𝘉𝘖𝘕𝘋𝘚 | ⁿᵃʳᵘᵗᵒ

three

+

"So, you guys are from Kumogakure?"

Shikamaru glanced up to my teammates and I, Choji and himself having taken the seat opposite of us. I sat on the end of the booth beside Katsu, Ryuu sitting closest to the window that gave view to the bustling streets of Konoha. We may or may not have put him on the inside on purpose, trapping him in the booth so he wouldn't run off if anything caught his attention.

It wasn't without a good reason though. Once on an escort mission to Iwagakure, Ryuu had sprinted away from the group because he saw something shiny. Turns out he noticed some ninja's sword glimmering in the sunlight and wretched it right off their back. The guy wasn't too happy, so Katsu had to put his smooth talk into play. If it wasn't for his pretty words I'm pretty sure Ryuu would have been dead meat. But it's not like I would've complained if he met his demise there either. Ryuu was annoying and I could do without the extra noise and dead weight.

"Yup!" Ryuu stuffed a piece of barbecue into his mouth with sauce drenched chopsticks. He closed his eyes and groaned at the flavor of the food. "Mmm...this is so good..."

I rolled my eyes. "You're acting like you've never had barbecue before."

Ryuu opened his eyes and grinned, snapping his chopsticks in my face. I glared daggers at him, doing my best to not reach out and snap the silverware in two. No matter how close he was getting to poking out my eyeball, I refused to be the one making a scene. That was Ryuu's job. Not mine. Plus I didn't want to pay for two pieces of wood that probably only cost a few ryo. Knowing all greedy shop owners were the same, I didn't want to be overcharged for my short temper.

Even if he wouldn't stop and it was getting hella annoying.

"I've had barbecue before! Just not barbecue like this!" Ryuu glanced over to Choji, his irritating smile only widening. "Man, you Leaf shinobi know how to cook."

"If you think this stuff is good, you should come to one of the Akimichi restaurants." Choji took two pieces of beef in between his chopsticks and stuffed them into his mouth. How did that guy fit all that food in there? "That's where the real good stuff is. Hey, maybe I can take you there! And your teammates too... if they want to come along."

Katsu flipped a piece of meat over on the barbecue, letting the flames cook the other side. He glanced up to Shikamaru and Choji with a smile that I knew all too well. He wanted to know something. "That sounds like a great idea!"

I shot him a rather nasty look. I didn't want to go anywhere. Especially not with these leaf shinobi. I still didn't know why I came along to the restaurant in the first place. But I had to play the nice guy, so I just shrugged. "That doesn't sound too bad..."

Katsu ignored the look I was giving him, smiling at Choji and Shikamaru. Even if he was irritating at es, I knew that Katsu's charisma wasn't something to downplay. He was good at getting what he wanted, finding out important information is one of his strengths. Almost anyone he came across wanted to spill their darkest secrets. He seemed trustworthy. It was a useful trick for sure.