Remembering a Friend [Open! Please join~]

[Kanagawa Nozomi]

The breeze today was cooling, tickling little Kaori's skin, causing her sun-dress to dance, and trying to take her straw hat off of her head. The day was beautiful and inviting! Thankfully, this was her day-off from the Shrine so she took this time to remember her late friend Mina. She had enrolled into the shinobi academy to fulfill her friend's dying wish 'to become a shinobi of Konoha'. Mina's fervent wish to protect this land had moved Kaori. She remembered the brief time she had with Mina, sneaking away from her duties with the Shrine, to come to the world-famous Ichiraku Ramen shop. The taste of the ramen still fresh upon her tongue; breaking the monotony of the usual fish and barley.

Another stiff wind blew over her as she stood in front of the Ichiraku Ramen shop, glancing up at the sign. The wind forced her to hold her hat upon her head and her sundress down. "A little windy today, isn't it, Little Lady?" an elderly gentleman asked in a teasing manner causing Kaori to smile and nod towards the man before he passed by. While it was a bit embarrassing for perverted old man to be staring at her as her dress tried to fly upwards, she didn't let his gaze bother her (too much).

It has been 3 years since she had come to Ichiraku Ramen and her mouth began to water thinking of the seafood ramen. A growling came from Kaori's stomach before she walked into the ramen shop, short enough to not be bothered by the hanging cloth and made her way upon a seat. The owner of the shop turned and looked towards Kaori with a big smile. "If it isn't little Kaori of the Shrine. It's been a while, hasn't it?" Kaori nodded her head with a smile.

"So, what'll it be?" the man asked.

"I would like to have a half-order of the Seafood Ramen, please," she responded.

"Didn't you order a full size last time you were here with your friend?" the man asked. He was ignorant of Mina's death and it was probably best that he didn't know. Kaori's heart jumped a bit at him remembering Mina. She simply gave him a smile and shook her head. "She won't be joining me today, sorry," she said. While it did make her sad that she didn't have anyone to share her ramen with, she did after all, come to this ramen shop in remembrance of her friend.

"Alright, then, coming right up!" he said before getting right to work on the ramen order.
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WC: 431

 

[Mashiro Katsukawa]

Mashiro Katsukawa's eyes flickered open. In his dim tiny apartment a single ray of light woke him up. He huffed slightly, the student got up and stretched lightly, letting out a huge yawn. He sighed getting up and going through his daily routine of brushing his teeth and getting dressed and tidying up his fishing equipment, he grabbed his makeshift rod and headed out the door to do a day's worth of fishing, one of the best spots near the Village known as Konohagakure wasn't too far from the Phoenix Gate. Katsu stepped out of the door locking it with singular key he kept secured on a key chain and then fastened it to his belt for safe keeping. He made his way through the crowd of people coming in and out of the Village. People of all sorts greeted him, the last of the Mashiro clan simply nodded smiling gently, before continuing on his way. There was a wind in the air and he knew it wouldn't be an easy feat to catch any fish to sell at the market today. As he came across his usual spot, Katsu sat on a rock dropping his baited hook into a flowing river. Hours sadly went by and the 12 year old only caught a large fish.

Katsukawa huffed on his way to the village a large fish in his hand. He was lucky to get enough money for some Ramen at best, seeing as Katsukawa didn't have any Parents to provide for him he had to fend for himself most days. The Village however did support him with a home, which wasn't a bad thing at all. Katsu sighed gently before walking into Ichiraku Ramen. His mouth started to salivate smelling the wonderful ingredients being cooked together. The young boy couldn't believe how hungry he was. He shook off the thought and went up to the counter, "Hello, my good man!" Katsukawa said. "I'm here to sell you this here Fish, fresh from the river!" he stated smirking at his catch. It was by no means his best however Katsu wanted the man to buy it. "I'd like to trade it for some Ramen!" the old man looked at him and laughed, taking the fish from him. It was often Katsu exchanged whatever he could find to the man running Ichiraku Ramen "What was it that windy today?" the man said before waving his hand "Have a seat, Katsukawa, what would you like?" the Old man would say taking the large fish and gesturing to the menu, for his love of the sea Katsukawa decided to go with the Seafood before sitting down. He then noticed the girl about his age. Him not really knowing anyone at the Academy yet and not really being native to Konohagakure made it hard for him to make friends. He waved to her and smiled "Hi! What's your name?" Katsu asked, determined to make a new friend.

