A Sunny Afternoon

[Kabu]

It had been a fairly slow day at the restaurant and Inokara was currently on break, sitting at a corner table near the entrance sipping on a warm cup of tea and looking at a listing of available buildings in the market district. "These places are all way outside of my budget... Boss did say she would help but I would feel bad if she paid for all of it..." she muttered under her breath, furrowing her brow at the number of zeroes she was looking at. She had been working here for several years now and the owner had recently talked her into trying to open up her own place. Honestly she was nervous but she trusted the owner and if she had thought she was ready then she was willing to give it a shot. The main problem now was a lack of funds... She did have some savings but it wasn't nearly enough to purchase an open space and get supplies.

"Maybe I'll talk to Sensei later for advice..." she let out a sigh, putting down the papers and turning to look out the window, the sun shining and not even a cloud in the sky. It was no wonder business was slow with it being such a nice day. Who would want to stay indoors when it was so pleasant outside? "Maybe I'll put in an outdoor area for my own place... A nice patio and a few tables, maybe a specialized menu." she spoke out loud to no one in particular, watching the people go about their days as she stared out the window, ideas popping into her head as time went on... though right now it wasn't much more than a few idle daydreams.

"Well.. it's nice to think about at least."

[Willoria]

It had been a long morning already, and already Kaori had spent much of it alone which left her feeling more than a little grumpy. Yet again her twin brother had disappeared. She assumed for training or a mission but she wasn't entirely sure, she only knew that he seemed to be outpacing her fast. It was hard to hide her own jealousy over the simple fact. Her mother was busy with paperwork surrounding her own retirement. Her father was, as usual, busy with village matters. Kaori spent part of her morning training, and the early afternoon checking over the plants for her butterflies. She left most them with their plants to enjoy and relax in, but of course one or two always stayed with her as she went to explore and see about a bite to eat or time to relax.

Of course, she was still alone. With a small sigh the girl found a small restaurant she knew her Aunt Masami liked, pushing the door open and stepping inside. She almost didn't notice the Yamanaka woman at another table as she sat down. She took out a small book and opened it to start to read, already knowing what she'd want, though she noticed her Aunt Masami's boyfriend didn't seem to be behind the counter today. '...wonder if they still have someone making the sushi then.' she thought to herself silently.

The book she held was a simple romance book, hardly any real smut content though she knew if her father caught her with it he'd probably have something to say about it. Thankfully, this place was far enough away from his eyes. She didn't really notice the blue butterfly that settled on the spine of the book, flexing his wings slowly. She had grown used to their presence.

[Kabu]

Inokara couldn't help but notice the girl as she walked in, head tilting to the side as she saw the girl seemed to be in a bit of a mood about something. Of course she was concerned, she knew firsthand that that kind of look on a young girl's face could mean any number of things. She had frequently been called out for being the nosy type in the past but she had always felt maybe that was a bit harsh. She cared a great deal for the people around her and wanted nothing more than to do her part in keeping them safe and happy, especially when it came to those younger than herself. After all it wasn't that long ago really that she had been a child herself and she wanted to do all that she could with the minimal life experience she had.

She took a quick look up towards the nearby clock on the wall, checking how long she had been on break. Perfect, still plenty of time. she silently thought to herself, gathering up her tea and papers and standing up. She knew what it was that she had to do, though she knew that most anyone would just tell her that she was being nosy again. She however didn't care. She had always been the type to do things her own way, even if it were to be a bit troublesome.

As she walked over towards the girl's table she caught the attention of one of the waitresses currently on shift, gesturing with a tilt of her head towards her destination. It seemed to take a second to register but soon enough they shared a silent nod and Inokara resumed her walk, taking a seat across from the girl on arrival.

She couldn't help the sly smile that crossed her face at the sight of the book in the girl's hands, giggling to herself as she imagined the fit her own father would have thrown if he had caught her with a book like that. For now though she said nothing even as she caught eye of the blue butterfly settled on the book, simply smiling at the sight. It was certainly an unusual sight but she had never really minded such things... after all her own Sensei had been a dog woman, if anything by now she was used to unusual sights.

Meanwhile as if on cue the other waitress arrived, brushing locks of pink hair out of her face as she smiled at the pair. "Apologies for the wait you two... So, what would you like?"

