[Akamine Yoko]

It was another off-day for the losers of Team Saitei and Yoko had invited Kohana out for a drink. She had been vague in her invitation. In fact she hadn’t told her friend anything at all. Just that they were to meet at the usual bridge. Yoko was here ten minutes early, which wasn’t usually like her, but her morning had been unusually pleasant. She felt well-rested and for some reason getting out of bed wasn’t as hard as she was used to.

Idling around in her usual red shawl, Yoko had put her hoodie up to shield her sensitive eyes from the glaring sun rays above. Living in Kumogakure was kind of a pain in the ass in Yoko’s opinion. At least when it came to the weather. ‘‘We’re due for a good thunderstorm, don’t you think Wanimon-chan?’’ She talked to herself as she looked up at the white clouds that drifted by. Her puppet, Wanimon who was resting in his usual spot on her back, did not respond.

‘‘Team Saitei, down to two.’’ She mumbled as she held her fingers out. ‘‘Not only the genin team with the worst reputation, maybe now we’re actually the weakest one too.’’ Yoko was confident in Kohana, she was a tough fighter, an amazing healer and a hard worker, but Yoko herself knew that there was no way she could carry her weight and count for two shinobi. She wasn’t built for the hard life. In an ideal world her and Kohana would have been placed on a nice and cozy team that never faced any hardship and could just live the good life. Eating pocky sticks and drinking juice and tea all day.

‘‘What’s that? Bold. Kohana is never that late, but you’re on. I bet she’ll show up in the next 5 minutes.’’ Yoko talked to herself, having her own little game going where Wanimon had talked to her and betted on Kohana arriving 10 minutes late or more. Yoko on the contrary, believed Kohana would arrive sooner. Who would be right? There was only one way to find out.

kohana

[kohana]

Kohana made her way to the bridge, walking stick in hand. Dressed in her usual blue vest, sports top and drawstring pants, the weather was actually not cold for once. Glancing up at the sky and shielding her eyes from the bright sun with her free hand, she noted that might change if it started raining and storming. Dropping her hand back down to her side, she put that concern off to the side - if it happened it happened, and everyone in Kumogakure was more than used to thunderstorms.

More important to dwell on was Yoko, and how she was doing. Meeting at the bridge was completely normal, but she couldn’t tell if this was meant to be training related, a needed heart to heart about the team, just hanging out, or dozens of other possibilities. Maybe the short girl in the red hoodie had some kind of reveal to spring on her?

Even that last idea had too many options to guess.

Going at her own pace, Kohana arrived at the base of the bridge exactly five minutes after Yoko predicted just as much. Spotting her friend was easy, and before catching her attention she gave a quick pat at her vest pocket - confirming she had an emergency stash of pocky to offer to Yoko if things were on the grim side. One hand coming up in a lazy wave, she called out.

"Yo, Yo-chan!” She had an amused look on her face at her greeting, stopping at the foot of the bridge as she always did. If they ended up going down the side she was already on, what was the point of walking up it? "What’s up?”

[Akamine Yoko]

As she saw Kohana approach she whispered to herself. "Looks like it’s my win.” Kohana’s greeting amused her too and she answered in kind by holding up a peace sign and giving her least energetic "Yo, yo Hana-chan.” She was wearing one of her usual blue vests again today. At least it seemed less insane on the hot days compared to the cold and breezy ones.

"I’ve found somewhat of an experience.” She replied, being vague on purpose as she tried to drip feed information about the place, mimicking the way Yoko had first learned about it. "A new tea shop opened up in town.” She held up a folded flyer and shook it gently, holding it out for her friend so she could take it as long as she came closer. "Allegedly their tea is so powerful it will give your chakra a good boost. It sounds like a total scam, but Wanimon-kun and I don’t want to get scammed alone.” Plus, she loved to hang out with Kohana, not that she could flat out say that though.

