New friends in a new town

[Kanade]

Kanade, as she had grown to call herself now, was hungry, for only the first week of her new human form she was getting back into the swing of regular meals, the annoyance with needing sleep, and the general irritability of the hormones that surrounded the human process. It wasn’t an easy business, you know, being human again.

She sighed and pushed past the door on the way into a restaurant, whose title board outside had told her that the special of the day was a soup of the day. Anything sounded good right now. The new taste buds liked spicy things, enjoyed sweet things to a degree, and absolutely hated anything sour, much to Kanade’s lament. She used to enjoy a fresh orange or lemon from the lower-lands of Kumogakure in her previous life, but when she tried the same thing now, all she was met with was a gag reflex and the need to spit out what was in her mouth. A more tentative bite into an orange yielded the same results, and she found that her body, the one that she had ended up in, just didn’t like the same things as she had before.

New body, new me, new clan, new responsibilities. She sighed herself into a chair in the ‘seat yourself’ seating of the restaurant and opened the menu to the drinks section. Perhaps a Boba Kiri Tea might cheer her up from the mood she was in.

Waking up on the wrong side of the bed made her almost inconsolable, and she wasn’t even able to tackle the smithing work she had set out to do that morning. After a meal, however, maybe she would be able to face the day head on.

The only friends that she had, now that she had transitioned to Kanade, were a couple from the Enkouten clan, of which she was not a formal part yet, having no Brand Band per se, and having not told her friends yet of her transition from Elemental Body Immortal to riding around in a body in a sort of soul-prism. She touched her heart, where she had kept a hairline scar to remind her lest she forget that this was a body freely given to her in a time of crisis, and that she had to do the original owner proud by it.

Looking around, she studied the passing customers, all taking their seats and the cafe’s wait staff. She wondered what kind of soup it was, and hoped that she could order it very spicy, having delighted in the twist of flavors that a sweet drink with a spicy meal brought to her mouth. She tucked a strand of molten magma behind her ear, her hair looking like a peek-a-boo hair coloring with black on top and a molten orange below and let her softly glowing orange eyes wander over the whole of the crowd. Not that one could tell they were glowing in this light. She drummed her muscular and thin espresso colored fingers on the table, hearing the click of keratin on the lacquered wood.

[Kao]

Nothing delighted Yukino more than a hectic day at work. No, truly; she loved the feeling of knowing that at any moment a huge, demanding family could come in to give her the opportunity to win them over and land herself a fat tip. Tipping had only recently become more common in Iwagakure, and it was a custom reserved only for the best service - the kind of service that made you want to come again and again. Yukino was a natural in this setting. She had a habit of dazzling men and women alike with her good looks and charm. She thrived on the attention, and it gave her much needed reassurance that she was right when she made the decision to shirk reenlisting in active duty when the Tsuchikage announced his plans to invade the lands to the south. Who else but her could keep this place running as the nation inched closer to war? Iwagakure's economy would thank her.

The restaurant buzzed as customers began to file in for the morning rush. The woman grabbed a tiny notebook and strutted toward her section. She first took an older man's order, smirking coyly when she noticed his eyes light up and and occasionally wander to her chest. After giving him a wink Yukino approached a woman she had never seen before. An Enkouten, judging by her fiery eyes and hair and by her dark, lovely skin. "Hiya," she beamed as she tossed her long, silvery ponytail over her shoulder. "I'm Yukino, I'll be your server for today. Can I get ya started with something to drink?"

[Kanade]

Kanade waited until a girl, not yet out of her late teens or certainly not past her early twenties walked up. She noticed the other people staring lasciviously at her and that the girl liked the attention, but that there was something besides lust in her eyes when she enjoyed it. Perhaps it was the power, or the money that came with it, which meant that the girl who introduced herself as Yukino would probably be looking for a big tip.

