closed

[sekihan]

Who: Ashiko and Itachi
Where: An inconspicuous little village in the Land of Rice
When: April 15
Notes: A friendly encounter. Sort of. Mostly, he's just happy she's alive.


'Perhaps you should take it easy, Ashiko-sama,' a few of the lower-ranked servants had suggested, meek and worried. 'It was such a stressful situation. You deserve a rest.'

Honestly. It was as though they didn't know her at all.

Ashiko could never be happy cooling her heels, even if the alternative was being away from her master's side. Since the caravan debacle he had elected to keep a low profile, which meant that Ashiko's little errands resumed, with more frequency than ever before. Otogakure had no shortage of skilled medical ninja, not the least of which was her esteemed Danna-sama, so it wasn't as though she was even on the mend; she had been patched up as good as new by the day after their return, and had only her own bruised pride to pain her.

She didn't care that Orochimaru had stabbed a person through her, really; she was upset that she had hindered her master to the point that he had even had to do such a thing in the first place. It was a similar sentiment that had kept her from using her scroll to make contact with any Konoha shinobi. How exactly did one broach such a strained social situation? 'My master and I are in good health, I hope that none of you were fatally poisoned after we defended ourselves from your highly unwarranted attack,' seemed ill-put.

But even Ashiko could nurse a grudge, if one on behalf of her master.

The woman sighed softly and ducked into the inn and tavern that would be her lodgings for the night, sliding into the last available booth and leaning back against the old, lacquered wood tiredly. She was in the pink of health, but the weather and the long hours she had chosen to undertake had worn her out for the day.

Comments

[sekihan]

She really wasn't sure if that was an excellent rendition of a monk-raised boy's reaction, or if he really was that flustered at the thought of her naked. It was a rather ridiculous story, she had to admit, so she resolved not to take his reaction too personally.

"Good plan," she agreed, flagging down the waitress and putting in an order. It seemed the treat of the night was a platter of daifuku; not exactly the normal accompaniment to alcohol, but Ashiko supposed beggars couldn't be choosers. And it wasn't as though one could go very wrong with mochi and anko.

[dangodragon]

"If we're going to drink, I probably shouldn't try to teach you to swim," Itachi admitted slowly as he set his chopsticks down. "Though it's really not that hard, you know." And girls were supposed to, on average, have a higher percentage of body fat, so they should float easier, shouldn't they?

[sekihan]

"I'm not sure where you would teach me if we planned to stay sober," Ashiko pointed out. "It isn't as though there's a river nearby, after all. The nearest one is...maybe four or five miles to the east, I think. I mean, unless you were planning on sneaking into a farmer's property." But no, Iori was a good boy, wasn't he? He wouldn't suggest something like that.

Ashiko perked up when their plates were swapped for a platter of sweets, and the teapot was traded for a tall bottle of sake and two saucers.

[dangodragon]

"Oh no. If there's a pond there's going to be ducks or geese and those things are evil. Have you ever been chased by a goose? Those things are actually very large and incredibly mean. But you can't really hurt them, because their someone's livelihood." Itachi motioned emphatically with his hands.

"Here, here....let me pour for you." It seemed the eager thing to do, instead of waiting for her now doubt better serving. Itachi had watched sake poured countless times. Itachi reached gingerly for the bottle, as if afraid he might knock it over or break it. Put poison in it?

[sekihan]

"I've seen others chased by geese; from a distance that is." She picked up a small daifuku and nibbled at it as nostalgia crept in. "When I lived by the lake, there were some very silly boys around my age. They would always dare each other to do things...pinching a goose during mating season was one of the more unfortunate choices they made, I must admit."

She watched him fondly. "If you'll let me return the favor, then certainly." They would be drinking from the same bottle, after all, so it was easy for her to.let her guard down. Besides which, she had the cures for various poisons ticked away on her person in case of emergency, though she didn't believe he would do such a thing.

[dangodragon]

"I was an awful boy who liked to eat goose eggs," Itachi confided, though he'd never stolen an egg from any birds nest. They worked so hard to raise chicks who had only a slim chance of survival without humans stealing eggs or chicks.

