Wedding Bells - Try Somethin' Will Ya?!

Starring:

Jiro, Arika, Kaidan, Sousa, Itami

Date: June 18, 2015

Summary:

This wedding planning is getting out of hand! Vendors from all across Sunagakure and even from afar have come to have their wares tested by Itami, hoping that their trip wasn't completely in vain. Besides, she invited them all here, right? She's got to choose something! Well, thanks to two meddlesome kids and a particulaly meddling mother, she's in far over her head and doesn't know how to get out. There might be some boon to all of this, Kaidan was invited also. What does he think of all this, anyway? Maybe this might not be so bad after all…


"Wedding Bells - Try Somethin' Will Ya?!"

Sunadome Arena

As the wedding planning for the wedding of century continues, Jiro tries to get more involved because, well, this

is fun! And it's obvious quite torturous for Itami which increases the fun factor ten fold. So, in an effort to, ahem,

'help', Jiro had gathered together a bunch of different vendors so that they can do the best part of wedding planning

ever. Food sampling! Various food vendors and shop owners from all around Suna and even some from outside the Village

have come at the invitation, bringing small samplings of their best foods for people to nibble on and taste test. All

thanks to Jiro! Of course he had signed Itami's name on the invitations, but hey, that's neither here nor there. As for

costs…well, bill it to the Village. Not every day the Kage gets married.
With everyone all prepared and such Jiro had let Kotone know to bring Itami so that they can all sample. Of

course if some others 'accidently' got invited (like Kaidan) then oh well! The groom prospects should have a say in the

food!

"WHEN DID HE LEARN TO FORGE SIGNATURES?!" Itami's voice boomed. All of this was on the village tab?! She

snatched the papers that were presented to her and tore them in half prior to torching them with a fireball. "That was a

bit dramatic, don't you think?" Kotone questioned. "No, that wasn't dramatic, that was rage. How is all of this going to

be covered?" Itami could rip her hair out at any moment now. "You should relax. Just the other day, you were pale in the

scales and now you're almost literally on fire." Kotone lifted her hand and dabbed her fingers with her tongue to put out

the flame that settled in on her sleeves. "Weddings tend to be a bit pricey, after all. You wouldn't even believe. I've

helped out on plenty of weddings, largely designing clothing for those involved, but I've done other things too.

Honestly, what's happening here is normal. Besides, everyone seems to be excited about the prospect of you finally

finding a mate."
Itami tried to suck in all the rage she just outed and sigh it back out in a cool breath. "I haven't found

anyone yet. That's the thing. How are we setting up a wedding for someone who is not present?" Kotone chuckled. "You

never know. Some people just…pop up. That's how it happened with your father and I. Anyway, we've arrived, so now it's

time to test out some food and see what you like." Itami entered shortly after Kotone and witnessed an entire field of

vendors just waiting for her to try their food. She had to admit, it certainly smelled good here, but now she was sick to

her stomach. "We'll be here for hours…" She whispered aloud, growing intimidated by what's taking place here.

Walking into the area, kind of missing Itami and Kotone as he walks by, Kaidan walks straight for Jiro, "What is

this all about, Lil' Britches?!" He asks angrily as he approaches the boy, "I am hearing nothing but rumors about the

Kage getting married and one of my friends is asking me if he can be my best man?" He blinks as he walks straight for the

boy, "I don't recall any wedding in the making and when I ask him who is spreading this, your name came up." He attempts

to snatch the boy up by the back of the shirt and eyes him, "So, why would your name come up with all this mess, huh?" He

looks around and notices everything that is happening and then looks at the boy, "And here I find you right smack dab in

the middle of all this. Stealing is one thing but you are seriously cruisin', boy."

Arika may or may not have helped Jiro with signing Itami's name. After all, she had gotten to see the Kazekage's

signature quite a few times because sometimes Ping leaves certain documents out… The girl is hopping around all the

food vendors, looking especially at the ones that sell mochi. Yummy! When she gets back to Jiro's side, her hands are

full of food samples, a few of which she offers to Jiro. "Kai-kun! Are you gonna help with all the picking and all? I got

Ayumu-san to come, but I dunno if he'll be in time." Pout. "But you're more around anyway, so I think you and Itami-sama

will work out better, anyway."

"So it would seem," a nearby vendor murmurs in response to Itami's whispered lament. "But perhaps, 'seem' is

precisely what you might want." The vendor holds out an assortment of jewelry and speaks to her in a louder voice.

