Well, this was unexpected. The kunai was no surprise, but he had never woken up with a girl straddling him before. He turned red, stammering. "I guess it is!" He laughed nervously, trying not to think about the fact that there was a girl on top of him. He didn't need this getting more awkward than it already was. He was glad when she stood up. He liked the contact, but he didn't know how long he could maintain his composure like this. Chinatsu helped him to his feet, and he relaxed a bit. "No, I'm fine, don't worry!" He gave his best reassuring smile.

He followed her over, sitting next to her. It was good to relax and talk. "Sora? Oh, it's pretty nice. Lots of gardens, good weather, hot springs, people are pretty okay too." He leaned back, relaxing a bit. He was still a little sore from their spar, but it would pass. Besides, it seemed like tonight would be pretty chill. Hanging out, getting some good food, maybe another kiss to test his chakra use theory. Nothing major.

"It sounds nice, I look forward to seeing it soon." Chinatsu started to stretch out, she was very sore and very drained. Chakra exhaustion sucked, but she was certain she would get stronger from it; she just had to be careful not to go too far. "So what's your family like, crazy or actually normal?" Natsu was beginning to wonder if all clans were quirky. The taiyo had their family "Traditions", the Hirano...well enough said there and the Hyuuga were pretuious snobs it was enough to make her wonder if it was Donzo or just clans in general. Natsu was also curious what the Uzumaki's were like and if Kiku was like the rest.

His smile wavered a bit at the mention of a family. "Um, I don't have one, really. Kinda live by myself." His adventures in the foster care system were still a bit of a sore spot for him. He struggled to keep a cheerful expression, not wanting to bring her down. Dropping his emotional baggage on people was a bad habit, and Kiku was trying hard to shake it. He quickly tried to change the subject. "So um, what's your family like?" He smiled, shifting the focus to her. He was pretty curious what the inheritors of the Iwagakure Kinjutsu would be like. Her question had implied that they were a bit nutty, but he was interested to see whether they were just the embarrassing family kind of nutty or more borderline supervillain nutty. Either way, they were bound to be an interesting bunch. Boring people don't go for that sort of body modification.

Chinatsu frowned a little when he said he didn't have a family, in their line of work that really sucked; she wasn't sure how she would be if she didn't have hers. She patted him on the shoulder a moment till she heard his question. The blonde's expression turned to a half embarrassed smile as she scratched the back of her neck.
"Well...um...how shall I put this. We're a bit off. Explosions are normal at my house along with fleeing in terror from other family members, mainly my aunts." She laughed still slightly embarrassed. "There's is really no good way to explain it, but if you want see you can come over for dinner tomorrow. It should be good no one is learning to cook tomorrow...I think."  She shrugged probably not, there was normally a warning about that so anyone who had the ability to get out of the house could.

He looked up when she patted his shoulder. Was she being comforting? Kiku couldn't remember someone behaving like that with him before. It was nice. He smiled, and it was a real one this time. Kiku felt comfortable around this girl. Normally he would have recoiled at contact like that, but even after she zapped him he felt he could trust her.

Kiku laughed with her at the description of her family. "They sound like a lot of fun." It sounded pretty dysfunctional, but in a nice way. More like sitcom dysfunction that tragic drama dysfunction. It could be interesting, seeing them. He blushed a little when she invited him over to dinner. This was all going very fast. Kissing her, going out, meeting the family, etc. He wasn't complaining, but it was pretty startling. "Um, sure! That sounds great!" He smiled at her, wondering what he was getting himself into.

"Great, I'll let them know, its always fun when guests come over. Um...Avoid the kitchen if all possible." She smiled relazing a bit, Natsu could feel a bit more chakra, and the sluggishness was wearing off. She stood streaching she didn't want to me more sore than she already was going to be. She turned and collected her clay bag and coat, tying it around her waist. Natsu grinned and offered a hand up to Kiku. "Ready to go?" 

Chi paused a minute thinking before turning and kissing Kiku again, she pulled away and nodded. "Still Inferno I taste and nope no effect on taste; not that its a bad thing. Your chakra still tastes good." She grinned stuffing her hand in her pocket and grabbing his as she started to walk toward town and into the streets. "So what do you like to do in your free time?"

