The Festival Kicks Off! (Open)

Irui sipped thoughtfully on the remains of his beverage, and cradled his chin in his palm. HIs eyes danced from person to person, watching how they sparred. There was plenty of vitriol simmering beneath the veneer of celebration; he was right after all. Old enemies would die hard, and there was no telling if or when these grudges would subside. Beneath his mask, his cracked lips had stretched into a wide smile.

Okane had deftly maneuvered between a volley of interactions; performing sealing tricks, and left another man humiliated by barely lifting a finger. A woman had approached the table, with her voice calm and sweet; aiming to take the heat off the man. Irui knew though that he needed no defending, no, Okane was a different breed of crafter. He could handle himself just fine in this sort of arena, where Shinobi were clearly outmatched by his sharp tongue and wit.

--And he has marvelously talented fingers! Oh my!  Irui mused to himself. Its too bad his tastebuds go in the other direction.

He looked down at his drink with half-lidded drunkenness, and stirred his watery drink. HIs mind lost itself in the shifting shapes, and ice shards, and for a moment, he drifted into a stupor, letting everyone argue and jab at one another in the background. But sure enough, he came through the fog, and sighed as the heaviness of alcohol began to lift.

Most interesting....

By his count, and at his age, he figured this much imbibing should've knocked him on the floor. He looked over his shoulder, and passed the drink to a waiting attendant. While he was enjoying himself for now, he could already feel the Orthodox Church's 'blessing' working its magic on his body. Slowly, but perceptibly, it was keeping his organs intact from the alcohol. An unusual side effect he figured, but handy. If Ashitaka had proven anything, it was that he could suffer the most horrible of injuries, and still not die. Irui however, was a cautious individual, and didn't want to test the limits of Shimiko's work-- just yet.

He wiggled his fingers, and snapped a hair-thin thread onto a taller drink and reeled it into his grasp. Ooh, this one came with an umbrella and curly straw. He sucked on the drink for a moment; bright citrus exploding across his taste buds, and politely waved to the newcomer.

"Join us!" He said to the woman and motioned to a seat at the table. "Where are you from, kunoichi-san?," He said a bit cheerily, and swallowed "Its a small world, I've met one of my countrymen here, and these war veterans from all over."  He set the drink down. "Your voice is familiar, I feel like we've met before!"

He rested his cheek in his palm, and lazily gestured at Okane and Zenaku. "There's something wrong here; your glasses are empty!"

The conversation was starting to heat up between zenaku and okane as they spoke of the war and exchanges of weapons on the forefront of battle. Zenaku had learned that war or even speak of war could lead to nasty things as it looked to be happening at this very table. Zenaku knew that he should just keep quiet and stop interacting with okane but it seemed that he was misunderstanding Zenaku a little bit.

" It seems that we seem to be misunderstanding each other a slight bit here okane, I would not say crafters are worse then those that go into the heat of battle, in all honesty I hate war just as much as the next person and I hope to one day make sure war is a absolute thing of the past. In crafters are of great assets to villages but what I was getting at was that instead of selling to both sides which only helps to prolong a war meaning more suffering it would just make more sense to just sell to one side of the war and if you did that the war would end quicker cause the other side would lose there supply faster. A tactic which always helps I find in battle is if you cut off a solider supply chain they fall fast. But I think we have had enough of this war talk instead let's just enjoy the party at hand."

It seemed that zenaku had made chika upset which was not his intention. It seemed that it was thanks to akihiro that her papa was killed which that was something that was not to his knowledge cause this happened back when he was still a young genin.

" I'm so sorry chika it was not my intention to upset you, I'm sorry if I had gotten mad. I understand you was just defending my clan and for getting upset I apologize deeply. And your right after what akihiro did to your family you have all rights to say what ever you wish about him, I just don't like talking about him cause we could never see eye to eye and get along."

Zenaku would watch as okane would do some tricks using his puppet skills which besides chika zenaku had never meet many people who could use the puppet skills.

Chika wondered excitedly how Okane was making his eyes glow with green smoke.  Was it some kind of special effect or maybe a bloodline thing?  Either way it was super rad and really suited him.  It sure was a neat party trick at any rate and she would have loved to imitate him.  It’d be perfect to install into a puppet for maximum intimidation.   Those thoughts were quickly derailed however as the young girl caught sight of the new arrival.

