Pearls ft. The Pearl-Less (Open)

Takeshi was exhausted, although it was in a good and happy sort of way. He was taking a break from training at the training grounds to get a bite to eat and he was walking contentedly through one of the villages shopping districts toward that end. His hair was blue and swept back and his blue eyes took in their surroundings carefully. His mother had continued training out at the house in some of the more rural areas of the village and she took advantage of it to set traps and ambushes for him in order for him to become more observative of his surroundings. His upper body was bare as usual, and his black shinobi pants had holes at the knees that caused many to think him some sort of homeless person or beggar. In all reality, using his bloodline caused damage to any clothing he might wear, so he minimized damage, by minimizing the clothing.

Still it was difficult at times to find a place that would serve him. 'No Shirt, no shoes, no service' was apparently a common theme and while he did had good sturdy shinobi boots. He had thought the Konoha headband tied prominently to his right arm would cause people to ignore the lack of a shirt. Although apparently not. He was fit though, well muscled and obviously strong. But for some reason he still always had trouble. He was walking, a towel around his shoulders and his hands idly holding the ends as he moved through the crowd toward another restaurant. It was hard to make out what it was, but it didn't seem to server food, just some kind of weird drink with a big straw. Looking around with a small frown on his features he would see a girl that embodied the word 'pale'. With silvery locks, white eyes without even pupils, and pale skin. She was leaning on one hand looking bored as her eyes flicked toward people, people watching? Probably.

Still she was as good as someone to ask what the fuck this place was as anyone so without a second thought the blue haired, blue eyed man called out, quite vocally. "Hey, bored lookin girl with white hair, what is this place? Do they serve food?" He would ask. She would probably know, given she had a cup from the place and therefore had been in, but he didn't want to stand in the long line only to get to the front and find they didn't have anything of substance. Given the fact that he was a good 10m away from the woman when he spoke, and obviously people turned toward him, and then toward her.

Appearance:

Boba.

A popular beverage as of late, Naomi was keen on seeing what all the hype was about aside from the notorious challenge associated with it among young women, much like herself. It was certainly a treat by the sounds of it. The tea that was commonly consumed by the masses was generally served 'raw' with no additive, or often times a bit of honey to counteract the subtle harshness of the brew and add a bit of complexity to the taste while supporting numerous health benefits. Naomi was more accustomed to the former than the latter, often having the honied tea for the holiday season. Boba was certainly far from the traditional tea and should not be had regularly.

Standing in line she viewed the menu with a bit of anxiety, uncertain if she had enough time to make a decision as the line gradually got shorter and shorter. From a variety of fruit flavors, matcha green tea powder, black tea, and specifically regional tea options they were all unique, but in the end each picture illustrated the trademark well of blackened pearls at the bottom of the cup. The thought of swallowing a handful of them whole on accident worried her. But before she could dwell on her disconnection with modern society, she was up next.

"Hi, can I have the...Cha no Kuni Boba, please?" And with a speedy transaction she was given a tall cup of a tawny brew with a wide, black plastic straw. The drink was chilled and iced, supposed made with a sweetened condense milk and a spiced black tea giving its rich color. It smelled great as Naomi's nose picked up accents of bold spices and sugar. The kind of smell that could make any young woman's mouth drool. Taking a hasty swig of the tea was not exactly her style. No, she needed to enjoy this treat proper. Her first goal was to leave the crowded shop and find somewhere nice. Somewhere less congested where she can enjoy the crisp outdoor air. Pacing quickly towards the doors she held the cup of boba with two hands close to her chest like a treasured bust. Just as she broke into the outdoors she noticed a familiar sight.

Takeshi was an acquaintance she met in the Red Light District in a back alley, as dubious as it sounds. Takeshi also made it in her books as "unofficial punching bag" given his offer to be training partners, though not having actually sparred or run drills together. He was being...himself in the sense that his clothes were exactly the same the last time she met. Dirty (likely due to training), torn and tattered. He was excused the first time they met, but this was getting close to unacceptable. Strutting towards the two she paid almost no attention to the ivory stranger Takeshi was talking to. Setting her trendy drink on the tabletop with a bit of authority to draw attention to her presence she focused on Takeshi with furrowed brows, but a generally relaxed facial expression.