"I'll keep that in mind." He was a bit curious as to why. They couldn't actually try to cook with the explosive clay, could they? It was a worrying thought. He really hoped she just meant the cooks in her family were very territorial, he didn't want to be around when they blew up the house trying to make a roast.

Kiku took her hand, letting her help him up. "Yeah, ready." She didn't lick him this time, which was good. He probably would have tipped over in surprise. He stood by, waiting as she seemed to become lost in thought. "Something on your MMPH" He was cut off as she pulled him into a kiss. He didn't freeze up this time, opting to kiss back instead. This was a new experience, but it was one he liked so he might as well start working on it. "Th-thanks." He was a bit shaky after she broke off the kiss, but was grinning like an idiot. This was quite possibly the best day ever. He was blushing slightly as they walked into town, hand in hand. "Free time? Read, mostly. See the gardens, train, meditate. I go to the springs in Sora sometimes, those are nice too. What about you?"

"I read some, most of time I'm sculpting or training. Oh cooking too. I like cooking when I can get the kitchen free." Her face lit up a little at the thought of getting some time soon; the only time ever to get the kitchen was during the day or when a lot of clan members had missions. "Flying is something new I've started doing as well. It's pretty incredible."

Natsu led him down the tunnel to the shopping district, weaving through the crowds carefully before ducking inside small wooden restaurant stand. "Roshi! I brought a friend this time!" Chi yelled pulling Kiku in.

"An outsider Chi? So young too, you picked a strange boyfriend to introduce me to." The older man behind the counter muttered as he set the bowels in front the other customers there that just looked at the blonde and shook their head turning back to their food. "I assume the usual. I hope he can stand the heat." He smirked at the last comment.

"Hey! He's not my boyfriend, we just met. He's not that young. It's the same problem everyone has with Arumi." She looked over at Kiku curious as to how good he was with spicy food. "Yeah but only one, don't want to possibly kill him. Let him decide what he wants."

The burrly man laughed at her denial. "Did you kiss him yet? I thought so. Then he is your boyfriend. Now get up here and have the young air head order while I whip up your food. Karmi knows how long it takes." He chuckled turning back to the kitchen to work, while several of the patrons chucked at Chi's red face before returning to their food.

The blonde blushed claim a pair of bar stools off to the side. "Sorry about that. Roshi is bit brash." She hoped he hadn't scared Kiku off by calling him her boyfriend so soon. Kiku seemed to be the shy type, so far it was going alright, but she wanted to tread carefully still. She really liked him.

Kiku couldn't do much more than stammer and blush. Her boyfriend? Not to say that he didn't like the idea. Hell, he really liked it. It was just sort of embarrassing having him blurt it out in front of the whole restaurant. He could understand why Chinatsu was denying it, being put in the spotlight like that was not the best experience. Still, there was only so much denying they could do at this point. The cat was out of the bag on the kissing thing. He let Chi do the talking while he tried to remember how to words.

After a minute, he managed to speak again. "Um, th-the usual is fine. I like spicy stuff." He sat down next to Chinatsu, blushing brightly. That had pretty effectively derailed his train of thought. Desperately, he tried to remember what they were talking about. "It's okay, really." he tried to reassure her while regaining his composure. He wanted to mention liking the idea of being her boyfriend, but he was worried about rushing things or scaring her off. After a minute, he regained some semblance of composure and remembered what they had been talking about. "So, um, flying? Like on those huge clay birds from the Time of Legends?" He was amazed. This was just about the coolest thing ever if that's what she was talking about.

"Are you sure?" Shinigami Akane  more English-ly known as the Bright Red Death God, was not a laughing matter. It was a form of curry with every spicy and hot ingredient that could be non-hazardous for humans with giant chunks of the hottest legally traded pepper, complete with seeds mixed in. The rice it drowned was mixed with the hottest hot sauce known to merchants.
It brought a quick and speedy death to your taste buds as efficiently as a Death God giving rest to a soul, hence the name.


The groundwork for the dish of lava was to be made by the co-head chef, who wore goggles and oven-mitts as he added ingredients. If you got this in your eyes, you would most likely go blind, but no one had tested it. Just to be safe, you had to stop your skin from touching it once it was done, thus the need for gloves. Chi shook her head sighed, this would be interesting.