Well, she was rather hungry, and this body required more food than she remembered her old body needing, the one before she was what Hanako called a ‘rubber girl’. She pursed her lips and scanned the drink menu before shaking her head, “Sorry, I don’t come here often, but do you mind if I let you order for me?” She set the menu down and offered a brilliant smile, helped along by the good care she had been taking.

“I usually like something sweet to drink, and spicy foods.” She looked at the menu once more, “And if anyone should know what’s good and what’s not it would be-” she let her eyes wander over to Yukino and her fascinating eyes, “you and your co-workers. The chef knows what he cooks the best, everyone has their favorite meal to make.” She nodded her head respectfully after she was done and then caught herself being rude. It had been a long day already.

“Ah, I am sorry, I am En-” she stopped herself short of calling herself an Enkouten. She hadn’t earned the right yet, and the fear of associating her actions with the clan helped along by the river of regret that washed over her fiery gaze, cooling the irises to a dull orange she continued, shaking her head in the negative, “Kanade.” Her features relaxed into an unhappy frown, “I’m Kanade,” She tilted her head slightly, noting that the woman had calluses that one wouldn’t get from working at a restaurant, the figure too belied something that needed more physical rigor than working as a waitress or barista.

“Kunoichi?” She offered the word as a question to the girl’s other profession, it was surely either that or something that required hard labor from the muscles and the callouses on her fingers and palms.

[Kao]

Yukino hummed thoughtfully at the request. Usually she was behind the bar whenever someone asked for her to surprise them with their order. It wasn't often that someone asked for her opinion when she was working the floor. "Sweet drink, spicy food eh? I have something in mind." She clicked her pen and jotted down a shorthand order. "It's a bit early for alcohol for some people, but if you want a little drinky-drink I can whip up a hurricane. It's rum with passionfruit liqueur. If we're going virgin then I can make something similar with just orange, pineapple, and passionfruit juice. Both are yummy." She thought for a moment and added, "Spicy, spicy...how does spicy sausage sound?" She woman snapped her notepad closed and flashed a bright smile at her customer's name. But the smile faded at the one-word question.

"Kunoichi? You mean me?" Yukino gave a short, breathy laugh and then shook her head. "Not lately, Kanade-san. I'll be right back with your drink" She gave a wink and turned to put in the woman's order. As soon as she was out of sight, Yukino scowled. She held her hands out in front of her, peering at her palms and then the back of her hands. She even gave her body a once over to make sure her weapon pouch hadn't somehow wrapped around her waist when she wasn't looking. Yukino hadn't been an active duty shinobi in a few years now. Sure, she kept up with simple training sessions here and there and exercised to maintain her physique, but most people didn't peg her as a kunoichi at all.

Yukino made the drink herself, frowning as she did so. When she returned to Kanede's table a heavy cloud seemed to shroud her sunny demeanor. "Sorry but what about me suggests 'kunoichi'? Usually no one thinks that and I actively work to make sure I don't come across that way."

[Kanade]

Kanade nodded, “Yes that all sounds good, I’ll have the alcohol, I think I deserve it after the month I’ve had.” She scratched her eyebrow, trying to get rid of the lingering aftershocks of an eye twitch that was hanging on by a thread. She nodded to the Spicy Sausage, “That sounds lovely as well, the sausage, sounds just like what the doctor ordered.”

She frowned and put her fingers to her temples as the girl left, the bubbly natured girl was either a shinobi or a smith of some sort, but that wouldn’t make sense with the physique that she had. She was much too toned for it. The girl came back, a stark contrast to the sunny disposition, it seemed like Kanade had put her foot into it and got a little black cloud out of the deal. She sighed and looked the girl up and down.

“I’m a medical kunoichi and I know those calluses anywhere, they usually belong to kunoichi, though you’re missing the ones on your middle finger, meaning you wear or have worn some sort of glove.” She looked over the physique, “Your physique would say that you have either been training in a gym or have been going through the grueling training of the every day warm ups and routines of a shinobi. That or you have been overly active in some sort of theater that specializes in poles, jumping, and stealth.”

