Children and Ramen! [Open]

[Kuru Naohiro]

Riku sat at one of the seats of Ichiraku Ramen, clad in a newly purchased blue robe, with custom yellow wrist straps and insignia of a playing card, placed on the back. He enjoyed purchasing new clothes every week or two, if only for the distraction it can give … and because of the comfort that provide. New clothes can bring out something new in a person; confidence, drive and sometimes a touch of anxiety. Riku reflected that by the logic of new clothes is a new person, then he should have as many clothes as possible. It was a decent enough excuse to write off the yen he devotes to the cause from his academy stipend.

The yen they give the students at the academy wasn’t much to write home about, it provided enough for the basics to keep training, however between different cons that Riku attempts on the streets, the yen wasn’t his biggest concern. Riku’s current concern at this current time was on filling his stomach.

“One beef ramen.” Riku ordered, tossing the yen onto the counter.

As he waited, he began to play with one of his deck of cards, shuffling them between his hands. He’d agreed to meet Kiramaru here, a new friend and partner of his. He wasn’t entirely sure how you go from meeting someone in the woods to running from shinobi together, but it didn’t mean he didn’t like him. Kiramaru could however learn some lessons on arriving to a schedule.

“Where are you Kira …” Riku grumbled, tapping his finger on the counter.

 

[Himemiya Kou]

Kou had entered the ramen shop seconds after Riku did. Her feet were bare as per usual. She came to the shop almost weekly and Ichiraku always made sure she was served first no matter who appeared ahead of her simply because of her condition. She silently ordered her usual Chicken ramen by holding up a piece of paper with her desired ramen drawn on it. The black haired girl swung her legs back and forth as she put her sketchbook on the table and started to draw waiting for her ramen to be served to her.

 

[Himura Kumonosuke]

Then as Kiramaru reached the certain placed,he stealthily enters and held Riku's shoulder,Riku would not feel it as a hand but like a soft bite from something as his nails were long and averagely sharp,he would also feel moisture on his hand,it would seem like he washed his hands or some action related to water,and as he did so,he then greets Riku in a startling way as he suddenly said loudly.

"HEEEEeeeeeyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!Riku".

As he said the words loudly,he also let go of Riku and sat by him,and after that he then puts Katsu,his canine kin,beside him as well,and as he sat down he then orders the same ramen Riku was eating as he said.

"Beef Ramen for me please".

He said as he placed his money on the counter,as he notices Riku was wearing some new clothes,he then says to him.

"New wearables eh?.....they look nice...I have to give it to ya".

As he finished complimenting him,he then starts to toss a coin up and catch it,to shorten the time waiting for his ramen.

 

[Himemiya Kou]

Kou recieved her ramen first. She slowly ate her meal then she paid and quickly left not paying the two males any mind at all. They werent even worth it

 

[Kuru Naohiro]

Riku gave a grin to his friend, his head tracking the stranger that left so suddenly, using the chance to casually lookat his shoulder to figure out why it felt damp.

“Appreciate it,” Riku said, leaning on the counter, “The clothes make the person. You know how different some people with just a different set of clothes? We’re all about appearances.”

As Riku’s ramen arrived, he looked down at his food. The ramen here earned its name, the soft spice scented steam rising from the firm textured noodles layered on perfect beef. Before he went to take his first bite, he looked towards his friend, noticing him playing with a small dice.

“Dice?” Riku asked, giving a smile as he reached into his pocket, “Kira, you like games like that, huh? How about we play a card game then.”

He placed down his deck of cards on the table, spreading them across the hard wooden counter, facedown for him to see. He then lifted his index finger and flicked 5 cards from the deck towards Kira.

“Simple game,” He explained, “You ever play with cards?”

With a grin, he began eating his delicious food as he flicked 5 cards to himself. The steam curling from his bowl wrapping around his face and hands as he raised the cards, keeping the back of the cards facing Kira as he examined his hand.

 

[Himura Kumonosuke]

As Riku has asked about his experience with cards he then replied.