"So, what do ya think? Are you up for a cup of potentially lethal, potentially amazing, most likely super average tea?” Whether Kohana had approached or not, once they started walking Yoko would go down the bridge and start down where Kohana had come from.

kohana

[kohana]

Kohana smiled as Yoko mimicked the silly greeting, and internally sighed as her friend held out a folded up piece of paper. Casually making her way up to join Yoko on the bridge, she took the flyer and unfolded it to give it a once over. One eyebrow raised as she listened, Kohana pursed her lips in thought and hummed to herself.

"I think… its worth a try, at least?” Kohana folded the flyer back up, offering it back to Yoko. "It might be the kind of thing you have to do for years to see any effect. Or it might be they consider a minor benefit to be a good boost. Or both, assuming its not a scam.”

If Yoko took back the flyer she would give a little wave of her hand from side to side, and if not she would simply tuck it into her vest pocket.

"I have heard tea is good for you in general, though, so as long as its not like… made from weird stuff, or super expensive, it wouldn’t hurt to drink more of it.” She paused for a moment, giving light ‘haaah’ laugh at herself as she gave the box of pocky under her vest a pat. "I guess since its nothing serious, I didn’t need to bring extra pocky to cheer you up.”

[Akamine Yoko]

"Yeah, right? I mean either way… Maybe it makes for a good story.” Yoko liked that Kohana was onboard with trying it from the get go. Yoko would take back the flyer and give it a look over once more before handing it to Wanimon over her shoulder. "Wanimon-chan, snack.” She said simply and made the puppet open its maw and nom the flyer in one bite, storing it away so that her pockets could stay empty for her hands to rest in.

"Yeah it’s mostly hot water isn’t it? Hot water with flavor.” She mused, clearly never really having thought about the true nature of tea. "E-Eh?! Cheer me up?” Yoko felt a lightning fast blush sneak up on her. "I don’t need cheering up, do I seem moody to you?” She mumbled, both hands coming up to pull her hoodie down. Was she giving that kind of impression? Had she let too many of her own feelings slip recently? She wasn’t causing Kohana any stress was she?

"…But I mean… Now that you brought some I wouldn’t mind one.” She only glanced up at Kohana for a second before turning her head away in embarrassment.

kohana

[kohana]

Giving an amused shake of her head after Wanimon ‘snacked’ on the flyer, Kohana was about to try and reassure Yoko when her friend ended up asking for pocky anyways. Fishing the box out from her vest pocket, she held it out for Yoko to take one from it.

"See? Pocky never fails.” She had a smug look on her face for a moment, waiting long enough for Yoko to take her pocky before giving a gesture for her to lead the way. "Don’t worry though, Yo-chan, you seem fine. It’s more a just-in-case thing, you know?”

Settling into a casual walk beside Yoko once they got moving, Kohana kept her walking stick in one hand as her other reached up to shade her eyes again as she peered up at the sky.

"Hot water is pretty good for you since its cleaner, but tea has a lot of useful things from the leaves used in it.” She pursed her lips, glancing down at Yoko as she tried to think of a good way to put it. "Think of it like… adding toppings on rice makes it more than just the plain rice and way more nutritious. Same thing with water and tea.”

She paused for a moment before raising one finger and quickly adding. "That doesn’t mean all tea is good for you though, and won’t mess you up if you drink too much of it.”

[Akamine Yoko]

Yoko eagerly accepted the pocky and immediately popped it in her mouth like a straw. As Kohana reassured her it was just a thing for emergencies the smaller girl peeked out from under her hoodie as they continued walking. She wondered whether she should get Kohana a hat to help shield her eyes from the sun.

She listened intently as Kohana spoke about tea, nodding every so often to let her know she was listening, only occasionally cutting in to say, "we need to turn here” when they got to a crossroads. "That’s how you know life is unfair. How are there so many healthy teas but the moment you add sugar to it… They shouldn’t make things that are bad for you taste good.”