She might as well go all in on this, “My friend from Kirigakure makes no sound when he walks, but one can tell training when they see it in even the gait of a former shinobi. The former kage that I had the pleasure of having a candy apple with couldn’t even disguise it. It’s cat-paw walking, going from toe to heel to reduce the amount of noise that you make when you are walking, which is a stark contrast to the other girls here that practically put holes in the floor with their heels when they walk.” She sighed, “So all of these things made me think that you were or are a kunoichi, that or have a knack for some odd talents such as smithing and doing gymnastics. Your eyes say that you have seen more than about-” Kanade looked around the room, “Ninety five percent of the other people here, and that look means that you’re either above a genin, or reached above that rank before you tried to work actively to make sure you don’t come across that way. I do have to applaud the work you’ve put in though, it wasn’t immediately apparent, just a hunch from a medical professional.”

Kanade was much too far down the rabbit hole to be coy anymore and so her tone became wistful instead. She’d put her foot right in it, and it wouldn’t hurt to let the girl in a bit on herself, the worst thing that could happen is that she would have to have a new waiter. Either that or this waitress would spit in her food, “I had a very ruthless teacher in the past that would attempt to kill me when I had my guard down, so I had to look for the tell-tale signs. She would always shapeshift into someone that had the same tell-tale marks, those that I showed you, and the medical training, I’ve looked at a lot of bodies and I can just… you know… tell when someone has had shinobi training.” She sipped her drink and smiled, the burning sensation of the alcohol mixing perfectly with the sweetness of the liqueur that made up the drink. “This is delicious by the way, did you want to have one on me after you’re done with your shift for my impudence and prying?" She sighed and stirred her drink a bit with the provided straw, "I want to apologize, I have a knack for putting my foot right in it and not taking it out in time."

Kanade’s own eyes held nothing but melancholic defeat, she had lost so much with the transferral of her consciousness into this new body, and even before that. She was trying, desperately, to turn over a new leaf and to make new friends, but most of her interactions thus far had gone about like this one, Kanade put her foot in her mouth, they exchanged a few pleasantries and then she was alone again.

[Kao]

Yukino didn’t expect such a long winded answer. Several times she parted her lips and took a tiny breath to interject, only able to get a single muttered word out here and there. The woman looked at her hands, suddenly self conscious about something she’d never once given a second thought. Her eyes widened, slightly, as this clearly nervous customer read her like an open book complete with highlighted passages and notes scribbled in the margins. Thankfully though, she didn’t have a completely accurate read of her. Sure, Yukino was light in her feet, but she didn’t have the extensive sheath training that this woman made her out to have. At least, Yukino thought, there were one or two things she could keep a mystery from this woman.

Finally, the fiery haired patron stopped talking, giving Yukino the chance to reply with a snort, “My, my, you’re astute. You should consider intelligence gathering along with that career in medicine.” After that, the former kunoichi gave a small, forceful sigh through her nose. How long had it been since she had even thought of herself as a shinobi? Yukino had left that life years ago, though lately it seemed that she was reminded of what she'd left behind at every turn. It had started with Kinomichi; that steamy encounter that had her mind reeling for weeks afterwards. She racked her brain for any excuse to see him again, but she couldn’t think of anything short of going to the Jousai headquarters and somehow getting herself on his service. That, of course was out of the question. Then there were the upcoming invasion preparations. The last war had nearly destroyed her; Iwagakure's loss was bad enough, but the loss of her father had been nearly impossible to move forward from. She had found meaning in guiding those who had been displaced by the fighting, but even that hadn't been enough to keep her on the field.

