It had been three days since they came back from Donzo, and Emi still didn't get a chance to have a friendly chat with Kiku. The kid might have been worried, specially given how Emi acted during the trip back, but now that lunch was going to bring everything back to how it should be. Emi herself cooked the meal.

...Which means she threw it out when she realized it wasn't really edible and ran to a restaurant to buy food in the last minute instead.

But hey, in the end it was all good: she had just finished making it look less like a lunch box bought in a restaurant and more like something she actually prepared when the boy rang the doorbell.

"Hey there!" She said with a smile after opening the door. "Come on in, make yourself at home!"

The apartment was actually pretty organized, all things considered. Or at least the living room with the couch, center table, armchairs and a stereo playing some jazzy tunes. The doors to the other rooms were all closed.

"Hungry yet?"

Kiku wasn't sure how to feel about Emi's invitation. He had been pretty worried about her when they returned from Donzokogakure, that fight with the missing-nin had messed her up. He figured that anyone would be like that after seeing an academy attack. But she had sounded cheerful when she invited him, and Kiku was glad she was back to her old self.

On the other hand, a meal alone with a girl close to his age could easily be misinterpreted. Kiku had never thought they were anything other than friends, and if she tried to change things up now was pretty much the worst time. He'd just started a long-distance relationship with Chinatsu back in Donzokogakure. This could get real awkward real fast.

When she opened the door, Emi had her usual smile on. Kiku couldn't help smiling back, her cheer was just contagious. "Hey Emi!" He didn't mention her improved mood, that might bring her mind back to bad stuff. Kiku didn't want to do that.

She invited him in, and the genin stepped inside. The place was pretty nice, and she had some cool music playing. The whole vibe there was pretty relaxing. "Sure, I'm famished. What's for lunch?"

Kiku was acting normally, which was good. They really were back to cheerful and friendly level. That really saved them both a lot of time talking about what was wrong and wasn't. Well, maybe they'd get to that later, but that wasn't important right now. They had to worry about more important stuff. Like food.

"Oh, you'll be surprised! Prepare to taste Emi's special! Gimme a sec." Was her reply to the kid's question, while entering the kitchen and closing the door behind her. A short while after, she came back to the living room with chopsticks and two plates full of food, in a way that it almost didn't look like she had just took all the food from a boxed lunch and put in the plate. Rice, fish and vegetables. It looked good, it smelled good, and according to Emi's previous experience with that restaurant, it tasted really good. After leaving the plates in the table, she returned to the kitchen only to come back with two glasses and a jar of orange juice, filling the glasses and giving one to Kiku.

"Eat up!" She said, already starting to eat. Well, she was also hungry.

"Okay." Kiku waited while she went to get the food. Everything looked so neat, he didn't want to touch anything. This was nothing like his apartment, that place was kind of a mess. Kiku reminded himself to tidy up a bit before Chinatsu came to visit, he didn't want her seeing that dump as it was now.

Kiku could smell the food before he saw it. Emi emerged from the kitchen, carrying two plates piled high with deliciousness. "Smells great!" Kiku smiled, making his way over to the table. She set everything out, and they took their seats.

As expected, everything was great. Emi really was a good host. "This is good, I didn't know you could cook like this." Kiku said between mouthfuls. "Best I can do is like, microwave stuff." he said sheepishly. Kiku had never really learned to cook very well, he was busy with other matters.

Kiku seemed to like the food. That was good. He also seemed not to recognize the fact that it had come straight from a restaurant. That was also good.

"Oh well, I just... followed the recipe. It wasn't all that hard." Oh, how she was humble. The food tasted great, it was clearly prepared by someone skilled. Emi sure could cook.

And as they ate, a slower, more... romantic-sounding song started playing on the stereo. "Oh, I love that tune." The girl perked up, humming along the first verse. It was a foreign band, which resulted on Kiku not knowing exactly what the lyrics were saying. "Seu sorriso é o que eu preciso e quanto ao resto eu juro, tanto faz..." (Your smile is what I need and for the rest, I swear, whatever) mere instants after she started singing, she realized he probably had no idea what she was singing. "Oh, sorry. Ended up getting carried away." She took a sip out of her glass, then turning to Kiku.

"That reminds me... got anyone you're interested in?"

As usual, Emi was pretty humble. She wasn't a glory hog like some shinobi, that was something she had in common with Kiku. Unlike Kiku, she kept it at a sane level. His self-deprecation was kind of out of control. Emi had a healthier, saner view of herself.

Partway through the meal, Emi started singing along with the radio. Kiku stopped, looking up at her. He had no idea what she was saying. He didn't even know what language it was in. It sounded nice, but he was still sort of lost. "Yeah, it's a pretty song." he said when she stopped. "Don't be sorry, it's fine. You're a good singer."

Kiku was taking a sip of his own when she asked the question. He sputtered, nearly choking on his juice. After a minute of coughing he could speak again. "Oh, um, yes actually." Kiku blushed brightly, he'd been worried about this. "Her name's Chinatsu, we met in Donzokogakure."