"You're dressed like a bum again? In daylight? If you're going to me my mark you should practice taking care of yourself. You're going to get an infection or something by being dirty all the time." Her visage was more that of a scolding mother than genuine fury. Naomi wiped the condensation that gathered on her palms against the outsides of her thighs, her fingers frigid to the touch. Cold drinks were good when it was hot outside, much like how Konoha got in the summer. But frankly, it wasn't the time of year.

Bubble Tea - Chiaki was a simple girl. During the twilight years of her academy experience she had indulged heartily in the drink. It had previously been a common ritual for the young Uchiha to mysteriously slip from the school’s grounds, along with a gaggle of other girls, only for them to all return carrying half-empty translucent plastic cups. Done well past the point of being habituary, the familiarity of the action meant that it came completely naturally. Without even thinking, as soon as she spotted the boba spot her body ended up moving on its own.

Boba acquired.

At a glance there was nothing special about her. Average height, average weight, average girl. Together with straight black hair, although cut short around neck-length, she was left with an altogether forgettable appearance that would easily be lost in a crowd. Her only saving grace was those unsightly red eyes, the sort that would make an uneducated passerby think she was maybe an Uchiha. Quite a few commented on that in the past, remarking that it looked like she was using the Sharingan. Not many apparently knew that the Uchiha’s eyes only turned red when actively using it - Her natural red eyes made it confusing, especially since she was an Uchiha afterall. Or, Uchiha-enough. The black hoodie she wore, a size too large, hid most of her figure under its crinkles and waves, resting down mid-thigh and obscuring the tops of her thighs and high-cut shorts.

Sipping mindlessly, the braindead girl would be caught in her own little world for a moment. Usually this was something she did as a posse, together with other mindless girls at the academy. Thinking back, she couldn’t even remember their names. Their faces came easy, but no other details did. Maybe that was just how superficial it all had been.

Her reminiscing was cut short by a fierce scolding, one which she almost mistook as being directed at her again - Too many times she had been yelled at for her casual dress by clan elders… Only to see the greenette and weird man who was indeed dressed like a bum. Bare upper body, pants full of holes… She couldn’t help but stare, her mind taking a moment to process. The ticking was almost audible as the gears stuck, struggling to continue grinding.

No shirt? He was clearly exposing himself with the intent of seducing people- Why else would he walk around like that? On the prowl, hunting for women to … She shook that thought out of her mind quickly, a light flush crossing her cheeks. What was she even thinking? There were probably plenty of normal explanations…

“H-Hey…” She lowered her drink a bit. Even though she was talking to that strange man, she refused to look at him in his current state. “S-Shouldn’t you put a shirt on? Just walking around outside with nothing on will give people the wrong idea. Plus… Your nipples are erect and it’s disgusting- People will think you’re some kind of cheap prostitute for hire. Not even the expensive, classy kind...”

She took another quick sip of her boba, continuing to absolutely not look at the strange man.

As the pretty pale haired girl began to answer him none other than Naomi arrived. The greenette was as attractive as she was before and this time he even had better light to appreciate her in. This place not being a dark alley after dark and all. However of course she began to berate him about going around shirtless and with holes in his pants again. Her attitude and tone began to grate on him immediately. She couldn't know the impracticality of actually dealing with shirts and replacing pants all of the time. She didn't know about his bloodline, so he couldn't blame her. But her attitude reminded him of his mother and he got enough of that from the woman herself. The trick is, he was afraid of his mother. In her words she 'brought him into this world, and she can take him right the fuck out.' Naomi? Naomi was a strange, albeit extremely attractive woman who liked digging through the ground in dark alleyways after dark as a hobby. He could tolerate, and he even loved his mother dearly. Naomi? She didn't have that same protection and as she berated him his temper came closer and closer to the line.