She pushed away thoughts of carnage with a hum. "I'm not really working today. I'm just helping out the owner since he begged. So I can have a drink if you insist." She held up a finger in a gesture to tell Kanade to wait a moment, then quickly made herself a drink of her own - heavy on the rum. Somehow she felt she'd need it. When she returned with drink in hand, she slid into the booth across from Kanade. "I suppose I can reward you with a little confirmation. Yes, I was a kunoichi once. Special jounin. But the goddess Kārī herself would have to send me a sign before I ever return to that life. I do stay in shape though. I can't go to temple in poor physical condition, I'd never hear the end of it.

"What about you?" she questioned with a raised brow. "Talk about the body of a shinobi. Or maybe you work in the forges? I assume you're an Enkouten, no?"

[Kanade]

“Mmmmm.” Kanade intoned in a rather sheepish way that meant that she realized just how much her word-vomit had made the girl uncomfortable. The sigh that came after the reply punctuated her shame and she looked toward her glass, hoping that she wouldn’t have to walk out of the restaurant because of her big mouth. A few moments passed before Kanade’s eyes left the glass and looked up at Yukino who was lost in a thought, some sort of regret? The kneaded brows were enough for her to guess at the nature of the thoughts, but not the thoughts themselves.

“I insist.” She nodded to the drink, letting go of the breath that she didn’t realize she had been holding with a small chuckle of embarrassment. The girl, Yukino, came back to the table and sat herself across from Kanade, and Kanade’s hands folded around her glass, feeling the chill of the cool drink helped to cool the hot emotion of embarrassment that still lingered in her cheeks.

The question about the Enkouten had her rubbing her arm, where a brand band should have been. Where it wouldn’t be until the trial period of three months was over, and even then she might be committed to the earth after, rather than let her live and bring shame upon the clan. “I’m both, actually, a smith and a kunoichi.” She explained, to take the edge off of the sting of the next sentence, at least for her, “The Enkouten are, um, rather exclusive with that surname.” She gave a sheepish and apologetic grin, “So for now I am just Kanade.” She would explain more only if pressed, but didn’t want to over-share again, gods and goddesses knew that would not look good.

“Kārī?” Kanade asked, “I don’t think I have ever heard of that particular goddess, do you mind talking about her a bit more, you know um, if you don’t mind?”

[Kao]

How curious. Yukino had come across more than a few Enkouten back when she was an active shinobi. They didn't quite yell their surnames from the rooftops - it was always obvious when someone was borne of the Enkouten clan - but they definitely didn't not refer to themselves as an Enkouten. Something told Yukino that this might be a sore topic for the girl across from her. She wasn't one to pry - not immediately, anyway - so she let the topic drop for now. When Kanede asked about the goddess Kārī, Yukino beamed. She grabbed a napkin and a pen from her apron and began sketching. The ballpoint glided across the coarse paper, Yukino guiding it expertly. It was clearly an image she had drawn countless times before. She drew the outline of a woman and then added four arms, an open kimono to show off a garland, and a long tongue that reached well past her chin. Yukino admired the sketch for a moment and then turned it to face Kanede.

"I'm sure you know that there's a myriad of gods and goddesses that people of Rock Country worship. I serve Kārī, the goddess of time, of death and salvation. I used to go back and forth between her main temple northeast of Iwagakure, but being a shinobi during a war...well, there's not room for much else, is there? But I've only been to temple a handful of times since the war's end. Shameful, since I was on track to being the head priestess of our sect." As she spoke Yukino lightly touched her beaded blue bracelet, gently caressing the cold beads. The woman paused for a moment and then sighed, "Damn, I've really gotten off track haven't I?"

The woman hummed thoughtfully and then looked Kanede in the eyes. Her iridescent eyes shimmered as she tried to read the woman. But that wasn't one of her skills; she always got a read on others by asking them questions directly. "Not to be a typical former soldier and compare war stories, but how did you spend the war, Kanede-san?"

