[kohana]

Kohana stifled a giggle at Yoko’s antics and nearly spit soup on herself - only avoiding it with a quick press of her fingers to her lips. Swallowing hard and composing herself, she considered the change in topic while working her way through what she mentally referred to as The Rice Zone of her ramen.

"Well, super strong people can do all kinds of crazy stuff like tell someone is hiding or pick up on all kinds of chakra signatures, right? So, I guess maybe someone could kind of figure out if anyone had bad intentions or something towards someone?” She furrowed her brow, tapping her chopsticks against the side of her bowl. "That’s not really telling the future though is it? Even if its chakra, that’s the same as just having informants tell you things.”

She kept her attention on Yoko to see what thoughts she had on the matter while she ate. She always enjoyed these sorts of rambling conversations, and it gave her time to work her way through her heaping helping of ramen. Glancing very briefly down at her bowl, she internally groaned at how much was still left before flicking her attention back to Yoko again.

[Akamine Yoko]

Yoko silently nodded as Kohana gave her opinion, her line of thinking was easy to follow, chakra could do all sorts of crazy stuff and there was probably stuff it could do that hadn’t been discovered yet. Still, she seemed to doubt the validity of fortune telling just like herself. With a grin she finished chewing and pointed her chopsticks at Kohana.

‘‘Did you know the Akamine family used to be known for their fortune telling?’’ Yoko was absolutely lying out of her teeth, Kohana had known her since the academy and had met her parents before. This was the first time she ever brought up her family name in relation to the topic. Most likely, Yoko was just up to more antics. ‘‘Before we came here, everyone used to come to us in the mountains to have their fortunes told.’’

She glanced down at her own bowl and saw that she was about 3/4ths through the contents. Her stomach was feeling great too so she was happy about the portion she had bought. Another victory for Yoko, knowing her body well and knowing how much she could generally eat. She blinked and turned her attention to Kohana’s serving. ‘‘How’s your bowl treating you? Is it good with all the toppings?’’ She asked, genuinely curious because she had never tried it and Kohana was her only friend who was even brave or stupid enough to try such a thing.

kohana

[kohana]

"I see, I see.”

Kohana nodded along with an amused look on her face. Leaning back slightly in her seat, careful not to tip back too far, she drummed her fingers against the tabletop as she took a short break. Giving Yoko a sheepish smile, she answered. "Oh it’s delicious, it’s just a lot of it. You should try it sometime.” She paused to clink her chopsticks against the side of her bowl, adding. "A regular portion I mean. I’m pretty sure you’d die if you tried to eat a large.”

Turning her attention back to her food - she had managed to also be about three-fourths of the way done, keeping relative pace with Yoko. Except, three-fourths of a mountain of ramen was still a whole hill of ramen left. Taking a deep breath, she brought her bowl to her lips and paused once more to quip.

"Oh, speaking of your fortune-telling family. Can you read tea dregs? Maybe you could tell our fortunes after we’re done.”

Wondering if Yoko would try to bluff her way through a faked reading, and what silly things she might come up with, Kohana tipped her bowl back and tried to finish the rest of her ramen off in one quick go before she lost steam entirely.

[Akamine Yoko]

‘‘I’m pretty sure you are correct.’’ She agreed and took a sip of her tea. She’d try it sometime, but she definitely would not get a large bowl unless she actively wanted to go to the hospital.

‘‘I can actually, but we also use some traditional family method stuff to make the fortune more accurate. So only if I can use my family method too.’’ She grinned faintly behind her cup as she sipped, kicking her short legs casually in an unseen giddy display, happy that Kohana had followed up on the fortune telling thing.

‘‘You can do this.’’ Yoko cheered her friend on sarcastically and gave an unenthusiastic thumbs up as she started getting to the bottom of her own bowl. Her eyes widened slightly when Kohana began finishing faster than her by straight up TIPPING her bowl back. The two of them truly were built different from each other. ‘‘And here I thought you were getting full.’’ She grumbled as she finished her noodles and picked up her own bowl to drink the broth.

