Bringing home that bread [Open RP]

[Tamashi Soru]

Soru steps swiftly but gracefully through the streets on her way home from the family’s bakery. In a basket she carries several large buns with a few sweet treats hidden under a small blanket. She was instructed not to tell anyone about the treats; they were to be Soru’s treats but she thought she would share them with the other young ones in the Tamashi house. Her face glows with the thoughts of how pleased her younger family members would be once they received their gifts. She passes through a common play area and loses focus momentarily to find herself almost tripping over a ball rolling beneath her. She leaps forward instead of stepping on the ball and the basket shakes, dropping one of her treats on the ground. Soru stops to toss the ball back to the playing kids and looks down at her lost cookie as her smile also fades. As she begins to frown she can feel her face flicker and she focuses on words from her departed sensei.

She bends over and picks up the cookie to look it over. Her attention turns to her shadow as her eyes begin to follow it; her shadow crossed the street and she sees a masked individual standing behind a woman. Her thoughts turn this person into the shaman Kishin and in her head she relives the events of her exam. Months had passed but she found the trauma never ending; she found herself like this a lot with images of blood and shadows filling her mind. Her image flickers like static and she blinks. When she opens her eyes she standing across the street staring at the masked person with the cookie still in her hand. Soru finds the mask belonging to a member of the ANBU and not having memory of having moved towards them. The person looks down at Soru and she huffs before dropping the cookie as she races back across the road. Again a ball bounces in front of her but she loses her grace and trips over it. The basket drops to the ground; the buns stay inside but more of the treats shoot out into the road.

”Oh sniff…” Soru’s face flickers once again as she begins to pick them up out of the sand.

[[It's been a while since I've RPed, go easy on me ]]

 

[Kazu]

Kazu was dead tired. Every step he took was an effort, and it showed. How many days have I been here, in the village, now? Why have I never just walked around and enjoyed myself? Kazu was not from around here. Brought to this village by chance, fate, or bad luck — or, maybe all three working in discordant synchronicity — Kazu was doing his best to work with a difficult situation. After all, defending people you hardly knew against an unending horde of humanoid monsters with a poorly understood array of abilities tended not to rank too highly on the “what people do for fun in their spare time” chart. Yet, that had been his life these past few weeks. I need a break, or else I’m going to break.

The young boy with charcoal black hair and crimson red eyes, with thick dark birthmarks underneath each eye like an outline, was stalking one of the many marketplaces that had sprung up around the new Residential Districts in the aboveground section of Sunagakure. Cultures and customs mixed strangely here, as the mass influx of people from all corners of Wind Country had caused an explosion of “newness” in the still-developing sections of the city. Kazu saw people dressed in strange outfits that made his simple white tank top and beige calf-length pants seem out of place, though the simple sandals he wore seemed identical to every other pair he saw. He heard dialects he’d never heard before, smelled something spicy and fragrant in the air, and even witnessed some children playing a game with a ball that he didn’t recognize. Everything is changing. Lost in his thoughts for a moment, Kazu stared down at his palm while he considered everything that had occurred to him since that fateful night in the Ryuzaki Estate. He remembered his mad dash to the village to get medical treatment for his father; he remembered vowing to help the people here who needed it; he remembered discovering his true heritage, and the odd abilities granted him by merit of his blood. Even I’m changing, I suppose. I don’t quite feel like myself, these days…

Kazu looked up at just the right moment — if he hadn’t, he might have run straight into a girl who appeared to be falling. There were many questions flashing through his head in that moment, but not one changed what would happen if he did nothing. Instinctually, with a fluid control of motion that was only seen in those who’d trained for years to be skilled shinobi, Kazu attempted to catch the girl before she could tumble into either himself or the ground.

”Whoa, that was close,” he would exclaim, if he caught her. Giving her a second to get her bearings, he would let go of her as soon as she seemed like she had stable footing again. ”You alright? Wouldn’t want you getting a mouthful of sand. Trust me, it doesn't taste very good.” Kazu gave her a reassuring smile and laughed a little at his own joke. Seeing the basket, which fortunately had landed without too much turbulence, Kazu bent down to pick it up for her. He noted the sandy cookies, strewn about. ”It’s a shame about the cookies, though. They look like they would have been good.”

 

[Tamashi Soru]

Soru is falling, although she thought she fell. A memory of her face almost smacking into the ground is replaced with being caught by someone. She still drops her basket and watches as the treats fly out just as she saw before. She holds still in the arms of a stranger using his body to keep her vertical without even realizing that he was there in the first place. Her eyes moved slowly back in front of her and then notices the shirt and the body that was under said shirt. She pushes away from him and stumbles for a second and takes a look at his whole form. She immediately notices that he looks to be around her age but quite a bit taller, which she was used to being as short as she is. Soru’s embarrassment from bumping into the boy makes her flicker slightly, her image bouncing from side to side for just a second.

