[Honō Kojirou]

He remembered faintly how things went down back then. It was almost a year ago now, but he remembered… faintly… how humiliated he was left. Something to do with alcohol and the antics of a very certain Futago, who now harbored a very special place in his heart…

Vengeance.

Something felt bad about their last encounter. Who was she? And why were her feline companions so rude?! And why’d she claw his shoulder, again? It had something to do with a drinking ga- wait, YES! He got pulled into some sort of game when he clearly wanted to challenge her to a fight! She tricked him! She tricked his clan’s pride! Unforgivable.

So he went to the same place, the same alley… intentionally seeking her out. He had no clue where she’d go otherwise – but the fact that some random guy she knew here could put up a stand, a barrel and mugs at a moment’s notice meant… it was some sort of regular drinking place. Certainly, if he asked the guy…

So Kojirou found the alley, and the door… he kicked it open! As if impure impulses were entering his heart for the first time in his life, he walked in with clenched fists, not caring for the weird looks he got from the customers as one of the bar owners walked up to the intruder. "Woah, have you lost your mind, kid?!”

"I seek the woman with that uncommon name and the big breasts!”

"… You what?”

"I KNOW SHE’S HERE SOMEWHERE! I GOT A BONE TO PICK WITH HER FOR LAST TIME SHE HUMILIATED ME AND MY SELF-ESTEEM!” As much as Kojirou tried to sound commanding, he really came off as a short king throwing a tantrum near the exit, flailing his stubby arms around. "I’ve trained for over a year for our rematch! I’m not the lightweight I used to be anymore! This time, I will prove that the… the-y’know, the clan… uh… yeah, something!”

…

Many weren’t caught up on this beef, so silence spread across the room. Maybe she wasn’t here.

[Futago Chichi]

The bar wasn't large enough to be keeping a stow away a secret. A fact Koji would like come to regardless of his beliefs. There'd likely not be a person in the bar who could point him in the right direction either. Chichi was a bit of a legend in her own right, but the Futago and to a lesser degree the village as a whole had more than one hefty chested kunoichi. Especially more than one woman in general to be well endowed up there.

That however wouldn't stop the patrons in the bar from guessing and attempting to work with Kojirou. If he didn't have a name for them they'd try to go off look descriptions alone. Pink hair wouldn't even be rare enough to totally discern that they'd be looking for Chichi. Though some would have an idea that's who the boy meant. Sadly for the sword wielding shinobi, she was anything but particular or routine.

About a thousand guesses would be thrown out, a few laughs shared as they'd just tell him to follow the sound of chaos or broken glass. Bars, clubs, restaurants, alleys and even parks would be thrown out as plausible places. Chichi had become a chuunin almost solely with the intention of having more travel rights. So there was also a good chance they'd say that if he checked everywhere and didn't find her she might be out of the village. Though the gate guards wouldn't believe she'd left the village.

It wouldn't be until Kojirou turned over every stone in the village and gave up for the night that he'd find his desired opponent. As when he was worn and beat from looking, he'd return home to a cold room. His window either left opened or clawed open, within his room the pinkette was curled up on his dresser snoring somewhat loudly.

[Honō Kojirou]

Kojirou tried his best. This kunochichi was harder to find than jelly actually nailed to a wall. Even though he, with the help of the friendly visitors, came to remember her name – Chichi, weird name – she wasn’t here. She wasn’t exactly a routine-bound persona in these parts, so finding her would be equivalent to those missing cat missions he used to take earlier in his Genin career.

He decided to check the other places that they assumed she could be located at – all the alleys, all the parks and clubs (most of the clubs weren’t open yet), and he even visited a few restaurants where he… ended up eating lunch and dinner at. So that was fun – at least, he wasn’t searching for her on an empty stomach. Salad pizza with chicken, onions and sauce, cheese, tomato-

All of a sudden, he’d had a long day of just being outside, eating, getting into trouble by mistaking the wrong people for his target, and one thing was enveloping his form now – sleepiness. A relatively peaceful day, he’d have to admit. Slumping his form back home, he entered his bedroom, dropped his katana, his backpack, his equipment and-

…

…

He saw the opened window with apparent claw marks on the edges, the wind gently blowing into his safe haven of a room and lowering the temperature a bit. It was cold as bricks. Not to mention, the room was occupied by two-

… W-Why’s she here? How’s she here? Why? How? WHEN?! Chichi was sleeping on his dresser like she owned it. She had made herself so awfully home that she almost blended in with the surrounding furniture- he’d been searching for her all day, and she was just crashed up in here?! Oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no, it’s actually her… I-I’m not ready to drink yet! I just went out eating! Wait, it’s so late, I can’t challenge her right now?! What do I do?!

