Tea Time Tomfoolry

Joints creaked and popped as Zuzu pulled his arms back and stretched his back. Muscles ached from work they were not quite used to, and after being couped up in that sweltering forge for a few hours, a break was more than welcomed. Even if the cloudless sky meant the midday sun left the air sizzling, it was better than the stifling atmosphere hovering within his home. A loose, button-down white tee and worn blue jeans make up Zuzu's current get up, a far cry from the all red affair of his working clothes. And far more comfortable in this heat.

Shuffling down the street, no aim to his travel, Zuzu's eyes wondered from building to building in hopes of something striking his fancy to pass the time. Of course, the first thing to catch his eye was the local love hotel, and those slinking into its depth hand-in-hand. ...I have no need for something like that. He rolled his eyes and continued scanning the rest of the buildings along the way. Without putting much thought into it, Zuzu absent-mindedly nodded at those he passed by. Occasionally shooting a half smile in the direction of stranger, a low greeting to those who passed by within earshot. I'll pass on the ramen bar... the betting house would be a waste of money... window shopping a waste of time...

Ah. This seems about right. He stopped in front of a small one story building nestled between two nondescript houses. Mint green, open doors, and a leaf shaped board above the entrance with the words "Tickle Tea Eatery" written in was the sign of a tea shop if Zuzu had ever seen one. Or restaurant. Hopefully, however, it was also the sign of a good time sink to cool off and relax.

Once inside, he gave the place a quick once over, taking in the placement of tables, the booths along the right wall, and a more traditional bar area in the back left of the establishment. Most of the patrons of the tea shop were located over by the bar, but even then the place was mostly empty. And with no waiter in immediate sight, Zuzu put it on himself to find a seat. The floorboards groaned as he made his way around the tables. Out of habit, he picked one of the booths and sat against the wall with his back almost in the corner of the seat and the wall, giving him a good view of the entrance and the rest of the restaurant. The red haired man slipped a thin book from his pant pocket titled "Forgery & Metal" and slouched in his seat some, flicking through the book as he awaited a waiter to make his or her presence known.

"So damn thirssssssty." Whined Ayaka as she slowly walked down the streets looking for the right place to spend her hard earned mission pay. "Why did I have to go to the damn desert to get some stupid ore. That's some genin work." Of course the ore was in the middle of a giant murderous ant lion's lair, but that didn't matter. What mattered was that the mere thought of how dry and horrible that desert had been made her mouth dry. She was still getting sand out of her tabi and clothes for crying out loud!

To top it all off it was hot in the village too. She must have done something to piss of some higher power. Heatstroke would be the death of her if she didn't find a place too cool off soon. That or she'd shrivel up like bacon on a hot skillet. So when the little teahouse came into view she all, but ran into the shop. The first thing she did was take a pitcher of water from a passing waiter and a glass. "Sorry here." She tipped him nicely and chugged the glass of water down and gave a satisfied sigh. "Thanks. I'll take my seat now."

Looking rejuvenated Ayaka looked around to see if anyone she knew was in. The only one she knew was Zuzu. And tha was only in passing, but some company would be nice. "Zuzu! I'm bored and in need of a sympathetic ear lemme sit with you!" She slid into the seat opposite of him with a grin on her face. "Whatcha reading?"

With a cup of steaming chamomile tea set out in front of her, Iwakan was busily dozing off in the booth just behind the seat chosen by Zuzu. As he took his seat, however, she stirred only slightly to reach out and take a sip of the relaxing beverage.

The arrival of the noisy female made her stir that much more, her ears drinking in the sound of the couple's conversation and interpreting it as they pleased. Slowly but surely, Iwakan would slink her slender body up the back of the booth and turn around so her head was resting on the backboard, watching the exchange between the two with no shame or attempt to hide her sudden and random eavesdropping.

The shout of his name came unexpectedly, and caused a slight jolt from the relaxing man. Loud people typically meant high energy, which would be more than counter-productive to the goal at hand. Zuzu brought the pamphlet down in time to catch sight of a girl with hair the color of wine skipping from a baffled waiter over to...

Well, so much for relaxing. He placed one hand on the table to push himself into a more upright sitting position and the other hand placed the booklet cover up on the table. The young woman placed herself across from him, immediately getting comfortable and beaming right at him. ...I think I'm supposed to know her. He nervously chuckled. "Looks like you have a listening ear alright." And, unbeknownst to him, there was another set of ears just behind him.