Itachi's lips curved up honestly. "Certainly not." Itachi carefully poured Ashiko's sake without any flair or much grace, but he didn't spill anyway. He set the bottle down gently.

[sekihan]

"Color me surprised. The monks couldn't have been too happy about that." Unless the eggs were a metaphor of some sort for ninja business, but Ashiko didn't think he'd start in on head games until at least a few cups in. And even that was unlikely; he was a very careful man, from what she knew of him.

She plucked up the bottle and poured his share, using fluid, graceful movements that were probably more at home in a tea ceremony, but she couldn't help it. They were second nature by now, drilled in through years of careful practice. She set the bottle down and took up her cup, glancing at the alcohol thoughtfully. "People are supposed to make toasts for the first drink, aren't they...?"

[dangodragon]

"I think they expect some kind of mischief from boys--even the best behaved ones. After all, life is a journey to learn compassion and understanding. We never pop into the world with perfect manners and unselfish motivations," Itachi took on a slight lecturing tone, and then shook his head a little. "I supposed to last thing you want to do is debate the human condition. I think a toast would be very fitting."

Itachi nodded his head seriously, blowing out his cheeks. What kind of drunk should Iori be? He should be an utter light-weight, so Itachi could have an easy excuse to stop drinking before he was drunk. It seemed Iori should get more garrulous, but that wouldn't be very wise. Maybe he should be overly serious and deliberate.

"Then, a toast, to long lives and fulfilling pursuits and may we both find the things we need to find in life."

[sekihan]

"I'm afraid the beliefs we were raised on might not mesh very comfortably, so no, it's probably better to avoid that debate if we want to part on good terms." Most people smiled politely and resorted to pity when she went in-depth on the basic principles of the Kuzuryu clan. To give up one's life, body and mind wholly for the sake of one man, to smile and thank him for however you were used...no, Ashiko would not be pitied for what she was honored to have become.

"I can drink to that," she mused, raising her cup once in acknowledgement before taking her first sip. She preferred sweet wines when she had her pick, but the sake here wasn't horrible. Rustic and slightly too sharp, certainly, but far from the worst she had ever sampled. She felt warmth begin to spread as soon as two mouthfuls were swallowed, and noted that it was deceptively potent.

[dangodragon]

Itachi grimaced at the first sip and smothered a cough. The taste was all right as far as he was concerned, but the burning as it went down had him clearing his throat. Maybe it would be more palatable as they went along.

"I believe in disagreeing amiably with people." Itachi nodded sagely. "It makes life much simpler and I've discovered arguing with people rarely changes their point of view."

[sekihan]

"I have the dubious honor of being what is commonly referred to as a 'people-pleaser'." Ashiko admitted, rubbing her thumb along the edge of her cup. "Unless I'm very passionate about something, I rarely flat-out disagree with other people. And a vulgarly handled disagreement is something that would reflect poorly upon Danna-sama, so i always endeavor to avoid those when I do feel the need to disagree." Sometimes it could be exhausting, the lengths she went to in order to keep everybody at ease.

[dangodragon]

"Perhaps that is better than being called an instigator. I would say you should stand your ground on the things you believe in, but you believe in preserving your master's reputation, so..." Itachi made a hand gesture that could mean anything and reached for something to eat to avoid taking another drink.

[sekihan]

"Danna-sama doesn't mind much at all when I disagree with somebody, unless it's him," Ashiko sighed. "I think it amuses him more than anything else. We argue over how much he eats, more than anything else, and I confess I do not press the issue nearly as much or as often as I might wish." She took a smaller sip, actually pouting. "More sleep and regular meals isn't that much to ask, is it?"

[dangodragon]

Didn't that sound familiar? Eat more, rest more, take care of yourself...

"Well, when one gets busy with a project or some higher calling, such concerns are often forgotten or put aside for a more convenient time." Itachi took a minuscule sip of sake. "We were always telling the more dedicated monks to eat more or take a break. Is your Danna-sama a scholar?"

