[yamaguchi daichi]

I COULD EAT THE WORLD RAW

The grass nin was immediately suspicious. Daichi couldn’t blame him, really, he’d come up out of nowhere and was clearly denoted as a Kiri shinobi. The sir was wildly unnecessary, though, and Daichi visibly cringed when he heard it. Maybe it was the exhaustion talking, but the genin was incredibly forthright despite his suspicions… though that turned around in an instant, as if he had remembered that he was speaking to a foreigner. Daichi laughed—not laughing at the genin, but at the thought of being a cop, which was depressingly funny. "I’m not a cop,” he assured the other boy. "Just a spectator, I guess.” Again, not too far from the truth. Functionally, observing made up the bulk of his duties. "I think you’re underestimating yourself, honestly. Aren’t you in the second-place spot? I wouldn’t call that behind.” He understood, though. It didn’t seem to matter how much training he pushed himself through, Daichi never seemed to feel up to par with his peers. Like Kurai, for example, who was a cop—they were the same rank, but he’d wipe the floor with Daichi any day of the week. "I’m not, like, hunting around for the foreign participants’ secrets, if that’s what you’re worried about,” Daichi said after a moment. "I just do patrols around the area to make sure nothing bad’s come up.” Obviously the Kusa nin had no reason to take him at his word, but it was the truth, and Daichi’s earnesty was embarrassingly obvious. "I can go, though. Just wanted to make sure you were okay.” A beat. "‘n you must be hungry. Dorm kitchen’s probably still open, but there’s a little noodle shop nearby that’s not bad for being pretty cheap. I can point you towards it if you want something different.”

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LAIKA OF THQ

[kuishinbou kashiwa]

At the first mention of food, Kashiwa’s stomach rumbled painfully, that kind of hunger that hits you all at once when you’ve gone nearly a day without eating. The dorm cafeteria wasn’t awful but it was also food produced en masse so it suffered in a few crucial areas.

While it hadn’t been the focus of his trip, food was something the Land of Water was famous for. They had a wide range of local cuisine that could tend to the palette of any guest and Kashiwa had, thus far, only sampled a few delicacies. He didn’t imagine this cheap ramen place was boasting all the local flavors nor any grand plating, but back in the Village Hidden in the Grass those hole in the wall places were always the best.

After a moment of consideration he nodded, allowing the stranger to guide him toward this local ramen place, wordlessly indicating his intent by starting his journey in the opposite direction of the barracks, further into town. "I’m only second so far because the first two rounds were to my strengths. I’m nothing special when it comes to combat and I saw that firsthand during those rounds.”

He shook his head, fully opening up to this strange guy about his concerns. It felt like the gap between him and even the next lowest when it came to combat was so impossibly massive. He had no idea how he was gonna close that distance. "In the field I do well enough, but seeing how far ahead some of these guys are… it’s frustrating. What have I been doing wrong up until now?”

Most of the questions were rhetorical. The boy didn’t expect any meaningful advice from someone who was directly associated with the village that made up the bulk of this year’s competitors.

--- words | yamaguchi daichi

[yamaguchi daichi]

I COULD EAT THE WORLD RAW

Kuinshinbou seemed hesitant at first—understandable, all things considered—but hunger won out over caution, and Daichi gestured towards the direction they would have to travel to get to the place he had in mind. To another Mizu no Kuni resident, he probably would have just given basic directions, but Kagamino no Shi was an easy place to get lost in, and he felt a certain kind of responsibility towards the exam participants. He’d feel awful if the Kusa nin got lost because of his advice. Surprisingly, given his initial suspicion, Kuinshinbou just started… talking, opening up about his insecurity and hesitation. He didn’t seem to think very highly of himself despite how well he was doing, though Daichi couldn’t disagree that his estimations had merit. Daichi was privy to at least a basic amount of information on the exam participants, and some of them were… well, he didn’t trust that he would be able to take any of them in a head-to-head fight, that was for sure. Not that he could say any of that to this boy, and Kuinshinbou wasn’t talking like someone seeking advice anyway. Still… "It was the same for me during my exams,” Daichi said after a moment. "Um… two years ago now, I guess? I did pretty well in the first two rounds because they were both things I was good at. Then the arena matches happened and I got my butt handed to me.” Daichi laughed, soft and self-deprecating. "Being a chuunin isn’t just about who can beat who in a fight, you know? It helps if that’s what you’re good at, I guess, but it’s all a team thing. If you’re doing well in actual missions, then you’re already most of the way there.”

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LAIKA OF THQ