Girl Time

Midori was methodical. As a cook, she was extremely interested in the food as it arrived, putting one into her mouth and chewing it slowly, while using her chopsticks to literally unfold the next one to look at the contents with all the care of a to-be doctor dissecting a frog for the first time. After investigating it and savoring the flavors, her mind went into overdrive analyzing the taste and thinking of things that could make it better. Narrowing her eyes, she looked to the end of the table where a few bottles were, and grabbed the soy sauce.

The one she opened she added a gentle splash of the dark liquid to the middle and then folded it back together, scooping it up and eating it whole as well, having swallowed the first one. She chewed this one carefully as well, and after a moment, offered the bottle to Riku. “Just a bit. Better flavor.” Settling in, she enjoyed her food quietly. At the comment of doing it again, she couldn’t help but jump at the idea.

“At my home. I’ll cook.” She seemed excited in her eyes about this idea, smiling just a bit with her full mouth.

[26]

Riku giggled at Midori’s surgeon-like precision in picking the food apart and poured a little soy sauce on her own plate to dunk her dumplings in.

“It’s tasty,” she agreed, continuing to practically inhale the food, only pausing here and there to take a drink of tea to wash everything down. Once one of the plates was cleared, Riku finally took a pause to speak.

“I’d like that,” the blue haired teen said, smiling at Midori's offer to cook.

She got the other plate of dumplings she had ordered and began to eat those at a slower pace, dipping each one lightly in soy sauce Midori recommended. Riku sighed happily and continued to eat. After a few minutes of quiet consumption, Riku had eaten all her dumplings. Full and content, the blue haired teen nursed yet another mug of tea.

[26]

Midori quickly finished her own plate, enjoying them thoroughly with the soy sauce and a content expression slowly dawning on her face. There was something about good food that always allowed her to relax and open up a bit more than normal, which was why she liked to cook. A good outlet for her mind and a good meal for her soul, a perfect combination.

She wound up finishing her second plate a bit more quickly than Riku, sitting back on her cushion feeling quite content. It was a good thing she had chosen to mimic Riku’s order, and she felt like she had learned something through the experience that she could take home and perfect this recipe. Show Riku what a real home-cooked dumpling could taste like, and see how it compared. While she was certain the cooks here took time and pride in their food, they also served the masses, so some quality was lost to make up for the quantity.

She would not have such problems.

Sipping on her tea as well, she sighed, content.

[27]

Riku appeared sleepy and content as she drained the rest of her tea. Her gaze was half lidded and there was a subtle smile curling the corners of her mouth upwards. She refilled her and Midori's mugs and sweetened their drinks each time their cups emptied until there was no more tea.

Haru returned with the bill just as the pair finished their drinks.

Riku took both bills and pulled some ryo out of her wallet, handing both back to the waiter before Midori could even think of paying. She smiled, causing the man to blush even harder and stutter his thanks before leaving.

"Want to walk back to the Ryuutei compound together?" she asked the green haired teen once Haru was gone.

[27]

It was interesting to note how sleepy Riku seemed to become as she settled in; Midori would admit she would become a bit lethargic after a large meal, but her metabolism was so high that it never lasted long. As Haru approached, she made a move to retrieve her wallet from the sleeve pocket of her Kimono, but Riku footed the bill before she got a chance to offer her own Ryo, and Midori frowned a little bit; but for the first time, it looked more like a pout than her being displeased.

The stutter from Haru made her eyes shift to him for a moment, and then she rolled her eyes a bit. It looked like she wasn’t the only one who had to deal with fanboys and the like, and that only helped her relate to Riku even more. She wondered if she got annoyed by it too, but made no comment in that regard; it wasn’t really important for now, and she didn’t want to discuss something like that here.

The offer to walk back was met with a gentle smile and a nod, grateful that they would be leaving the area. Putting her wallet back, she noticed that the Kimono seemed particularly stretchy which was a good thing, an unexpected bonus considering what would happen if she wound up transforming with it on. She didn’t want to ruin it because she suddenly got involved in a combat situation.