‘‘Have you ever had your fortune read to you before, Hana-chan?’’ Yoko let out a satisfied sigh as she inspected the bottom of her bowl just to make sure she wasn’t wasting any food. Can’t go around wasting food when she spent her hard earned money on it.

kohana

[kohana]

The encouragement got a brief, weak smile from Kohana before she finished off her ramen. Bowl clunking down with a light thud on the table, Kohana let out a 'whew' and spent the next few moments trying to breathe without wanting to die. Thumbing the corner of her mouth to catch a stray bit of broth, she turned her full attention back to Yoko as she considered the question with a slow shake of her head.

"I don’t think I have.”

Briefly eying her tea with a grimace, she bit the bullet and downed what little was left of that too - leaving some dregs behind and pushing the cup towards Yoko. Half-flopping against the table, hands holding her head up and elbows on the table, she tried to ignore how exhausting it was trying to keep up with her nutritional requirements. It was her own fault for not keeping better track earlier in the day, though.

Thankfully, Yoko's supposed fortune telling would serve as a very welcome distraction from her self-inflicted misery.

"What does the tea say, oh great fortune teller?” She prodded, a preemptively amused twinkle in her blue eyes as she added. "Is it ‘death by ramen’?”

[Akamine Yoko]

‘‘Hmmm not quite.’’ Yoko smirked as she replied thoughtfully. The idea of death by ramen was pretty funny given their current scenario, but now she had to do the hard part. Actually lie about fortune telling and make up something on the fly. Inspecting the tea dregs closely she fiddled with one of her braids as she squinted. ‘‘Interesting, interesting…’’ She muttered, ‘‘But inconclusive.’’

She got up from her seat and scooched over next to Kohana. ‘‘You’re lucky your fortune teller is an Akamine, your future is so chaotic that you can’t see it with tea dregs alone. Gimme your hand.’’ If allowed, Yoko would take one of Kohana’s hands and inspect it with her own. ‘‘Divination can also be done physically, that’s our family method. Physical and personality based, it’s a miracle we already know each other.’’ She ran an index finger along the back of Kohana’s hand and continued to talk to herself. ‘‘Mhm, oh. I see…’’ Then after a bit she flipped the hand over and inspected the palm. ‘‘Oh my. Have you been sleeping well lately, I can tell your body is sore.’’ She pointed to a random part of the palm as if that was the one that was supposed to say Kohana’s muscles were sore.

‘‘Okay, now your face.’’ she held her hands out and if allowed, would put them up to her cheeks gently to inspect her face closer. ‘‘It would seem that your future is… Something unexpected will happen. Your life will take a dramatic turn.’’ Yoko nodded as she pulled her hands away and put them back on the table, still sitting next to Kohana.

kohana

[kohana]

Kohana let Yoko play fortune teller, curiously watching as she scooted over and asked for a hand. Shifting to support her head on just one arm, she held the other hand out for Yoko to take - and had to put on her most forced, stoic expression to try and not flinch or wiggle as she poked and traced her index finger against her palm.

The mention of her body being sore prompted a drawn out "Yeahhhh” of agreement, and while she knew Yoko was just playing around that part actually was true. Luckily when Yoko moved on to touching her face it wasn't as ticklish, though maybe that was because she was focused on how close Yoko's face was to her own. And how ominous 'something unexpected and dramatic' sounded...

Kohana blinked once and then twice when Yoko pulled her hands away, sitting up and glancing down at Yoko as she rubbed lightly at the back of her neck. With a drawn out 'haaahh' laugh to let out some nervous energy and help compose herself, she sheepishly admitted.

"You actually had me going there for a second, Yo-chan. Maybe you should be an actress if the ninja thing doesn’t work out?”