If Okane was one of her idols then Kara was the other.  Chika instantly recognized her on sight but she wasn’t sure if she was supposed to say anything or not due to the mask. Tatewari seemed willing to play along with the charade, not that it stopped Gyo from blurting the name out anyhow.  Well if Kara had been trying to keep her identity secret the cat sure was out of the bag now.    Chika for her part had fixated Kara’s metal arm, openingly admiring the detailed craftsmanship it must have taken to make such an intricate looking prosthetic.   She was someone Chika stood to learn quite a bit from.

What was she supposed to say to get Kara’s attention?  Would complimenting the arm be seen as cool or would it be rude.   This was one of the reasons that Chika hated talking since sometimes it was really hard for her to find the right words to say.  She was terrified of saying the wrong thing and putting her preferable foot in her mouth the way Zenku seemed to be doing.    So far he didn’t seem that great at making new friends with his abrasive comments.  

Perhaps it was a minor miracle of some kind that he’d already become friendly with Chika. Then again in many ways she was easy in that regard since she was trying to become more friendly with the Uchiha in general which made it hardly an accomplishment to boast about.

“It’s ok, I’m just glad that you understand I was trying to look out for you.” Chika replied with a warm smile.   If Zenku would just stop saying stuff that might upset their host then maybe they would see what she saw in him and that he was a swell enough guy.   Maybe she ought to distract him somehow to get his mind off things before he said something he was going to regret.   The only problem being that she had no real idea how to distract him.

Her primal instincts as a Spider were telling her that maybe she should try sitting in his lap  since she was slightly interested in him as a potential mate. After all she was physically and mentally the equivalent of a human adult which was reflected in the appearance of her human avatar.  She was mostly asexual  with a very low desire for sexual activity but that didn’t mean she had none at all, though to be fully honest she was really only looking to get married for political reasons since she saw that as the best way to bring more harmony to the Uchiha and Hyuga clans.
 
Marriage was a human institution but one that she could get behind since sticking together with one partner offered a lot of long term protection both for her and her theoretical children.  Luckily for any potential husband of hers, she wasn’t the kind of Spider that would kill her mate after consummation.  

Then again she WAS the kind that wouldn’t think twice about engaging in Cannibalism if say a teammate died out in the field.   Why waste perfectly good nutrients if they were just lying around?  It was better than the enemy getting ahold of the body.  They could reverse engineer a restricted jutsu from the corpse or grab a powerful implant, neither of which were desirable outcomes to the village.

If she’d been wearing her Aiko puppet she wouldn’t have hesitated to act on her whims.  Being in a different form gave her the perfect excuse to let go.  When in her standard form she had to sometimes remember to remind herself to exercise restraint.    She was a Hyuga after all, which meant she had to act with a certain level of dignity at all times, at least when she was in public at any rate.  She’d been drilled again and again by the elders not to do anything to bring shame to the clan and for the most part she was pretty good about following that edict except for the occasional hiccup where her values as a Spider clashed with those of her human form and she slipped up.

She wasn’t a tactical mastermind by any means but she kind of got where he was going with the Supply chain talk. Or at least she thought she understood what he meant by that anyhow.  The problem was the way he said it and when he said it after some of the other statements could be taken by some as a threat which Okane might not take kindly.   Even she knew that you could only be so rude before you got thrown out.

She giggled slightly at the comment about ending war.  The idea was so silly that it was endearing.  Humans where stupid, unlike animals that generally fought only for survival they would fight over the pettiest things for almost seemingly no reason at all.   She was sure that the only way to stop them fighting permanently would require either their total extinction or some kind of species-wide lobotomization whichever came first.

“Don't you think that perhaps keeping things on a somewhat level playing field might have been better in the long run?” Chika said with her head tilted eerily to the side as she took a sip of the last of her fruit juice then set her glass aside.   If she drank any more she was going to have bladder issues in short order.

“I don’t know about the balance of power between the different sides or anything complicated like that and sure it’d still suck for some of the soldiers but think about what happens to the civilians in a country when things get too one sided.   We haven’t exactly had the best track record in those regards.”   she said, referring to what people from her village had done to Moonspire.    An entire city and most of its citizens obliterated from the map without any semblance of mercy.    

Their allies in Kiri were no better given the way the lands of Demon’s had been sacked.  She remembered reading about Ken’s actions in the paper and thinking that he was even more of an animal then she was. Because she was a Spider she was fairly amoral but even then she would only kill to survive or eat, never out of sheer sadistic pleasure.   She just couldn’t understand why anyone would want to do those kinds of things.