 

[Kanagawa Nozomi]

Kaori sat silently after her order was made, hat still sitting on her head. The old man running the place inquired about the hat only for Kaori to smile at him and refuse to remove it because of personal reasons. Her horns had a bad habit of turning people away from her, thinking her a monster. These very horns also made her mother believe that she was 'the chosen' by the Great Dragon which pushed her into becoming the priestess of the Shrine. Everyone else looked at Kaori with a bewildered look for a moment before shrugging it off and returning to their ramen. The heat from the boiling water and ingredients, along with the hot bowls made Kaori sweat a little bit.

After a brief moment, someone entered the restaurant. Her eyes turned instinctively towards the person that entered and noticed that it was a boy roughly her age. He may have been slightly older, but at this age, it was hard to tell such a short age gap. One thing was certain, was that the boy smelled of the river and of fish. It wasn't a bad smell to her as she was used to handling fish and essentially dinner for the Tenkawa family. She thought nothing of the boy until he turned to her and asked for her name. A blush came over Kaori's face, forcing her to pull her hat down over her ears. "Um.. Um.. My name is.. Um.. My name is Kaori. Tenkawa Kaori," she clumsily let out. Not only was she hot from being around the soup and the kitchen, but with all of the blood rushing up her face, her temperature continued to rise.

"Wh-wh-what's yours?" she asked, almost embarrassed to speak out. She didn't catch his name earlier, if it was even stated. Upon closer inspection of Katsukawa's face, she blushed even harder and turned her head away. This boy was cute. Probably one of the cutest boys she had seen in a while. The hat she wore was gripped even tighter over her head, now using it as a means of covering her face. Her long lavender hair looked like a cape upon the girl, extending well below the barstool-like seat that she had climbed upon.

"So-so-so, um. Heh," she said as she forced a smile upon her face. Embarrassment and bashfulness made it difficult for her to keep her composure, let alone speak properly. "Did you catch that fish by yourself?" Kaori was a bit socially awkward and didn't really know how to carry-on a conversation. The inability to know what to say stems from her lack of friends or perhaps her lack of social-life due to having been constantly dedicated to her duties to the Shrine.

 

[Mashiro Katsukawa]

Katsukawa smiled softly as the girl spoke, however he was confused by her stammering. "Sorry! Did I scare you?" Katsukawa said to the girl slightly bewildered. However he noticed her face getting red and smirked gently, "I-It's hot in here, huh?" he mumbled laughing slightly trying to keep a conversation, after living in the forest all by himself for two years without anyone to talk to really did stunt his social abilities. However, Katsukawa was determined to make Kaori his friend. He set his fishing rod aside, and slid onto the tall barstool beside her, looking her up and down. The girl was around his age and he did think she was quite pretty, which clearly made him happy. He studied her hair for a moment before mumbling "Whoa. Cool hair." he'd say scratching the back of his head under his hat before looking up at the girl. "Mashiro Katsukawa's the name! Nice to meet you!" the boy said excitedly. However, he could feel an awkwardness hanging around the girl, a bead of sweat formed at Katsu's forehead, showing that the heat of the famed Ramen shop was finally getting to him. He fiddled with a pair of chopsticks looking for something to talk about before Kaori spoke up asking him about the fish. Relieved, Katsu nodded gently, patting his trusty makeshift fishing rod. "Yep! Caught it all by myself. I come here often to exchange fish for food. I only caught one today..." he explains, frowning slightly at the mention of only catching a single fish however that quickly turned into a smile as he asked a question. "Do you know how to fish?" Katsukawa asked the violet haired girl, looking upon her with eyes as black as night. Soon, the man behind the counter piped up at them saying it wouldn't be long, he looked to them with a smile and Katsu returned it with a grin, clearly excited to eat after a long days work.

 

[Kanagawa Nozomi]

So his name is Katsukawa. Rather strange name as it sounds a bit more like a surname. Her hat was still being pulled down covering her face and horns. The blush upon her face still warm to the touch, almost hurting her cheeks with the lingering burn. "Uh-uh," she stumbled a bit with her words, trying to think of what to say. "It's not r-r-really that hot. I mean, the sun is much hotter, right?" she said with an uncomfortable chuckle. Her terrible comparison was rather embarrassing to her. She swore she heard crickets chirping at her stupid answer to him.

