Out of Hand, Out of Sight (Tengoku/Arisu)

Arisu could see that Zoe and Nyguyen were hitting it off so she used this as an opportunity to excuse herself. Nyg was a bit flustered as he did not originally intend on playing host for an Ōtsutsuki, but he wasn't about to pass up a chance to exchange notes with a literal alien historian. Arisu's actions were a bit rude but he'd forgive the offense given the circumstances.

"It would be my pleasure.... and oh!" Nyguyen suddenly remembered that there was something he wanted to invite Arisu to. Now that he knew she kept such smart and pleasant company, he saw no harm in inviting Zoe as well. "I wanted to invite the both of you to my daughter's promotion celebration. She is being promoted to the rank of Jounin and I'd appreciate it if you'd both attend. She has a taste for the avant-guard and I think she'd be honored to have you as guests"

If the pair of aliens weren't interested, he wouldn't take it personally. Konoha was their's to enjoy and he had no intention of guilting them into being his dinner party guests. If they accepted, he'd give a genuine smile (one of the few he'd allow himself given recent events) and say: "Wonderful. I'll send along the formal invites shortly with my address. I wish you safe travels Arisu."

Arisu opened up another of her strange portals and stepped through. He was now free to geek-out with his new flashback-buddy. Zoe was apparently biologically designed for the profession and it seemed there was more to it than that, but she had trouble articulating it. Nyguyen didn't press. The fundamental functions of their jobs were the same even if their forms varied. The thing Nyg found himself liking the most about Zoe was that she was intent on listening to him talk. And boy could this man talk.

"Much and more! Fire Country cuisine is as diverse as it is delicious. Ramen is our staple but you see what's interesting is that due to our proximity to the Land of Waterfalls and the Land of Rivers, seafood has become a regular feature in our dishes. What's even more interesting is that the lumber we use was once a subject fierce negotiation and even war as its cooking properties could allow for faster meal prep which was invaluable to an army during the Era of Warring Clans but before we get to that, its important we first lay foundations my dear Zoe. You see the beginning of this country's history is rooted in....."

Nyguyen would continue on from there. He'd usher Zoe out of the hospital room, away from the stench of terrorism, fratercide, decay, and illness. The longer and louder Nyguyen spoke, the better he felt. It was a bit obnoxious to launch into a history lecture with someone you just met, but Nyg couldn't help himself. Talking about history made him feel good, it got him excited and it filled his heart with joy. Today of all days he desperately needed that. The man's mood gradually shifted from melancholy to glee as he began to regale his foreign counter-part with the rich history of the Land of Fire and its many clans. He'd even go as far as to give her a guided tour of the village so that she could see, touch, taste, and hear the city's historical sites. If she were game, they'd also stop at various places to eat. Never consuming too much but just enough to get a good idea of how the palate of the country had developed over the years.

At the end of the day, Zoe's head would be full of facts about the Scarlet Kingdom, and more importantly, her belly would be full with the food of the greatest nation Earth. It was a lovely day and it was just the thing Nyguyen needed on his first day of retirement: hope and peace for the future.

[Exit]

Zoe was excited to be invited to a celebration, as she’d never been invited to one before. She gasped in happy surprise at the invitation and jumped up and down for a moment. “I’d love to go! Thank you so much! Oh. . . I need to bring a gift! Yes, gifts are part of celebrations.” She wondered how she was even supposed to do that. Zoe still didn’t fully understand the concept of currency and how it was used to acquire goods and services. But she thought she’d have a bit of time to figure it out.

She would listen happily as Nyg explained everything she could ever want to know about the Land of Fire and its history. She was ecstatic to hear the man talk and she noticed that the longer he spoke the happier he became. She would ask clarifying questions as he spoke, writing down notes as they walked, which occasionally had her bump into something or other since she wasn’t watching where she was going. Zoe wasn’t known for her coordination, rather if she was known for anything it was her clumsiness - both physically and socially.

Following along with Nyguyen, Zoe spent the day in perpetual bliss; she got to explore human culture, eat all sorts of foods and speak of history. Three of her absolute favourite things. When it came to trying different foods Zoe was beside herself with joy, even going so far as attempting to eat the chopsticks that came with various dishes. She would go through page after page as she recorded notes about what Nyguyen said, she didn’t need to as she was more than capable of just remembering it but she still felt a compulsion to carry out her engineered purpose.

She would occasionally give Nyguyen some information about her home planet of Hala, assuming he was interested. If he was she would regale him with stories of the Children of Light and how their society worked. About the wars between clans in the early history of Hala and how that led to the peace that they had now; where everyone was engineered before birth to perform specific tasks and how no one person was valued above another. She told stories of the warriors of Hala and how large they were, especially compared to the Record Keepers. Every time they would pass a tree or bush or flower she would stop and touch it lovingly, speaking cheerfully about her ‘kin’. She explained that many of the Children of Light had had their DNA spliced with various plants in order to be more efficient, which meant that she received her energy and nourishment from celestial bodies like this planet’s Sun and did not actually need to eat. Hence her obsession with tasting absolutely everything. Even seashells.

The whole time Zoe kept the black rod close that Arisu had left for her. She was having a fun day, but she missed her.

[Exit Thread]