[28]

Noticing Midori's pout, the blue haired nin smirked victoriously. Then, she looped an arm around the taller teen's and pulled her along and out of the shop.

"Don't worry about him. He's always like that," the shorter teen reassured Midori. "Sometimes boys turn all pink and stutter when they talk to me. I didn't notice that they were so shy when I was younger. Ooh, look, takoyaki." Riku pointed towards a takoyaki stand and began to pull her friend towards it.

The excited look on her face only confirmed the blue haired teen's love of food. Over time, Midori would learn that good food and good drinks always seemed to brighten her mood. When they got to the stand a tall, broad shouldered boy joined their group uninvited.

"These two are on my tab. A gentleman like myself can't allow two lovely ladies to buy their own food."

Riku's grip on Midori's arm tightened, but she gave a the boy a thin smile. "How kind." Despite her expression, she didn't actually seem pleased.

"Can we have the daily special?" Riku asked the man running the stand. She looked up at Midori. "Order anything you like. Please." Her voice was soft when she said this, just loud enough for Midori to hear. "The more expensive the better."

[28]

Getting pulled out of the shop, Midori was glad to see that Riku had her energy back and their little outing was not quite done as she got pulled over to another stand, which was yet more food. Not that Midori was complaining of course; she could eat quite a bit compared to normal people… nothing like the Ryuutei pure-bloods, but still. Her explanation of Haru made her raised an eyebrow though, as she considered the fact that perhaps all girls had to deal with that problem. Stupid hormones.

She was looking over things when another painful example of that exact situation seemed to manifest as though summoned by the topic being discussed, and Midori gained an annoyed look. She was prepared to turn around and simply tell him to buzz off, but the gentle squeeze and the tone that Riku used triggered her protective instincts. Midori had lost a lot of family in her life… she was not about to have anyone threaten her friend. She heard her try to pressure her to order something expensive and make him pay for it, but she wouldn’t be indebted to this person.

Instead, she turned around and grew.

Midori was naturally tall, but as her skin got dark, she became downright massive in seconds. She was about ten feet tall now, her hair becoming spiked upwards and jagged, eyes glowing with a lime green light and her muscles bulging to the point that they looked like they would erupt out of her skin. She gritted her teeth towards the boy, towering over him and outright snarling “leave or I break you.” Her tone sounded like something out of a nightmare, distorted and full of promised violence.

As he skittered out of sight, she took a breath, performing Calming Steps and returning to her normal size and beginning to adjust her Kimono as she had stretched it a bit. Blinking, she realized that this was the first time she had shown someone that form aside Satori, and she turned back towards Riku, concern clear as day that she might have frightened her friend as well.

[29]

Riku blinked, surprised at Midori's transformation. She simply ogled the taller woman as the green haired ninja simply shrank again, as If nothing had happened. Blinking she reached up and patted Midori's cheek.

"Huh." Standing up on her toes to get a better look, Riku inspected her friend, brows twitching a bit as curiosity took over.

"How'd you do that?" The blue haired teen squeezed one of Midori's arms experimentally, before finally giving her some space. "Wait a minute… you went easy on me in that spar didn't you? Or is this a new form? How does it work?"

The man running the stand stood in shock, simply shoving the takoyaki into Riku's hands and backing away.

"Huh?" Riku looked at him, confused. "On the house?"

Rapid nodding.

"Thanks! Try this Midori-chan, it's tasty," the shorter woman said, using a skewer to pierce some of the takoyaki and offering them to the green haired woman. Gently, she herded the tall woman away from the Market and towards their path home, still peppering her with questions about the transformation and commentary about street food.

[29]

Midori was a bit surprised, to say the least, when Riku didn’t seem to have an ounce of fear in her eyes or features, but instead an intense curiosity. Blinking a few moments, she saw then the expression on the stand-owner’s face and frowned, even with the fact that he was giving them free food in response. Not many people had seen her, which was good… but now Riku was beginning to ask questions, and she glanced around. “Not here.” It was supposed to be something she kept under wraps… and here she was using it because she got angry.