[Kanade]

She watched as the other girl across from her drew the goddess. She hadn't seen this one before, but she committed it and the name to memory. Her themes seemed to match what Kanade was feeling right now anyhow, a very poignant goddess to be staring up at her from the paper. "It's very good." She nodded, "She is goddess over all the things pertinent to me right now, actually. Death of my comrades, time for change, and salvation, which I hope to achieve some day." She smiled, "If you're talking about the previous war, the big one, I was a shrine maiden in a small little backwater town outside the village." She was, but the village was Kumogakure no Sato. No need to freak out the woman in front of her with that tale though, "And if you're talking about the incursion on Sunagakure just recently, I was here at home, trying to bring back some of my clansmen." She was, of course talking about the Enkouten couple that she had rescued along with the girl whose body she was residing in now, and Haru who she assumed still hated her for taking the body of the girl in the first place.

"I was sent on a mission recently to the spirit's nest and it took the time that we were in Sunagakure to complete the mission, so I didn't get to see battle, though I don't really have the stomach for killing, myself." She cleared her throat, "Or at least I didn't think that I did until recently." She flexed her hands and drew her fingers over where her scar was, right above her heart. She could have healed the scar herself, or used a jutsu to hide it, but it didn't seem right. It was a constant reminder of what Thabisa had sacrificed to make sure that Kanade was here today. She continued, "I lost a lot in the past year or so, a lover, a student who I considered a little sister, a handful of close friends, and even my sense of self. I suppose it's rather like these little lovelies." She held out a finger and one of her pearlescent butterflies landed lightly on it, "I had to undergo a transformation, and I'm glad that I retained some beauty on the way out of my cocoon. I just hope to be as dazzling as one of them soon."

"Mmmm. Sorry, that was a lot of information." Kanade intoned, "But Yeah, so I am here, waiting for the next mission, trying to keep calm and enjoy my cooking and smithing. They are some of the only things that calm me down." She smiled, "My cooking is sorta special and I opened my own restaurant with a smithy in back that's powered by the ovens. You should come see it sometime, I'll cook you a meal on the house for listening to my sorrows." A quick friendly wink and she wrapped her lips around the straw again, sucking in a sweet mouthful of the drink that Yukino had brought her.

[Kao]

Yukino smiled proudly as Kanede acknowledged the goddess to whom she had dedicated so much of her life. It had been a while since she had spoken to someone about the divine. A surge of satisfaction and pride swelled in her chest at the knowledge that she had made someone aware of Kari’s greatness. Perhaps one day this woman would be a devout follower, or could at least pray at her temple. But it was too early in their acquaintance for that line of thought, so Yukino let her companion move the topic elsewhere. After all, Yukino had strayed somewhat, and it she would feel like a hypocrite if she tried to guide Kanede towards a new path. The former priestess had stopped praying and had stopped the occasional sacrifice to show her devotion. She had stopped fighting, she had stopped offering others the Choice, salvation or destruction, all because her father’s death had shaken her. She knew the goddess would frown upon her, for was death part of Kari’s blessings.

The conversation moved on as Kanade admitted her aversion for killing and war. At the beginning of the campaign, Yukino had been somewhat the opposite. She didn’t lust for violence, but it was part of her duty as a soon-to-be high priestess of a goddess of destruction to make sure the path to war and change was followed, unhindered. Yukino’s eyes dropped to the woman’s hand as she motioned to her heart. There was a story there. That seemingly simple gesture could have been related any one of this woman’s sorrows, and in that moment Yukino’s own heart ache as Kanede’s pain resonated with her own. The butterfly caught her eye for but a fleeting moment; she didn’t think twice about it. Her mind was instead on that heart-wrenching story.

“You poor thing,” Yukino sighed gently as she rubbed soothing circles onto the back of her own hand. ”You’ve been holding that in for a while, huh?” She could always spot someone who desperately needed another person to talk to. As a part time priestess she had never been a stranger to sorrow and pain, and it was part of her duty to comfort others. Frankly, she enjoyed it. And something about this woman made her feel like they were fated to meet. “I’ll tell you what. You tell me when and where and I’ll come visit your restaurant. And don’t be silly, I will pay you for the food and service. You have a business to run, after all.”