[Akamine Yoko]

‘‘Hm? An actress? What do you mean Hana-chan?’’ She asked back, playing oblivious. In reality she had loved watching Kohana’s reaction to the whole fortune telling routine. Her only hope was that she hadn’t taken it too far and made her uncomfortable. In case she did, she did have something to fall back on that might ease the tension a bit. While it didn’t show on her face, Yoko was definitely going to blush thinking about this moment later.

‘‘I was just passing down family tradition and all that. Ask my dad he’ll tell you it’s legit.’’ She shrugged before she started collecting their cups and bowls so that it would be easier for the owner to clean up.

‘‘It’s my treat today.’’ Yoko took out her wallet and placed the money down next to their empty bowls for the waiter to come collect. Generally Yoko didn’t pay for things she didn’t want to. She wasn’t stingy with her money either, but she certainly wasn’t that generous. ‘‘To celebrate one more day of making it.’’ She said with a deadpan thumbs up.

She was a bit bummed that their night would be coming to an end soon, but at least they still had some time before darkness really descended on the city. ‘‘Wanna take the scenic route on the way home?’’

kohana

[kohana]

Kohana gave a light shake of her head at Yoko doubling down on her ruse, replying with an amused "I’ll have to do that.” before starting to fish out her own wallet - only for Yoko to beat her to the punch, and the taller girl paused for a moment. But only for a moment, resolving a brief bit of internal conflict in a blink-and-you’d-miss-it flash as she put her wallet back in her pocket and returned the thumbs up with an appreciative smile. "If we make it all the way into next week, it’ll be my treat then.”

Even more lethargically slow paced than she normally was, the dark skinned girl nodded as she got to her feet. Stretching her arms over her head, up on her tip toes for a moment, she held one finger up and replied.

"I’ll warn you now, if I pass out I fully expect you and Wanimon to drag me home.”

She brought her arms down and picked up her walking stick from where it was propped up against the counter. Side-eying Yoko subtly, she added in a sincere tone free of her usual casual teasing.

"Thanks for paying, Yo-chan. And the scenic route sounds great.”

[Akamine Yoko]

Yoko looked at Kohana for a moment and with a slight smirk she added, "I’ll hold you to that.”

Yoko was also slower than usual, not because of over-eating but just normal late in the day laziness. "You good, Hana-chan?” She looked over at her friend as she put Wanimon on her back and was ready to start walking. The wooden parts of her puppet clacked together as she swung him over her back, almost as if Wanimon himself was trying to say something with ambient sound.

"Ehhhh.. no way, you’re not allowed to pass out.” Yoko demanded somewhat harshly, just the thought of how troublesome it would be to drag Kohana home was enough to make her short of breath. Of course if it came to it she absolutely would, but if acting like she wouldn’t meant her friend would work harder to stay awake she’d do that instead.

"Don’t mention it, let’s get going…” she took her first step forward and felt her own body protest, "slowly…” she looked up at her friend and tried to gauge how fast the two of them should walk based on how well she seemed like she was doing.

kohana

[kohana]

Laughing at Yoko’s reaction, Kohana gave a resolute nod and rolled her shoulders in a show of determination. She didn’t actually change her pace any, however, sticking by Yoko and enjoying the evening air and the dim scenery while trying her best to summon what energy she could. Even fighting off a wave of tiredness settling over her, the pleasant company and scenery provided some much needed relaxation.

She did have to give her head a shake in an effort to snap herself awake, ponytail flicking this way and that from the sudden motion, though. Dropping her gaze down to Yoko and stifling a yawn, she asked.

"So, do you know any fortune telling family secrets for telling your own fortune? Any unexpected and dramatic turn of events looming in your future?” She brought her free hand out to playfully and tiredly poke towards Yoko’s cheek again as she added. "Maybe you can teach me how to do it so I can give your future a read.”

Like before she would withdraw her hand if it was swatted away or otherwise avoided, and try to play innocent by looking up at the sky, but the smug look on her face either way made it clear that she thought Yoko was too tired to go sprinting off again to escape being teased.