Chintsu grinned when he asked about flying. "Yeah like that and the C2 dragon's too. We have all the techs of Deidara except for C4 that one has been lost to the age as order by the Conclave of Shadows. I can show you tomorrow when we trail. Make sure to wear something that can get ruined, you're going to be a mess trust me." 

Before she could say more Roshi brought their food for them and gave Kiku a paper to sign saying he wasn't responsible and he couldn't sue. Natsu looked at the plate and whistled excitedly. It was a screaming orange color with bright red chunks. It really was beautiful, with the tinted red rice and the glowing red-orange curry. She took a bight of hers having signed hers a long time ago it was now in a frame on the wall next to them. The blonde glanced over at the red head watching intently to see how he fared.


[The dish wasn't my creation it was something I took from http://www.fanfiction.net/s/4111449/5/A-Labyrinthine-Love A good read anyway yeah just thought I'd leave credit.]

"Yeah, there's this really spicy curry place a few blocks from my apartment. I've gotten used to some heavy stuff." He was a little concerned that he had to sign a waiver, but really, how bad could it be? They were probably just doing this for show anyway. Kiku signed his name, and chowed down.

His eyes were watering. It was good, no doubt, but it was far and above the spiciest thing he had ever tasted. Kiku took a sip of water before wheezing out "It's good." It had been unwise to underestimate the Shinigami Akane. He mentally prepared himself before continuing his meal. He looked up from his meal as she spoke, listening to her wondrous tales of flight. "Wow, that's awesome. I wish I could fly." Then a thought hit him. He normally wouldn't ask, but after all they had done today he was feeling more confident. "Say, think you could take me flying sometime?" He smiled, excited about the idea of riding a giant clay bird.

Chi took a bite of the rice laughing when he went all red. "Glad to see can take the heat. It has been known to make people cry and vomit at the same time. Hence the form." Blonde took a few more bites savoring heat in her mouth. It taste as hot as Kiku's kisses making her blush a little as she ate. Her mind returned back as Kiku spoke. "Fly with me? Oh sure we can do it after we eat if you want. I can give you a tour of the village also." She grinned before taking another bite. "So dragon or bird?" She pouted seeing that she was out of rice before putting out her purse and dropping several ryo on the counter while she waited for Kiku.

"Heh, yeah, I kinda underestimated it at first." He was eating normally now, used to it. Either that, or his tongue had been reduced to ash. He supposed he would find out later. Looking over, he saw that it was hot enough to even get to Chinatsu. She seemed to be getting a little flushed from the heat. He smiled at her, continuing his meal.

"Sure, that would be awesome!" He finished his meal, putting his money on the counter and standing up to join her. Now, he was faced with an impossible decision. On the one hand, dragons are badass as hell. On the other, the smaller and more nimble bird would be able to go places where a dragon couldn't. He pondered for a moment before responding. "Both sound great! Which would you prefer?"

"Well lets see... let's go with my specialty," She grinned taking a blob of clay out of her bag as she led them to an ally way. Her hand spat out a small four winged bird. Chi grinned as the smoke cleared reveling a larger version.

Natsu stepped onto its back adding a bit of chakra to stick before offering a hand up. "Just hold on to my waist and channel chakra into your feet; its like walking up a tree." When he was on she directed the bird into the air, passing through the buildings into the air. Natsu always found this part thrilling as she looked down over the village as flew. 

One couldn't get the full effect of the hidden village with out seeing it from the air. It was like a giant mine with different levels to it. It was beautiful. No matter how often Chi found herself taking to the air the earth of Donzo always seemed to call her back just as powerfully. 

The blonde turned to Kiku and smiled, "What do you think of our humble hole in the ground?"

"Wow that's cool." Kiku's eyes widened as the four-winged bird grew to riding size. "This is pretty creative!" He climbed on behind her, hesitantly putting his arms around her waist. Another one of those ideas that he really liked but was nervous as hell about, this day was full of those. Kiku affixed his feet to the bird, starting to get comfortable behind her. This was nice.