[Kanade]

“I mean, it’s been a slow bleed, so the wound has been open for a while.” Kanade cleared her throat and chuckled to keep from openly sobbing or crying, “Sorry, uh, I just haven’t been able to really tell anyone else. Guess I am a bit of a basket case if I am telling someone I’ve only just met. It’s strange to feel like an outsider in the place you live.” She smiled and then bit her lower lip in thought, her brows knitting together while she thought of a good time, when it wouldn’t be too busy at her restaurant.

“You know that one day in the week that everyone goes to market, the market day? That’s when it probably would be the best. My cooking starts to get a bit sloppy on the days where I’m overwhelmed and my sous chef is gone. It’s in the middle of the week, but maybe you could stop by at lunch or something? I get off early that day too, so we could do something afterwards like shopping or just a walk around?” It was a lot of questions all in a short span of time, but she hadn’t met another shrine priestess to be like she had been, and she was frankly more enamored with the girl across from her than she had thought she would be starting out the evening.

It could have been the kindness, or the genuine interest in what was going on with her, or the empathy where she had only found apathy before, but she smiled genuinely and warmly at Yukino and wondered whether or not she would take her up on the offer of Lunch and perhaps a retail therapy session. It almost seemed like fate, if Kanade believed in that, or the will of the Kami around her that she was meant to meet Yukino and she seemed more a kindred spirit than a lot of the people she had met in the past. She thought for a moment and then nodded, “If you want, I can whip you up something that’s not on the menu as well, since it’ll be slower than usual.” She grinned, and then nodded, “How’s that sound miss Yukino?” Kanade was actually starting to enjoy herself. The pain of the loss of almost everything she had was still raw, but she was starting to rebuild it. What she needed was a friend, and perhaps Yukino could be that friend. Perhaps she could take her to the temple and show her the ropes around here, get her more accustomed to the culture as well.

Should she tell her about her past, or keep it hidden for now? Would it matter if it were right now or later? Would it be frontloading and would she scare off poor Yukino? When was it ‘appropriate’ to tell her about her past life? Would it ever be appropriate or should she just bury it and give sparse details? These questions and more she quashed for now, and would sit on them until she had time to mull them over later. Better to enjoy the moment and not be considered a raving lunatic any more than she already was with the inspection that she had given Yukino at first.

[WC: 545/???? NANOWRIMO]

[Kao]

"Sure that sounds perfect!" Yukino beamed at the suggestion, truly happy that this sudden meeting between two women had seemed to be turning into a blossoming friendship. Interestingly enough, Kanede had also been a priestess. It was a fascinating revelation, especially since she didn't meet many of those often in Iwagakure. "Though, I didn't realize there was one specific day everyone goes to the market. Seems funny, no? That everyone would shop one day out of the week, especially mid-week." Yukino shrugged. She knew a lot about Iwagakure, but evidently not much about people's shopping habits. Any day could be a day for shopping, as far as she was concerned.

Yukino rapped her knuckles against the wooden table. "I should get back," she said with a hint of regret in her voice. "The owner is probably wondering where I've snuck off to. Whenever you feel like hanging out you can find me here, or here." The woman scribbled an address on a piece of paper from her notebook and slid it over to Kanede. Above the address read Vermillion Cafe in her neat, slanted handwriting. "Another place I work part time," she explained. "I'd tell you where I live but that's info you'll maybe get after the second date." The former kunoichi winked as she slid out of the booth, then she brushed off her lap. "Don't be a stranger, Kanede~!" And with that she strolled away, hips swaying.

[Kanade]

Second date?

Kanade watched Yukino leave and stared dumbly at the paper before placing far too much money, she just grabbed a handful, on the table and getting up. She walked home, staring at the paper before closing the door behind her and chuckling to herself like she had just heard a little forgotten inside joke for the first time in three years.

/end thread