Head in the Clouds

Yasuka is almost entirely oblivious to Lightning trying so hard to show her interest in Kitsumi. It barely registers that Lightning, who is typically not nearly so prone to accidents, seems to be bumping into Kitsumi quite a lot more often, but if she does recognize that Lightning seems more clumsy recently, she assumes it's because the other genin must be nervous about... something. She's not really sure what, but it wouldn't need to be brought up unless it really gets in the way, and if it does, it's Kitsumi's problem and he can probably fix it easily enough.

At the suggestion from Kitsumi that they form a team without a sensei, Yasuka sets her fork down on her half-eaten plate and takes a drink of her lemon water. Her eyebrows furrow in thought of how they should proceed and if teaming up without a sensei is the right idea. The one other name Kitsumi had mentioned, Shimiko, that sounded familiar... And then she sighs when she recalls why the name is familiar.

"Shimiko Chinoike, the finalist in the Kumogakure World Tournament... She retired from the shinobi world as well..."

Yasuka leans back in her chair, and with no other options for a sensei in mind, between the three of them, it seems that their decision isn't much of a decision at all. But at least it's something that will increase their chances of success. The genin unfurrows her brow and daintily uses a napkin to clean off her mouth before she gives both Lightning and Kitsumi a serious look, full of purpose and determination.

"That settles it. We'll just be a team of three genin with no sensei. And we'll forge our own path forward without a guide. But sometimes, a new path is necessary to reach a new goal."

She reaches out a hand to the middle of the table of plates, avoiding the glasses of drinks and empty plates.

"Team Trailblazer."

"Ohh... i see. Thats pretty cool..."

Lightning would eye the genin on the opposite side of the table for a bit, wondering what was going on in her head at the momen, what she was thinking about the situation. certainly she must have noticed that Lightning was somewhat different then all the other times they met before. After all, even if teh inuzuma was a bit slow, she should still be quite perceptive. Regardless of that, when the topic of a team came up, lightning would think for a few seconds as she took a shrimp into her mouth, biting into it.

It was an option, but then again, she hadnt seen Kitsumi fight before. As far as team synergy wasa think, it would have made sense if Yasuka and her were together in a team, but Kitsumi would need to show his abilities later on in a spar or the bedroom maybe. Her throughts got interrupted however as she heard, and likely Yasuka and the other Kumo-genin as well, Lightnings teeth hitting a piece of the chitin shell of the river dweller she was eating in this very moment.

A thing that not only surprised ehr so greatly that her head went up, but also something that was so gross to her mind that she immediately gagged and dropped her fork onto the table, as both hands went up and in front of her mouth, holding it shut. Staring at the two for a few seconds she finally calmed dowm enough to take one hand away and bring her paper towel up to her mouth, spitting the thing out as a whole and standing up, tears in the corners of her eyes now as she said: "Ill be right back."

With that, she would head to the bathroom and make herself fresh again, however not before changing the paper tovel for a fresh one and throwing the old one away. Upon arriving back at the table she would sit down and ask: "Anyone else want the shrips maybe? I suddenly lost my appetite for em."

Kitsumi would chuckle at Yasuka's enthusiasm as well as her name of the team, though it was cut short by Lightning crunching something in her mouth causing him to look over at her. As she excused herself to the bathroom Kitsumi would look over to Yasuka, "we can always think of a name later." He would say with a smile, he wasn't necessarily apposed to it but he just didn't feel like it was the right fit. They should probably work on team work before deciding a name, something that would suit the three of them, that is of course if they formed said team. Regardless Kitsumi would finish his plate of food before Lightning returned and offered her food to anyone that wanted it, Kitsumi would shake his head as he had already filled himself up by this point.

"Are you ok, Lady Lightning?" Kitsumi would ask in a sincere tone, hoping that whatever she had bitten into did not damage a tooth or something as it wasn't unheard of for a shell to do such. He would feel bad at the thought of her first impression of the place being bad because of this, but if it happened it happened. "If you two are both done eating we can leave if you wish, I believe I have had my fill." Kitsumi offered not knowing if the others were ready to leave of not, but he doubted Lightning wanted to continue eating.

The sound of the crunch actually made Yasuka nearly gag, knowing that it was from a bit of shell having not been properly removed from the shrimp. She was lucky that her upbringing had inferred in her a singular ability to avoid making such noises or expressions in the middle of a meal; it would be rude to bring more attention to the issue than it really deserved. She retracts her hand from the middle of the table as well; it would seem they would need a different name for their team. If they would be a team at all.