"This old thing? Oh, uh, it's just a guide on some smithing techniques. Still trying to learn all the ends and outs of the trade after all." Zuzu slid the book across the table. "I've read it before already, so you can take a glance if you care." Propping his other hand as a headrest, Zuzu scanned the woman's face for some sign of familiarity. Making sure to keep his face from scrunching up as one aught to when studying things.

He titled his head slightly. "Don't let me sidetrack you, though. You said you needed a sympathetic ear. What's up?"

"Oh no I'm good. I don't know the first thing about smithing. Making horrible concoctions is my thing." She waved off the offer of the book. She had enough of textbooks. Novels were her thing now. The offer of an ear was seized upon though. "Oh yea. Just hate getting assigned low ranked missions in horrible locations. Deserts suck. I'm from a swamp where it's nice and humid. It was so hot and dry there I thought I was going to shrivel up and die. I had to apply a ton of gross greasy sunscreen and wear a cloak to avoid burning up like bacon." The thought made her mouth dry.

"All that for some ore in an ant lion hill...Did you want to join us hon?" She looked past Zuzu to look at eavesdropping Iwakan. A grin spread across Ayaka's features as she invited the genin over heedless of whether or not Zuzu wanted to deal with two strangers. "There is plenty of room by me if you wanna share some tea with us. I'll buy you some tea too." Money wasn't really that big an issue for her. The village constantly needed toxins for missions and she made plenty to sell in conjunction with her mission pay.

"Oh, I'm good... I have my own tea..." Iwakan answered casually. "Go ahead and keep going. It was just getting interesting." With no warning at all Iwakan's hand would flop heavily over Zuzu's shoulder... holding what looked to be a business card. It listed her name and her title as the proprietor of Honegakure's one and only love hotel as well as noting that the card doubled as a coupon for one free visit. If he happened to glance in her direction she'd be certain to follow it up with a sly wink. Of course, none of this would be hidden from the other female's view at all.

Dokuchi Ayaka, that's her name. The mention of "horrible concoctions being what rung the bell of the poison clan's... not leader, but some person of importance. Zuzu pulled the book back to himself and hid it out of sight under the table. "Eh. Both places seem kinda terrible to just be in, to be honest." His eyes wondered the eatery, noticing a waiter not five feet away heading towards the back.

The voice of another woman within inches of his head was enough to put Zuzu on edge. Before he could turn his head to see the eavesdropper, there was a heavy handed pat on his left shoulder. A quick look-see and he spotted a business card being solicited to him. The woman herself winked once they made eye contact. Zuzu had seen her around before but never really took it upon himself to get to know her. What, with the utterly bizarre attire of bandages and a giant key lodged in her head... Against his better judgment, the red head grabbed the card a quickly pocketed without giving it a read.

"Uh, yeah. Back to the topic at hand," Zuzu refocused his attention on the original intruder of his time. "Out of curiosity, what kind of ore did you have to retrieve? I may need to check it out myself." And there goes the waiter... A half smile, half grimace appeared across Zuzu's face as he caught sight of the man slipping into the back.

"Well then come over and join us. That way you won't seem like a rude little snoop. And what are you showing him?" She saw the wink, but didn't see the card. Probably a good thing. "I was looking for a chakra conductive ore for some blacksmith. He wanted to make some chakra conductive weapons for the more weapon oriented members of the village. It's not a secret, just a bit of a pain to get to since the whole desert thing."

She looked around trying to find a waiter or waitress. "They are being pretty slow today. They'd better hurry up or I'll have to talk to their manager. I mean really it's fairly slow in here today."

The slothful woman's shoulders rose only slightly in a shrug as she remained where she was, continuing to watch the exchange of the male and female from her elevated vantage point.

"Just a business card is all..." She winked again in Zuzu's direction whether he was actually looking at her or not. She had already made the assumption that he knew what it was all about.

"Service, please..." she droned out without inflection. Within a moment, they had themselves a waiter. He was a handsome, roguish sort if ever there was one. Considering Iwakan's business and her standard generosity, she actually had a few secret fans around the quaint village who appreciated her work. She didn't just come to this place because they had decent chamomile...

"Put whatever they order on my tab..." she sighed just before letting a deep yawn escape her, laying her head sleepily on the top of the booth.