[sekihan]

"Among other things, yes. But just because you ignore a concern doesn't mean it goes away; if anything, it just heaps down on the people around you twice as heavily." She puffed her cheeks out, becoming less formal and more like a normal twenty-one year old woman by the moment. Or the mouthful, as it were. She looked up at him, almost accusing. "Iori-kun, don't you dare become a man like that, okay? You'll only make the people around you miserable with worry if you bury yourself in work!"

[dangodragon]

It was far too late for that. Itachi didn't just make people worry. He made them send him to the hospital under orders.

He had to admit, it surprised him to see Ashiko so animated. Was it the alcohol?

Itachi chuckled and held up his hands. "I promise. I swear on my divine calling that I will not become a man like that, Ashiko-san. After all, I don't have anyone to chivy me along and tell me to eat, so I would simply waste away into nothing." Itachi took a larger sip of his sake than he intended and almost choked.

[sekihan]

She shook a finger at him, but whether the sternness was playful or in full seriousness was anybody's guess. "Don't swear on that. Swear to me." She had no way to enforce any oath-breaking, true, but at the very least maybe she would flash through his mind and dredge up some guilt should he decide to go against the promise.

She glanced over worriedly at the coughing.

"Iori-kun, you don't have to force yourself to drink, you know? Whatever is left in the bottle when you decide to stop, I'll finish off." It didn't occur to her that a petite young woman downing a large bottle of alcohol might be more worrisome than a man who had yet to acquire a taste for grain alcohol.

[dangodragon]

Itachi once again leaned forward across the table. "I solemnly swear to you, Ashiko-san, that I will always strive to take the best care of myself possible." After everything else, what was one more lie? Itachi had actually always tried to stick as close to the truth a possible, as not to trip himself up. It didn't matter anymore.

"No, no, it's fine..." Itachi waved a hand. "A-and you shouldn't drink that much. You'll get sick, or not be able to walk."

[sekihan]

"Iori-kun." She gave him a long, almost pitying look. "I live in the Land of Rice Paddies. Of which a major export is refined sake. I may not partake on a regular basis, but it takes more than a single bottle to addle me to the point where I am unable to care for myself."

Granted, she might stumble and slur and possibly kill a few men who would try to take advantage of her in her diminished state, yes, but nothing with lasting consequences. She was a mature and capable woman, after all.

[dangodragon]

"I think the point I was trying to make is it would not be a pleasant experience for you, and I would hate to have you remember out last meeting by the hangover you got. So..." Itachi refilled Ashiko's cup and his own, regardless of whether they needed it.

"Now you may make a toast," Itachi suggested.

[sekihan]

Ashiko scowled at him, lips drawn into an adorably peeved moue of discontent. "It's ill-mannered to pour for yourself, Iori-kun," she chided but lifted her cup and set her mind to thinking up a suitable sentiment for them to drink to. He had nailed three or so together with his, but Ashiko was always more of a succinct woman despite her sometimes longwinded eloquence.

"...to looking back on the memories of friendship fondly," she said, almost shy in her delivery.

[dangodragon]

"I'm sorry. I'm only a low class monk," Itachi apologized. "And as you can tell I don't drink much anyway. No one has ever lectured me on the proper etiquette." A lie. He could even preform a tea ceremony if he needed to. He'd worked undercover as a courtesan when he was younger. He hadn't been a very good one.

"And may they last for many years," Itachi added.

[sekihan]

"Well, you need to keep it in mind for if you ever have to entertain somebody slightly more important than a mere servant girl." There was a touch of worry to her tone, even as she gently touched their glasses togetger and took another sip. "Some people can get quite bent out of shape over the smallest breaches of protocol, and alcohol has a way of...exacerbating matters."

[dangodragon]

"I will do my best to brush up on my etiquette in all situations I might find myself in where my companions will not be so gracious and forgiving of my faults as my present dinner companion." Itachi nodded seriously as he took a sip of the sake. Really, it wasn't so bad after your tongue started to feel a little numb.

[sekihan]

Ashiko nodded, oblivious to the faint flush beginning to rise in her cheeks. She was far from drunk, but the initial warmth had definitely spread. "...sorry if I come off as nagging. But I suppose it's my nature to try and pile on advice when I don't think I'll see someone again anytime soon. I have, upon occasion, been called a worrywart."