There was a bit of silence from her, at her asking about places to eat. Was it strange to say she didn’t eat out often? She had seen many of her peers do it frequently, but she was typically obligated to family dinners, or making her own meals - with carefully crafted diets in mind. Any chance to eat out was swallowed by the fact she didn’t have anyone to do it with… As her eyes flicked to the rice balls, she found herself even more relieved that she had chosen to make them. It was a welcomed change of pace, that seemed to be leading to something else. [break][break]
However, she was overthinking again. The realization had her forcing her shoulders to relax their unintended tension as Daichi spoke. Though his praise made her embarrassment ever grow. A soft hue of pink started to manifest on her cheeks, and her eyes stayed glued to his ankle. Her mind wanted to resist his kindness. It wasn’t that good, it couldn’t have been. He was really leaning into that too much, she quietly decided. It was best to let it go, and stay focused on the matter of restaurants, even if her heart was fluttering a bit beyond her control.[break][break]
Kanada’s place…? Aiko accepted the distraction, considering if she’d seen it before. Perhaps in passing? It sounded like an unassuming little place her family would solemnly reject. [break][break]
Her gaze drifted over to him, almost sheepishly so in consideration. A pause of thought, before she gave a small nod. “I’ve never been there, but that… Sounds really nice” she softly agreed, before returning her attention to his ankle. Tending to it was becoming a great place to distract her nervous hands. It was then when an offer came to mind, almost impulsively so. In her bid to stop overthinking, she simply let it free. “How about... I’ll… I’ll make stuff for our training days more often, if you show me more of those places you like to eat at. How does that sound?”
[attr="class","text-space"] ...Was she blushing? Aiko Hyuga? Because of him? No, it must’ve just been the way the light was reflecting off of her fair skin. Or maybe she was just embarrassed because of his praise? But surely she was used to such a thing, considering how talented she was. Whatever the case, he couldn’t keep his smile from softening a bit as he watched her. It had been a long time since he felt like he was even close to regarding her as his equal. But in this moment he could swear he was just a normal guy talking to a perfectly normal girl rather than the prodigy Hyuga he was so familiar with.[break][break]
His smile grew a bit more excited as she approved of his initial suggestion, the facade slowly fading as he found a more genuine comfort in the conversation. ”Oh you’re gonna have to try it at least once. They make everything by hand. It’s like having a homecooked meal every time.” Or at least that was what he assumed it was like. Daichi couldn’t recall the last time he had an actually homecooked meal. But he would swear up and down all day long that Kanda’s place had that flavor down to a science.[break][break]
Though his excitement would fade a bit at her offer. His instincts forced him to react with caution to her offer, taking a moment to process it to make sure he fully understood before jumping at the chance being offered. Eyes lingered on her hands for a few beats as she continued to fiddle with his ankle, that intense pain a distant memory now thanks to her gentle touch. Yet another thing she was a natural at, it seemed. ”...Yeah. I mean, yeah! That sounds like a great deal to me. I know a ton of great places in the area that you’re gonna love. So you keep the rice balls comin’ and I’ll make sure to take you out to some real nice meals.”[break][break]
His head bobbed confidently as he reached to take another ball from the box and bite into it. This was probably going to cut into his super secret training time, but it would be worth it. Building a relationship with the squad was important, right? ”So! Do you wanna get to training? Or would you rather tell me what your favorite kind of food is so I can start planning ahead?”
It was always nice when Daichi dropped the bravado… His smile softened, his demeanor easing. As he stopped the fake grins and confident facades, he did have quite the lovely smile. Especially when he was excited, like when new jutsus were introduced back in school, or when he made a big discovery on his own. It eased her apprehension as she saw it, slowly deciding to leave his ankle be, as their agreement came about.[break][break]
“Great. Then, I’m looking forward to it” she assured with the smallest hint of a smile. It was a pleasant arrangement, yes. One that she would think back upon later and wonder why she ever suggested it. Was it an excuse to cook more often? It seemed kind of silly, didn’t it? Offering to make snacks so he could just take her some place that would make food for her? Was it because she liked the way he was eagerly reaching for more and more riceballs? How he kept insisting they were perfect? Praising her in his brief moments of honesty?[break][break]
Aiko wasn’t sure, and she didn’t want to think about it too much. Being stuck in her head, it was becoming a dreadful habit. Instead, she reached over to scoot the box closer to herself in a silent bid to ensure he saved some for her. She took one out, taking a bite from it as he asked about today's training.[break][break]
“Let me have a couple of these, and then we’ll get to work…” she answered casually, looking away from him and more so to the field around them. With his injury, she did have to rethink that day’s training schedule, anyways. It was originally going to be focused on close combat, given their very different styles, but with his ankle, it was best to do her other suggestion. So, where could she sneak up on him from…? Her eyes trailed over the scenery as she opted to cover the other question. [break][break]
“I don’t really have a favorite food, though. Anything warm and filling is fine. I tend to just eat what I’m given, so don’t worry too much about finding a perfect spot” she answered nonchalantly, even if it was less of a matter of her willing to eat whatever she was given, and more a matter of having no choice but to eat what she was given.