[Willoria]

Kaori was more than a little engrossed in her book and didn't even notice the woman that moved to her table. She heard the waitress suddenly ask what she'd like, but thought it was odd when she mentioned 'two'. An odd look crossing her face she looked up suddenly and almost flinched when she saw Inokara. "Oh." She blinked a moment and looked at the waitress. "Uh... you have anyone on the sushi bar today?" she asked carefully. "I noticed Souta-Sama isn't around lately..." If the waitress answered that someone was indeed working the sushi bar however, she'd simply sigh in relief before answering. "Salmon Nagiri bowl please." she'd say happily. "And a green tea." she added before looking at her book for a moment. She was going to open it back up but with someone else at her table now, realizing what book she was reading, she suddenly blushed and set it aside.

The blue butterfly hovered for a moment before shifting to settle on her elbow as she looked at the woman across from her, waiting for her to order before she spoke. "Uh... hi." Kaori said awkwardly. "I'm Natsuki Kaori, who are you?" she asked carefully. She felt a bit rude, but wasn't really sure who this woman was or why she'd suddenly sat with her.

[Kabu]

As Kaori asked about the sushi bar the waitress nervously looked over towards Inokara, whom simply smiled. "The sushi bar is open today, just deliver the order to the kitchens, someone should be out shortly." she nonchalantly responded. Ever since Souta had first come by the sushi bar had been getting gradually more popular and she had worked with the boss and the chefs to set up a system if any orders came in and nobody was actually present at the bar. It wasn't quite popular enough to have someone working it all the time but she had felt it prudent to have a system made up to have someone ready to jump in at any possible moment. "Oh, and I'll have my usual."

The waitress nodded and jotted down their orders, soon leaving the pair behind, at which point Kaori nervously introduced herself. "Name's Yamanaka Inokara. You can just call me Kara." she responded with a giggle and a smile. She had thought this girl seemed familiar and now she was a bit more sure of why. It had been a good many years but she was good at recognizing faces, even as the person in question got older. "You know, years and years ago when my friends and I were Genin Masami-Sensei would sometimes leave us in the hands of a woman named Aina to assist with our training. I remember there being a little girl that looked a lot like you... she even shared your name." she spoke, all the while wondering if this really was the same little girl she remembered seeing from time to time all those years ago.

"Anyways, I don't mean to be rude or anything. I just thought you seemed a little down in the dumps and I've never really been the type to ignore that." she suddenly added, having momentarily forgotten the reason why she had even come over here, and having realized the girl may have wanted some answers to her sudden presence.

[Willoria]

Kaori tilted her head quizzically as Inokara gave the waitress instructions about the kitchen, quickly realizing that the woman seemed to work there. Though that almost confused her more about why she was there at the table with her. But then as she started to explain things to her, Kaori blinked as her mother and her Aunt were mentioned. "Oh. You mean Hyuuga Aina, my mother." she said simply as she looked at her. "And Inuzuka Masami was your Sensei? She's my Aunt." She blushed slightly and moved her right hand a moment almost as if waving something off as a thought came to her. "Well, I call her my Aunt, her and my mother were on the same genin team growing up I think, they're so close that she might as well be family." She looked at Inokara, trying to recognize the woman but there were so many people in and out of her home growing up that she wasn't sure she could.

Though as the woman mentioned her seeming down she couldn't help wrinkling up her nose and crossing her arms as she sunk down in her chair a bit. Looking down at the table she shrugged. "I'm fine just... too much change lately." she said simply, trying to keep things to herself for the moment. Though it was clear that those changes were eating away at her.

[Kabu]

"I've always been a little jealous of Sensei in that way. My team and I were friends but we never grew as close as she and Aina did. Sensei seemed almost like a different person the few times I saw them together, much happier and more open..." Kara responded to Kaori's remark about the two older women's closeness, a wistful smile on her face. Not taking the time to grow closer to her teammates while she had the chance was one of her very few regrets. Maybe she still had a chance but they were all grown up now and doing their own things... It wasn't likely to happen and she had accepted that, though she hated it just as much.

She tilted her head as Kaori... more visibly than verbally responded to her comments about her feeling down. She let out a quiet sigh, a gentle expression on her face as she wondered what to do now. While she could be said to be nosey, she definitely wasn't pushy, even as much as she sometimes wanted to be... "I won't force you but it can always help to just let it out." she spoke, a soft gentle tone to her voice even as she leaned back, relaxing in her chair. "I feel ya though. As you get older you learn that change is inevitable but even still, too much too fast can be overwhelming." she spoke, shaking her head as memories came rushing back to her.

"I'm realizing now though that maybe I jumped the gun a bit. I'm sorry, I've been told that I can be a bit too excitable. Sensei even once called me hyperactive and hard to deal with, though I like to think I've calmed down since then." she suddenly admitted, chuckling dryly. "So... let's start a bit slower. Maybe tell me a bit about yourself?" The main issue for now would be set aside... perhaps it would come up naturally or perhaps not, for now she wasn't about to push it. Getting to know each other came first before all else.

