Stir Fried Omelette

[Trurouno]

A left at the Hokage building, the second right off the main road of the Awai compound, a left and a right then underneath the bridge with the dangling ivy. Keep on following that road and before too long the pink of cherry blossoms will reach out from above the walls. There, at the edge of the Awai compound you would find the hidden orchard. Wandering down this maze of roads was Ruadhri, a rather successful morning at a farmer's market showing by the bag of groceries in one hand and the box of eggs in the other. The weather was good, the wind was cool and the clouds weren’t so heavy with rain. Generally, it seemed like another good summer's morning and Ruadhri was in a good mood because of it. He had a fun day of watering plants ahead, but more than that, the eggs in his hand opened up the possibilities of trying out something a little more interesting for once. Maybe an omelette, maybe a bit more of a stir fry concoction but either way the oncoming prospect of a good lunch left a skip in the boy's step.

Passing under the shade of the bridge just around the corner from his home Ruadhri caught sight of the first patches of pink highlighted against the cement landscape. Before too long he was at the entrance into his orchard and the pinks and greens of the trees were staring back as if to welcome him home. "Safe and sound" the boy smiled as he stepped into the compound and began to follow the stone path towards the house. The blossoms were doing well, sprouting good and strong as expected in summer. Now they lined the path, looking down at him as if begging for attention, but Ruadhri was distracted. Passing the white tree and flicking off his shoes Ruadhri entered into the kitchen and flicked the kettle on before setting down his groceries and beginning to store them away.

He was becoming awfully used to seeing new people about. Erihime, Rai, they were both unexpected visitors but their sudden presence had left an underlying pang of loneliness in him. It was a beautiful summer's day, but there was only so much time one could spend on their own before they remembered the confines of their own little home wasn't all that made up the world. That was why when Ruadhri looked up and sighed a good lunch and a nice cup of tea didn't seem like a highlight for the day. He was bored and getting to a point where he had to admit it, but that didn't mean life was unwilling to throw him a bone. Perhaps if he shut his eyes and wished real hard then an adventure would sweep him up and take him along for the ride, it wasn't like there was anyone to judge him for it after all.

With a serious look on his face Ruadhri leaned back and spread his fingers on the counter in front of him. Shutting his eyes he started to mouth a few words, started to even entertain a couple of fun ideas before it was cut short by the hoarse whistle of the kettle. When Ruadhri reopened his eyes not much had changed and it seemed unfortunately clear that maybe the cup of tea would be the day’s highlight after all. Still, that would be just the same as any other, he could handle that one more time.

[Kabu]

Kimi meanwhile was simply taking a stroll through the village. Strange thoughts kept creeping into her mind and she needed to figure it out. Things had been changing around her too quickly for her liking even if the changes were positive. So needing to clear her mind she had decided it was best to just simply take a walk. As she strolled through the village she passed by the Hokage building and after taking a few twists and turns found herself walking underneath a bridge and into unfamiliar territory filled with cherry blossoms.

Where am I? I don't think I've been around this area before. It's pretty though. She soon found herself passing by a compound that obviously belonged to a clan though she wasn't sure which. Afterwards as she passed the edge of the compound she soon found herself in an orchard. "I think I'm lost. She was a little scared yet oddly enough also soothed and began walking through while looking around in awe.

[sunny]

Today was definitely a day to take a walk and explore Konoha. Hanako quickly put on a nice sundress and skipped out of her house, happy to be enjoying the sunshine and summer breeze once again. She walked aimlessly around the village, smiling at the shop workers and strangers she passed. Everyone was in a happy mood today, milling about and socializing. As she passed a pair of teenagers, she overheard a piece of their conversation involving some kind of secret garden located near the complex of one of Konoha's clans. Instantly curious about whatever this was, she turned swiftly and inconspicuously followed them to hear the rest of the directions. As they changed subjects, Hanako began to fast-walk in the direction she had overheard, passing the Hokage building and venturing through the Awai complex. In no time, she saw a patch of cherry blossoms she assumed to be the orchard, and strolled in. The area was beautiful, all sorts of trees and flowers dressing the sides of the stone road. It was not until she saw a house that she realized she must be on someone's property.

Laying a hand on her steel dagger tucked under her dress (for just in case purposes, of course), she continued to wander around, hoping nobody emerged from the house and accosted her for trespassing. After all, all she was searching for was a nice walk around the village. She quickly contemplated entering the house and introducing herself to its inhabitants but there was no way in hell that would go over nicely. Instead she continued to wander some more, examining and admiring the plantlife that surrounded her.