After Lightning leaves, Yasuka simply shrugs and looks at Kitsumi, using the time alone to speak a bit more candidly.

"It does seem like they might have needed your work here; I doubt you would have suggested someplace like this if you thought this might happen. Well, it took quite a lot of eating for something like that, anyways, so I doubt it's a common occurrence."

When Lightning returns and offers the rest of her shrimp to the table, Yasuka gives her a saccharine smile and puts on her most aristocratically stoic tone after Kitsumi suggests that it might be a good time to leave, now that everyone has had their fill.

"Why thank you for the kind offer, Lightning, but I'm afraid I've had all the food I can eat as well! Yes, I do think it's a good time to leave."

She takes one last drink of lemon water from her glass before setting it down, although she does take a moment to set a few ryo on the table to pay part of the tip for their server. It wasn't their fault that the kitchen had overlooked something, after all.

Seeing how her conversation partners racten to her sudden absence and the small commotion the shell in her food had caused, all she was able to do was to shake her head ever so slightly before she left. Once she was back however, she would wait for the answers of Kitsumi and yasuka, before ulitmatively shrugging and continuing to eat, leaving the shrimps out of her diet for the rest of the plate, before telling: "I am still hungry even if its not uh... well i shouldnt eat the shrimps anymore i guess."

Standing up with that, it wouldnt be long until Lightning reached the buffet once more, throing away the shrimps that had caused her so much dispair, and filling it up with other goodies and fried rice, before returning and continuing o eat, looking down onto her plate and speaking: "I hope i am not holding you two up... ", before continuing to eat. In her mind it was partially her fault for even picking the shrimps in the first case and taking longer now, even though Yasuka seemed to want to leave.

Taking another sip of her ice tea, she would slowly calm down, even if the shade of the skin around her eyes, and hte fact that it still was wet was telling another story, that being that the event still was in her mind, very vividly at that.

Kitsumi would let out a chuckle at Yasuka's comment, "I doubt my work would have been much help, all I did was cook fish and clean. Though I suppose the Old Woman's eyesight has likely wane over the years, she probably should have retired by now." Kitsumi would reply with a smile. To be honest he didn't do much here in the first place, frying fish didn't take a lot of effort and cleaning he just cleaned up the place after closing.

It wasn't until Lightning returned and stated she was still hungry, that Kitsumi realize she was still on her first plate. He felt rude for having suggested the leave so soon, but he didn't realize how fast he had been eating. "You're probably right." Kitsumi would finally muster in reply to lightnings remark about not eating more shrimps. When she returned and said she hoped she wasn't holding them up Kitsumi would finally find the words he was looking for, "you are not holding me up at all, Lady Lightning. I apologize I was not trying to rush, I did not realize how fast I had eaten compared to you. I am happy to sit here and talk, but first let me get us all fresh drinks." with that he would stand and head off to get the three of them a fresh glass.

Yasuka similarly dispenses with Lightning's notion that she's holding them up, waving it away nonchalantly before flashing one of her rare smiles for the pink-haired genin across from her at the table.

"You're not holding me up, either. Besides, this gives us more of a chance to talk and get to know each other a bit better."

She's a bit surprised when Kitsumi gets up to refill their glasses, and she willingly hands hers off to him. While Kitsumi is gone, Yasuka reaches one hand across the table to lightly grasp one of Lightning's free hands, giving it a gentle, but firm squeeze of assurance before letting go of her hand again. Her cheeks feel a little warmer, but with her dark skin, her blushing is hardly noticeable for someone that isn't used to seeing her blush the way Lightning is used to. Instead, she reaches over to the bread basket, selecting one of the long and thin sticks of bread and slowly eating it, although nibbling might be a more apt word for it. Still, it would probably make Lightning feel more normal if someone else at the table was still eating.

"Y-yeah... still sorry..." Lightnign would give out, her left arm raising and holding her right one at elbow height as she looked to the ground. Despite Kitsumi telling him that he enjoyed talking to them and Yasuka saying so as well, that she wasnt holding them up, it still felt wrong. After all, Yasuka wouldnt have asked to leave if she didnt have to be somewhere. Watching kitsumi stand up and get a fresh charge of drinks for the ladies and himself however, she would watch after him. She should have gotten the drinks, but then she would have taken even longer and held them there too.