Emi observed as Kiku sputtered, laughing. No matter what he might say, it was obvious now. She leaned over the table a bit, staring Kiku down with a smug smile in her mouth as he coughed and tried to breathe normally. "So?"

And when he answered positively, her smile became bigger and brighter. "Oh, really? Awesome!" She took another sip of her juice, eyes stuck on the kid. "Chinatsu, eh? Tell me more about her. If you want, of course." She fixed her posture, continuing to eat, but still paying attention to the kid. "When is she coming to Sora?"

Oh, that was a relief. Emi was just gossiping. Kiku eased up considerably once he figured that out. It was kind of nice, even. Emi was like the big sister he never had. Kiku smiled, considering how to say things. There was a lot to tell, it was just a matter of organizing it all.

"Well, she's from the Taiyo clan, the explosive clay ones. Had the mouths in her hands and everything. Kinda didn't find that out until she licked my hand while we were shaking hands." Kiku laughed at the memory, flushing slightly. It had been far from the only use of tongue that day. "We sparred a bit and went out for dinner, and the next night she took me for dinner with her family. They're kinda nutty, but fun. She said she'd stop by on a mission sometime." Kiku was looking forward to that. He didn't have a family to introduce her to, but showing her around town would be pretty nice.

Kiku smiled, starting to tell stories. It was always great to see people talk about a person they liked, or a thing they're excited about. "Haha, really? She sounds like a fun girl." Well, she undoubtedly was creative about the use of her powers. Licking hands? That was definitely something. "Hey, nutty people are the best people. They always find a way to make you laugh." She smiled.

"So you had a lot of fun at Donzogakure, then. Great to know. I was a bit worried, but in the end everything worked out well." She commented, eating the last of the food on her plate.

"Yeah, she really is." Kiku was smiling ear to ear. He was glad that his honorary sister approved of his girlfriend. "I should introduce you two next time, maybe when she visits here." He didn't know how the rough and tough bomber would get along with the happy-go-lucky musician, but they were both nice people. They would figure something out.

Kiku nodded at her summary of the situation, finishing the last of his food. He was raising his glass to drink when a thought dawned on him. Kiku put his juice down, looking over at Emi. "What about you? You find anyone special?" He had often wondered how someone as nice, pretty, and all around great as Emi was still single. Maybe she'd finally found love, that could have helped her break out of her recent funk.

"That would be great!" Emi was thrilled about getting to know Kiku's girlfriend. New friends were good, and it was great that the boy was getting along so well with other people.

And as Emi took another sip from her glass, Kiku turned the table in the question game. Now it was Emi's turn to sputter, choke and cough for a minute before breathing normally again. "Actually... yeah. Sort of." She finished her drink, turning to Kiku again. "I just... don't really know what to do about it, though. I'm a bit nervous." She started fiddling with her fingers, half trying to think of how to explain the situation, half waiting for Kiku's reaction.

Kiku damn near panicked when she started choking and sputtering. Oh Karmi I've killed her. he thought. He was about to leap up and rush over to help her when she recovered. Kiku relaxed visibly. He was having a lot of excitement for such an uneventful day.

He was stunned by what she said. Was it opposite day? Kiku had a concrete, confident relationship while Emi was shy and unsure of herself? "Why are you nervous?" he asked, trying to reassure her. "You're really nice and talented and pretty, and you got good taste in people. I'm sure it's gonna work out great! And you're better at social stuff than I am, just go with what feels right." Kiku wasn't really sure how to do the whole romantic advice thing, but he was trying his best. Emi was his best friend, and he wanted to help her.

Emi smiled as Kiku tried to help her. "Thanks." It was good to have someone trying to cheer her up. "It's a bit complicated, though." She took a deep breath. "I mean, I know it's like this in every relationship, but... well, I don't know how she'd react if she found out I like her." Yeah, she said it, she liked a girl. Not that she had any problem with that, but she was worried about how Kiku would react. "I mean, I never dated a girl before, but I'm not really against the idea. Though... I don't know what she'd think about that." She sighed.

"Things could get pretty awkward. Still, I just... I really can't stop thinking about her."

Kiku put his thinking face on. This certainly was a dilemma. Emi had found herself in love with a girl who could very well be straight. Kiku wasn't very experienced with these things. He lacked the confidence to try anything, the only reason he'd ended up with Chinatsu was because of how much interest she had expressed in him. And here he was, trying to give someone the courage to do something he never had the courage to do himself.

"You should tell her how you feel." he said after a moment. Kiku looked a lot more sure than he was. "I mean if you don't you're just gonna keep feeling unsure, right? It's better to just get it settled. Worst case scenario is she says no and you can try being friends anyway, and she still could say yes, right?" Kiku gave his big sis a smile.

Emi's mind drifted away for an instant, coming back to the real world as Kiku gave her advice. To tell her... well, she'd end up doing it anyway. And she listened intently as Kiku continued talking. He... had a point. In the end, there was no use worrying too much - things would happen as things should happen.