”Hey, sorry there, bud.” Soru moves to attempt a light shoulder punch and then smiles at him and continues, ”Thanks for catching me.” She watches awkwardly as he picks up her basket for her. She takes it in her arm once more and listens to his remark on the cookies.

”Yes, my family owns a bakery in the commercial district. So losing a few isn’t a great loss, though my cousins will be sad… Although they didn’t know I was bringing them in the first place.” Soru winks and says, ”Guess I’ll just have to not tell them.” Soru checks out the boy’s outfit and remarks on it’s simplicity. Her family does nothing but make bread and yet they afforded many luxuries in this village so she begins to think maybe this boy lives on the street. She knew there were some She wouldn’t judge the boy should this be the case but it gave her cause to think.

”You know we have plenty of bread if you would like some?” She extends the basket to him and her heart raced as she hoped he would accept. Soru tries to do a good thing whenever she can, which can be a nice thing, but she does it to not become the person the shaman thought she should be. ”My name is Tamashi Soru, by the way.” Don't forget to smile.

 

[Kazu]

Disaster averted, but not the awkwardness of meeting someone new for the first time! Did I do something wrong? The way the girl moved back away from him in a hurry made the young man think, maybe, he’d been improper somehow. He didn’t think so; but then again, people did all sorts of things, for all sorts of reasons, that he didn’t really understand. Do I smell bad, or something? Even though Kazu was likeable enough, and seemed to get on well with most people, he still tended to worry and overthink things. Having spent most of his time growing up training in the Ryuzaki Clan Estate, well beyond the borders of Sunagakure, Kazu was not as well versed in the formalities of socializing as he was in fighting. I don’t really get it, but she seems nervous for some reason.

Kazu was about to say something to the effect of apologizing if he made her feel awkward at all, when suddenly her form flickered almost imperceptibly right before her eyes. It wasn’t much, but it was enough to perturb the young boy’s mind long enough to prevent him from making things even more awkward. Did I…imagine that? What was… His thoughts trailed off, and his mind snapped back to attention.

”Hey, sorry there, bud,” she says with a smile, as she brings her fist up to his shoulder and gives him a playful punch. ”Thanks for catching me.”

”Hey, no problem!” He smiles back, making eye contact. He looks down for a moment as he bends down to pick up the basket, then resumes eye contact upon standing up. ”Just glad no one got hurt.”

There’s still a thought nagging at the back of his brain about that weird flickering he noticed earlier, but Kazu decides not to ask about that. Not my business, and I’ve already made her uncomfortable enough. And yet, despite his internal naggings that he’s bothering her, he stays and listens to her talking about how her family owns a bakery in the Commercial Hub with a smile on his face. When she mentions how her cousins will be sad, then gives him a wink that she simply just ought not to tell them, Kazu’s face flushes just a little as his thoughts go every which way. Why did she wink? What does that mean? Is this a test? Am I reading too much into this? AHH, I DON’T KNOW! Kazu started to lose eye contact with this girl, apparently interested in looking in every single other direction besides directly into her eyes, despite the ease at which he’d been talking before. Was that sweat he felt on his forehead?

”Aww, that sucks for them, then! Though I guess…” his voice trails as he snatches on of the sandy cookies from the ground, ”…for me, it’s quite the stroke of luck!” Blowing the sand off, then waving it around a bit to get the rest off, Kazu fearlessly takes a bite. As he chews, his face melts into one of pure pleasure and adulation — he even, unconsciously, lets out an audible ‘Mmm’ sound. Before he’s completely done chewing, the boy exclaims excited, ”Holy Suna, these are amazing! Did you make these yourself?” Kazu wasn’t about to mention that this was the very first cookie he’d ever had in his life. Growing up in a warrior family meant certain things, like sugary sweets, were often forgotten as unimportant compared to training and eating right. I have to tell Enishi about this. These things…so good…oh, Suna, thank you for this blessing…

When she offers Kazu a piece of bread, he unthinkingly accepts — although, that hungry/greedy glint in his eye could be interpreted as thanks. Violently tearing off chunks of bread, Kazu makes the same face of adoration and reverence. He almost chokes on the piece he’s trying to swallow down in order to say to her, ”This is so good, too! I’ve never baked anything, but I know how to cook a mean desert stew out in the countryside. I gotta learn to make this…it’s way tastier than any Dustboar I’ve ever cooked.” Licking his lips as the last piece of bread disappears into his mouth, Kazu wipes off all the crumbs on his shorts and licks off a bit of chocolate still stuck to his finger.