He held it in though, barely, outwardly there would be no visible sign of his frustration. Of his internal war with his admittedly short temper. Except for maybe a twitch of the eye or two. Which he himself didn't even realize happened when he was actually getting angry. At that moment the pale haired girl he had originally called out to seemed to try to answer his question again. Yet again however she was interrupted by another girl, who when he turned toward her to make eye contact with her as she spoke. As someone brought up correctly would, would find that she too was quite attractive. She had dark hair and red eyes, which gave her a rather exotic look with her pale skin. She would begin to comment about him giving people the wrong idea. Then went so far as to comment about how he looked like some kind of prostitute. An eyebrow raised as she seemed to divert her eyes, and continue to glance at him before diverting her eyes again. That however was enough to break the metaphorical back of his temper. Naomi at least, as annoying as she was being, was doing it out of the minor concern for his health. This girl however, whom he didn't even know, had the audacity to comment to him without even being polite enough to introduce herself. He opened his mouth to ream her a new one before the girl he had originally asked a question too spoke.

His eyes turned toward her, his deep blue meeting her pale white as she spoke and answered his original question. He nodded his head toward her, his initial head of anger somewhat diverted. Now, he wouldn't just explode. He would however still not take any of this sitting down. First, he would address the woman he had actually addressed. "Thank you." He would say simply, with another small nod toward her before turning his eyes back to Chiaki, although he didn't know her name at the time. It he would have to turn around fully to deal with Naomi. So the dark haired girl was first. "First off, it's rude to interrupt. That girl over there was trying to speak before you decided to cut in with your unwanted remarks. It's especially rude of you to chime in without even introducing yourself. I'm a farm boy and even I know that. The names Takeshi by the way, thanks for asking. Secondly..." He would say before cutting off and reaching into one of the pockets on his pants. By necessity they were deep. As they were designed to be able to hold a scroll or two. He did not have one of those on him, he didn't need to unseal weaponry or other such thing. No, at the moment he was carrying his own preferred drink of choice. A nice cold, recently bought, bottle of root beer. It had an obvious label for the beverage on the glass bottle so it was obvious it wasn't actually an alcoholic beverage. However, and while maintaining full eye contact, or at least while staring at the girl who couldn't seem to stop looking at him. He would raise the glass bottle to his chest, and with a quick motion of his wrist and a 'snap hiss' he would open the bottle, using his nipple. Then he would raise the bottle to his lips and take a long drink before continuing his words. "Do you really think I care what anyone thinks of me? Thirdly, you know a lot about prostitutes do you? Research often?" He would ask with a raised eyebrow before turning on Naomi without waiting for the dark haired girls response.

She was different, mainly because as previously stated, her actions were indeed from what he assumed was some minor concern for his well being. However he wouldn't let her have such an attitude with him. She could address her concerns respectfully and without interrupting people either. "And you, Naomi." He would say, before taking a deep breath and pointing toward the so far unnamed Tsuyu. "Owe her an apology. For that matter, so do you." He would say, the last with a quick look darted over his shoulder at the dark haired girl. "She was trying to answer a question I had posed to her and her ran roughshod all over her as she tried. Twice. Next, while I appreciate your concern for my wellbeing you can rest assured that I am perfectly healthy. I work like this, do my shinobi work like this, train like this, and go through life in general like this. All of my pants have the holes in the knees, and I own very few shirts. As a matter of fact I don't even think I own any that fit any longer. There's a reason for that, observe." He would say before lifting the finger he had pointed toward Tsuyu up into the air, his elbow at a ninety degree angle before extending two inches of bone from the finger for a few moments before retracting it. Once the woman's attention was on him once more he would continue. "I can do that everywhere, generally from my upper body, and as you could imagine, doing so destroys any upper body apparel I might be wearing. It also generally happens at my knees when I'm sparring or training, but I'm not about to go around without pants just because they'd have holes in the knees. I have no intention of constantly replacing shirts or trying to keep them mended and disrobing before fighting every time would just get tedious beyond belief. So I just don't bother. There are no public indecency laws for men without a shirt. Hell, you and the red-eyed girl seem to be the only two with an actual problem with it." He would say, his eyebrow raised before raising his root beer to his lips and taking another swig as he reached for the other pocket and pulling out a second. Tsuyu and Chiaki had a drink each, he did, but Naomi didn't. "It is nice to see you again Naomi, root beer?" He'd ask simply, his expression that of someone speaking as if nothing out of the ordinary was going on.