Beginning to dig into her meal, switching a forful of fried rice with a fork full of octopus or other things which didnt have a shell, she would eye Yasuka casually as she asked: "So, anything fun coming up while i was uh... on the toilet?", before hse felt the kumo-genin giving her hand a gentle squeeze before pulling away again. It wasnt until then when she looked in her face, that she would notice that yasuka actually was blushing. Having her eyes at the inuzuma from now on, only tourning away from time to time, she was thinking if it was the food, something in their drinks, being attracted to kitsumi or something else that made her blush. Regardless of that internal calcultion however, it was nice to see her eat alongside Lightning herself. Giving her ultimatively a smile and asking her in a caring tone, she would ask: "You know... your cheeks... you are blushing. Are you feeling allright?"

Lightning knew how often shellfish allergies were dormant or how many people didnt know they were allergic to them until they ate them. For all that she knew, Yasuka might as welll have been nice and sweet from the outside, but duffering internally at this very moment, and Lightning didnt want her to be hurt. Not at all.

The muffled voice of the old woman could be heard coming from the kitchen, while her words were incomprehensible, it was clear that she was extremely angry.

Returning with three cold drinks, Kitsumi would set them on the table as he takes his seat. Taking a drink of his lemon water as he did, before looking to the two that were with him, "So a little good news, I told the old woman about what happened with the shrimp so the meal will be at discount." He would state with a slight smile, trying to make something good out of the bad situation. "Of course, I know that does little in regard to you and what happened, but she assured me she would do her best to make sure something like that doesn't happen again. She has sent her sincerest apologizes and has even offered free desert if you wish for it."  Kitsumi added as he pointed over to the buffet as the cooks were taking all the shrimp out of the buffet and into the kitchen, Kitsumi knew that all that shrimp was going to be thrown out and they were going to have to cook more. He would have felt sorry for them, except he didn't, he didn't know why but in his opinion that shrimp probably never should have made it to the buffet to begin with.

"So, what did I miss? Did you two think about the whole team situation with the Sensei thing?" Of course, he doubted that they had time to do so considering he wasn't really gone that long, just a few minutes getting the drinks and talking with the old woman about what had happened, but you never really know unless you ask. He would take another drink of his water as he waited for a reply, it was rather nice to sit and relax with the two women, something he would have to make an effort to continue to do. He didn't socialize with many people before, even those from his clan he had limited interaction with unless he actually had too. However, he actually found the company of the two with him quite enjoyable.

Yasuka shakes her head when she's asked if she and Kitsumi had any interesting conversations while she was away, although the genin avoided the use of the word "toilet" or any reference to a bathroom when her friend was eating. That was somewhat of an odd choice, but she ignores it instead of bringing it up. It was awkward enough that Lightning wasn't finished eating yet without bringing that up.

"No, we just discussed how odd it was that there was still a shell on your shrimp."

She bites her bottom lip a little when her blushing is brought up as well, and she clears her throat and then pats her mouth with her napkin, somewhat trying to hide her face with the cloth as she tries to get the blushing to go down. It does take her a little just thinking about something else to make it go away, but it disappears somewhat quickly.

"I don't have a shellfish allergy. Really, I'm fine, but thank you for the concern."

Yasuka winces when she hears that screaming from the kitchen, and although she feels a little bad for the kitchen crew, she would have agreed if Kitsumi spoke his mind aloud about it, because she also thought that their mistake was deserving of a reprimand, at the very least of a verbal nature. She sips from her lemon water slowly, washing down the bread while she watches the waitstaff hurriedly remove the shellfish from the buffet and take it back into the kitchen, probably throwing it all out without letting the customers see.

"Ah, what a kind gesture. I'll still be sure to visit again; it's rarely the kind of mistake that happens more than once when it's brought to attention. As for the team situation... Well, it remains to be seen. I don't think we should say no to a sensei if one offers to train any one of us, getting training from someone with that kind of experience would be invaluable, but we would all benefit from just having a common goal."

Yasuka turned her attention back to Lightning to seek her approval; she was mostly speaking for herself, not for the both of them, so the pink-haired woman should speak up as well.

"O-oh... you shouldnt have..." Lighting gave out in a rather shy voice to Kitsumi, already feeling bad for the old lady they had met before. After all, now they had to throw away food, just because she had gotten a bad piece by accident. Regardless of that, the prospect of dessert was a welcome one and as such she added: "But i-... well the desert i would like still, you know?"

Being stopped by the faint sounds of screaming in the kitchen, Lighnting would tense up and stare into the direction of it, before slowly pulling away her gaze and looking back at Yasuka, giving out: "Thats good. I wouldnt like if you were accidentally hurt. I mean you didnt wanna go to eat in the first place..."