She mentally raged, sighing with disappointment in herself outwardly.

Once they were away from everyone, she stopped. “Did not go easy… other form… used to be hard to control. Doing better now.” She paused again, thinking back to the questions she had heard her ask… and scratched her head, seeming frustrated. “Unsure how it works. Father was the only one I know who had the bloodline.” And he was gone to who knows where. Certainly Satori had explained the situation in which brought her to be adopted into the family, how her mother was murdered in front of her and her father went to seek vengeance, and never returned.

She didn’t have a clue how it worked because she was still figuring it out herself.

[30]

Riku calmed once Midori indicated this wasn't a discussion for public places. "Sorry, I get excited about new things. I was a little carried away."

She followed the taller woman until they were out of the Market and in a more secluded area. The explanation that the form was difficult to control made sense. Using something like that in their spar could have meant losing instead of gaining an advantage if it couldn't be controlled. The mention of Midori's father sobered Riku rather quickly. Despite only knowing that Midori had joined the clan because she was alone, Riku understood that the other woman had experienced loss before then from the way she spoke.

She set a hand on Midori's shoulder. "I don't know everything, but you don't have to explain. My father is gone, too." Biting her lower lip, the blue haired genin averted her gaze and let her hand fall. "Sorry for bringing up such unpleasant memories."

[30]

Midori almost instantly reached down and grabbed Riku’s hand, holding it and getting her attention with a light squeeze. It was a gesture that said that there was no hard feelings; she had simply wanted to explain why she didn’t know anything about it. “You can ask anything, I just may not have an answer.” She didn’t want her to lose that curious look in her eyes because she seemed so excited and happy.

The knowledge that she didn’t have her father around either caused a sorrowful nod, but she dismissed the thoughts quickly, less they drown her. She didn’t want Riku to see her cry unless it was from that damn itching powder again and they were fighting. She gave her a small smile, hoping she would pick up where it left off with the questions. “Brother is helping me learn how to control it.” It was something of a secret training, but now that Riku was in on it, another thought occurred.

“Maybe you can help sometime?” It was a genuine offer, and a way for her to need to ask questions about it so she knew what she was walking into. If she was going to help her learn how to deal with the problem, it meant she needed to understand how it worked to the best of her ability.

[31]

Riku squeezed Midori's hand tightly in return. Her throat was too tight and painful to say much, but the taller teen didn't need to hear her speak to understand what Riku meant by that gesture. Her meaning would as be clear as if it were written.

Giving Midori a watery smile, Riku nodded. "I'd be happy to help." Still holding onto the green haired teen's hand, she started to walk again. The blue haired girl interlaced their fingers and didn't say anything else. Riku hadn't known she'd needed an older sister before today, but Midori had managed to push Riku out of her comfort zone in a way only Satori had managed before. No one else outside her immediate family had gotten Riku to verbally admit that her father was gone or show that it still bothered her. This wasn't something Riku ever wanted to have in common with another person, but she was glad Midori understood how much it hurt to lose someone so loved.

"Can we have another pot of tea when we get home?" Riku asked quietly after a few minutes of walking in silence.

[31]

[//Thread Exit]

Midori felt the squeeze of her hand, and she could feel the loss in her gesture through her soul. This was not something that could ever be broken between them, this shared pain… and just like that, the tall teen knew that she would do just about anything for Riku, the same way she did Satori. No one, not even her other family members, ever really got past her walls like Satori had, and now, Riku. Not even Miyu knew this much about her.

She took a calming breath, and gave the smaller teen a gentle smile as she interlaced her fingers, and she gave her a gentle squeeze as they walked hand in hand, thanking her for helping with her training in advance. She actually gave a small, single laugh for the first time as Riku asked if they could have more tea once they got home, and couldn’t help herself. “You aren’t made of water, but tea,” she joked, walking with her new little sister towards her home.

[32]

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