When Naomi finished her scolding she read Takeshi's initial reaction to it. Minor details, mainly. Tensing of the body and a change in facial expression all worked as physical indicators that he was displeased with her remark. She questioned whether she was too hard on him, or if they weren't close enough to the point where she could berate him. And the situation could only get worse than some preppy girl showed up, likely friends of the sedentary white haired girl given their similar choice of fashion and groom. Despite all of their unique appearances, Naomi felt like the only normal one in the group of acquaintances and strangers.

Chiaki showed no remorse, saying what was really in the back of Naomi's mind and even mentioning more acute details about Takeshi's 'condition.' It was a bit nippy outside, beckoning similar regret for the scantly clad greenette. Steadily she leaned over the table, her eyes fixated at Takeshi's torso with an ever-so curious gaze. Naomi was shocked. How she missed them before she could not explain. There they were, shriveled up like a pair of spiteful raisins. Naomi had an unexplained desire to squeeze them to test their density and lethality, akin to a child's desire to play with knives. Enthralled, Naomi unintentionally had her developing bosom block Tsuyu's view, essentially cutting her out of the interaction entirely, save for her hearing.

Naomi's curiosity would be satisfied soon enough she Takeshi yet again revealed another surprise. His deep, clown-like pockets would be a holding zone for not one, but two bottles of carbonated beverage product. And with a daft motion of his hand he effortlessly popped the top of the container following a satisfying hiss as gasses were released. Naomi's head bobbed back as if she was startled. His nipples were hard enough to open a bottle, and seemingly deal little to no harm to himself. No broken skin or anything. For a Genin he was definitely powerful. Previously she witnessed him effortlessly relocated a filled dumpster (albeit with a little help from herself) and now proved his skin was at least tougher than aluminum. He was the result of ninja training, and although she could never see herself opening bottles with her own chest, she would train with the intent of one day reaching his aptitude.

While she was enjoying her observation her concentration was shattered by the mentioning of her name and a demanding finger pointing past Naomi's bust. At first she was confused, glancing down at her chest first before turning her head. That's right! There's four of us! Returning back to her personal space she was standing upright once again, her body fixed on Tsuyu before tipping forward just slightly to give a bow. "Sorry, girl. You're so quiet I barely noticed you there." It was the best excuse she could do. Frankly, scolding Takeshi took priority in her mind that she willfully spoke over the Hyuuga by nature. But as the tensioned eased she couldn't help but feel a little guilty.

But situations only got worse as Takeshi went on full defense to go to the extent of displaying a unique ability of his to prove a point. It was intriguing, but highly disturbing. Like watching people remove charcoal masks to remove blackheads. Naomi observed a small spurt of blood from the broken skin, which the first thing she did was cover her straw and boba lid using both hands. "...gross..." She muttered under her breath. But there was nothing nice she could say about that. It was clearly a burdensome technique given how Takeshi dressed daily. She couldn't imagine a woman using such an ability, and that's not to mention the amount of harm it caused to the user. I think I remember learning about those kinds of technique in the academy. They were called 'Kinjutsu' or something like that. But Kinjutsu were banned from being taught and sometimes even illegal, if they violated the laws of nature or caused wide range destruction. Though, Takeshi had already displayed his incredible durability once. Maybe he was strong enough to tolerate the drawbacks of his technique.

Being caught up in her mind, Naomi ended up being zoned out for a moment. She missed Takeshi's explanation, but was snapped back to reality when her name was mentioned by the man as he offered a root beer in one hand. It seemed Takeshi was the only one out of sync with the rest. The hime-cut princess, the bob-cut prep, and Naomi, sporting the hairstyle of champions in solid green, all managed to get the climate along with several other patrons enjoying their trendy beverage. She didn't respond, but instead picked her cup up with both hands and brought the straw to her lips, taking a steady drink while never breaking eye contact. Surely the message would be delivered. Surprisingly, she didn't wind up choking on the boba balls like she expected. They managed to slide down her throat with ease. She hardly noticed the first few, but decided to let her mouth fill up and enjoy the drink. It tasted as good as one could imagine. One could hardly call it tea as it strayed so far from the original concept. Heavy in sugar, spice, and sweetened milk, the tea more or less acted like a liquid base for what was basically a dessert in her mind.