[Willoria]

Kaori blushed slightly as Inokara pressed her to explain things, looking down at her hands that were folded in her lap. She heard the woman apologize and simply shrugged in response, not finding it something really worth apologizing about, but at the same time she still wasn't sure how to explain everything to someone she didn't really know. As Kara tried to get to know her, Kaori chuckled a bit and finally looked up. "I hate change." she admitted, sighing again as she seemed to sink deeper in her chair. "I'm guessing you already knew that though." she added, frowning a bit as she chewed on the inside of her lip. "My family can be a bit complicated sometimes... but they're still my family. I mean, I have two adopted siblings who are older than me, one of them I think I've only met once. Another older sibling is only my half brother. I guess he's from a relationship my dad had before he met my mother, but didn't even know about him until he showed up around the time I was born." Kaori shrugged. "And then there's my twin brother and I." she smiled almost sadly. "But adopted, half, I don't care, they're all my family, all my siblings... I want them all around."

Kaori took a deep breath and shook her head, glancing at the book in her lap again before hurriedly putting it away in a bag out of her own embarrassment. "My older sister just got married though, and moved out. My older brother went back to his other family and took their name, I guess he liked the idea of being a Prince better than being here with us." Kaori shrugged again. "And now my twin is avoiding me. He trains at weird hours, disappears for days at a time... I'm alone constantly and... well I hate it." She wrinkled up her nose, detesting both what she was saying, and the reality of it. She knew she sounded childish and selfish, but she had never imagined spending so much time away from her twin before, at least not yet.

[Kabu]

Inokara let out a quiet sigh and softly smiled as Kaori spilled the beans, all the beans it seemed like. She hadn't meant to press but it was out now. In a way she could relate to the girl's plight. Being the middle of three children and now being a 20 year old Jounin she had witnessed more change, both good and bad, than she would ever like to admit. She honestly had never been a fan of any of it, particularly regarding her family. "I'm the middle of three sisters, five years apart from both older and younger. I can't say I know what it's like to be separated from a twin but I can understand the feeling of wanting your family around, of feeling alone when they're not there. To this day I hold some resentment towards my older sister for moving out and getting married, for not talking to me about it first. Our relationship hasn't really been the same since then. Sometimes I remember how upset and angry I got and wonder if it might be my fault." she spoke, a sad look on her face as built up emotions threatened to overtake her, taking a glance around the restaurant and then down at the papers sitting on the table.

After a moment she let out another sigh. "Even here... I'll be starting up my own restaurant once I find a good spot for it. It's something I've always wanted since I was a little girl and I should be happy to be moving forward with my dream but I'm honestly scared. I'm scared that it won't work out. I'm afraid of what might happen to this place..." There was more that she wanted to say but she found herself interrupted by the arrival of their waitress with their orders.

"Here's your orders... Kara, we'll be fine. I'll miss you though, I'm sure we all will." the waitress placed the food and drinks down on the table, turning briefly towards Kara as she spoke, a sad smile on her face. Clearly she had overheard at least some part of their conversation.

In return Kara smiled, very briefly brushing her hand against the other woman's own. "That's silly. You can come see me anytime..." she spoke, suddenly having an idea as she turned back to Kaori once the waitress had left. "You know Kaori, if you're ever feeling lonely and have nothing to do I'm going to need some help..." she trailed off, sipping on her sweet tea as she watched the girl to see if she would put together the pieces on her own.

[Willoria]

Kaori listened to what Inokara had to say, nodding silently. She could see that the woman understood, but at the same time missing her twin felt almost more intense than that. She felt like half of herself was missing when Takeshi wasn't around. But that wasn't something most people would understand, especially since most would look at her and Takeshi and wouldn't even believe the two were twins. They were so drastically different, and it frustrated Kaori to constantly hear from strangers how he was the Hyuuga and she was... normal. Coming from strangers it always felt like an insult.

She tilted her head as Kara went on to talk about the restaurant and her desire to open her own. The conversation paused as their food was dropped off and Kaori couldn't help but light up at the sight of her bowl. She thanked the waitress and quickly picked up the bowl and her chopsticks, immediately taking bits of the raw salmon and following up with some of the sushi rice from the bowl. Of course the result was a mouthful and a giggle as she tried to swallow it.