When she introduces herself, he returns the favor. ”Nice to meet you, Soru! I’m Ryuzaki Kazukura, but no one calls me that except my father when he’s cross. Call me Kazu.” Practically beaming with happiness, Kazu can still taste the deliciously foreign sugar and carbohydrates on the tip of his tongue. He knows it would be rude to ask for more, but he simply can’t help himself. ”So…Soru…do you think you can show me how to make these things? Like, right now? I…need some more of that in my life. What did you call them again? Cook-ee’s?”

 

[Tamashi Soru]

Soru is excited to be talking to someone new, as she always is, but as she spoke she noticed a shift in the boy’s demeanor. After her innocent wink he became red in the face and he broke eye contact with her. He began to appear very nervous, like his mind was shattered and he wasn’t quite sure whether he was coming or going. His eyes began to dart around to everywhere but her, and at that moment she began to wonder what she did to make such a terrible impression. As her smile began to weaken the boy reached down to pick up one of the cookies and then he did something she would have never expected.

He took a bite. He bit into the cookie which was covered in sand merely moments before but Soru held her tongue. She already thought him a street dweller but then it was sure to her that he must be starving. He spoke about the treat like it was the best thing he had ever eaten, and maybe it was. He seemed elated and that was enough to bring power back into her smile and she decided to offer him bread. Without hesitation he attacked the loaf and as he took it from her Soru’s heart skipped a beat. She had a familiar feeling of pleasure that she got from helping others; not to mention her love of others is what keeps her hatred locked away.

Seeing his reaction to the bread was thanks enough but then he praises the bread as well and begins to speak excitedly about his own creations. In Soru’s mind the boy must have been famished and that caused the awkwardness at the beginning. Her conscious begins to fade and she lets him finish before she speaks.

”I’m sure your dust… um, boar is fantastic!” She remarks despite not really knowing what he was talking about. She was used to eating large dinners with her family; aunts and uncles in the kitchen will prepare enough food for over thirty people every day and then the kids, such as Soru, wash the dishes after. When the boy introduces himself he gives a fact about himself that throws Soru off her grove. Her smile begins to fade as she realizes that this boy, Kazu, lives with his father. He must have a home then, mustn’t he? She was wrong about him being homeless. This doesn’t sit well with Soru and she becomes the one overcome with a nervous panic. The color drains from her face and all she can think about is how awful she is. Truly she must already be the person that the shaman Kishin wants her to become. She had judged him and now she was stepping away from the light and giving in to the hatred. He had never done anything to her; he even praised her bread. What had she done.

“I’m sorry!” Soru’s image flickers again as she interrupts his question. “No, stop. No words.” She shushes Kazu with a finger to her lips and then covers her mouth to stop the word vomit as it starts to pour out. She flickers again. She groans under her hand and then lowers it to speak again, “What I mean is I assumed, well, that you were homeless and that’s why I offered the bread to you… Not that I mind you taking it, now that I know you’re not that is… I just feel bad for assuming that, you must just be… Poor?” Soru flickers again as she immediately realizes that she’s still doing it. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it like that.” She sticks her tongue out like she trying to throw up some sickness that’s making her act this way. She covers her whole face now and lets her basket droop down by her side.

“I sure made a stinker out of this. I’ll let you leave in peace.” She flickers again, taking a deep breath to try and curb her little flickering problem.

 

[Kazu]

Two nervous-nellies, each trying to make a good impression, seemed to be a recipe for a self-embarrassing time. The two did a good job at pleasantries — when it came to getting out of their own heads, however, it seemed their insecurities fed off each other. They each had a narrative going on inside their own minds, separate from the goings on of the actual conversation, which only seemed to further tangle and knot as they each misinterpreted signals and small details. It was almost like a game of nervous-tennis: Soru did something harmless and ordinary, which Kazu misinterpreted and tried to (badly) cover up, which made Soru confused as to what had been wrong about the original harmless act, which made Kazu nervous as to why she was nervous, and so on and so forth, until…

The latest serve in this game came from Soru, when the color began to drain out of her face. Oh no! I was way too rude in accepting all those treats! I overreached on her generosity! How Kazu equated those two things to be related was anyone’s guess, but it was too late; the spiraling had begun.