Her thoughts on that matter quickly went to the wayside as she watched with wide eyes as Okane performed his cool stunt, moving a chair from one spot to another through the use of chakra strings and seals.   She’d had no idea that chakra strings could even be used like that! “Bravo! What a display.” she cheered and clapped in appreciation. She was like a novice musician listening to a master, the amount of inspiration she felt at that moment was simply too great to describe.  She’d just met him today and already Okane was proving to be a large influence on her, hopefully he wouldn’t turn out to be a bad one  in the long run.    She was already beginning to think of other ways to put chakra strings to use, hoping to find one that even Okane would find innovative.  

What had she been thinking about again before Okane had performed his trick? Well whatever it was it couldn’t have been that important.  Without a drink in hand she was feeling fidgety.  She wanted to do something, some work that she could show Kara and Okane to impress them.   Suddenly an idea came to mind.  Activating her Byakugan so that she could see stuff further away she used a chakra string of her own to send the puppet modelled after her Papa shopping in her steed.  

In a way she was kind of surprised Zenku hadn’t said anything about the puppet since he was the only one present that might recognize that it looked just like Chikamatsu had in his prime.  Maybe he had some tact in him after all.  It wasn’t like she was the one that had crafted it or anything but she wasn’t exactly in the mood to be excused of having a father complex.  

For only the paltry price of 425 yen she quickly secured 10 units of plastic which the Puppet brought back to her.  This was one of the largest marketplaces on earth after all. Finding goods like that was trivial.    Taking a lump of plastic into her hands she quickly went to work shaping it into the form of a toy robot thanks to her superhuman levels of dexterity, doing detailed carving in seconds that others would need hours to accomplish.  

She was making five pairs of Combiner Series Vulcan Red and Vulcan Blue.  Each set of Red and Blue would be able to transform so that they could be set together as a singular Super Combiner Lord Vulcan.   It was a small scale test prototype for a transformation mechanism  she was hoping to put into use on her life size or larger puppets.   She was aiming to quickly craft a set to give each of the other people with her.  One for Okane, Kara,  Zenku, Gyo and Tatewari to take home as a  souvenir of their meeting respectively.

Or at least, that had been the plan before she remembered that she still had to get ready for the Inarguable meeting of the Puppet users association. Well she already had the job with Okane so she could leave trying to impress Kara for later. "Excuse me, I hope you all have a good day." said Chika as she stood up and gave them a polite bow before leaving.


[6]

[Exit]

Active Byakugan -0.3

344,213 - 425 (25% wealth discount) for 10 units of plastic = 343,788 ryo remaining

Kara sat gracefully in the chair Okane provided for her with his fuuinjutsu. It was a clever trick and one that she could appreciate coming from her friend; she and Okane were both theatrical in their own ways, but he definitely had an edge there that she did not. He enjoyed the spectacle, it almost seemed to fuel him, whereas she enjoyed less personal energy consuming feats. They were similar in many respects and she could see how they were both occasionally lumped into the same pigeon hole by the common folk. Their similarities ended where the spectacle ended however, and only those privileged enough to be close to either of them could see the difference.

She greeted everyone at the table with a warm smile and nod, and included a subtle wink for Gyokusho as she reached to take a glass filled with champagne from a waiting attendant's tray. “Thank you, darling. You look quite lovely yourself.” With a nod of acknowledgement Kara leveled her gaze at Irui, her golden eyes assessing him as she answered. “I am from many places, my mysterious stranger. I am Kara Darhk, more recently residing within Kumogakure.” She greeted everyone save for Zenaku, who had quite notably ignored her presence despite it being called to everyone’s attention, him she likewise ignored as she had no use for the useless and disrespectful. When Okane had asked her to brace herself, she could only imagine what he might mean. As always she kept her cool composure as she listened to the Grand Merchant summarize the conversation up to her entrance. Even as he began she could see where it would lead, and she didn’t like it. Not that she didn’t like what Okane was about to say, but she didn’t like the topic in general. Okane she trusted, he was her business partner after all, but these others. . . she personally knew only one of them. So as far as trust regarding the topic of her profession and her husband’s untimely demise was concerned, she had little. As Okane finished his explanation Kara’s eyes would narrow slightly, less than a millimeter, but enough that someone might notice if they had godly perception.