She drank some tea to get it down and apologized quietly with another giggle as Kara made her mention of helping her and Kaori gave her a puzzled look. She hadn't really thought about it. "I don't know, I have so much training to catch up on, I have to catch up with Takeshi... he's outpacing me so much now, I guess I've been holding him back." she replied quietly. "I have to ask Nobu if he can help me maybe, I don't know if I'd have time..." she hesitated a moment, catching herself mentioning Nobu caused her to suddenly blush. No one in her family knew about the time she'd been spending with the younger Aizawa brother.

[Kabu]

"I totally get it, I've been slacking a bit on my training myself. I may be a Yamanaka but I've always held more of an interest in Taijutsu... It's been rough going beating out my family's tendencies towards Ninjutsu. That's not to say I don't still use Ninjutsu... There's my clan techniques to work on and I even picked up Ash Style but barely know how to use it..." Inokara couldn't help the loud sigh that came as she thought about all the training that needed to be done. Of late she had been so focused on getting her future on track that she hadn't been training nearly as much as she should have been. Minako is probably leagues ahead of me by now... she silently thought to herself, resisting the urge to let out yet another sigh. Instead she sipped on her tea, momentarily coughing and almost doing a spit-take as something else the girl had just said seemed to dawn on her.

She took a moment to recover from her 'near choking' experience before lowering her cup, a playful smirk on her lips as she noticed the blush on the girl's cheeks. "Now now, no need to be embarrassed. I may seem like an open book but I can keep a secret." she paused just a moment, watching the girl's reaction before continuing. "You know, another dream I've held even to this day is to get married and have a family. As for my preferences... I could really go either way, even willing to adopt if things work out that way. Now, what's this boy like? Is he a boyfriend? Just a crush maybe? Either way you seem smitten..." she was clearly getting excited, a sparkle in her eyes. Romance or even potential romance had always been a topic she greatly enjoyed discussing. Perhaps at least in part due to her own childish desire to one day experience love for herself... being called a romantic was one thing she definitely wouldn't deny.

[Willoria]

Kaori's blush only deepened as Inokara very clearly picked up on what she had tried to hide quickly. The girl shook her head briefly. "No one in my family can know." she said, blushing only deeper. "Daddy would flip... even my twin brother... uh uh, no good would come of it...." she shook her head again, making it clear she wasn't okay with anyone in her family finding out about the time she was spending with Nobu. She looked down at her hands for a moment as she thought about how to answer Kara's questions, her blush only getting even worse over time, if that was possible at this point. "He's a family friend technically... I knew him when I was little but hadn't seen him in years when I ran into him on the training ground again a few weeks ago. I guess he's gotten really good with Iijutsu because he helped me after I burned myself really bad during training."

She reached up a hand and rubbed the back of her neck for a moment. "He keeps showing up when I train now, I ran into him at the bookstore too... I'm not sure if training counts as dates but given how seriously he takes everything maybe it does?" she couldn't help a bit of an embarrassed giggle. "Uh, he also happens to be the younger brother of my older sister's husband though..."

[Kabu]

Inokara eagerly listened as Kaori told her story, sipping at her tea and taking an occasional nibble of a salmon roll. "Sounds like you've got a mutual crush to me. If he hasn't made a move you should be the one to go after him. The in-laws and your family might find it weird if they find outbut as I see it you have to take these kinds of chances as they come." Inokara thoughtfully responded with a smile, fingers folded together and head slightly tilted. Kaori really seemed to have a rough go of it. Dealing with family issues and potential romance both at such a young age would be a lot for anyone to handle. She would know... she had been there, and she had been entirely stupid about it and missed her chance.

She shook her head to clear out any bad thoughts before they could bubble to the surface. ...Either way you don't have to worry, the secret is safe with me. And I'm in your corner. I'm always willing to listen to anyone who comes to me with their troubles." she added, falling silent at that point.

Meanwhile she began digging at the sushi she had ordered, eyes closed and happily humming all the while. She was very clearly in bliss, some part of her having always had a love for sushi, though it hadn't been fully brought out until the day she had met Souta.

Speaking of... "You know, nobody makes sushi quite as good as Souta but this is a pretty close second. Sensei and little Hajime are so lucky to have a man like him around." she eventually spoke up once more. Of course when Souta wasn't around the sushi bar was more like a second priority but still... it usually worked out for the best when orders did come in.

[Willoria]

Kaori huffed a moment, expelling a sharp breath of air as she thought about the idea of making the first real move on Nobu and quickly shook her head at the idea. "I don't know... I mean, I've actually known him most of my life. When we were kids we used to all play together, him, my twin, myself, and my older brother. Just we all got older and some stuff happened and went sideways and we didn't see each other for awhile... then the war.... and...." Kaori trailed off. She didn't want to bring up all the other complications. The fact that Nobu's older brother was thought dead awhile, then was found to be Missing and tried to kill her own father, though even she couldn't remember the full order of things anymore. Then there was the death of her own grandfather during the war which she and her twin brother witnessed. It was all a huge mess. The girl simply sighed and poked at her bowl of sushi rice and sashimi slices for a moment with her chopsticks as she thought about it all.

