing on you, Genin." She offers lightly, yet seriously.
Uma adds, "But not today.. I must return to the compound to complete this poison recipe.."
"ORIYAAAA! PICKLED VEGIE CHIPSSS!" Leaping down from the branches above, Goh is quick to snatch the bag, hitting the ground with a resounding 'thud'. Omnomnomnom. Ripping into them with utmost fervor, he is quick to scarf them down. "Mmm.. Not bad, I guess! Heh. Kuma, right? That's who you are? I've heard some things about you. Super smart Akimichi, they say. Nice test you did against Hyjinko there." A nod is given to the Genin, flickig a thumb up with his spare hand. The other one is, of course, scarfing down chips.
Kuma says it loudly. "War is all around us….. he had a good enough test….there is no point in breaking a sweat over nothing. True, if we were practicing jutsu, or how to walk on the moon or something like that, then yes… I would have put him through more….but no… for now this testing will suffice until I begin to teach him and Nariko a few things they will need to survive." He said this to the oh so serious Hyuuga with a slight smirk. But hearing the words of the Jounin beside him, he couldn't help but grin. "I thank you…And you know those chips are very hard to come by..but I know you love em… and when I saw that you had arrived… I had to give ya some…" He scratched his head glancing to Hyjinko. "Hmm…he related to you…? I just approved him onto my team…even if I don't have a Jounin, I'm sure the Hokage will pleased to know that I am putting up effort for the battles ahead of us." This was coming from the guy called the Nara of the Akimichi. He tended to not really do anything but sit around lazily…but when it came to fighting and food, friends and family… those things were his passion and with good reason.. They were all he knew.
.
Hyjinko looks over to Uma when she speaks of challenging him to her own tests. "Heh, I'm sure i can pass any test you put in front me." The genin looks over to Ember and without saying a word, the monkey runs and leaps onto the boy's shoulder. "Come on Ember, lets go tell Kenshi-sama the good news." The boy doesnt even seem to notice Goh and Kuma in the background. "I guess we'll see you another time." He says to Uma as he goes to walk away. A few steps past her Hyjinko stops and goes to turn around as if to say something to Uma, but he decides against it in half turn and just continues walking back towards the village.
Hyjinko plays right into Uma's game, "Oh, we'll see about that." She offers a curiously little wink before standing and placing her hands in a release seal, forcing the earth back underneath the crust of the Earth. "You shall. I'm.. not quite allowed to leave the city unless on a mission.." She admits quietly. The girl moves past Hyjinko as he turns the last time, remaining silent. She doesn't look back, she simply moves towards the tree-line before disappearing with a swish of tree-limbs.
"Related? I doubt it. My family's long gone, man." Goh nods at this, opening his mouth to yawn loudly. "Just heard of him as well. He was on my list of amazing Genin candidates to choose from." The blonde nods at this. "I picked my three members though. They're all doing some R&R at the moment. Put them through their paces, I did! And hopefully we'll go on our first mission tomorrow. Gotta destroy some book." Goh shrugs a little. "Baby steps. Heh." Finishing off the chips, he gives a satisfied belch. "Thanks for the grub though, for sure. Awesome stuff." With Hyjino and Uma making their leave, Goh turns on his foot as well. "Well, I was just stopping by to check things out. Got things to do. Places to hit up. Good luck on your missions!"
"I understand…. Same to you, Goh-sama." Kuma said with a smile as he watched them all leave. He went to retrieve his bag and his vest. He had plans for the next couple of days for himself. He did however glance at Goh and then at Hyjinko, they looked similar, without the whole third eye bit that was just kinda creepy. He was rather intuitive when it came to things like that… but either way, he was sure that Goh wouldn't lie about something so trivial…he was a very interesting guy with very interesting tastes in food. He tried some of the pickled vegetables and he liked some of it more than others, but not as much as Goh did. He grinned as he opened up his canteen and glanced away. There was one test he wanted to try, but it would have to wait…he walked back to the Akimichi village, to the shop where he would clean up and help make some food with them for payment of the food and drink earlier that He, Hyji, and Ember ate. The others paid regardless, which most people did even when he offered, but the interesting thing was how much Hyji was like him…it made him smile brighter….he did try to keep up in the eating contest…and that in itself was an amazing feat.