She was furious of course, and heartbroken, though not one other muscle moved as she turned her attention to the Uchiha that Okane spoke of. It now made a little sense to her as to why he had pointedly ignored her entrance, the poor boy probably considered himself above needing to adhere to social protocol; a trait she’d often observed among the Uchiha. Her years of practice in controlling her emotions and impulses came in handy as she considered for a brief moment how to deal with the young upstart from Konoha. She allowed him to blather on about whatever nonsense his small mind thought was justification for the slight, her expression showing nothing but mild amusement until he finally stopped speaking. When she spoke her voice was warm and soothing, as though she was speaking to a child. “My dear, you should be careful who you say such things to. Were I a lesser woman I might consider your words a threat, though of course there could not be any threat from you. The Uchiha have proved to be either entirely corrupt, or steadfast in the meting out of draconian justice. If recent history has shown us anything. One might wonder which half you belong to. But I do not wonder, I know. Wondering is for. . . others, and frankly why would I argue something that is entirely in your imagination? As for the terrorists that murdered my husband, I will offer you one warning; I do not take the subject lightly and I would suggest that you do not either.” She gave Zenaku a meaningful look as she finished speaking, her words offered no room for argument nor did her body language as she turned to face Okane once more.

The warm smile that had been on her face as she first entered had vanished as she’d spoken to Zenaku, but with her gaze once more on Okane it returned. As the small girl wished them a good day as she left, Kara gave her a gentle wave and a smile. “This is quite the party you have, my dear. I must say it seems you’ve outdone yourself this time.” Looking around the table once more she raised a glass towards their host, indicating that those present should do the same. “A toast then, to the Grand Merchant and all he has accomplished. Beneath our feet is the pinnacle of his achievements; the Heavenly Emporium. This floating city is a testament to the ingenuity and generosity of Okane Tomi, a place he has graciously offered to the people of the world as a respite from the tribulations of war and suffering. Vivez longtemps et prospèrez, mon ami.” Once she had finished her speech she would raise her glass towards Okane then take a celebratory sip of her drink.

Azzie had been told of a festival that was happening at the Heavenly Emporium; he was not too familiar with the place other than the name and that it was someone’s birthday and that someone was the one who built the place. Azzie could not even comprehend the fact that this place was built by a person. He knew he had to meet this person! It would be so helpful to understand how a master crafters mind worked! Maybe his mind could work like a master crafters! As his mind played out random scenarios about a man that he had never met before, Azzie began to fiddle with the mask that made his nose itch.

It was a dull pink mask that matched with his usual earrings that he wore, and it seemed like it was an extension of said item, given how long Azzie’s hair actually was, though today he opted to leave them be and have the entirety of his hair pushed behind his shoulders and away from his face. Even forgoing his usual garb, Azzie instead wore a black button up shirt with a rose embroidered on his left breast. Most of the shirt was covered with a dark grey scarf, just a shade brighter than his shirt. The attire was finished off by more black; dress pants and a shirt. The main contrast to it all was the mask and his hair, with mauve orbs peeking through the opening of the mask.

His attention narrowed in on the person whose birthday feast it was… something Okane? Or was it Okane something? Azzie was pretty bad with names, though he did see the man surrounded by a few people; a blonde-haired woman and three other males. He did not recognize the other individuals right away, but maybe the woman could be someone Azzie had only heard about through various people. A woman known for her crafting. Sara something. No… that sounded wrong. Mara? No. Kara? That sounded kind of right.

As he would approach the table, Azzie would simply shout out a “Happy birthday!” to the man whose birthday it was while he continued to make his way to the table. They were talking about something, but Azzie’s mind was already running and his mouth would soon follow after. “The food here is SOOOO good! I had takoyaki today, I never had takoyaki before. It was really, really good! It’s like making stuff, I think. I once made some kunai… they were alright. Then I made more and they were even better! Maybe I could make some takoyaki?” The last sentence was more muttered to himself as he thought about how takoyaki was made, though all his words were audible to those who would listen. Azzie didn’t really care, he was just happy to be here. This place was so cool! “Did you really make this place?! Oh, right! I forgot…” Azzie would pause, as if he were about to introduce himself, only to realize something. “You are Okane Tomi, right? It would be weird if I said happy birthday and it wasn’t your birthday… unless you shared a birthday with Okane Tomi. Anyways, I’m Azgodon Zaelious Vernizin Wyllt! People just call me Azzie for short!” He would look around the table, noting that they seemed to be in something that seemed akin to an important conversation. “Am I interrupting something? I can umm… eat more takoyaki?” If Azzie had to leave, at least it would be in the safety and sanctuary of takoyaki.

