Errands, Errands, and even more- drinking? [private]

[Otani Ryuichi]

The sun set along the mountain ranges of lightning country, and the always chilling air became cold enough to rival entire winter seasons of a place like konoha. Lights went on from house to house as the nightly lives of kumo citizens started as usual. From illegal dealings to parties to drinking, the night time in kumo was no less busy then it was during the day.

Usually, this would call for night patrols, and gate duty from the trainee ANBU. However, this night two particular ANBU in the making happened to luck out of sentinel duties. Ryu, and Aya had been tasked with helping the teahouse clean up, and take inventory before they would be able to enjoy their night off.

So as of right now, most of the work was done. All Ryu had to do was make sure the assorted things were available for customers the next day. In his left hand was a clip board filled with everything they needed to ensure was available, and in his right was an ink pen to keep track. He stood in a pantry located away from the rest of the shop that was filled with cans of tea leaves among everything else that Ryu had to look through.

Ryu spun the pen between his fingers, looking between the paper and the shelves of the storage pantry before going off on what . "Sugar, check. Flour, check....." He looked at the list to see 'kuzomochi' around the relatively clean pantry, moving everything around in an attempt to find what they needed...

Of course, since he had agreed to check through everything, he had no clue if Aya was still lingering nearby, but he didn't exactly want to go out to buy more of something that was hidden from plain sight...

"Yo! I can't find the Kuzo!" He shouted out of the pantry into the rest of the empty teahouse in an attempt to contact the only other one currently in here. Where exactly were the other two guys who spent their time living here? Who knows. For all Ryu knew, they were on patrol, or mission duty, or just spending their own free time elsewhere.

Ryu didn't really mind it. To be truthful, he was looking forward to spending time with Aya alone for the first time in....a long time. Maybe even years at this point. The only thing that came to mind was the time she visited him at the hospital way back, and even that was rushed.

"I think we need to go buy some..." He muttered to himself, not even knowing that if they had the stuff, it would be in the fridge. The stuff was like a jelly, not a dry ingredient or supply that's kept on a shelf.

[requesting Aya]

 

[Sukuna Kiyo]

It'd been a long day, like too long. Aya spent the day working at the teahouse, she'd rather be on guard duty. IT always seemed more full when she worked, even though most people avoided this place, probably because anbu hang around here. Citizens who didn't know this was an anbu hang out spot came in, but never really became consistent customers when they saw a group of anbu walk in. ANBU on duty get free tea, but trainees didn't, tea was cheap so it wasn't that bad, food, on the other hand, wasn't free for ANBU. When Aya worked it just seemed like more people came in, she knew why, she just wanted to not be running back and forth, and avoid cringy pickup lines all day. She'd rather be standing at the gate or on the wall all day doing nothing but stare out into the distant mountains.

The shop had finally closed and she was sitting on one of the chairs. She was quick to clean the tables, maybe abusing her speed a little too much to get orders out and tables clean today. The faster they got stuff, the faster they'd be gone, but she couldn't rush cooking food or brewing tea though. Now it was time to just sit and think. Aya opened a lollipop that was in her jacket pocket and put it in her mouth, candy was her drug, her go-to when she was stressed. It had been so long since she became an AiT, when would she be promoted? SHe looked at the lolipop wrapper and remembered when she first met Uri, and Ryu. That was like... six years ago? She never expected to be on a permanent team with the two, she rarely spent time with them though. She did open up a while ago to Ryu, but it was cut short, and that one time when Uri was actually crying in front of her. She didn't let people in easily. It took Ji a few years to get this close to her. It was easier for him though, he was the first person she met outside the slums.

Aya snapped out of her zoning when she heard Ryu's voice from the back, he was saying he couldn't find the Kuzo. "I ate it!" Aya yelled out quickly and laughed, "I'm kidding, did'ja look in the fridge?" She stated then she stood and walked to the back to help him. "I haven't seen any all day, to be honest, if you can't find it we can make a trip to town and get more." She stated and looked at the pantry shelves. "Do we have enough tofu for tomorrow? or did Sensei use it all in today's Dango rush?" She asked and picked up an unlabeled can. SHe shook it to hear the slushing. She couldn't tell what it was, and she gave it a weird glare.