"Kazekage-sama, would you be so good as to consider my humble wares? I am prepared to offer you a steep discount, merely

for the honor of increasing your radiance upon your special day." The vendor bows his head, conveniently obscuring his

lips within his hood as he resumes murmuring. "While I enjoy an increased focus upon my own pursuits these days, even I

could not help but hear of such an extravegant undertaking. You know, if you were to marry, they'd probably ask me to

be Kazekage again, at least temporarily. Would you care for some manner of…diversion?"

Jiro is a thief and a street rat! Not all thieving just involves taking what's obvious! Plus, he obviously had

Arika to help and, well, some of the seal training works wonders for his penmanship and copying skills. The boy scrunches

up his face when he sees Arika with a bunch of samples, "'ey, make sure ya save some fer obaa!" Then there's that angry

Kaidan approaching at Jiro turns to grin widely at him, only to be picked up by the scruff of his shirt. Grumble. The kid

crosses his arms over his chest defiantly. "We're 'elping obaa ta get married. 'er mama is here ta help too. An' yer the

best one I could think'a cause you an' obaa get along good." He doesn't seem at all frightened of the puppet man. "Jus'

sample stuff an' mark it on 'ere wha'cha like best," he adds, pulling a list that unfolds a good four feet and handing it

to Kaidan, along with a pencil.
When Itami and Kotone enter Jiro spies them, grin widening a bit as he makes a handseal and *poof!* Kaidan is

holding a small plate of samples instead of a boy. Trained him too well, you did. "'ey!" He says, waving as he jogs over

to the two ladies, handing them each their own lists before pointing over to the closest table. "Start there!" He gives

Itami a little shove to get her moving, completely unaware of her prior anger at the situation.

"I…I suppose I could," Itami remarked in a defeated manner. Kotone brimmed with happiness. "Now you're getting

it! Accepting defeat and surrendering will get you far!" Itami sniffled and muttered under her breath about breaking

necks as she approached the booth filled with jewelry. "These are some good pieces, I must admit," she plucked one of the

offered pieces and took a look at it. "I could go with a splash of color. The color currently adorning my lips would be

nice. A turquoise perhaps…I might even consider dying my hair to compensate—wait, wait a minute what is going on

here?" Kotone slid closer. "Your loss. Both in the battle and this war," she snickered. "You're actually considering

things now! I'd say I'm getting closer to my victory." Itami grumped.
Jiro's call doesn't go unheard by Itami and the rage she stuffed away was beginning to boil back up to the

surface once more. "You! You are responsible for all of this!" She found a list shoved into her hand and watched it

unfurl before her. She sets the jewelry in her hand down as she's shoved off to another table. "Wait, what about that

distraction you mentioned? Can I get it now?" She called to the mystery vendor while being pushed further away.

Distraction? No, diversion, but it seems that moment has passed!
Kotone picks up the piece Itami left behind. "I'd like to get this and a couple others…"

Blinking as he is now holding food, he glares at it before setting it aside. Kaidan follows after Jiro and

growls, "Come back here, punk!" He then glances down as he nearly walks over top of Arika. He sighs and stares at her, "I

don't know what has gotten into you two but this needs to…" He then looks up and then starts past her, "Itami, what is

going on here?!" He states in a rather rushed manner as he walks toward her, "I mean, honestly, I know that…" He looks

around and then clears his throat as he moves closer to her, "…I hadn't planned for things to progress this far this

quickly." He then looks around, "It isn't like I'm going to die tomorrow or something." He nods his head before looking

at Jiro and then at her, "Besides, isn't the man supposed to intitiate these kinds of ceremonies?"

Arika grins happily. "We're making sure the food will be perfect for the wedding! I mean you and Itami-sama still

gotta do all that normal stuff, but you'll eventually get married, right? Then you can have kids and adopt me and Jiro-

kun! It'd be super fun!" She nods a bit, then bounds over to Itami, climbing atop the Watanabe's back. "Itami-chan! You

should try this!" she says, offering a stick of lizard meat to the Kage.

The vendor chuckles. "As you wish," he responds, to both Kotone and Itami. He puts the jewelry down and sweeps

his hood back. "My apologies dear lady, I have a naughty little habit of gaining my first impressions of people before

they know who I am, but I believe I have already seen enough in the care you have for your daughter. Allow me to

introduce myself, I am Shodai Kazekage, Kokoroe Sousa. In terms of relation to Itami-sama, I was formerly her direct

superior in the chain of command." Sousa makes to clasp Kotone's hand between both of his. "Your daughter has been and

continues to be a most precious gem in the crown of Sunagakure, brilliant, sharp-edged, and ungrazable. It warms my heart

to hear she may soon achieve such great happiness." Sousa glances over toward Itami with a light sigh. "Indeed, I have

occasionally thought looking at her, were I but twenty years younger…" Sousa looks back to Kotone. "…or conversely,

were she but twenty years more advanced." ;)

The vendor at the first table bows with a flourish as Itami nears (willingly or pushed by a pipsqueak). "My dear

great Kazekage, please allow me to introduce you to some delicacies from afar." The man holds out a small platter with

five different finger foods on it. "This one is made from the finest salmon, seared and glazed with a light sweet sauce.