The tapioca balls were a nice little snack to chew on, which had a stronger tea flavor than the drink itself. With the new heap of sugar overloading her sensory she began to process the situation entirely. It wasn't often a group of strangers amassed like this. Takeshi didn't know the hime-cut's name, nor did it seem like he knew bob's name. In fact, it seemed like Takeshi and Naomi were the only individuals who were acquainted. Funny how that worked. One strange individual acted as an ice breaker. Ceasing her steady sip of her tea drink, she passed a sideways glace towards Takeshi as she positioned her body to face both Chiaki and Tsuyu. "I never met a 'perfectly healthy' person who carried two bottles of pop in their pant's pockets at all times." Shifting her attention away from Takeshi for the time being she planted herself in a seat besides Tsuyu, inviting herself to the girl's table. "Funny stuff aside, I'm Naomi. You two looks like this is your daily 'spot.' Is there like, a secret menu I don't know about? Your teas look better than mine." She said, examining the matcha green colored brew in Tsuyu's cup closely, arms folded on the table and chin resting upon them.

It was a difficult moment for Chiaki, if only because this situation was so utterly bizarre that she had no prior experience to call on to tell her how to react. Having this gorilla turn to chastise her after her first chastising… The fact that she refused to look at him felt like something of a sign of weakness now, not even making eye contact as he spoke his bit. Part of her was calling on herself to ignore him completely, but… The audacious display - The absolutely audacious display he just made! It was enough to catch her eyes and draw them to his actions subconsciously, even though she had been making an effort to look away. Chiaki’s expression dropped immediately as she saw what he did, the absolute abomination against nature. A certain paleness rose in her cheeks, as if she had just watched somebody die.

“That’s horrible…”


The cup of boba in her hand, still nearly full, had lost all of its appeal. She couldn’t bear the thought of eating or drinking anything right now. A disgusting pit had formed inside her gut, where the sense of dread collected. A weird phantom clamyness over her forehead was the only thing she could feel, as if she were sweating without any actual perspiration. Between the two dreaded weights of her stomach and head she almost felt like she was about to lose her balance.

Maybe a little overdramatic.

She hadn’t the thought to focus on the other troubling aspects here, like the fact that this odd character apparently carried around several bottles of soda in his pants. When several odd things happened in sequence the strangest was the only one that received the brunt of the questioning. Maybe that was his perverse goal? Slowly normalize his habits by doing a string of more and more disgusting actions, until his original self seemed pleasant in comparison.

“My name is Chiaki. I just came here for some tea… ”

Apparently it was time for introductions though, and maybe that would clear the air a bit. Naomi had been introduced twice, by herself and by the strange man who’s name she refused to acknowledge. Half of her had a mind to just leave, a sudden antisocial streak running through her mind due to how uncomfortable this interaction had been, but that same weight in her gut seemed to anchor her down for the time being.

“Oh. I don’t think there’s a secret menu. Just when you come here all the time you start to learn what all the words mean. All the different flavors-”

She had ordered a green honeydew drink rather than the standard boba milk tea, which she seemed to just again remember was in her hands after all that internal existential dread. Taking a small sip, her eyes would flash from the greenette to Tsuyu, and back again.

Once Naomi apologized for walking all over Tsuyu verbally, unintentional or not, his own annoyance would be banked quite successfully. Their reactions to his actions with the root beer were about as he expected and now that he had shown dominance, in his typical stupid fashion, he was content. Of course when Naomi gave him crap about 'perfectly healthy people' and how she had seen him with root beer twice he almost rolled his eyes. Keyword being almost. He did however put the bottle he had offered back into his pocket before speaking. "I don't always have them. Or at least, they aren't both for me. I pick up one for me and one for my mother. I just didn't mind offering it because I could always pick up another before going home." He would say simply before turning and moving toward the pale haired Tsuyu at her table. "Since we're all talking anyway, how about we all sit and stop yelling across the tables eh?" He would say, taking a seat at the table. There were two more at the table which made for perfect numbers for everyone and he instantly leaned back on the back legs of the chair and idly balanced himself without much effort.