Aya had let her hair go back to its natural color. about three years ago she cut it all off since it was damaged from bleaching it. Now it was long again. She wore low pigtails all the time, and a ponytail while on anbu duty. She had blue ribbon she used to tie her hair. SHe thought it looked cute. Other than that, AYa looked like an Adult now, before she did, but now she didn't need makeup to look like an adult. She grew, one inch, but she did grow! Most of her growing happened in her chest. According to her father, it came from her mother's side of the family. AYa recently had to buy new armor because her old armor didn't fit anymore.

[topic entered]

 

[Otani Ryuichi]

Ryu looked the pantry from top to bottom once more with a furrowed brow. "I'm....pretty sure I already checked the fridge." he said, placing the clip board on a shelf to slip past Aya into the rest of the empty teahouse. he currently only wore his loose pants, and tank-top with his jacket tied around his waist using the arms to keep it in place. Of course, this meant the loose and thin fabrics that he used easily revealed the bevy of small black rods that stuck out of his back, and shoulders, but he didn't seem to care much at this point. They were basically just extreme body piercings in the eyes of most, and that wasn't exactly unheard of in kumo.

Ryu walked to the small fridge that was hidden from the public that was used to keep most of the cold ingredients, and left over sweets in a proper fashion. Going through it, Ryu didn't see any Kuma-stuff, but he was able to find a plate of tofu sitting neatly near the front of the bottom shelf of the 4 shelfed waist-high fridge.

Walking back to Aya, seeing her messing with a weird can of food, Ryu relayed the information. "We have tofu here, but no kuzama...Kuzo." He said, rubbing the side of his head, on the verge of getting a headache. "I know that Uri went upstairs to get some tofu, saying we were out...he must have missed the plate of tofu right in front of him....." Ryu said, before breaking into a small laugh.

When he was with Uri, Aya, or Eiji his old and cheery self took center stage. Ever since the incident years back, he took on the persona of a cold and calculated member of ANBU. He wouldn't emote much through his words, or actions and avoided a lot of attempts to get closer to several people. However, the three people he's spent years with were different. Around them he could smile, and laugh like he always would. It was a nice change of pace.

Ryu took a moment to untie the arms of the jacket around his waist to throw it over his shoulders, and slip it on like a well-worn glove. A chakra signal went into his rippled eyes to allow it's intense purple color to fade a decent amount to at least seem normal at a first glance, yet still have an obvious purple tint and rippled pattern. It worked for when he was on the streets, at least.

"You down to go get supplies? We can grab a bite to eat with Uri's emergency errand money since he caused half of this." Ryu suggested, pointing to the 'secret' loose floor panel on the other end of the teahouse floor.

 

[Sukuna Kiyo]

Aya nodded when she heard they still had tofu. It seemed the kuzo was gone, that'd be bad for tomorrow. So they had to go get some. She was tempted to send Ryu out alone, but the temptation to misuse Uri's errand money was too great. "Uri misses things when he's not on duty and rushing, though he'd slap me if he heard that." Aya stated before looking over her shoulder, then peaking around the corner to make sure he wasn't there. She set the can back down, and walked out of the pantry.

"Guess we'll have to go out, and I don't mind grabbing a bite to eat, it has been a while since Uri treated us." Aya stated with a small laugh, then she walked over to the uber-secret loose floorboard. She opened it up using her kinetic abilities, something she rarely did but finding something thin to open was too much work. She took enough to get the kuzo, and have a nice night out. It wasn't often they used this stash so it usually had plenty.

Though Aya often contributed some of her daily earnings to this spot, she knew sometimes Ji did, and maybe Ryu. Being anbu wasn't the kind of job that you could have a "nice" life with so Aya barely spent any money. Food, rent, and rarely clothing and ninja tools. That's about all she spent on and the rent wasn't that expensive since it was almost free living with Uri. Utilities need to be kept on though. A few years ago Aya spent a lot of her saving on beauty products. Makeup, hair dye, it was a phase.she was back to her old self with baggy clothing, messy hair, the only thing that was missing was the big dorky glasses she used to wear. She didn't need them anymore since she fixed her eyes. She didn't put on makeup anymore unless it was a special occasion.

Aya pocketed the money and walked towards the door. "We can pick up Kuzo on the way back." Aya stated with a grin towards Ryu, then she opened the door and held it open for him. She would make a joke here, like ladies first, but she eased up on the teasing recently. Maybe she just didn't want to get punched right before a meal, kinda hard to eat and be in pain. Aya continued enjoying her lollipop, depending on where they go she'd have to hurry and finish it. Throwing away any unfinished candy was out of the question though.