Kiku looked down at the village in awe. It was like an underground kingdom from a fantasy story. An entire city, built along the bottom and walls of a gigantic pit. "It's beautiful..." He said, too transfixed by the scenery to notice Chinatsu looking at him. It was true that most if not all of the hidden villages were just as fantastical, but he had gotten used to Soragakure. Kiku was jaded to the fact that he lived on a giant goddamn airship. This, the underground city, was new to him, and it was amazing.

"No matter how much I come up here I still can't get over the fact that I live here. That my family is partly responsible for this, and flying is an indescribable high for me, but the call of home always brings me back down." She blushed realizing so philosophical she had gotten; she knew Arumi didn't like it. "Sorry, I let my mouth run away on me sometimes."

She turned her gaze downward brushing her hair out of the way of her left eye reveling the metal eye scope. "Down there on the platform in the middle is Donkage's building. Beyond that are the pits." She shivered, it was still scary to think about the almost jail break they had a few months ago."The ring just before you go into the pits was where we were training.  The one above it the shopping district. 


"The third one up that connects to the Donkage's platform is finical and Ninja area where most clan's and ninja live. Anyone can live anywhere, my clan's compound is over there." She pointed to a large square area on the shopping ring, several birds could be seen taking off and landing there. Chi looked at Kiku again and smiled. "Don't worry about finding it. I show you the way after training tomorrow." 

"No, it's fine. This is really cool." Kiku gave her a reassuring smile. He got the feeling he was repeating himself, but there were only so many ways to describe flying over an underground city on the back of a four-winged golem bird. He looked out over the scenery, hanging on every word Chinatsu was saying. He didn't even notice her eyepiece, he was so caught up in the tour.

"This is amazing." He looked back to his guide, a bit surprised by the piece over her eye. "Wow, is that like the eyepiece that..." He stopped himself there. It might have been a little awkward to bring up her famous ancestor, especially at a time like this. Most people don't like being reminded of their relation to notorious criminals. "Um, I mean it's really cool!" He wondered if he could get one like that, it might be useful with his preference for long-range combat. "I'm looking forward to going there, your family sounds fun!"

Chi caught what he had implied about her scope and nodded. "It's fine, its not a big deal to talk about if you want to know some things. We're pretty used it by now." Though there were a few that that looked at her and her family as a bunch of nutcase and would be missing-nins. 

She grinned a little and nodded thinking about dinner, "It should be interesting that's for sure. Hang on tight." She grinned before giving no warning as she sent them into a dive going down really really fast. Before they hit the Pit she pulled up laughing, as she turned back to Kiku to see how he was doing.

Oh okay, that's g-" He was cut off as they started to dive. He took her advice and held on tight, clinging to her for safety. Kiku barely managed to keep enough composure to stop from screaming. His eyes widened as he saw they were on a course for the pits. He didn't know what those were exactly, but Chinatsu's tone had not been a pleasant one when discussing them. They were probably really dangerous. He squeezed his eyes shut, not wanting to see the impact.

Then the falling stopped, and he could open his eyes again. Chinatsu was laughing, and Kiku noticed that he was pressed against her back. He gave her a little space, laughing nervously. That had pretty much terrified him, but he didn't want to look wimpy in front of Chinatsu. He took a moment to calm himself before speaking. "So, what you wanna do now?"

"Dunno, I figured it was about time I took you back to your hotel for the night. It's time for me to crash as well." She yawned directing the bird to go up again letting it circle. "So which way Kiku-kun?" Chi nodded when he said and directed her bird to the door before jumping off and offering him a hand down. "So meet you same time same place?" Natsu grinned a looking at him before kissing him on the cheek. "Good night Kiku-kun."

Kiku guided her down, and landed in style in front of the door. He stepped off the bird and turned back to face Chinatsu. "Sounds gr-" Once again, he was cut off as she kissed his cheek. He turned pink, a little flustered. "Um right same time same place great" He still wasn't used to the whole "being kissed" thing. It was a bit of a shock. "Good night, Chi." He waved as she left, and retired to his hotel room. Safe up in his room, Kiku flopped down on the bed and pondered what had happened today. He had a girlfriend now, maybe.

It was a good day.

[End of thread]