Jumping Right In!

[bigbonedbonzai]

Joining: Hecka open
Location: Yakiniku Q
Time: A relaxing day in May, sometime in the early afternoon
Recap: Everybody likes beef in the afternoon. Tasty!

Comments

[nice_shades]

Shino returned to Konoha from an ANBU mission for the first time in two arduous days, the conclusion of which set him somewhat at odds with the idea of staying at home to cook for himself.

Of course, that was only compounded by the fact that Shino could barely cook toast, without setting the kitchen on fire. One of the odd, unknown quirks of Aburame men.

So upon dumping his mask off and reclaiming his glasses, along with the topmost hooded layer of his ensemble (because while he can postpone changing until after his stomach is full, personal comfort dictate he put on something less ... revealing than the ANBU uniform), Shino made way to the Yakiniku Q and spotted Chouji awaiting his meal.

[bigbonedbonzai]

Chouji noticed Shino come into the restaurant, looking up from the food he was flipping on the tabletop grill. On the one hand, he was pretty hungry himself. On the other hand, food was always better when you were eating it with a friend, and recently Chouji had had way too many quiet dinners for four for one.

He mentally made a check of what money he had on him, in case seconds were in order, and waved Shino over with a smile.

"Come share with me! You look tired."

[nice_shades]

Shino's attention slid from the smell of food (it was rather intoxicating, even for someone who could not be considered choosy, in the least) to his fellow shinobi at the grill. Chouji notoriously ate a lot, but it was not detrimental (if anything, perhaps the opposite) to his fighting style, so Shino had a hard time considering it a vice.

In any case, the offer was invited, and didn't appear to be begrudged in any way. Shino was not big on social graces (illogical, and more often than not a waste of time), but he could generally figure when his presence was not welcome. This did not appear to be one of those times.

"I can pay," he murmured as means of ascent, striding over to where he had been beckoned. If the Chuunin payroll was by no means insignificant, then the Anbu one was needlessly steep for someone who lived still under his clan's roof and did not need the money to pay the bills.

[weapon_goddess]

There was nothing better in Tenten's mind than sitting down to a nice meal at Yakiniku Q...unfortunately training and a demanding sparring partner would only allow her short breaks in which to eat. But that was the beauty of having carry-out orders. She was lucky that she had sent in her order ahead of time as there seemed to be a huge rush of customers hoping to spend their afternoon dining there. It was just as well, Neji's strict schedule wouldn't allow time to be wasted waiting for the food to be prepared

[bigbonedbonzai]

"No!" said Chouji, perhaps a little too loud, and held a hand up in a 'stop where you are' gesture, perhaps a little too close to Shino's face. But he wouldn't allow somebody to pay for themselves when he had already offered them a meal! Inviting a hungry man to the table was a delicate thing, and had to be treated that way. He would pay for them both!

Even if it made his belly sad.

"You don't have to. I invited you to sit, so I'll put it on my bill."

So...now he had to think of some table talk. He didn't know Shino that well, but who really did? He was very mysterious, in that guess-my-weight-at-a-carnival kind of way. "Uhm. I haven't seen you around in a while. You must be pretty busy."

[timid_vigor]

Hinata was on a quest. A quest to shop for something very important. She needed hair ties, since all hers had started disappearing little by little. She was walking to the shop she normally got them from, money tucked in her pocket, when she saw Tenten standing outside the ever-popular Yakiniku Q.

They'd grown to be good friends over the past three years, and there was no way she'd simply just pass Tenten on the street with anything less than a wave. After not having seen her in a week or two, however, she wasnt going to miss the chance to talk.

"Tenten, how are you?" She smiled, walking over while trying to recall how much money she'd brought with her to see if she could treat the both of them. "Um, are you hungry? It would be nice to sit down and catch up on things."

Glancing inside after taking a step or two towards the open door, she caught sight of Shino and Chouji sitting together, before stepping back and waiting to hear what Tenten had to say.

[weapon_goddess]

The light sound of footsteps told her that the attending server had returned with her take-out. Sparing one last glance at the two shinobis, she took hold of the brown paper back filled to the brim with both lunches (she never did approved with how little Neji chose to eat in order to maintain the proper weight for his techniques). With her usual smile Tenten paid the fee and made to leave, only pausing at the door to contemplate whether she should at least say hello to Shino and Chouji before she left

[nice_shades]

Shino was nonplussed by the hand suddenly invading his personal space (having Kiba as a teammate for years did wonders to dull his natural instinct to flinch or otherwise react to the close proximity of others), so he simply quirked an eyebrow and put forth no further argument about the money. It was not important to him, and since it seemed to bother Chouji so much, the only logical reaction was to concede to the other shinobi's wishes

[bigbonedbonzai]

"I've been in the village for a day or two. Guess my load's not as big as everyone else's?"

Chouji noticed Hinata and Tenten near the counter and gave them a big, good-natured "come! there is food! partake of eating and conversation!" sort of wave. It was pretty obvious Tenten was on her way out, and perhaps even in a rush. Hinata, on the other hand, looked like she could use some company.

Chouji wasn't sure what a meal with Shino and Hinata would be like. They were pretty quiet, after all. But getting to know people better was never bad, even quiet ones.

"Hinata! Come and sit with us. The booths are plenty big enough to fit three. He snatched a piece of meat from the barbeque. Chouji always had dibs on the first and last bites.

[weapon_goddess]

Hearing the soft hum of Shino and Chouji's voices fainly in the background, Tenten glanced back into the restaurant. It would be somewhat rude to not at least say hello to them. If being around the Hyuuga cousins taught her anything, it was that manners were important.

"Well...I'm sure Neji won't mind if I stayed for few minutes," the older kunoichi added, "I was thinking of saying hello to Chouji and Shino anyways." Her resolve only doubled at Chouji's big wave and loud shout aimed towards Hinata.

[timid_vigor]

Hinata gave a small nod, fidgeting with the ends of her jacket sleeve. "Its fine, Tenten. Feel free to drop.." She stopped herself when Tenten decided she'd a few minutes to spare.

She went inside, looking over her shoulder to see if Tenten was following, before going over to the table. "Hello Chouji-kun, Shino-kun... thank you very much for the offer," she said, smiling with her head ducked a little, so it came out half-mumbled.

Standing at the end of the table, she waited for Shino to move over so that she could take a seat without being right against him. It was something she figured both of them would appreciate.