"I wish it was simpler." she muttered. 'Why can't it be simple? If my family finds out I like him, will they be upset? His brother was a traitor for awhile... though I suppose Dad did allow Hanako to marry Yoru so...' she shook her head as she thought to herself, realizing everything just felt so complicated.

She looked up at Inokara a moment as the woman spoke about the Sushi and who made it, or rather where the recipes came from. Of course she knew who 'Sensei' was, she knew Masami. And she knew Souta too. But the other? "Hajime?" she wasn't sure she had met the third yet, but then it hit her. Souta and Masami’s son. They had practically grown up together. But as with many others, recent events had meant she hadn’t seen him in a long time. It had been at least a year, maybe two even. It wasn’t that she had forgotten him, but that it took several moments to recall his face. She blushed instantly, a twinge of guilt hitting her at once. “Right… Meiyo Hajime… I wonder if he remembers me…” she muttered. “It’s been a long time…”

[Kabu]

Inokara quietly nodded as she ate and silently listened to the girl tell her story. She really couldn't blame her for feeling a bit lost and confused after all of that. Nobody could be expected to be entirely okay with so much happening around them in such a short period of time. Especially not someone so young. Someone so young should never have to deal with feelings like this... feeling like they've fallen behind and been left alone in the world.

She couldn't help but tilt her head at Kaori's response to her mention of Hajime. She hadn't seen the boy herself in quite some time but he did often travel between villages and word had it that recent events had kept him from returning so easily.

With that said... "I'm sure he would never forget someone he grew up alongside so closely." she responded to Kaori's mutterings, noting the guilty look on the girl's face. It was then that her own face lit up, the woman remembering something she had heard from Masami the last time the pair had spent any time together. ""You know, Hajime's been away for a while, been kept from returning, but I did hear from Sensei he'll finally be coming home soon. I bet that he'll be more than happy to see you when he gets back." she spoke with a smile, reaching out to grasp one of the girl's hands in encouragement.

"Just trust me, everything will work itself out, you'll see. I've come to learn a great deal about these things in my road to adulthood, though I do admit I'm still a bit naive myself in a lot of ways."

[Willoria]

Kaori gave a small smile at the thought of Hajime coming back. It made sense suddenly why she hadn't seem him lately. He had a parent here in Konoha but also a father in Suna, of course he'd be back and forth between the two places. She imagined he'd want time between both households as much as he could get, she'd want the same if her parents were split up in such a way. "I don't know how Aunt Masami and Souta-Sama do it." she remarked, shaking her head. She couldn't imagine being apart from someone she loved so dearly for such long periods but the two clearly made it work, had even made a family work across the distance somehow. She shook her head and sighed. "It would be good to see Hajime again." she added.

Though only a moment later her mind returned to Nobu and she frowned slightly in thought. "You know, whenever I see Nobu he's helping me research or healing me but... I mean I see him be so stern with others but with me he's... he's so kind..." She looked at Inokara for a moment. "You called it a mutual crush? I mean... if he isn't making a move, I feel like he isn't making it clear what he might want, what should I do?" she asked quietly, almost hesitating to even ask about it.

[Kabu]

Inokara couldn't help but let out a quiet sigh as the girl asked her questions, She really did want to help where she could but... "Well, honestly I don't have any more answers than you do. That aside I think this is something you need to figure out for yourself. Think long and hard, what is it that you want to do? If you want to just be friends that's okay but if you want to try and aim for something more that's fine too." Inokara responded to Kaori's questions. "It pains me a bit to admit it... I want to get married and start a family of my own but when it really comes down to it I don't know much about these matters myself. It's a little embarrassing really." she added after a brief pause, dryly chuckling as she spoke. There had once upon a time been a boy that had managed to catch her interest but even still she had no real experience in romance or dating.

Now that I'm thinking about it... I wonder if Min's found any success with men? She never did seem all too interested but boys really seem to like that kind of thing in a girl... she suddenly found herself wondering, her mind wandering back to her old teammate whom she hadn't seen in so very long.

The thought caused her to let out another sigh. "Romance and dating sound so simple on paper but when it comes down to it... There are so many facets and layers to it that sometimes I wonder if there really is any one right answer. Not that I would really know about that."