[Akamine Yoko]

"What? Uhhh no it only works on others.” Yoko mumbled, blushing slightly as the question caught her by surprise. This could very well become a lie that snowballs out of control. For now, Yoko knew she had to change the subject, letting Kohana poke her cheek as her mind searched for an answer.

"Yeah, I’ll teach you how to read it, but it’ll have to be another time, it’s a big subject as you’re probably aware.” Yoko blinked her eyes and looked up at Kohana with a smirk.

"For now you- hey, I’m gonna start charging you money for all that poking.” She teased, her grin growing bigger and bigger in tandem with Kohana’s smug smile. "You need rest, I haven’t seen you this tired in a long time.”

As the pair continued to walk Yoko couldn’t help but notice the full moon looming over them in the sky.

"Hey, Hana-chan… What do you think it’s like living in the other countries?” She didn't question for a second whether it was a weird question to ask or not. She felt like she knew Kohana well, she was someone she could talk about, well, anything to.

kohana

[kohana]

"Once you teach me, I can just charge you to read your fortune.”

Kohana quipped back, before bringing her hands up in a helpless gesture at how tired she was being pointed out. Between the long day and big meal and relaxing night atmosphere, and getting to hang out with Yoko? It couldn't be helped. If the price of relaxation and joking around was being sleepy, she was willing to pay it. Focusing on Yoko as the shorter girl watched the moon, the question caught her off guard and Kohana stayed silent for a long moment - tapping a finger against her lips in thought.

"Geographically, the Land of Earth is pretty rocky. I can’t imagine that being very fun, all dull stone all over? Water would be foggy all the time, and I doubt they get many nice evenings like this. Wind is all sandy, I don’t think there’s any need to explain why that would suck. And fire is probably murder in the summer, not to mention all the bugs.” Kohana listed each of her points off by counting on her fingers, adding last. "If you mean ninja life, it’s probably pretty much the same everywhere?”

Shrugging her shoulders when she was done, she glanced up at the moon and asked. "Why?”

[Akamine Yoko]

‘‘Only if you’d be any good at reading fortunes.’’ Yoko stuck her tongue out slightly as a childish retort.

She patiently listened to Kohana as she kept looking up at the moon, as if she was trying to transport herself away to a different place. Perhaps one that was more exciting than the usual village in the clouds? ‘‘Hmm…’’ She hummed, letting her friend’s words linger in the air for a moment as she thought them over.

‘‘Yeah, you’re right. They all kinda suck don’t they? I’m glad we live here.’’ She said with a shrug and resumed walking.

‘‘Why? I dunno I guess I’m curious. Wouldn’t mind visiting some of them, like on a vacation or something.’’ She stuck her hands in her pockets as she walked. She wasn’t really sure where the question had come from either, maybe she had wanderlust, maybe she was just trying to make conversation.

‘‘In any case I am beat.’’ Yoko yawned as she too, started to get tired, ‘‘Maybe next week is going to be easier than this one. Y’know, since we get our asses kicked so much our bodies get used to the beating and we’ll toughen up or some naive idealistic shit.’’ She said with a sigh as she stretched her arm to one side.

kohana

[kohana]

Stifling another yawn, Kohana tucked her walking stick in the crook of her elbow and nodded along. Giving Yoko a lazy thumbs up with her free hand was all the enthusiasm she could muster, and when her yawn passed she replied sleepily.

"If you do get beat up pretty hard, I’ll patch you right up. Maybe get you a discount chiropractor visit with the folks.” She reached over to try and give Yoko an encouraging pat on the head, a bit more energy coming into her tone as she teased. "Might even make you taller to get your spine flattened out a bit.” Regardless of how Yoko reacted, she was going to continue walking on and add. ”A vacation does sound great, though.”

Keeping her walking stick tucked at her side she pulled her notebook from her vest again, flipping it open and jotting down idle, sleepy notes in it as she walked along with Yoko. She had to cross a few lines out and recheck her math, too tired to calculate properly on the fly. After a few moments of staying quiet, she sighed.

"It’ll take forever to save up for that unless we can get some good paying work, though.”