Next to that is yellowtail smoked and with a bit of a spice. This here is from only the best hand raised buffalo, grilled

to perfection over oaken chips. Next to that we have wild turkey, sauteed in only the finest of teriyaki. And lastly we

have eggs of the extremely rare blue tail fish. Raw, of course, and served atop a small bed of the finest rice in all the

countries." Another bow as he holds the plate out for Itami to try each of the dishes of what sounds to be a very, /very/

expensive sample.
Jiro leaves Itami there to grab Kaidan and tug on his sleeve to pull him over to another plate of the same

selection at the table. "You'n Itami are gonna get marrie', an' I'm gonna be there! Tha' other guy doesn' get ta be yer

best man. Tha's me." Yep, he's already decided, first off, that it's Kaidan that will marry Itami, and that he is in the

wedding party. Lucky ducks!

Itami took a look at the fried lizard and she choked back a gag. "I think I'll pass…" She cleared her throat.

She decided to draw closer to the vendor with the sample platter. That might help her take her mind off that lizard. Poor

thing… "These all look…very good," she picked up the salmon and tried it, nodding in approval of the flavor. "I think

I'll consider that salmon…" She states and looks at the list she has on hand to check it off. "Kaidan!" She called his

name in response to his question. Her cheeks were still puffed with food in them when he inquired about what's going on.

She quickly swallowed it and continued, "I…I don't know what's going on. Everyone is planning for a wedding," she

shrugged cluelessly and perhaps a bit of shame. "I didn't expect things to go this far either," she whispered harshly,

still trying to get used to all this activity. "The man should have initiated, but…things are a bit…different for

Watanabe. In my clan both men and women can initiate. Usually it's the women, but men are evening the odds," she rubbed

her neck and chuckled sheepishly.
Meanwhile! "Getting to know someone isn't a crime. I may need to take some lessons from you," Kotone smiled at

Sousa. "The idea that I can capture first impressions by disguising myself? I'd have never thought it," she lofted a brow

at her clasped hand. "Hearing Itami described like that is refreshing. She's been the opposite for so long I never

thought she'd become polished. To know that she's been a gem that's had the chance to be refined her is just uplifting

for me. You do appear to be quite the charmer, certainly a way with words. You're not half bad," she chuckled. "I'm

certain I'd have been in hot pursuit of you had I known of you, but I don't tend to visit these parts often. I see

there's a variety to choose from here…"

Glancing at Jiro, Kaidan considers taking the kid on a long mission off a short pier. He then clears his throat,

"Yeah…sure…" He states and then looks back at Arika for a moment. Even Sousa in disguise gets a glance before he

looks back to Itami. Kaidan hears what she states and then tilts his head, "So, is this some kind of subtle hint then?

Cause it ain't subtle." He nods his head before looking to the side at Sousa and that woman with him. Kaidan then clears

his throat and then looks at this whole thing, "I'm not sure I'm quite ready for all this." He nods his head before

looking at Arika and Jiro, "I don't know how this got started but it certainly has gotten out of hand." He then takes

some food and eats it before blinking and scrunching up his face. He looks at what he just ate, "Is…is that eggs

thing?"

Arika shrugs and chomps on her food, moving onto fried ice cream Michu. She has no idea how that works, but it's

delicious! "I can pick out desserts!" she yells to Itami, going off to sample some cakes and passing Kaidan in the

process. "Itami-chan's mom visited and wanted her to get married, so we're helping! Also, I wanna be Itami-chan's

whatever it is! Best woman?" Yeah, she knows a lot about weddings, clearly…

"You flatter me, madam," Sousa chuckles, moving around the table without letting go of Kotone's hand. He tucks it

over his forearm and makes for a little stroll around the sampling area…at a tangent to the path Itami took. Not

blatantly away, but enough to start putting some distance between them. "Indeed, Sunagakure is a thriving center of

diversity. Many would expect that it would be lacking due to its location in the midst of the desert, but it is precisely

because of its distinction as one of the very few large oases of civilization in this vast expanse that it draws so many

of the Land of Wind's nomadic cultures, and with them their delicacies. Come, you must try this pheasant breast, it has a

very unique yet understated piquancy…"