[Trurouno]

Looking through a draw set just underneath the counter Ruadhri chose what looked like a good cup. It was one of the old fashioned sorts, lacquered and carefully made. The cup had been one of his grandma's favourites, she even had one made for him. Looking a bit more carefully Ruadhri found the other, placing the two cups down next to each other as he looked them over. He hadn’t used them for a while, they had just been gathering dust. Back then she had made the tea, he could barely even reach the counter. They hadn't used tea bags either, the leaves had always tasted a lot fresher like that. Wiping a bit of the dust from one Ruadhri threw a tea bag in before carefully pouring the water. In the end he returned the other cup, just back to where it would gather more dust. Leaving the tea for a moment he turned and took an apron before taking the cup and making his way to the garden.

Sitting himself down on the wooden porch he looked back at the cup and then to the orchard, just as he always did. The wind was gently ruffling the blossoms, the sun was escaping through what little cracks it could and leaving long shadows across the grass, but suddenly through the shade of pink and early afternoon shadows he saw something. Curiosity got the better of him as he made his way back into the garden and towards the entrance of the orchard. There was a girl there, looking about as baffled as he was. With a sip of his tea Ruadhri rested his back against the trunk of a blossom before hearing a couple of words from her. She was lost, as were most of his guests but those were always the people that made things interesting. The soft patter of another set of footfalls found its way to his ears and glancing around he caught sight of another new guest, this one a little more silent.

With a little smile Ruadhri pushed himself up and stepped out before speaking. "It definitely looks like it" he smiled, "but it doesn't look like you're the only one. Hey, you over there" he called, looking away from Kimi while he tried to catch Hanako's attention. "You lost as well?"

[Kabu]

As Kimi wandered through the orchard admiring the beauty that surrounded her she suddenly heard a voice, her large cloudy blue eyes growing wide as she turned towards the source. Then she saw Ruadhri and began bowing repeatedly and apologizing. "I'm sorry for trespassing!" Although it didn't seem that he was angry she felt it necessary to apologize anyways. When Ruadhri seemed to be addressing someone else she would turn and sure enough would see another girl. This one was older than her and she couldn't help but notice that the girl seemed to have white eyes. Another Hyuuga? Well this should be fun.

All in all this day was turning out to have a strange start but it seemed like it could be fun. She was in this beautiful location with two potential friends. Only time would tell if they would be able to get along though.

[sunny]

Displeased with the fact that she had only been in here for five minutes and already couldn't get out, Hanako paced around frustratedly, an irritated pout pasted on her thin face. The flowers that surrounded her only served to irritate her further, as they seemed to taunt her. Perhaps Hanako was losing her mind, but she swore she heard a voice coming from behind her.

Oh right, the house. Turning around, she saw a young boy out in front of the house she had passed. He called out to her, asking if she was lost. Noticing hm also gesture to another person, she turned in that direction and saw a young girl a ways away from her in the orchard. Apparently people got lost here often, which led Hanako to believe that there should be a sign somewhere; after all, she still didn't know where she was. The only difference was that she was lost with two other people now, not just alone.

Hanako wasn't quite in the mood to deal with making friends today, as she had met so many people in the last week she was absolutely exhausted from it. Reluctantly, she walked towards the front door of the house where the boy was, not sure what she was going to do when she reached it. "I'm Hanako and yes, I am lost, " she said. "Would you mind giving me directions out of here?"

[Trurouno]

Ruadhri only noticed how grumpy Hanako looked when she turned and began to walk in his direction, it seemed he had quite a job to do in cheering her up. But this was when Kimi's voice floated over behind him quite to his surprise. "Trespassing?" he asked with a laugh, "Oh you're doing nothing of the sort. I'm not going to go reserving these blossoms all for myself." Just how would his ancestors react if he started throwing people out of the orchard they had started? He wouldn't hear the end of it when his time came. No, just like his grandma and grandpa before him Ruadhri had raised these blossoms with his own two hands for the sake of everyone else. Maybe they didn't accept that, there always were the grumpy ones like Hanako after all, but there were also those lost wanderer. It was those sorts that needed the pick-me-up. It was just a bonus that it kept his days busy and his mind keen.

Hanako's words came as a little surprise, she did just suddenly introduce herself after all. But her sudden dismissal of the orchard bugged Ruadhri more than it should have. In fact a slight frown crossed his brow when she demanded a way out. "Leaving already?" he began, "but you've only just arrived. I was hoping that the two of you could stay for a little while, the kettle just boiled and I have some biscuits somewhere I was hoping to share." In truth, maybe his endless optimism and attempts to get the two to stay was just a little bit creepy but Ruadhri's determined gaze was nothing of the sort. He clearly wanted the two to stay, even if his intentions were unclear but it didn't take long before he realised his mistake.

"Oh dear" he sighed loudly, "where are my manners. I own this orchard you see, that makes you two my guests." With a confident smile Ruadhri ushered for them to follow, very clearly and obviously dropping Hanako's question as he made his way to the house. "You can call me Awai Ruadhri, a humble gardner."