After a good 15 minutes of walking they arrived at a quaint pavilion overlooking parts of the village they had just walked through. If you knew it well enough you could almost map out the route to their houses. It was already full of people there, but the girls managed to get a nice table by the view as they made their orders.

"I’ll have a bitter tea and some salty crackers.” Yoko said with an unenthusiastically raised hand. She had put Wanimon the third seat by the table and his lifeless eyes were staring into space idly. "What about you Hana-chan?”

kohana

[kohana]

Kohana gave a short ‘haah’ of agreement at Yoko’s complaint about sugar being tasty but bad for you. She wasn’t the biggest sweets fiend herself, but it did seem pretty strange that the stuff people liked the most wasn’t good for them in large quantities. Then again, she was also pretty sure Yoko would try to live off of pocky if it was at all viable.

When they arrived, Kohana raised an eyebrow at how busy the place was. She was quietly surprised they managed to get such a nice table, and gave Yoko an amused side-eyed glance at how unenthusiastically she placed her order. Propping her walking stick up against the side of the table, she took a moment to think over what she wanted to try herself. One finger tapping against her lips, she hummed to herself before finally deciding.

"A floral tea and some orange slices, I think.”

With their orders given, Kohana leaned back in her chair and brought her hands up to lightly clasp behind her head. Enjoying the atmosphere, she idly commented.

"Even if the tea doesn’t do much, this place isn’t half bad so far.”

[Akamine Yoko]

‘‘Yeah I’m surprised, I thought this was gonna be way more sketchy and dilapidated.’’ She glanced around as they spoke, looking at the tables, the little lit lanterns, the beautiful view and one didn’t need perfect senses to smell the delightful tea in the air. ‘‘Let’s hope their tea is as good as their presentation.’’

When their tea arrived Yoko had already finished eating the pocky stick Kohana had given to her and yet still, she eyed the contents of her cup hungrily. It certainly didn’t look bad, in fact it looked delicious. Mixing sugary snacks with a bitter tea was one of Yoko’s favorite snacking combinations. Needless to say, she was excited to try her cup. She eyed Kohana’s vest a few times before gathering the courage to speak up, ‘‘Did you- can I have another pocky?’’

Picking up her cup, Yoko blew on the top of it before looking over at Kohana, a mischievous smirk spreading on her lips. ‘‘A floral tea, that really suits you Hana-chan.’’ It wasn’t a particularly clever pun, but she wanted to tease her friend about it and the opportunity was right there. So how couldn’t she take it?

kohana

[kohana]

Kohana couldn’t help but laugh, not her usual little ‘haah’ laughs, but an actual belly laugh that caught even her by surprise. As her own tea and orange slices were set out, and she rolled her eyes at Yoko’s pun, she reached into her vest to retrieve the pocky box.

"I’ll tell you what,” She gave Yoko an amused smile, withdrawing not just one but two of the candy sticks to pass over to Yoko. "You can have two. Should balance out the bitter and salty perfectly that way.”

Setting the box of pocky down on the table, out of Yoko’s short arm reach, just on the off chance a request for more was made at some point, Kohana scooped up her own cup of tea between both hands. Bringing it up to her lips, she lingered for a moment to blow softly on it and to enjoy the aroma and warmth. Once she was sure it was cool enough, she took a sip while glancing over at Yoko to see how she was enjoying her own tea.

Pulling the cup away, she retrieved one of her orange slices and gently bit it in half - perking up at the refreshing combo the tea and citrus made together.

[Akamine Yoko]

Yoko was delighted to hear Kohana laugh and while she did eye the entire pocky box a couple of times as it was set out on the table, she was more than happy with getting two more. Like a smoker craving a cigarette, Yoko popped one of the sticks in her mouth and immediately continued to blow on her cup of tea. She hated burning her tongue so she always took extra care and waited longer on her first sip.

However, when she finally did sip Yoko felt her entire body warm up and relax as she sunk into her seat, she almost wanted to sigh blissfully. She wasn’t sure if this was a chakra related thing or just the regular relaxing effect tea had on her. She took another sip and looked up at Kohana. "Do you feel any different?” She set her cup down for a moment and leaned in so she could put her elbows on the table.

