[closed]

[heavenly_earth]

Who: Neji and Kazue
When: May 24th
Where: Konoha's Dango Shop
Notes: The day before the auctions, Neji has a friendly run-in with a visiting shinobi.


No one rests around the Chuunin Exams. Particularly those unfortunate enough to belong to the hosting village.

There's a charged tension in the air that winds tighter as the exam date nears, and it's visible in the way those shinobi in charge of coordinating and preparing the events themselves look more harried than ever, and every important figure in the village is suddenly playing the part of generous host to the foreign shinobi trickling through the gates.

And this time, in a play at inter-village cooperation and fundraising, there's a charity auction of sorts. What effectively boils down to a pre-exam promotion of goodwill that means the village is roughly twice as busy as usual.

Which is why Neji's sitting in a dango shop, relaxing as much as possible when everything he hears inside the shop and out is something about either the auction or the exam themselves. It'll be his last day to relax before he's thrown into the whirlwind of chaos that is hosting the Chuunin exams. And the event itself isn't for another week at least.

But he has tea and dango and miraculously, a table to himself. At least for now.

Comments

[wind_and_whirl]

Miraculously, indeed. The traffic is something Kazue had anticipated given both the immediately impending event and the momentous occasion scheduled to follow. It isn't something she's particularly fond of given that it has impeded her to a point, but it's tolerable enough for the thin veil of interesting it casts over the village. Not her village, of course, but Konoha's infrastructure has become somewhat more familiar to her for her past visits to the place. Inconveniences, those visits, but she'd rather not dwell on them at the moment, not when the circumstances of the current visit are more rather than less in her favor.

It's the potential entertainment value to be taken from the auction, the convenient excuse allotted her to stock up on a few treats Kazue's found herself favoring that originate in the area and are less costly here that are to blame for her presence in Konoha at this time. Crossing the threshold of the shop without an inch of ceremony, the sand kunoichi finds a smile touching her lips, the tanuki puppet perched atop her shoulder doing a three sixty to mock chitter at a pair of children who narrowly avoided bumping into her. They're permitted to leave despite the offense, blue eyes more or less focused upon her goal. That is, until it's acquired and she finds herself tasked with the issue of finding a seat. Ordinarily, she might have opted to take her prize outside and enjoy it in a less crowded area, but there was gossip to be gleaned, perhaps some interesting tidbit about other visitors and native shinobi that she couldn't very well acquire elsewhere. There were other things, too, and --

And there was something you didn't see every day. Well, at least not in her case given that she wasn't at all a native of Konoha. A Hyuuga, hmm?

"Downtime, I presume?" She poses the question as she approaches, curious. Unfamiliar, this one, and he doesn't look too much older than her either, which stirs the timeless question of how strong he might be.

[heavenly_earth]

It's difficult to miss the foreign shinobi- bright red hair and what almost looked like a toy at a distance perched on her shoulder. A miniature puppet? Well a brief look at her headband confirmed she was a Suna-nin.

Of course, blessed with the emptiest table, she'd wander over, and his 'downtime' switches to 'entertain the foreign shinobi'. Really, the exams haven't even started and he's already anticipating their end. He wasn't one for large gatherings.

But he turns a smile on her, gesturing an invitation to sit. "Best to take advantage of it while I can," he says mildly. "The auctions start tomorrow, and who knows how much free time anyone will have from there. Are you looking forward to them?"

[wind_and_whirl]

Smiles are good compared to the alternative. At least, they are generally and this case seems to be fairly general at this stage. Her own smile sticks as she takes the seat offered and places the small spread she had purchased for more immediate consumption down atop the table. The rest is stored safely in the bag at her side, which is placed beside her. The tanuki doesn't move from her shoulder. Rather, it sits more straight, as though minding its table manners.

"I am," she replies with a nod, her thoughts turned a moment. "An auction is an interesting method for a fundraiser. I expect it'll prove as entertaining as it will lucrative. Yourself?"

[heavenly_earth]

Neji follows her movements, eyes drawn to the tanuki-puppet on her shoulder and quirks a brow at it. Unusual, but he turns his attention back toward his guest of sorts.

"I'm an unwitting participant," he informs her, smile turning wry. "I only hope nothing ridiculous happens, but given the nature of such an event, I highly doubt that will be the case. But if the guests of Konoha enjoy it, that's all that matters."