"I'm Takeshi, Takeshi Kaguya, for the two of you who didn't know." He would say as he looked up and to the right idly as he considered what to say. He was more of a fighter than a talker, so he did have some difficulties in these situations. He did however feel like he had started this, even if it was just by arriving. It didn't even cross his mind that the commotion might have been due to Naomi and Chiaki and not him. Idly he took another swig of his root beer with one hand as he reached into his pocket with the other. When he removed it he held two brightly colored and pretty marbles that he idly moved between the fingers as if it was a habit when he thought. He hadn't gotten around to using them for his latest little arts and crafts project so he still had them and tended to carry such things with him.

Eventually he would use them to make something although he wasn't sure what yet. The idea would strike him eventually though and that was all that really mattered. For now he liked to have them around and he continued to idly move two of the six marbles between his fingers with the motions of the hand as he considered what to say. "So everyone here but me was just here to get tea then?" He would ask idly. He supposed that shouldn't come as a surprise given that they were outside of a goddamn tea shop. "Any good?" He would ask with a raised eyebrow before turning to look toward everyone just to see if anyone answered

The excitement started to die off after the three settled, though likely the reason they relaxed was the same as hers. It was funny how all of them happened to end up together like they were, considering one of them wasn't even interested in getting boba in the first place. But one thing led to another and now the four were all sharing a table which was originally occupied by only Tsuyu. To further dampen the dwindling mood Naomi was regretfully informed that there was not a secret menu. Bummer... It seemed every day she spent time in the village the more she was beginning to learn it was just outright boring. Konoha consisted of a lot of stores and services, but nothing that really struck any adventure of any kind. The only spark of excitement she experienced was encountering a potential rapist in the red light district, which just happened to be the same scantly clad man standing before her.

She did find it a bit hard to believe this was Tsuyu's first boba spot. The young woman likely downplayed her experiences to mask her background. Her haircut, the way she dressed and behaved— these weren't the traits of someone from a blue collar background. Milk tea was practically flowing through her veins. Naomi could almost smell it.

The greenette caught herself squinting down the Hyuuga out of suspicion unintentionally, snapping out of the daze before drawing any attention to herself. She'd busy herself with Takeshi's question being perhaps the only pure opinion regarding the tea given her lack of background with it. "It's very sweet and creamy. You could barely call it tea. It's like drinking caramel, and you barely notice the jello balls as they apparently go down your throat with the drink." But as interesting as it was talking about a drink all but Takeshi shared, only so much could be said before conversation died. "Enough about the tea, though. Both you and Chiaki look very expensive." Naomi said, fixing her eyes on Tsuyu to include her. "Tsuyu you said you were a Hyuuga? Aren't the Hyuuga considered a main branch clan from Konoha? I'm sure you live in a nice castle or estate." These were all baseless assumptions made by an out of touch farm girl with little to her name, but she'd imagine being from a clan there was at least some financial stability compared to her family.

Hyuga, Kaguya… Her eyes would spin. Chiaki had tactically not mentioned her last name since she thought it would have been rude to just namedrop being a member of a major clan, but here were two others who were in the same status! Or even more, since she was only a fake poser Uchiha who barely even counted as one tenth of a real one! Her stomach had already been unsettled from the earlier display of nipple abuse, but now that discomfort was growing even more. There were all these butterflies in her stomach now… Gross, vomit covered ones. Not even the tasty looking ones with the wings that looked like they were made out of candy! She really had no idea what to do, and so she would shove that straw of hers into her mouth and start sucking aggressively, or at least more aggressively than her usual state of passive sucking.  

Her boba tea would be gone in moments. To the wind! Swallowed down before she could even enjoy any of it. It was just there one moment and gone the other - All down her gullet. She would only notice and snap out of her trance once she hit the bottom of the plastic cup. Her eyes would flash down to what had once been a cup of tea. Uh oh… Only those cute pearls remained, glistening in a pile at the bottom.