[attr="class","text-space"] The amount of positivity she had for this little arrangement of theirs was shocking to the genin. She was actually looking forward to all of this? Sure, it was nice and all, but it was surprising to think that it was something she was actively anticipating. He was really gonna have to turn it up and wow her to meet these expectations. She was probably used to really high quality, fancy stuff. Granted he had no idea how wealthy her family was, but she was always so graceful, elegant and put together that he could only assume she had a pretty posh upbringing.[break][break]
He couldn’t help but chuckle a bit as she protected the remaining riceballs from his greedy hands. Maybe he was a bit too eager to enjoy the fruits of her labor. So for the moment he leaned back, placing a hand on the log behind himself as he got comfortable. ”I won’t say no to that. I think we’ve earned a bit of a rest.” He could feel himself almost let the truth slip as he nearly mentioned how they had both been training before this. Couldn’t let himself get too comfortable, no matter how cozy this situation made him feel.[break][break]
His eyes followed her gaze out to the training field, a familiar space to many shinobi across the village. It was a definite bummer that his screw up forced them to change up their plans for the day, but at least Aiko didn’t seem to mind too much. And so he was content to relax and enjoy his snack, seeming perfectly relaxed and ready to just enjoy this peaceful moment. Right up until the shocking reveal.[break][break]
”Wait what? You don’t have a favorite food? Like, at all?” Not having a favorite food was like not having a favorite color! Surely she must have just been trying to be accommodating. ”Come on, you’ve gotta have something that makes your mouth water just thinking about it. Just close your eyes and imagine your perfect meal. Or maybe that meal that really fills you with that warm fuzzy feeling.”
Earned a bit of rest? The comment got a small amused snort from her as the comfortable atmosphere settled in around them. Training was the priority today, but this felt nice, she decided. Even if deep down, there was this strange bout of guilt forming for how easy she was being on Daichi, or how she should certainly be pushing him to stop lying, get it together, or something, she couldn’t do it when everything felt so easygoing at the moment. His laidback nature was terribly infectious it would seem. [break][break]
Then came his surprise at her lack of a favorite food and Aiko’s gaze returned to him with a bit of confusion. She hesitated, unsure of what to really say when he pressed the matter. Her expression became utterly dumbfounded as he went on. Was it really so strange to not have a favorite? To not know what made her mouth water like he said? As he pried, Aiko’s gaze turned to the rice balls she was nibbling on.[break][break]
“Uh, well…” she started, though it was clear she had no idea what she was going to say. “... I’m not sure, really?” It was probably the most unsure he had ever heard her be about something. Her eyes went back to the scenery as she considered his inquiry. “Maybe a rice dish. Something warm and fresh, soft and easy to eat fast. A simple straight forward flavor…” she mumbled, taking a bite of the riceball she was most likely describing.
Simple?Rice!? From the way she was talking it sounded like her favorite food was just plain white rice with nothing else in it. A strange thing, considering how flavorful her rice balls were. Though for all he knew about cooking they were an extremely simple dish that fit her description perfectly. At the same time, he could see that there wasn’t that excitement that usually came from enjoying your favorite food. It was at that point that Daichi realized the truth. And as sad as the reality was, it also made him a bit excited at the future to come.[break][break]
”Ok, that’s not a real answer. But that’s ok, cuz I think I’ve got it all figured out.” His smile grew a bit as he leaned forward, the sparkle in his eye betraying the excitement he felt for the culinary adventures to come. ”You haven’t found your favorite food yet, have you Aiko? You’ve never eaten anything that made your heart just sing. But don’t you worry, cuz we’re gonna find the answer together.” It was an oddly exciting concept for him. It was like a journey of self discovery, the hunt for that perfect combination of flavors that would speak directly to her unique palette.[break][break]
He glanced off in thought, the idea of training now a distant memory as his mind went to work assembling a list of restaurants and flavorful dishes for her to try. Variety would be key in honing in on that perfect meal, that one thing that combined all her favorite tastes into a single creation. ”I think I have an idea. We’ll just need to keep a journal of the foods we try. I’ll come up with a scoring system to rank each flavor profile that will account for flavor, texture, aroma and overall experience. If we can track your feelings toward the various dishes, then we should be able to eventually pinpoint your perfect meal.” The more he spoke the more energetic he seemed to become, this combination of food and statistics coming together to make for an absolutely fascinating project!