OOCShow

Sorry this took a little while, been rather busy :/

[Kabu]

To her surprise as Ruadhri spoke he wasn't at all angry about their being intruders in the orchard. It brought a small grin to her face knowing that despite her unexpected entrance she was actually a welcome guest. It was just another surprise that the world had brought to her. Whatever happened next should be fun.

Upon hearing Hanako's insistence to leave Kimi couldn't help but frown. They were both clearly welcomed in this place of beauty and it somehow bugged her that the girl would dismiss it so quickly. She for one knew that something like this didn't happen very often and she was going to take the opportunity to enjoy herself.

It was then that Ruadhri offered for them to stay. "Gladl-" She didn't get to finish however as Ruadhri let out a loud sigh that she couldn't help but giggle at. After his introduction she began following him as he evidently wanted. "You own this whole orchard? Wow. By the way before I forget I'm Sakugu Kimi."

[sunny]

Of course Hanako wanted to stay in this beautiful oasis, but as a Hyuuga she had grown up fearing the property of the wealthy, always being yelled at to stay off of the property of her elders. As a child, she remembered being told to get off of her uncle's lawn regularly, as his grass was the most lush and well-cut in the complex. She and her friends had envied that yard, and the flowers that fenced the edge of the property. This orchard seemed to remind her of her childhood, thus the reason she was so quick to find a way out. She almost expected to be yelled at immediately. She wasn't grumpy or bitter; she only had expected the usual chastising.

Oh... Well, that's very nice to you, sir. You're so kind," she said, smiling warmly. Someone actually was okay with her being there, and he was a complete stranger! Such generosity had been unheard of in the Hyuuga complex. Hanako was so grateful for this man's compassion. She looked around once more; the garden was so well cared for, and she could see that its owners obviously put a lot of work into keeping it so lush and beautiful.

"Stay here, you say?" These words were quite shocking. Not only would she and this other girl be allowed to stay, they would also be invited inside. "I'd love to, kind sir. You're so generous, allowing strangers into your beautiful home." Her smile spread wider as she considered this man's compassion. She was curious as to why he was so eager for the two to stay, but thought nothing negative of it. Perhaps he was lonely and enjoyed company, or was just happy to see people enjoying his property. Hanako felt a sudden sense of thankfulness for this, as very few people of this nature were left in the world.

"You own this entire place by yourself?" she echoed the other girl. She could only imagine the amount of daily labor involved. She heard the same sense of surprise in the other girl's voice, so it was clear that this sort of ownership was uncommon in Konoha. "It's very nice to meet both of you, I'm Hyuuga Hanako." She followed Ruadhri toward the house, instantly forgetting her prior request.

[Trurouno]

Well, at least the two of them seemed more optimistic now. Hanako had done away with her grim expression and now had a smile covering her face just like the other two. It gave Ruadhri an optimism boost, a much needed one considering the downward spiral he had been in before. He hadn't heard the house so alive in a while, not since his last guest at least. Even she hadn’t been able to breathe in the life that a group did so easily. It gave him the energy to keep on going a little longer. Of course now Ruadhri's thoughts turned to more grave and serious issues, but there was only so much you could worry about tea leaves. In the end the smile never really left his face, even with Hanako's continued attempts at calling him sir. "Ruadhri is fine" he replied quickly, "I'm not old enough for Sir. Some people even call me Ruad these days if you'd prefer." With a small chuckle Ruadhri led them into the house until the inevitable question came. At least his guests were predictable, at least he had an answer this time. . .

"U-um I inherited it" he replied nervously. "You see, my Gran and Grandfather started this orchard. They were the ones that really gave it life. . . but they could only do that so long. When they passed I took over the grounds and began to raise the trees on my own, I suppose it's becoming a bit of a family tradition. A lot of responsibility I must say" he laughed. Coming to the edge of the house Ruadhri flicked off his shoes, ushering for the two to follow as he made his way into the kitchen. "But it does have its plusses" he added, smiling gently before turning back to the two. "But, we shouldn't be talking about stuff like this. I need to hear your tea preferences. . . Hanako, Kimi" he began, pointing to them each in turn. "If you just want to relax here on the porch I’ll get you both a cup. Now, how do you like it?" Ruadhri ignored how informal he was being, he hoped that his insistence before had already given the two the feeling that all that clan formality was unnecessary. But with a Hyuuga and a Sakugu, it was probably already deeply ingrained in them.

In the end he was sure they wouldn't mind waiting around for a little, they probably had been walking for a while after all. Not to blow his own trumpet but he was reasonably confident they would enjoy the view. There wasn't a blemish to be seen. . . well, there was one. The white tree still sat like a deathly reminder in the centre of the garden. It was only a few feet from the entrance of the house, perhaps if they started asking questions about that he wouldn't run out of excuses to stay the kindly gardener. Perhaps then the significance of him being an Awai would come out, neither of them seemed to have made the connection after all. . .