Konohagakure no Sato -- Sunday Early Evening

[intraspective]

Ino was just glad, all things considered, that the rain wasn't sheeting down on them and the sky was a brilliant red overhead with the sunset--there'd been no way to check that out before coming and umbrella's weren't really used much by, well, ninja.

Or by SOLDIER members, she was pretty sure, considering Zack still... didn't seem to own coat. It was cold, geez.

The forest rustled with the wind and the hard-packed dirt road they were on was clearly well used. Ino grinned over her shoulder at him. "It's just a bit further, and we'll be to the gates. You've got your papers on you, yeah?"

Because if not, they were going to have a problem. And Ino would kick Zack in the shins.

[NFB due to distance, and for the SOLDIER with her!]

Comments

[intraspective]

She laughed.

"Can you blame me? It sounds kinda cool, don't you think? And seriously, it could have so many uses."

[puppy_fair]

"Maybe I'll see if there's anyplace near Midgar where we can pick up some shrivels, then, to play with," Zack mused. "I mean, it can't do any harm, right?"

Unless they got eaten or stepped on?

[intraspective]

If they survived it'd be a story to tell for ages? That time the cat nearly ate them!

She bounced in her seat. "No harm at all," Ino agreed, beaming as the server brought out their order. No natto, because she'd been kinda nice, but plenty else to choose from.

Clearly, she was not to be trusted here, but whatever.

[puppy_fair]

Getting shrivels for Ino could only end in tears. It was true.

In any case, the food smelled amazing, especially to a hungry puppy like Zack, and what the server was bringing to them demanded, quite suddenly, his full, undivided attention.

"Oh," he said, grinning at the dishes, "I'm going to like Konoha."

[intraspective]

It would be awesome!

Just like their food was, once they settled in to eat. In due course, they were done (and no leftovers!) and Ino was bouncing ahead as she led the way down the streets to where her family's shop (and house) was.

"Oh good," she said, grinning up at him as they neared a storefront with a pink sign overhead. "Mom hasn't locked the doors yet. Come on, this way."

[puppy_fair]

"So, this is where you live, huh?" Zack's hands were on his hips as he paused for a moment to take in the sight of the storefront, grinning faintly. "It's bigger than the house I grew up in," he shared.

It was not difficult to live in a building that was bigger than the house in which Zack had grown up. Zack's parents' house had only one room.

[intraspective]

"Well," Ino laughed. "We own the shop and the floor above? So ground floor is where we make a lot of our money, really, since the mortgage was paid off a few years ago. Mom mostly runs it 'cause Dad and I are on missions a lot."

Or, you know, in a different universe going to high school.

[puppy_fair]

Cue Zack, inching forward and trying to peer inside, now.

"What kind of shop is it, anyhow?"

This would someday lead to interesting adventures with a flower cart, no doubt.

[intraspective]

"Flowers," she answered, opening the door with a jingle of bells as she continued, "Welcome to Yamanaka Flowers, Zack."

It was a thing. Florist by day, mind screwing assassins by night.

...or something that didn't sound quite so similar to Weiss Kreuz. Yes.

[puppy_fair]

Hey, there was absolutely nothing the matter with a quartet of very attractive killers who also happened to be good with bouquets, was there?

Zack whistled as he stepped inside, looking around.

"You know," he mused, "I really should swing by the flower shop on the island, sometime. I actually haven't seen flowers since I left home. The're luxury items, in Midgar."

[intraspective]

Well, no, but they weren't exactly how the Yamanaka were. There was nothing secretive about their vocations, after all.

"I've heard that before!" Ino agreed, glancing around for her mom. "And you should totally stop by some time, for sure--Hi--"

That wasn't her mom.

"Hi Dad!"

The blond man leaning against the counter proved very much that, yes, Ino was definitely his daughter. No doubts about that.

[puppy_fair]

"Hi, Ino's dad!" Zack was doomed, wasn't he?

That was not going to stop him from smiling merrily and waving hello, no.

[yamanaka-dad.livejournal.com]

Very very doomed, yes.

For the moment, though, Inoichi laughed as Ino went for a hug. "There are worse titles for me," he said, blue eyes cool despite the amusement in his voice. "But call me Inoichi."