Trying his luck, he slooooooooooooowly tiptoed towards the dresser and observed the sleeping kunoichi with a shivering face, hands and hair. Yup, it was her – strangely, glaring at her felt so out of this world that poor Kojirou looked away before these ‘demons’ took hold of him. Something just felt so brazen and daredevilish about just being near her… wait, why was he being a wimp?! SHE HUMILIATED HIM! If anything, now was the perfect time to drink her under the table – she was just as sleepy as he was! He could reclaim his honor, make his Uncle even prouder, and then marry her and reinforce the bond between the Futago and the Hon- when on earth did he plan for that?! Wait, that thought shocked even Kojirou himself! When did that cook up?

"…” He finally decided to just poke her cheek in order to wake her up. He kinda wanted to put his items up on his dresser again, leaving them sprawled on the floor like that was bad hygiene.

[Futago Chichi]

Chichi was strangely enough by no means a heavy sleeper. She did have the odd power of a cat to find even the most uncomfortable places as the perfect bed. Unknown to Kojirou, Chichi had been a sleep a good while. Her dreams ending almost the moment his door opened and just as the swordsmen looked away from her. The devilish pinkette's eyes would open, she'd silently stretch out her arms, before swinging her legs out in front of the dresser.

A little spin of her body and she was popped up now sitting on the dresser. A complete change of scene almost as the anxious looking Hono returned his gaze to her. His plan to poke her awake disrupted by her being seemingly awake. She'd smack her lips slightly, watering up her whistle before boldly claiming. "Jeez, weren't you taught to knock before entering a ladies room?" Somehow she'd try to shift the blame to him.

Putting her hands on the dresser, she'd push herself up and off the dresser. Landing right in front of male, her arms once again stretching up in the air. As she'd push her body up right into him, "Ahh~ Nothing like a cat nap! Am I right?" She'd end her statement with a boisterous smile and wink. Attempting to then immediately side step the genin, as she'd proceed to tippy toe herself towards the window. Her escape plan if things went south, it'd not be the first time she was caught napping in the wrong home. Granted she was a living breathing freeloaders and didn't actually have an accommodation of her own. Well other than the room in her parents house, but that place was stale and had the ick of her dull parents cleanliness.

[Honō Kojirou]

… Oh no. Before his finger even made it towards her sleeping face, she was suddenly not so sleeping anymore. At this rate, should Saya stumble upon his room at this hour to reclaim Ryo (he took his plush back), Kojirou would have a helluva lot to explain.

The feisty feline already claimed this room as her own?! How?! He slept here, not her! "But this is my room…” he protested, stating quite the damn obvious in front of a kunoichi who obviously just attempted to gaslight the poor swordsman into thinking he was the problem here. And she looked none the wiser about the intrusion, looking so smug like that!

Kojirou once again found himself treading untouched territory when Chichi almost pushed him yards back with her own body. So much force, yet so much cushion – she was dangerous! Dangerous, I say! Kojirou’s bewildered, tomato-red face returned, not too sure what he was expected to do now – under expected circumstances, he knew that he was alone in his room with a woman, so he had an opportunity to reform that bond between their clans and skip the beer-

SHE WAS FLEEING?!

"W-Wait!” Kojirou protested, finding every reason granting him the right to manifest a Rubber Rope and wrap it around her torso, tightly hugging her figure and attempting to spin her riiiiiiiight back towards him, "I was looking for you all day! We need a rematch – I’ve secretly been training to last longer under the influence, and Dad showed me where to get some real liquor- but don’t tell anyone!”

From his drawer, Kojirou revealed not one, but two barrels labelled with a fancy, large and black sign of steel titled in white kanjis ‘Dassai’. "You! Me! Drinking contest! If I win, you marry me – then our clans will finally stop being angry at each other…”

Young, drunk and potentially frustrated, Kojirou had a lot of things to work through. Maybe Chichi was the unlikely aid he was in need of, but time would tell.