As the topic of a team came up again, she would nod slightly. There only wer e a handful of people that she wouldnt agree to train with ur underneath them, and as long as they didnt have hte bad luck of catching one of those, they would be fine. "Yeah, i guess thats alright. THough we should stick together as a team still. After all, i think we might contemplate ourselfes nicely, you know?"

While neither Kitsumi nor Yasuka knew what she actually was doing, or training to eventually do, she was sure to show them soon enough. After all, once she managed to use her abilities propperly, she would be quite valuable for the team as a whole.

At Lightning's answer of the desert, Kitsumi would lift his hand to signal to a member of the wait staff who brought over a small menu that listed their various deserts for Lightning and Yasuka to choose from if they wanted. Kitsumi would let out a chuckle to Yasuka's reply to his question about the sensei, as well as Lightning's mention of the two of them staying together as a team. He did not have a connection like that, but who knows maybe after the three of them trained together they could all have a bond, as well as skills that complimented the other one's skills for good combinations in attacks.

"Oh I don't mean say no to a Sensei by any means, Lady Yasuka. I simply meant why wait for a Sensei to say we are a team to train together. If we show any promise as a good team together with our training, it is likely that a Jounin might take more notice in us than just as individuals" Kitsumi explained as he let them look over the choices of deserts, after all he doubted that if they showed good teamwork with the three of them that a sensei would split them up. At least he hoped they wouldn't, as it would likely tick him off to work with the two of them, learning their strengths and weaknesses and how to compliment them, just to be thrown into a team with two other people he didn't know. Giving them a few moments to look over the menu before he would add, "The Chocolate Lava Cake isn't too bad, as long as they still make it the same that is." He smiled at the two though of course they could chose whatever they like, and if they did, he would just have the small cake to himself. A small reminder of the good old days, or at least the younger more carefree days when things like war and death and training to become stronger wasn't such common place.

Although Yasuka had filled herself on up with the buffet, she couldn't help but to stop and reconsider when she saw the dessert menu and all of its options. She reads through them, although she can feel how full her stomach is at the moment and wonders how much more she can really take before she has to worry about getting sick, until she sees one of their lighter options. A light cake soaked with three different types of milk. Although Kitsumi suggests the chocolate lava cake, she sees that it's made with a somewhat dense chocolate cream filling and she knows that's going to be too much for her to eat after a buffet.

"That does sound good. I'll have to try it next time I come here. The tres leches, please."

She deftly returns the dessert menu to the waiter's ready hands after she gives her own order, considering the options of having two swordmasters on her side. It would certainly make her job as a back-line ninjutsu specialist a lot easier if she didn't have to worry about the enemy rushing her down in order to finish the fight quickly, especially as any potential enemy would have to deal with two close-range fighters, more than likely.

"I like the sound of it. I'm sure any sensei would take note that we've worked together before if we do make ourselves into our own team that they wouldn't feel the need to split us up."

She finishes just in time for the arrival of her own dessert, and she has to be careful about how to eat it, since the somewhat soggy cake is just barely structurally sound enough after having been dipped in milk three times to hold its own shape, but Yasuka manages to deftly eat it up without spilling it.

With a small nod as Yasuka ordered her own desert, Kitsumi would simply wait for their desert to arrive as Yasuka spoke. After the desert arrived, they would eat in relative silence and once they were finished Kitsumi would take the bill to pay and look to Yasuka. "Lady Inazuma. perhaps we can meet in the train grounds tomorrow and we can see if our skills could complement each other." Kitsumi would say with a small smile as he took his leave from the table heading to pay, afterwards he would return to his family home at least that is where he would be heading. Whether his family still lived there or not would of course remain to be seen, but if not he would find somewhere he could stay for the night at the very least.

{exit thread}

Yasuka quickly nods and agrees to meet him at the training grounds; after all, it would be the best way for them to see what their skills were like and how they would best complement each other in combat. It should be quite exhilarating, and hopefully nothing bad would happen that would cause either of them to end up back in the hospital, at least in Kitsumi's case. But it's not like that would happen in a simple spar, even if they ended up in a three-on-one brawl! There was no need for Yasuka to worry at all. She gets up from her meal, thanks Kitsumi for treating her to a meal from his own pocket, then leaves to go back to her own home in the Inazuma clan compound to freshen up and be done with the day.

(Exit, close thread)