Concerto of String Instruments

The 15 year old walked around the street aimlessly, eyes fixated on whatever wares were being sold. She wore a simple white dress, covered by a crimson red cloak. Her usual attire. But since she had joined Sunagakure she had been given something new to add to the whole look. A headband with Sunagakure's mon on it. She wasn't all too sure why she needed to wear it, thinking it didn't fit her clothes in the slightest but the instructor had insisted on her wearing it as a means to be recognised. She was a 'shinobi' now. Whatever that even meant. A shinobi without a bow, and therefore rather useless if you asked her, but a shinobi nonetheless. She hadn't been given any instructions yet or lessons, hence the reason why she continued spending her free time strolling around the market place.

She really needed a new bow. Mitsu had told her she would find them at the market district, so that was where she was going now, but boy was this difficult. The street was crammed with vendors of all kind, and quite a few of those sold weapons. There were so many bows to choose from it left the spider confused as to what she really had to pick. Pretty ones, dull ones, solid ones, flexible ones. In all colours and shapes, too. Mitsu had warned her not to get carried away. Human traders were dangerous with their words. Telling you what you wanted to hear just so they could sell you their wares, even if you didn't need them. Ripping you off of what little coin you had. It only made things harder for her. She was hardly familiar with the human ways and now she had to deal with them like she was an expert. Quietly she wished Mitsu was around to explain it all, but he was busy with his own little things and Kurenai was simply too impatient to wait much longer. She really needed a bow to feel complete.

"H-hi. Um... Hi, we're Enkai, um ... you might not want to use those bows."

Those words made the arachnid turn around with curiosity. Before her stood a girl wearing a Suna-headband like hers. Pink hair, pink shirt, black tank top and denim skit. For some reason, she shrunk as if someone had scolded her or just tried to hit her. Then, she regained composure and spoke again with a reserved voice. She didn't quite explain why Kurenai should be buying one of those bows, but she did say that she was making things herself. Like bows, but not mass produced (whatever that meant) and also cheaper. Kurenai didn't know all that much of human society but getting things cheaper certainly sounded like a good thing. Whether that meant it was of equal or better quality did not pop into her mind.

"Cheaper sounds nice. I'm Kurenai, by the way. A kunoichi of Suna, as you probably know already."

She wasn't all too sure yet what being a 'kunoichi' exactly was about, but Ei had told her she'd make a good one. She had potential; the rest was a matter of learning and growing. But she still had done neither. The arachnid had been walking around the Village, getting to know Sunagakure to the best of her abilities. Home familiarity was an important thing, so she had been told. And getting to understand human society was another, so the Tsuchigumo elders had said.

"What's wrong with these bows though? They look very bow-like to me."

Dragged across the streets, they'd eventually halt at some food stand. Having no clue what that all was, the spider looked at the curry that was being prepared. The smell of the spices pervaded the area as the white rice and brown mixture of pieces and juice, mixed in with a colourful palette of herbs drifted on the spoon-created currents. The spider wasn't all too sure that even resembled closely to what she usually ate but she couldn't really fault the Enkai for it. Kurenai was trying her hardest to combine the secrecy of her true nature with what little she knew about the human world in an attempt to answer Enkai in an acceptable truth about herself.

Not wishing to point out the curry didn't even look closely to her usual meal and genuinely curious to try out human dishes altogether, she allowed this newly found friend to press a bowl of Curry Masala and a cup of Masala Chai into her hands. As she pondered how exactly she'd eat from the bowl with her hands stuffed like this, the two moved over to a bench somewhere down the road where they could sit down. And put down the cup of chai to free a hand all the while.

It was then that Enkai asked her to talk about herself. The question on itself not the worst to ask, but the spider seemed to have some difficulties figuring out how to talk about herself without sounded extremely out of place. Eyes fixated on the curry, she'd let out a pensive 'hmmm...' before she would attempt to give a proper answer.

"Ah, well, I'm Kurenai. Me and Mitsutama come from a faraway forest where we used to live before we decided to go on adventures together. We had heard about a 'great sea made of sand' and so we decided it'd be an interesting place to visit. We never had seen a sea made of sand, you see. But when we got there, there were these people who had spoken about a hidden village. Which was a strange idea, really. The sea of sand was so barren we couldn't believe it'd be this hard to find it."

Deciding she couldn't keep staring at the bowl of curry, she scooped up some rice and sauce with the spoon she was given and boldly put the whole thing into her mouth like she had seen other humans do. Almost instantly, she felt the difference in texture. No slushy food. Even though the meat was soft, it didn't flow in like milkshake. She was obliged to nom it as the pieces were too big to just be drank - though that did work with the sauce itself and, to some degree, with the grains of rice. Her eyes then shot open when the spices made their presence known. Her head suddenly felt even hotter than when the sun shone on it, forcing her to blink her eyes as they felt like tearing. But bravely she'd swallow the whole bite before allowing fresh air to cool her mouth.

"I-is this made of fire?", she'd ask, somewhat shocked at the vehemence of this human food. She'd pick up the cup of tea and drink that, instinctively believing it'd cool down her mouth since it was obviously more liquid. Alas. Once more her inexperienced palate was assaulted as hot beverage and spices saluted her bravery into the unfamiliar world.