She quickly discovered that Katsukawa had caught the fish by himself. That was such a good skill to learn, but to trade in a perfectly good fish for something as empty as ramen seemed a little weird to Kaori. Normally, Kaori would scale and clean the fish and prepare it for dinner for herself, her siblings, and her parents. The act of actually catching the fish was completely foreign to her. "Well, I know a little bit about fish. I know how to coo-coo-cook it at least," she said. Her stammering steadily decreasing the more she talked to the boy, growing a bit more comfortable with just speaking to him. "I would actually cook the fish myself with some barley," she said. Since rice was a rare occurrence for her household, she ate more barley than rice - which is why she mentioned barley instead. They didn't replace rice with barley due to a lack of money but more due to the allergies her mother had towards rice; sick joke, isn't it?

"Or you c-could sell the fish and get enough money f-for 2 or 3 bowls of ramen," she said. It was true that ramen here wasn't exactly the cheapest, but the fishing trade, especially for how far inland Konoha was, he would be able to make a pretty penny. Well, maybe for oceanic fish, he would get more yen from it; river fish might be a completely different story altogether. This wasn't like the Water Country where it was a small island and fish was abundant and easier to obtain. Enough about economics already!

As her awkward rant about better things to do with the fish was over, a bowl was placed directly in front of her. A hot, steamy bowl of seafood ramen, her favorite. The arrival of the food forced Kaori to remove her hands from her hat, allowing a better look at her face. She clasped her hands together and said a small prayer to the Great Dragon, mainly involving Mina, before she lowered her hands and grabbed the chopsticks. She turned and looked to Katsukawa with a big smile upon her face. Her mood seemingly, quickly, changing after the prayer was said and done.

"So, um, are you in the Academy too?" she asked before breaking apart the cheap wooden chopsticks and rolling them in her palms.

 

[Mashiro Katsukawa]

Katsukawa smirked gently, thinking about it as the Ramen came, the steam rose up to his face and he smiled widely. "Yum!" he said laughing slightly, breaking the wooden chop sticks. He mumbled a quick thanks to nobody in particular, before beginning to feast on his ramen. "Yeah,
the sun is pretty hot..." Katsu says awkwardly but smiles to try to break the tension. It was clear the boy hadn't eaten all day, "Whoa! You know how to cook? That's such a great skill to have! I mean, I can catch fish I can't make them taste good." Katsu said nodding gently. He ate his ramen rather he was already around half way done, however the smell of the seafood in the broth really tempted him to continue eating, but he decided to save his for a little while. He slurped up a noodle before looking over to Kaori, "I guess you're right..." Katsu said rubbing his head, none of the merchants in the Village bought off Katsukawa regularly. They often looked at him as just a kid, however, occasionally they would buy off him and he'd be able to buy as much ramen as he wanted. Katsu shook his head slightly, not really wanting to share that he was a lousy businessman.

As the girl next to him mentioned the Academy, Katsu's face lit up. "You're going to the Academy too!?" Katsukawa said, lending her a bright smile he'd then look down slightly, "It's my first year though... I missed a few." he'd say disheartened. "I'm still gonna give it my all though! It'd be a waste if I didn't." Katsu said nodding gently, eating more of the Ramen. "By the way, why do you wear that hat?" Katsu asked, his hat already on the table. He always remembered his mother telling him it was rude to wear a hat indoors, however that was a long time ago. Katsukawa huffed gently at the thought, he took another mouthful of ramen to cheer him up before smiling at her, waiting for an answer.

 

[Kanagawa Nozomi]

Kaori blushed a little at the compliment for knowing how to cook, causing her to turn her face away from Mashiro for a moment. "Well, I haven't had a whole lot of time to learn a lot of dishes. I've only kn-know how to make only a few dishes. I'm far too busy to learn more dishes," she said with an uncomfortable chuckle. A bead of sweat fell from the far-side of her face. "I guess if you could learn how to make 2 or 3 dishes, you could alternate between cooking those dishes, you know," she said before burying her face into her ramen bowl, shoveling noodles into her mouth. She chewed a few pieces before regaining her composure and swallowing what was in her mouth.