 

[Otani Ryuichi]

Ryu nodded as Aya grabbed the stored money, and used the spare time to grab a spare key to the shop from upstairs. Running through their apartment with a stealthy step in his feet, Ryu eventually found himself in the bedroom. Looking over the four bunks in the room, Ryu reached up into the shelf on his bunk to pull out one brass key with a small cartoon house etched onto it by hand. Ever since Ryu was given his own key, he had kept it safe, and even put that marker on it as a way of never getting it confused with another.

He also took the chance to pull out one more thing. A roll of yen bills held together neatly with a rubber band. The exact amount wasn't exactly something Ryu kept track of, but he generally took one of these with him whenever he went out for a meal. Seeing that they were kinda stealing money from Uri to do that, Ryu simply shrugged and tossed it through the curtain to their sensei's bunk as a way to have Aya keep her trickster-bone sated while not meeting the wrath of an angry Uri with a sudden craving for Daifuku. Walking out, Ryu muttered "Thanks, Sensei." with a grin.

Arriving back downstairs with the keys twirling on one finger, he hadn't took more than a dozen or so seconds. Walking towards the door, Ryu simply thought for a moment. Was getting the errands done last a good idea? For all they knew, it would be forgotten if they ended up spending too long somewhere. Regardless, he was sure the diligence, and responsibility of two ANBU trainees would pull through, so he agreed.

At the door, in response to the gesture that Aya gave, Ryu simply bowed in an exaggerated fashion before walking out. Needless to say, he had to lock up before he caught back up with Aya and got ready to plan. To start, he was wondering..."Hey, how about we go to the Susukino district and see if any vendors are still open?" He asked, imagining all the different street foods that he adored.

"We could also....I dunno, grab a drink somewhere?" He suggested with a lack of much interest. To be honest, he was fine going just about anywhere. It was really up to Aya in the end.

 

[Sukuna Kiyo]

Aya laughed internally at Ryu's over-dramatic bow, and then went on ahead. She figured he would lock up, she rarely did. Mostly because who was stupid enough to break into a known ANBU hangout? Eyes were always on that building it felt like. SHe didn't slow down for Ryu to catch up, in fact, if she wanted to she could just warp over to the shopping district if she wanted to, but it was rare that she got to hang out with her other brother.

Once Ryu caught up he mentioned the Susukino district, Aya pondered for just a moment, then smiled and nodded. "I am sure vendors are gonna be open, it's not that late out." She stated, then turned on to the street that led to the Susukino district. The next thing Ryu suggested surprised Aya, he was the last person she expected to want to go out for a few drinks.

Aya smiled with a small laugh. "You're the 100th person to ask me that today." She said in a joking tone of voice, but it was true. "I don't mind winding down with some Sake." She nodded, then looked around.

It didn't take to long to get into the Susukino district, the first thing that hit Aya was the smell. "MMmm I kinda want something on a stick... Maybe grilled fish on a stick?" She hummed to herself. She was a foodie, if she didn't do hard training every day, she'd probably be a lot chubbier than what she was. Though some could say all her extra fat went to her boobs and thighs.

 

[Otani Ryuichi]

Ryuichi was quick to laugh at Aya's comment, enjoying the exaggeration that she commonly used for manners such as this. "Well, I guess that makes me the lucky one, yeah?" He responded to her, as they made their way through the streets of kumo.

As they entered the Susukino district Ryu gave it some thought, wondering what place was nearby that had good drinks, and food. Then, it came to mind. "Sake...It's fine, and all but I prefer shochu. Ever have it? It's made with rice, like saki is, but they also make it with potatoes and other things for flavor. " Before he could get an answer, he perked up a bit at the sight of a particular food stand...

Almost silently walking away from Aya, as if stealth was second nature at this point, he went to the stand and pulled a few yen bills from his coat. The stand itself was pretty simple, being a couple yards wide and about 3 yards sticking away from the front with a multitude of fryers, and coolers. On the front of the stand was a sign that said "Kensaki-ika! Fried Dried Squid Snack!" with a small squid mascot leaning against the words. Upon arriving the man behind it shrugged, having recognized Ryu from being here regularly.

Eventually, without any words, Ryu was given a small paper tray filled to the brim with deep fried squid jerky. In return he handed the man at the desk some yen, and simply walked off as per the usual routine.

Returning to Aya with a mouth full of steaming hot seafood Ryu said, "Shorry Aya. I ushually grab shum of thish." With a swallow, and a small sigh of content he held the tray to Aya, offering some of the salty food. If she chimed in, they could finish it before getting to a bar or something along those lines.