That was, in fact, a warning. Inoichi did not normally let random strangers call him by his first name. Ino just rested her head against his chest for a moment and sighed something that sounded a lot like 'oh Daaaad'.

That was alright, his daughter would just have to deal with it.

"You must be Zack."

[puppy_fair]

"That'd be me, yeah," Zack replied, smiling, and completely oblivious to any possibility of impending doom. "Zack Fair, SOLDIER 2nd Class."

He stepped forward, offering his hand for a handshake. Because that? That was totally how Zack rolled.

[yamanaka-dad.livejournal.com]

He'd be a poor Jounin if some kid could tell what he was thinking. His daughter was a special case, after all.

"Nice to meet you," he said, going to shake the hand--no need to be rude after all. "2nd Class mean anything other than not quite first?"

Inoichi was a tall man, with long blond hair in a ponytail far past his waist and a face that had more laugh lines on it than frown lines. There was nothing about him except for the smooth economical grace with which he moved to say just how skilled he was.

Being underestimated was a useful trait after all, though it looked like the small effort was wasted on this one. Cheerfulness rolled off of him in waves, after all.

[puppy_fair]

Zack totally wasn't cheerful just for the sake of being underestimated, no. It was more for the sake of being able to smile as opposed to freaking out over some pretty rough stuff. But it was useful that way, too!

"It means I'm not third anymore," Zack offered, smiling lopsidedly. "It's a decent rank, I guess. But they're considering me for promotion. I've just got a bit of work to do before I get there, of course."

[yamanaka-dad.livejournal.com]

"Sword work?" Inoichi asked, as Ino shrugged a bit helplessly and raised her eyebrows at Zack in a silent 'you good?'. "What sort of training have you got?"

[puppy_fair]

"Training?" Zack shifted his weight lightly from one foot to the other, and then lifted a shoulder slightly in a bit of a shrug. "I've been trained with my sword, yeah. My teacher--" He was totally fine damn it. "Is," was, "a 1st. One of the best, I think."

Zack had a lot of respect for Angeal. Even after Banora, yes.

[intraspective]

"Daaad," Ino interrupted. "Where's Mom?"

She got her hair ruffled for her trouble. "Upstairs," he answered, "she's got some sort of party tomorrow she wanted to cook for."

Inoichi gave her daughter a long look. "Why don't you go say hi? She'd love to see you. Your friend can help me close up here."

Ino... wasn't fooled by that for a second. "Be nice," she said to her dad.

"You good with that?" Ino asked Zack.

[puppy_fair]

"I don't have a problem with it at all," Zack replied, smiling and giving his shoulders a shrug. He wasn't painfully oblivious, no. But it was possibly a near thing. "If I'm going to be here for a few days, they might as well put me to work, right?"

Dooooomed.

[yamanaka-dad.livejournal.com]

Ino whimpered nearly inaudibly as her dad shoved her over to the stairs and Zack wrote his own death certificate.

"I'll take you up on that," Inoichi said, grinning a grin that looked real (and was, about half or so). "You know anything about flowers?"

[puppy_fair]

Zack chewed on his lip thoughtfully, and then he shrugged again.

"Not much," he confessed, feeling a little sheepish, then. "The plants are all pretty different, where I'm from. But I'm always willing to learn?"

For the record, Zack had a lot to learn.

[yamanaka-dad.livejournal.com]

Inoichi grabbed up a broom from where he'd laid it. "No time like the present to learn then," he said casually, leaping over the counter to go and lock the doors of the shop, and tossing the broom in Zack's general direction as he did so. "Sweeping first."

Zack could sweep, he could talk. It was totally a fair division of labour.

[puppy_fair]

Zack caught the broom, gave it a weird little look, and then brushed it off and got right to sweeping. There were totally worse things he could have been told to do, after all. And it kept him moving!

Which was a good thing. Because while Ino's father spoke, it probably would have been bad form for him to start doing anxious squats.

"Sweeping first," he agreed. "At least that, I don't need any kind of special knowledge for."

Sweep, Zack! Sweep like the oblivious puppy that you are!

[yamanaka-dad.livejournal.com]

"Most flowers you only need to care for them," Inoichi said, hopping over the counter again and pulling out the till to begin the cashing out. "Once you know the basics to care for their physical needs, it's a matter of treating them well."

"Flowers are a bit like people, that way. They know when they're cared for and respond to that."