“Haha - Yeah. Creamy.”

She had no idea what to say. The first thing that came to mind was just spouted out, that being a repeat of what Naomi had just mentioned about the drinks being sweet and creamy. Why was she even hanging around these three anyway? Just standing here like a duck - Chiaki was way out of her league in both status and weirdness. Maybe she just needed more confidence here?

“Expensive -? No, I… She cut herself off, looking to Tsuyu just to make sure she didn’t cut off the quiet Hyuga once again. Seeing an opportunity, she would divert attention again to Tsuyu by further compounding on Naomi’s point. “Uh… Yeah. You look beautiful- Tsuyu? Like a princess or something. All the sort of elegance you’d expect to see from one in the flesh. It’s easy to tell just by the way you walk and stand. The positioning of your legs. Sweet and creamy for sure -” She paused. Her mind had conflated the girl with the boba tea for those last few words.

“I mean… Uh… The tea is.”

Turning his attention to Naomi as she answered his question he would nod his head in acknowledgement of her. So it was essentially just a very sweet drink. He got enough of those with the root beer her drank so he wouldn't bother getting up to order one. He would just have to wait a bit to get some food into him. This little gathering was much too interesting to just walk away from. Taking another swig of root beer as Chiaki seconded what Naomi said the blue haired man would no in understanding. "I see, thank you." He would say simply, being polite to the women as they answered his question. However rather quickly the possible conversation options regarding the drink they had would die out and Naomi would turn away from that though process to address both Chiaki and Tsuyu. The Kaguya's eyebrows would widen as Naomi mentioned the pale eyed girls heritage. That's right, she had introduced herself as 'Tsuyu Hyuuga' hadn't she? That meant she did probably live in the lap of luxury. Of course since Takeshi was about as much of a farm boy as Naomi was a farm girl it stood to reason that he would have the same assumptions regarding the pale haired girl.

Chiaki however would be the one to start responding, pausing to look toward Tsuyu for a moment to ensure she wasn't cutting her off again as she had before. It appeared she very much wanted to be socially accepted here and cutting people off midsentence was incredibly rude after all. The dark haired girl would comment on Tsuyu looking like she was a princess or something with an elegance one would expect. She would comment on the position of her legs, which was of course the moment Takeshi took a drink of his root beer. The moment Chiaki commented on the girls legs being 'sweet and creamy'. Takeshi would aspirate hit root beer and start coughing, setting the bottle down on the table as he covered his mouth with the arm of his other hand. At the same time Tsuyu would start choking on her tea. It took a few moments for Takeshi to get his own breathing in order, the acidic bite of the carbonated beverage he preferred not making things any easier. When he could breathe though he would look toward Chiaki with his blue eyes wide.

He wasn't much for flirting, wasn't knowledgeable about how to talk to women, but he did know innuendo when he heard it and that was the reason for his reaction. Had Chiaki actually just said that? His words would come out carefully, haltingly, surely that had been a mistake right? Tsuyu herself barely seemed to be able to speak as Takeshi took a napkin from the dispenser on the table and carefully wiped any saliva on his arm from his coughing fit before pocketing it to be thrown away later. Then he would get another napkin from the dispenser and offer to Tsuyu if she needed it, polite, as his mother tau-beat, beat into him. He looked toward Chiaki, his blue eyes meeting that of red eyed girl before speaking. "You're repressed as hell aren't you?" He would say, bluntly and honestly. Now Takeshi himself was a virgin of course, but he also didn't let his own thoughts get to him as this girl had. Or at least, that was what Takeshi had assumed given that he didn't have much more to go on. He was neither overly insightful or brilliant. So all he had to work with were the girls comment.