"Mine is good, but I think it’s just tea. Tea the way I like it, but just tea.” She looked down at her own arms. "I guess I could test it by using my chakra, but that might freak people out.” She didn’t have many chakra demanding techniques that were quiet. Although she could always attach chakra strings to Wanimon.

kohana

[kohana]

Taking another sip and finishing off the remaining half of the slice of orange, Kohana pursed her lips thoughtfully. Free hand tapping at her lips with her index finger, she eventually gave her conclusion with a lazy shrug of her shoulders.

"Beats me. Though, it might only really do anything after drinking more than a sip.” She stuck her tongue out just barely past her lips at Yoko’s impatience, taking another sip herself and retrieving another orange slice. Alternating between the two for a moment, and delighting in the relaxing warmth, Kohana mulled the question of how to test it over in her head. Sure, she might have teased Yoko but it was a valid thing to try to figure out. Eventually she asked. "Do you know anything simple? Like,”

She paused to humm to herself, before setting her cup down and making a light gesture at it.

"Maybe try using a single chakra string to move it closer to you?” She blinked, quickly adding. "Ah, if that is something chakra strings can do anyways. Does it have to be a full hands worth?”

Despite hanging out with Yoko for so long, she honestly had very little idea how the actual mechanics and technique of puppetry jutsu worked. Maybe what she had just asked was the kind of silly question anyone would know the answer to? Ah well, at worst Yoko would tease her a little bit for it.

[Akamine Yoko]

Yoko pouted silently at the teasing Kohana was subjecting her to. She watched her take a couple sips from her cup before eventually just turning her own bottoms up and taking a big chug. Maybe this would do it, now Yoko would be able to feel change. First off, her throat was burning from the sudden rush of hot liquids. She had also spilled a bit on her shawl and had entered a tear-inducing coughing fit as she took a solid few seconds to compose herself.

Still no change in her chakra.

After she had regained herself she was more than ready to answer Kohana’s question. ‘‘Funny you should mention that, I totally can do that.’’ She put her index finger up. ‘‘The only problem is if I do, then it will be far too violent, I’d spill tea everywhere and probably whip the cup back and hit another customer.’’ It was Yoko’s way of saying it’s a technique in her arsenal, but a horribly difficult one to master. Grabbing scrolls or rocks? Sure. Anything that required a little bit of finesse to be handled though? No way. Maybe she’d get the hang of that once she became a jounin.

‘‘Basically, I suck.’’ She said nonchalantly before taking another sip. ‘‘What about you? Can you… Heal… Tea?’’ She tilted her head at her own question, only realizing how ridiculous it was sounding the second it had left her lips.

‘‘Or maybe if I stabbed my hand.’’ Yoko said jokingly, making the kind of face that let Kohana know she was kidding.

kohana

[kohana]

Kohana winced slightly at Yoko chugging her no doubt still very hot tea. The lack of an immediate result at least ruled out the idea that the chakra boost was particularly potent, at least in the short term. Yoko’s explanation made sense now that she thought about it, too - Wanimon had very rough movements, so it must be incredibly difficult to use chakra strings with a delicate touch.

The question about healing tea put an amused smile on her face, and then the joke about stabbing her hand prompted a short ‘haah’ laugh. Joking right back at her, she threatened. "If you stabbed yourself, I’d have to revoke your pocky privileges.”

Taking another sip and eating more of her orange slices, she mulled over if she could potentially do… something, to test the tea. Unfortunately she couldn’t think of much either, and in the end she just gave a light shrug of her shoulders. "I don’t actually know any advanced healing techniques yet, but it might be possible to check if the tea is infused with chakra or to monitor its effect on the body as its being drunk. I’m not sure what I’d be looking for, though.”

Nodding towards Yoko after, she asked. "How’s the tea and treats? Worth the visit?”