Okane would smile to himself as he sat back in his chair. This was going swimmingly. Though Chika seemed to excuse herself before any more talks of hiring another puppeteer could really continue. He would watch that one leave with a raised eyebrow. Perhaps she could have been an asset to his increased fame and capabilities. He had intended to change the world with the project he had in mind. Make Suna a world power that could stand on its own. For the time being it was more protected under the influence of Iwagakure. Its closest neighbor so the most logical choice though not the most powerful. He had measured the capabilities of anyone with some renown to their name and hadn't been as impressed as he was with say Kirigakure. Kit alone may be capable of taking on that whole country. But that was a stretch due to anxieties over the state of the world. For now He figured Nozomi had made the best choice she could. He wondered idly if she would come. He had invited her personally but....she hadn't been too interested in a large gathering like this. Or parties in general. It was all work for that woman.

Zenaku seemed to have back peddled a little and claimed that if Okane had supported just one side than he could have forced the war to end earlier. The very thought was amusing to him. So focused on one aspect of war that the bigger picture eluded the young man. Had he supported one side and been so effective than he would have been made a target by its enemies. A critical target that had to be taken out in order for the enemy nations to stand a chance. Instead he had made himself critical to all sides and insured his well being among all of them. Of course Kara had taken over as he expected and he held in his joy. She scolded and insulted the poor man who had chosen this fight at Okanes birthday party of all things. Uchiha were indeed mighty and should he lash out violently Okane didn't really have a solution directly. But a party full of people supporting him would descend on this ones head so quickly that such an action would prove to be his own undoing. The debate had been doomed if only for the setting they were in to begin with. Really calling someone out like this at their own party was so very rude.

Still Kara would shift gears almost immediately after. He was comfortable with the subject being dropped if the young Uchiha allowed it as well. He had made a mistake but it could be put behind them if he simply accepted his defeat. Okane would finally collect an appletini from a passing tray as Kara toasted him. Raising the strange glass with the green liquid matching his eyes as he smiled and nodded towards her. Even understanding a bit of the foreign language she had used. How classy. Just like her. Taking a sip from it to the toast from his own birthday before a gorgeous young man would approach. His green eyes shifting to this excitable young man who exclaimed happy birthday to him. Rattling on seemingly at random but still in a pleasant way. Introducing himself and explaining his interest over food. Okane would smile at the distraction from the tense subjects at the table and set his own glass down in front of him. Satisfied with a sip over a toast for now. Still he recognized the name as an upcoming crafter with promise in Konoha.

"Thank you Kara for the wonderful toast. As always your words inspire. As for you Azzie welcome. A seat just opened at our table so you are free to join us. I have heard of an up and coming crafter in Konoha that just opened up a shop recently. Though beyond your name I haven't heard more than you and your promising progress. Perhaps we should order some Takoyaki for the whole table? It can be brought to us of course. Welcome welcome."

Irui rested his elbow on the table, and through half-lidded eyes, gazed at his now empty drink. The roar of the party came and went, ebbing and flowing. Slowly but surely, he could feel his eagerness to participate winding down.Another one had joined the party.

Gently, he pushed the glass away from himself.

"I think I'll be taking my leave for the--" He caught himself mid hiccup. "--Night." He twisted around in his seat and kicked his feet out, and hopped to them. "Mister-- mister Okane, your party is so much fun. Don't let this...." He pointed towards Zenaku's general direction. "Don't let this.... Guy bully you. He's just.... just jealous."

Irui stumbled away from the table, and half turned back towards Gyo, swaying as he did. He settled his eyes on the man's golden hair in his drunken stupor. 'I think I'll see you again, Gyo-san."

[exit]

Zenaku could tell when he was beat so he decided to just end his debate with okane, at least this way he would stop passing people off as he would soon find out when the woman known as Kara scolded him and very harshly at that. He would learn that her husband was killed in this war and so what zenaku was saying seemed to hit pretty hard. The young uchiha would watch as chika would stand up and departed from the table and after her the drunk man also decided to leave the table.

From his point of view there was only a handful of people still there but a new Comer would appear at the table. The chunin had heard of a new shop opening up in konoha and now it would seem that he Met the person doing so. But first he should at least apologize as it was kinda rude of him, he did not wish for people to think he was like the other uchiha.