Sweet and creamy

Naomi was unaware of the metaphorical application those words had until the idea was seeded in Chiaki's mind. Maybe they weren't rich. It wouldn't be an uncommon practice to hide one's worth. Her parents did always say 'Never tell your coworkers how much money you make.' She was unsure if that really applied here, since ninja payroll was vastly different than your regular nine-to-five, but she imagine it had some practical use. Mainly preventing robbery. But there was something at least one of them were rich in. Naomi sucked the bubble tea through the straw in a continuous, gentle stream. It wasn't really to drink it as much as it was to occupy her actions. Her eyes wandered to Tsuyu who bashfully refuted her initial assumption of her coming from wealth. Chiaki even started to back her up going to the length of calling her beautiful. Naomi nodded vigorously while continuing to draw from her tea.

But the conversation started to take a turn when 'flesh' was throw around by Chiaki in her every day vocabulary. And it only degenerated when the young woman's mere existence was thrown into the equation. Naomi started to stare blankly at this point, her body frozen as she read the woman's body language. Was it really that special? To be fair Naomi barely acknowledged the woman's existence until recently. But maybe there was something to look at that she didn't see before. Naomi would have likely stared long enough until she heard it once more. Sweet and creamy for sure...

Her eyes drifted down to Tsuyu's legs as the titular sweet and creamy was replayed in her head like an echo. The thought of the woman's bare legs being felt in her mouth. Sweet and creamy... The slurping of the tea stopped as the drink of the day jettisoned from the greenette's nostrils, the sensation immediately bringing Naomi discomfort as Chiaki and Tsuyu were sprayed equally in the chestnut colored brew that was Naomi's tea. The remnants of the tea dripped from her nose and onto her own shirt which was already sprayed from the initial outburst. The once beautiful blue outfit she wore was stained in brown splotches which would without a doubt stain if she didn't wash them today.

But nothing compared to the embarrassment that befell. Two people she just met would have witnessed the mess she had made, and combined with the discomfort and stinging of her nostrils, Naomi's eyes would begin to well up. There would be a few stutters of her breathing being a preamble before the big cry. The drink would fall from her hands follow a the rancorous sob of the young woman. "N-No!" The bubbling of the mucus-mixed tea would expand and pop from her nose before the situation only got worse and worse until her instincts kicked in. It was fight or flight, and Naomi was certainly the flight kind of girl. Turning the opposite direction she would flee at extraordinary speeds to egress from the scene tearing through the village at speeds untrackable by the average person, and that was good enough for her. What would be left at the tea table would be spilled tea, an empty cup, and a small group of sexually confused teens. What a day.

[Exit]

Everything quickly spun out of control. Just one slip of the tongue. That was all it took to divert a normal, friendly encounter off the rails and into the weird zone. She didn’t even mean it! It was a mistake! Chiaki just wanted to cry now, but instead she would stand perfectly still. Her expression would be plastered on, that terrified smile over a beat red face that only seemed to grow more tomato-like by the second. Why had she said that? What was wrong with her? Chiaki you idiot, you idiot, you idiot...

S w e e t a n d c r e a m y

The reactions were swift and immediate. She deserved them all. Disgust. Disbelief. With them went any chances she had to make friends here. Passing it off as a mistake was just impossible. She should have known better. The situation was just unsalvageable. The comments about her being ‘repressed’ immediately provoked an especially mouse-like squeak from the young girl, her body jolting a bit as if she had just been hit by a static discharge. Her mouth opened but no other sounds would come out.

And then, right when Chiaki thought things couldn’t get any worse, things somehow managed to get worse. Naomi, mid-slurp, would begin expelling liquid all over the place from her nose. It was the tea that she had just been drinking. Like separate nozzles on two different fire hoses, each nostril would seem to exclusively spray either Chiaki or Tsuyu. It was a pretty amazing trick, one that would surely give Naomi a great deal of popularity in a circus with the rest of the clowns.

Chiaki would just… Stand there, frozen in absolute shock. A combination of tea and snot had soaked her, misting her down and now dripping down her face and blouse. It was legitimate disbelief, and then Naomi would rush off sobbing in embarrassment.

“This was fun.” Chiaki would say, all the life drained from her voice. It was nothing but pure suffering. “I’m going to go home now, though. Thanks.” In an almost mechanical cadence she would turn on her heel, and walk off. Then, maybe three or four steps away, she would break into the same mad dash that Naomi had entered, flying off in fear and embarrassment.

[Exit]