"Hmmmm....I'm more of a betting person....you know...betting in fights or races..like my mother...since calculation is inlcuded there.....and if the theoretical results favors me...then I bet...and I usually win hehe"

He said to Riku,showing that he is not much of a card and dice gambler,as he is more of a betting person,betting in races and fights as he said,as calculation is his strong side,and he picks the theoretical and favorable results as stated.

Usually,he wins in those bets but he also receives losses from time to time,as there are no such things as endless wins and 0 losses,as to him,that is the most unrealistic thing that can happen to the world,as from time to time,everyone will get the short end of the stick.

While he talked to Riku he kept on flipping the coin,and after a few moments of endless coin flips,his ramen too has arrived,steam would also be rising upfrom the bowl and it's noodles and beef strips would be floating on the sea of a flavourful,brown liquid,created by boiling broth and beef on the water causing it's inner fluids to mix with the water,changing it's overall color and taste.

 

[Kuru Naohiro]

Riku gave a laugh, prodding Kira’s cards towards him with a warm smile. He looked at his companions playing dice for a moment. He used to do a few cons with dice when he was younger, though the rewards never felt as right as cards.

“Kira,” Riku explained, “Cards are all about calculations! Knowing when to fold … knowing the other person, guessing when you go in. You can count the cards in a deck if you know how, so you can know what should statistically appear.”

With that explanation, he took a munch from his ramen, the flavour washing over him in moments as he couldn’t resist looking down at the bowl, seeing his own reflection in the broth. His hair was unkept as always, though bits of his white hair seemed almost tinted with dark spots.

I need to go for a shower soon, Riku thought to himself, the ideas of water making him remember his lessons at the academy with a shudder.

“So cmon!” Riku said, nudging his friend, “We got work to do tomorrow, might as well sharpen out wit’s with some new experiences!”

The boy gave a wide smile with his speech, going back to eating his ramen however he kept his cards raised towards Kira in challenge, trying to push him into playing.

“I’ll even teach you how to count cards sometime.” He incited with a wink.

 

[Himura Kumonosuke]

As he explained that cards too,are about calculating as well,he then agrees to him to play,but as his ramen came,he couldn't resist but to sip a bit of the liquid in it as it's smell was all too mesmerising and he did so he then replies to Riku.

"Okay then,let's play!".

He said to Riku as he picked up the five cards,and as Riku also suggest that they both sharpem their wits,he also suggest they sharpen thir physical condition as well as he said.

"We can have a spar too!...so our physical bodies have up to date experience as well!".

He happily suggested to him as he slowly consumed the ramen served to him,it's taste was so delightful that he had to slowly eat it to enjoy it at each second he ate.

 

[Kuru Naohiro]

The cold of the night began to creep in as the pair talked, the noise of footsteps beginning to die down to the point where one could almost hear individual steps. The pair left to their own devices as most of the customers began to leave.

Riku continued played cards with his companion, glancing towards his own hand with an annoyed twitch of an eyebrow. He had a horrible hand, just his luck. He looked back towards Kira with a grin, he wanted to have a spar sometime and he asked half-way through a card game, probably had a decent hand if he was that confident.

“A spar?” Riku asked, raising an eyebrow, “I mean … suppose we could, sure.”

He had to laugh at the sudden bring up of the topic as he looked down at his ramen, taking another bite of it before looking towards his companion. The warmth it brought made the bite of the cold almost non-existent, was that the reason this place didn’t have any doors?

“I say we spar tomorrow,” He suggested with a grin, “After we finish up our mission, whatever it is. Don’t want to be sore, right?”

Riku looked back towards his cards with that suggestion, staring down his bad hand before looking back towards Kiramaru, a smug smile growing on his face as he leaned on the counter, cards raised in challenge.

“So, you going to fold?”

 

[Himura Kumonosuke]

While playing with cards,Kiramaru uses a trick his mother did,by staring right on his eyes,he sees the reflection of the cards,as he did so he grins,as he thinks he has a good hand,good enough to beat him.

Then,as Riku agreed about the spar,he then grins,and replies to him excitedly.

"Can't wait to show my new jutsu to you...hehe".

He said to him and ending with a forced laugh,as his jutsu may be trump card to his as it was a good jutsu against him.