"Yeah, I'm going to the academy. I've only had private lessons so far and I haven't actually been to a class with other students," she responded with a big smile and gave a nod to Katsu. He seemed thrilled about being in the academy. Excitement wasn't exactly the main emotion she felt about becoming a shinobi, but it was her duty that she felt she had to fulfill for her late friend Mina. While she does take her duties very seriously, she is still on the fence (personally) about joining the academy and becoming a shinobi. So the main reason she's going to the academy is obligation. Balancing both becoming a shinobi and maintaining the Shrine will be extremely difficult; nothing she isn't capable of handling herself. She snapped out of her thought when Mashiro asked about her hat. With a little cough, she turned her head once more.

"Well, I have a personal reason I wear my hat. Nothing more than that, okay?" she asked before turning back to him, smiling. She didn't know this boy well enough for him to see her horns; not knowing exactly how he would react. Whether he'd call her a monster or other vicious things because of a couple of oddities she was born with. The same would go with 'her eyes'; the 'Eyes of the Dragon' which her mother called it. Though, thankfully, she was actually able to control that. She turned to look down at the ramen and started to eat. She didn't know where to take this conversation, but hunger lead her to eat a bit more.

 

[Mashiro Katsukawa]

Katsukawa smiled gently, nodding "You're right! Maybe you could teach me some recipes some time. I mean, I'm sure I'm going to see you a lot more since we're both going to the academy!" Katsu said his eyes twinkling, he was doing it! He was making his first friend! After months of being lonely in the village Katsu had begun to think that he would never make a new friend. Sure, people were nice to him but he hadn't talked with anyone long enough to establish any sort of relationship. A gut wrenching feeling came over him as he remembered his old friends from his hometown, most of which were a part of his Clan. He began eating once again before looking to Kaori, "Sorry! It's just when I talk about the Academy I get really excited!" he said blushing slightly in embarrassment, however he didn't seem to notice. The last of the Mashiro sighed slightly, his face heating up from the hot bowl in front of him. The girl didn't seem so enthusiastic about joining the Academy as he did. But Katsu didn't pry. He knew that some people would rather take different paths in life , but for him it wasn't so much as an option. Being a Shinobi is probably the best way he could find the people who destroyed his clan and see that they payed for what they have done. Katsukawa's face drooped slightly at the thought of his Clan's tragic past. He shook it off, and turned to the girl, "Oooh! What'd you learn at the lessons? Or is that Private?" Katsu said laughing at his own pun, it wasn't very funny but he didn't seem to care. At the mention of the hat, Katsukawa scratched his head curiously, wondering what could be under there. He shrugged it off, "I guess you have your reasons then, not going to pry." he said smiling brightly at her. He was half tempted to rip the hat off her head, but Katsu couldn't screw this up.

 

[Kanagawa Nozomi]

A blush came over Kaori's face when Mashiro requested that she teach him some recipes. She turned her head once more and cleared her throat. "Yes, maybe it would be alright," She buried her face back into the bowl of noodles, shoveling more into her mouth, chewing them up. An apology came from Mashiro and she turned her head towards the boy and shook her head. "Oh, no no. It's actually perfectly fine. I would be excited too! So no need to apologize for that, alright?" she said as she nodded her head. She offered him a warm smile because she, too, was excited to join the Academy. Ever since Mina had died from her bloodborne illness, Kaori spent all of her time at the Shrine. She didn't take any time to meet new people or get to know anyone, figuring that spending time away from the Shrine is what cursed her friend, Mina, to her death. And it was honoring her death that brought her here in the first place.

"Oh! Um," she said as she looked up in thought for a moment in through. "Well, I did learn how to properly throw a punch and Coffee-Sensei also showed me how to shoot a rifle," she said with a BIG smile upon her face. She felt accomplished with learning how to properly throw a punch and actually showing proficiency at a strange weapon like a rifle. "Coffee-Sensei said it was weird for me to use a rifle as it wasn't very, 'Ninja-like' due to how loud it was. And yeah, it is kind of loud," she said with a bit of a chuckle. Those were good times, even if learning how to punch properly and to shoot a rifle drove her nuts at the time.

She dipped her head into the bowl once again and the ramen was finished. With a slap of her hands, she smiled to the man behind the counter and smiled at him. "Thank you! It was delicious!" she said to the man behind the counter. She moved her hand into her side and pulled out some yen and placed it upon the table, directly beside the empty bowl. She turned her head towards Mashiro, placing her hand upon the top of her hat. "So, what do you plan on doing afterward?"

 

[Kanagawa Nozomi]

[5-Day out]
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