" I do apologize for my behavior I hope your think nothing of it. I would hate for people to think I was like most of the comman uchiha. Also happy birthday okane I just realized I had forgotten to mention it."

Zenaku would say as he lifted a glass to toast okane, he would just sit there eating and listening to the others but then he forgot he did not say hi to the new person who walked up.

" HI Azzie you said your name was, welcome I am zenaku uchiha it's nice to meet you.

Kara gave her toast, and just as she finished a taller white haired man joined the table, if Kara remembered correctly, an up and coming crafter from Konoha. The man seemed to have an interesting obsession with Takoyaki and Kara wondered if the man was drunk or in some other way inebriated. . . or if there was something else at play there. His hyper focus on something as mundane as a type of food was interesting to her, but she tucked it away with all the other pieces of information she had gleaned from those present at the festival - things to be pored over at a later date. “Azgodon Zaelious Vernizin Wylit, that is quite the distinguished name my friend, a pleasure to make your acquaintance. You may call me Kara, it’s what people call me for short, and no you’re not interrupting anything.” She would give the man a friendly wink as she would gesture for him to sit at the table in one of the empty chairs.

Turning to her friend, Kara gave Okane a warm smile and spoke quietly before taking another sip from her glass. “Anything for you, old friend.” It was then that the man in the cracked mask pushed himself away from the table, clearly too drunk to be carrying on such a conversation. Kara would keep her golden eyes on him as he said his goodbyes and retreated into the festival, yet another puzzle for her to solve. And then Zenaku opened his mouth again. Internally Kara would sigh, her outward appearance giving away none of her internal emotions, and she would turn to the young Uchiha with a patient smile hiding the sardonic undercurrent of her words. “As far as backhanded apologies go, that is not the worst I’ve ever heard. Consider yourself not thought of.”

Quaffing the remains of her drink, Kara would set the empty glass down on a nearby server’s tray and immediately pick up another one. She would continue idle chit chat with those present, ever the supportive friend and stunning example of perfect etiquette. After a time she would stand to leave, taking one final moment to embrace their host and murmur her farewell for his ears only. “Happy Birthday again, old friend. If you need anything, do not hesitate to contact me, I will do everything in my power to assist you. Even if that assistance is to throw certain people off of a certain floating city.” As she embraced the man she would attempt to place her signature Flying Thunder God Seal on his shoulder, and unless interrupted by him she would infuse her chakra into the seal. “Just say the word.” Her tone was one of sincerity mixed with humour. It was probable that she wouldn’t literally throw someone off the Heavenly Emporium, but with Kara, once could never be certain. With her private goodbye said, she would rise and wave at the group before disappearing back into the festival in a swirl of ruby red satin. “A pleasure to meet you all, do enjoy your time here.”

[Exit Thread]

Spoiler:

When Okane had mentioned that the table had an open seat for him to join, Azzie would nod, though his attention would turn to the food upon the table. “Yeap, that’s me! Unless… there’s another craft in Konoha that opened up a shop recently… now that I think about it… maybe it is someone else.” Azzie would ponder the potential possibility of another crafter being in Konoha and him being mistaken for this unnamed figure. “You can have takoyaki brought to the table?!” The awe on Azzie’s face was clearly apparent, the power that Tengoku had, that he could just have takoyaki brought to the table, was something Azzie could only dream of happening.

“Hi! I… well, you already know my name now, so nice to meet you Zenaku!” Azzie woud turn his attention to the one named Zenaku. He did mention he was an Uchiha, a name quite familiar to Azzie at this point during his tenure in Konohagakure no Sato.

The woman who introduced herself as Kara was the person Azzie thought she was. Azzie could only hope that he could reach the level that both Okane and Kara had achieved in their crafting prowess. Her indicating that he was not interrupting was more than enough; beyond Okane’s invitiation to join the table for the time being. He would sit at the table and enjoy his time there, before ultimately it was apparent that it was time for him to depart. As Kara was the first to take her leave, with hey saying farewell to the table, Azzie would then stand and bow slightly towards Okane after Kara had left. “Happy birthday again! Thank you for having me and takoyaki! I hope I can meet you again in the future so I can pick your mind when it comes to crafting things.” And with that, Azzie would be on his way, leaving the table where Okane had gathered the group.

[exit thread]

Exiting thread - 245 exp