Jiro gives Kaidan a sagely nod before he looks around, scrunching up his face a bit as takes in the the couple

dozen different food vendors in the immediate area. They need to hurry it up or all the food's gonna be cold! Hrm. Jiro

turns on Itami and tugs her sleeve. "Try'm all an' hurry, cause there's lots more ta go." He then turns to Kaidan,

frowning when he hears the whole 'not ready' bit. He uses a bit of chakra to jump up and bops Kaidan on the head from

behind. "Yer ready." He states simply as he lands. Before Kaidan has a chance to catch him he's off again, skittering to

a stop in front of Arika and scrunching his face at her. "Don' eat all'a the desserts! They still 'ave ta try 'em. You

c'n only have yer part." He says, handing her a sheet to start marking foods off too. Then he's gone again, appearing in

front of Sousa and Kotone and grinning up at them before depositing the long lists and pencils in their hands whether

they want it or not. And then he disappears again! This time to start shoving Itami towards the next table. Sheesh, this

is so much work! Of course almost every time he vanishes and reappears there's some food missing from /somewhere/. Gotta

love that brevity.
"Ah, yes, that is the eggs. A delicacy and extremely rare good sir. Each portion costs only five hundred ryo

which is an extremely good deal, I assure you." The man waits until they try all of the different samples before giving

another flourish as they're pushed off to the next location. The next one isn't quite so delicacy oriented and has a

number of barbecued and fried animal bits in different glazes.

Itami shook her head. "This wasn't my doing. If I intended to have you as mine, I'd have made it known when I

felt it was right," she admitted. "I can't say I'm ready for all of this either, but now it's gotten started and I don't

quite know how to stop it," she states. "On one hand, it doesn't have to be you who is the suitor. On the other hand,

they have a number of other names on their list…" She pressed her fingers together slowly. "Would you like some

yellowtail? I've already tried the salmon and checked it off?" She offered some food from her sample platter in an

attempt to break this tension she was currently experiencing.
Kotone accepted Sousa's invitation for a stroll. Unspoken gestures are a art and he has it nailed. She walked

along with him, listening in earnest to his words. "You know, the same could be said of the Watanabe. Few truly

understand how the clan functions and it's no surprise. The clan isn't known to be entirely open, but each branch is

distinctly different. My daughter and I are of two different branches. Despite the differences between each of them, they

all contribute in their own way to one another. I imagine that's how these villages work here," she remarks. "So, this

pheasant. I can't say it's anything I've tried before, but the way you describe it already has me sold…"
Itami feels a tug at her sleeve and soon some shoving. "Alright, alright, I'm going. I'll go and sample all

these others if it helps," she states. She gives the okay to the vendor she just left to ensure them their food was good

and was in the running in the midst of all her pushing. "What's this one all about?" She questioned once she arrived at

the booth. They looked to be pretty good. Granted, she isn't much of a discriminator against food…"Barbecued animal in

glazes?"

A blink and he glares at JIro before sighing and then looking over to the others. He watches the directions the

boy moves before looking back to Itami with another blink. He then smirks, "You didn't look like you were thinking of any

other suitors last week at the springs." He tilts his head and nods before taking some yellowtail. He then looks Itami

over as if he were thinking about something…else. He then looks at the food and then grins at her, "WEll, whatever,

might as well enjoy the ride." He nods his head, "I know you…" He then looks at her and then takes a bite of yellowtail

leaving the last bit unsaid and then starting off, "Hey, Arika, wait up. I'm going to try some desert for comparison to

another desert I ate last week." He then looks back at Itami and grins at her. She thinks she can tease him with the idea

of other suitors, huh? He then just walks off.

Arika starts checking off most of the desserts she had tasted, then climbs so that she's perched atop Kaidan and

pointing him in the right direction of yummy food. "Over there is fried mochi ice cream. And they have iced milk tea over

there. And Takoyaki over there, but that's yucky. Don't eat it." Otherwise Gyuki will be mad at her. "And then there's

some fancy cake makers over in that stall over there. And some tiny sandwiches with cucumbers. I didn't like them, cuz

they have veggies. Over there is-" And she continues to babble about the different foods while Jiro nudges Itami in his

own way, occasionally zipping around to steal some food for himself.

"Ah, fascinating," Sousa remarks when Kotone brings up her clan's culture. "I fancy myself a scholar, you know,

and few things please me more than learning of the unique and exceptional. You really must tell me more about your clan

as we continue sampling. Here, try this gelatin next, I believe it should go nicely with the pheasant's aftertaste…" So

saying, Sousa gradually leads Kotone away to give Itami time to…regain control? Escape? Find a husband between bites?

Whatever she's gonna do, better take advantage of the chance. X)

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