"Yeah, you're right. Well, I'll try to call her to the gardens. It's a nice place to chat." She let her mind wander off a bit again. "It's also where I met her..." And in an instant, her mind was occupied with that single instant when she opened her eyes and saw Izumi.

Emi's worries seemed to fade away, and so did her attention. The chuunin was lost in thought, apparently reminiscing. Kiku sat for a while, sipping his juice. Emi had been way too tense lately, she needed some happy thoughts. Far be it from him to interrupt them.

After a bit, Kiku started to change his mind. "So," he spoke up, trying to get Emi's attention. He didn't want to be rude about it, he was just trying to bring her back down to earth. Okay, wrong metaphor for the cloud city, but the point still stood. "What's she like? Do I know her?" Kiku leaned forward, listening intently. He wanted to hear all about this mysterious girl who had stolen Emi's heart.

Emi didn't even realize her mind drifted away, and Kiku decided to let it like that for a while. But of course, waiting is boring, and at some point he decided to bring her back to the apartment they were at. The chuunin blinked, turning to the kid."Yes?"

And then Kiku made ZE QUESTION. What was she like... well, how could she start? "She's... stunning. When I opened my eyes and saw her standing there, looking at me, my heart skipped a beat. I'm pretty sure I forgot everything I was doing at that moment, heh." She sighed. "It's great to talk to her, and she's pretty calm. And she's also caring and good and... she had a great hug. Oh, that hug..." Emi crossed her arms, hugging herself. Oh, what she'd do to hug Izumi again... "...It felt so good."

It was only then that it dawned upon her that she hadn't mentioned the girl's name. And while she wasn't the best with names, there was no way she'd forget the girl's voice and name. "Oh, yeah. Her name's Izumi... Fushoku Izumi."

Immediately, Emi started gushing. Kiku got a broad smile, listening her talk about her new potential girlfriend. They sounded really cute together, he couldn't wait to meet the lucky lady. "She sounds really nice!" Kiku's mind started drifting to double dates. Chinatsu and Emi would probably get along great, and from the sound of things this other girl would too. Maybe they could all have dinner together when Chinatsu stopped by, like having one of Emi's home-cooked masterpieces. That would be really nice.

Kiku blinked a few times, trying to process it when he heard the name. The description matched, all right. "Oh, Izumi? I trained with her recently, she seems pretty nice." Emi had gotten herself quite a catch, all right.

Emi described Izumi, and in the end, she couldn't help but smile. And when Kiku complimented the lady, Emi's smile got even bigger. And when the genin said he knew her, Emi's smile became as big as possible.

"So you know her? That's great! And yeah, she does, doesn't it?" She was thrilled. "So... what do you think? Think I got a chance?" She asked, curious. Always good to hear someone else's opinion. However, before he could start, she interrupted him. "Oh, wait, wait, wait! I almost forgot..." She got up, picking up both her and Kiku's plate. "Desserts time!" She hurried into the kitchen, coming back moments later with two plates of Tiramisu, giving one to Kiku and sitting down again. "Great, huh?" She started eating, and after the first mouthful, she decided she had given herself way too much suspense and turned to Kiku to repeat the question.

"Anyways, like I asked... think I have a chance?"

Kiku was about to answer her question when she bustled off to get dessert. Emi was a good host, but she could be too good sometimes. He waited patiently for her to come back, and he was not disappointed. It looked amazing. Kiku forgot entirely about her question as she set it down. "Thanks Emi!" He started to dig in, and again wasn't disappointed. Emi was some sort of genius chef. "It's great!"

He had to hold back a facepalm when she asked him again. How could he forget such an important question. "Yeah, I think so. She's nice, you're nice, and you seem to get along. I say go for it!" He grinned from ear to ear, nodding in approval. It was nice, seeing his big sis in love like that.

Ah, that tiramisu... Emi loved it. That restaurant was really good. "Haha, thanks! Well, the hardest bit was picking the ingredients, really..." She almost said restaurant. Good thing she thought fast enough. "But I gotta agree with you, this is pretty good."

And just like that, she threw the question at Kiku. Not that she expected a negative answer, but then again she didn't actually think of an answer to expect. And it was good to hear encouraging words. "Alright, thanks! I'm gonna do that. Just gotta figure out how, though... hmm." She thought for a second. Well, she couldn't just blurt it out of nowhere. Things like that needed to be said in the right place and time. Well, that was something for her to worry up, though. Not Kiku's problem.

And with that in mind, she turned to the genin, asking yet another question. "Sounds like you had a lot of fun in Donzogakure, huh?"

Kiku smiled, nodding. It was good to see Emi happy again. He didn't know much about anything cooking-related, but he was trusting her judgement on it. She'd made this amazing meal, after all. She had to know a lot more than he did. Then again, considering how Kiku's cooking expertise began and ended with the microwave, most everyone probably did.

He paused when she asked about Donzokogakure. They were heading back into a minefield here. He had to tread carefully so he wouldn't remind her about all the horribleness she went through there. "Yeah, I had a pretty good time. I gotta see when Natsu can come visit, I think you'd like her." He gave Emi a big smile.