Location: Ramen shop on the way to hitokurou
Ichiro enters the shop with a growling stomach and
smelling slightly of burning. Noticing Isamu
sitting by himself, Ichiro sits next to him and
orders a bowl of Ichiraku BBQ Pork ramen and a bowl
of Ichiraku Special ramen before producing a bottle
of sake and a cup for himself.
Seeing Ichiro sit next to him, Isamu nods his head
in lieu of a proper bow, after which he goes right
back to gulping down his delicious meal.
Ichiro pours a cup of sake and begins sipping at it
while waiting for his ramen. "So, how've you been
Isa-kun?" Ichiro asks, while cleaning his hands
with a small towel.
Isamu finishes drinking down the soup and replies,
"Not bad, Genin missions are tougher than I thought
though. How's your training going?" Slamming his
bowl on the counter, Isamu then yells, "Another
please!"
As his first bowl of ramen arrives, Ichiro answers,
"My training is coming along well enough...as is my
current research project." Ichiro smiles before
hungrily devouring his first bowl of ramen before
the second arrives.
Isamu wonders what research Ichi-nii-sama could be
doing, but is too preoccupied with his aching
belly. "That's good. Oh! Nii-sama guess what
happened last week!" Isamu suddenly requests.
Already halfway through his second bowl, Ichiro
looks up inquisitively. "Hmmm? Wha hapfenned?" he
asks through a mouthful of ramen.
Grinning widely, Isamu exclaims, "I turned 14!"
Just as he was about to go into details about the
day previously mentioned, Isamu noticed the
attendant bring over another bowl of ramen.
Yamashita limps into the ramen shop, bruised and
tired, and sits down next to Ichiro. He yells at
the man behind the counter, "Hey Ojii-san! I'll
have a bowl of your special!" Yamashita proceeds to
check his wounds, applying a balm where needed.
Ichiro swallows his mouthful and says, "I see, how
foolish of me to have forgotten. Allow me to treat
you to ramen at least." Turning towards Yamashita,
Ichiro says, "How goes the training, Yama-kun?"
"I didn't notice you there, Ichi-kun," says
Yamashita as he finishes tending to his wounds.
"Those Riyoku ninjas keep getting on my bad side,
but it's nothing I can't handle. How is your
research going?"
Holding up his slightly singed hands Ichiro says,
"Pretty well, I'm getting much closer to finishing
with it." Remembering the young ninja sitting on
the other side of him, Ichiro remarks, "Yama-kun,
have you met Isamu?"
Yamashita takes a closer look at the man sitting on
the other side of Ichiro. "I've seen you around,
but I don't think we've met before. Nice to meet
you." Noticing his ramen has arrived, Yamashita
begins to eat his soup slowly, savoring the
flavors.
Ichiro chuckles, "Yes, this is Takahashi Isamu,
I've known him since he was young back in the Mist
Village." Turning to Isamu, Ichiro says, "and this
is Taiki Yamashita, one of my teammates and a very
trusted friend."
"Nice to meet you too! Thanks for the ramen,
Ichi-nii-sama!" Isamu replies as he starts digging
into his belated birthday treat. About halfway
through his first gulp, curiosity gets the better
of Isamu, and he asks, "What sort of research are
you doing Nii-sama?"
Ichiro smiles slyly, "A little of this, a little of
that, some reading here, some explosions
there...just working up a new trick." Ichiro
finishes his cup of sake and refills it before
sliding the bottle towards Yamashita. Ichiro
finishes his second bowl of ramen before saying,
"Another BBQ Pork and a Beef, please!"
Yamashita pulls a cup from his bag and pours some
sake for himself. Continuing to eat his ramen,
Yamashita says, "I don't know how he does it. I
couldn't keep myself cooped up indoors looking at
books for hours on end."
"Yeah, I know how you feel, although explosions are
fun..." Isamu says after inhaling the rest of his
ramen. "I still need to figure out how to make
things explode by punching them..." says Isamu as
he stares off blankly with a devilish grin growing
on his face.
Smiling as his third bowl of ramen arrives, Ichiro
says, "I don't spend ALL my time in the
library...libraries and explosions don't mix well."
Yamashita downs his sake before finishing off his
ramen. "I haven't found a way to actually make a
person explode wth my fist, but shattering bones is
pretty close. I leave the explosions to Ichi-kun."
Yamashita drinks the last of his broth and puts a
few ryo on the table.
Finishing his third bowl and starting on his
fourth, Ichiro nods, "I remember quite well. A
nicely performed maneuver indeed. I've seen
Yama-kun do similar things to an enemy's insides."
Yamashita rises from his seat and moves toward the
exit. "That's enough reminiscing for me today; I'm
headed back to the village to get some of my
nastier wounds fixed up. I'll see you guys
around." On his way out, Yamashita tells the
attendant, "Thanks for the excellent meal and keep
the change!"
Finishing his last bowl of ramen, Ichiro downs the
sake in his cup and begins packing his things away.
"I should probably get back to my research now that
I've had a bit of a rest and some food. Perhaps if
you find Yama-kun a little later he might teach you
a thing or two," Ichiro says as he puts a large
pile of ryo on the counter.
Isamu puts his backpacks on and gets up, "If he
will teach me, then I will endeavor my best to
learn. Thanks again for the ramen, Ichi-nii-sama!
Have fun studying! Now to go deliver this letter
to Hitokurou." Isamu bows deeply towards Ichiro
and briskly walks out.
Ichiro bows as he walks out, saying, "A most
excellent meal. Thank you."