Then after consuming some more ramen,he reaches almost halfway down the bowl,then a Riku asked him to surrender or fold In the game,he then grins and replies with confidence.

"Nahhhhh.....I am already going to win"

He disagreed to fold and bragged about winning,as he saw his hand prematurely as he used a gambling trick used by his mother,as he did so,he saw his terrible hand last time and because of that,he then assumes that he will win against Riku.

 

[Kuru Naohiro]

Riku gave a second glance towards his hand, before looking towards Kiramaru with a grin. He took another bite of his ramen before resting his hand on the pile of facedown cards on the table. His hand lying on the end of the stream of cards. One of the tricks to these games is to always know where atleast a few of the good cards were in your deck, the best way Riku found was to shuffle them to the top of these decks.

“A new jutsu?” Riku questioned with a grin, “I’ve been learning a few jutsu myself. Should be fun!”

He gave a laugh as he stretched his back, moving the shoulders back and forth to loosen his muscles. The act was to hide his hand grabbing a few of the cards on the table, before bringing them back to his hand.

“So, not gonna fold …” Riku mumbled with a sigh, “Well … I guess it’s time to admit defeat then.”

Riku slid the better cards into his hand, hiding the act by placing his hands over the back of the cards, hiding them from Kiramaru’s view, before hiding the bad cards in the palm of his hand. This was a simpler card trick to perform, though it was great at stumping people that thought they had an advantage.

“I’m in.” Riku said, placing his new hand down on the table with a smile.

 

[Himura Kumonosuke]

Then as the moment if truth was around the corner,he then grins as he is certain that he will win as he saw his hand contains pretty bad results.

While doing so,he ate more of the ramen,and after eating the bowl would be fully empty,and as Riku said he was about to surrender,he then grins as not only he won,he won for the first time playing,his happiness from that can be seen as he said to Riku.

"Hehe...this is pretty easy..."

He said to himself as he thought that his victory would be easy,then as he saw Riku set his cards down,his pupils would dilate and he would gasp in suprise,as he saw that the cards were actually pretty good ones.

As Riku setted his cards down,he also sets his down,sighing in dissapointment as he really knew that he will win but it seems it was just a mirage.

 

[Kuru Naohiro]

Riku gave a wink to Kiramaru at his success, turning towards his ramen in full and enjoying the remains of it in victory. After enjoying the flavour rich ramen, he looked back at his defeated companion, placing a hand on his shoulder.

“Don’t worry about it,” Riku said with a smile, “That’s what makes card games like this so much more exciting.”

He let go of his shoulder and showing what was in his hands, all the bad cards that were originally in his hand.

“The game is pretty standard if you follow the rules,” Riku explained, “Though the true game is when the rules aren’t being properly followed. You have to know when they’re lying, when they’ll make a move to deceive you.”

With that, Riku grabbed the assortment of cards and quickly shuffled them back into a proper deck. He patted the deck before placing it back in his pocket. With that, Riku hopped off the chair and looked back at Kiramaru.

“Guess in that way,” Riku commented, “It isn’t that far from being the deception we should know as a shinobi.”

He gave a laugh at that, looking outside at the night sky. With the ramen gone, the cold was becoming noticeable again. He didn’t much appreciate the feeling as he moved to tighten his robes.

“I’m gonna head home,” Riku said, looking back at Kiramaru with a grin, “We’ll meet up for that mission tomorrow, I’m thinking this place.”

With that, he waved goodbye and went running off into the night.

“Cya Kira!” He shouted as he turned a corner on the streets.

[Topic Left]

 

[Himura Kumonosuke]

As Riku explained to how come he have won from such odds in the game,then as he realized that the real game of cards,do not apply any rules at all.

Because of Riku's explanation,he then thought that when playing cards,cheat and cheating are not in it's language,as there are no rules applied to a real game of cards,as explained by Riku.

Then as he realized the sun has now rested and the entire side of the world has now been in the embrace of the almost light-less night,as Riku was about walk home and bid him farewell,he also bid him farewell

"Bye...see you tommorow".

After that,he stood up and walked home,as he did so,his dog,Katsu,hops off the seat he was in,then following his human kin on their way to where they live and dwell.