OhmygodIcan’tbelieveI’vedonethisNowshe’llneverwanttottalktomeagainWhatamIgoingtodo?Ohgod!Ohno!AHHHHHHH!

Things had been going so well, too. For a few moments there, while Kazu was engrossed with the new tastes she’d exposed him to, he’d been able to let go of his inner worries. He had felt completely relaxed sharing some of his own experiences with cooking, too. But now, with the smile and color gone from her face, Kazu was anything but calm. I should just leave now, before I offend her any further. Yes, that’s it! Kazu was just about to open his mouth to apologize, and was getting ready to make a deep and formal bow appropriate to his feelings of personal shame, when suddenly she began to speak over him.

“I’m sorry!” Wait…what? “No, stop. No words.” Frozen in place by her words, Kazu’s brain is on fire trying to figure out what’s going on. Did…she just…flicker again? And…why is she sorry? “What I mean is I assumed, well, that you were homeless and that’s why I offered the bread to you… Not that I mind you taking it, now that I know you’re not that is… I just feel bad for assuming that, you must just be… Poor?”

Kazu blinks. Once. Twice. His face hasn’t moved an inch. She must have noticed, and thought he’d taken offense, as she continued on in a voice that mirrored all the nervousness he heard in his own head.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it like that. I sure made a stinker out of this. I’ll let you leave in peace.” At the end, she flickered again. So I wasn’t seeing things? Soru was covering her face with her hands, plainly uncomfortable, while she let the basket droop as low as her spirits. Oh boy. I sure caused a mess, didn’t I? Two nervous-nellies, indeed.

”Hey.” Soru would notice Kazu’s voice sounded closer than before; as if to confirm, she would feel his hands gently press against her forearms in what was supposed to be a soothing manner. If she allowed him, Kazu would delicately remove the basket from her arms, then take hold of each of her wrists and slowly bring her hands away from her face — instead, he would hold each of her hands in his and give them a slight, reassuring, squeeze. If she didn't want him coming nearer, then he would simply stand there until she peeked out from behind one of her hands. The young boy had a soft smile on his face.

”I really appreciate you caring about me. It means a lot, truly. Please don’t feel bad, I really don’t mind.” The smile turned into a beaming grin, with teeth exposed and eyes scrunched together to make more room on his face for the smile to expand into. An “ear-to-ear” grin wasn’t nearly as wide as this one was. ”It’s…actually kind of funny, you know? We’re similar, you and I — we’re both worriers, aren’t we?” Kazu gave her hands one more reassuring squeeze (if she had let him take them), to let her know he meant what he said, then would allow her to pull her hands back if she wished.

As long as he could remember, Kazu had been good at sensing people’s moods. Not exactly a skill of his; more of a personality trait. He’d always been a sensitive kid, for better or worse. At the moment, he hoped it was for the better.

”How about we start over, Soru? Reaching down to pick back up the basket he’d temporarily sat down, he extended what remained of the cookies and baked goods towards her. ”Thank you for the bread and…uhm…cook-ee? Did I say that right? It really was good.”

[ooc]
I'm so, so, so sorry for the delay. I sometimes don't know how to "life" properly. Doing my best to not disappear like that again.

 

[Kazu]

Perhaps Kazu had been too direct? Perhaps he had said the wrong thing, or had otherwise said the right thing but in the wrong way? Perhaps it was nothing that he had done, and couldn’t be addressed by anything he could do, and was altogether out of his control? Kazu would never know, as the moments after his last words stretched out beyond what he was comfortable with. He had hoped the girl would respond to his reassurances, but unfortunately it seemed that the embarrassment, shame, or misunderstanding between the two of them had grown too large to ignore. Sighing, Kazu sets the basket of cookies and baked breads down on the ground by her feet — the girl, Soru, could pick it up at her convenience whenever she was ready.

”I guess I’ve really made a mess of things here, haven’t I?” Kazu chuckles, slightly, while giving her an innocent smile and scratching at the back of his head nervously. Taking a step back, Kazu continues on. ”I…suppose I should let you get on with your day. Your cousins will be expecting those cookies and things sometime soon, yeah?” Soru still hasn’t said anything by this point, so Kazu is left to assume that she’s either too nervous, or too hesitant, to respond properly. Kazu doesn’t mind, really, though he does make a mental note to learn how she made those magically soft sweets.

”I’m sure we’ll meet again, Soru! Don’t go dropping anymore cookies, yeah?” And like that he was gone, just another figure in the crowd.

[ooc: Topic Left. If you're ever back around the site, let me know and we can RP again sometime! For now, though, I've gotta clear up an RP slot.]