New Year, New Life [Invite]

Kenji wasn't even sure how long he had been asleep once he made it home but as he woke up, the sun shining down on his eye told him it was around midday and all he could do was yawn and stretch as he sat up from his bed, the soft mattress being a nice new change from the cots at the barracks. Reaching for the nightstand, Kenji would grab around, looking for something before realizing Kannagi still had his eye patch. Then his eye widened at the realization that Kannagi was going to be coming over today for that stupid birthday party.

What the hell does someone do for a birthday party at this age?! Especially when it's just going to be him and her?! Getting out of the bed, Kenji would race to the washroom, hopping in the shower to get himself somewhat presentable to the lady, last thing he'd need is to keep all the dirt on him after the long walk back home. While in the shower, Kenji kept running his mind over what he should do, what would be acceptable for a party, especially when it was just him and her. What was he thinking just inviting her?! He should've at least invited Saki, Sojiro or literally anyone else just to not make it so awkward, he may not be a party guy but he knew you can't exactly just have a one on one party with someone. Would that even be considered a party actually?!

Getting out, Kenji would brush his teeth as he checked himself out in the mirror, only stopping mid flex as he questioned why he was making sure his body looked good. He simply chalked it up to nervousness more than anything before finally exiting the bathroom and into the kitchen, he knew the first and most important thing was food. He also knew for a fact that he can't cook, the fire that took most of the house started because Kenji was fairly certain he were supposed to put oil in the pot to make ramen. He was very wrong as the pot caught on fire and who knew oil floated on water?

So anything to do with the oven was a no go, which left him very limited in his options. Grabbing some lettuce, he begun chopping it up, uncertain exactly what he was going to make but he could probably make some sort of salad and go order some food from nearby restaurants to bring back. Although who knew if he had time to do so considering he slept away the day for the most part? The blue beauty could probably be here any minute now and he was beginning to panic. This was a terrible idea.

Image:

This was Kannagi's first birthday party celebration outside of the Irezumi family. The Irezumi loved celebrations and tended to throw extravagant parties and feasts for birthdays, weddings, successful business deals and any other reason they could find. Each season an enormous festive party was thrown for those born within that season, and Kannagi had shared a party with her mother and her father. It was a coincidence that they had all been born in the same season, but the party that the Irezumi family held for them was no less significant for her. She remembered bright colors, streamers, balloons, fire performers and the taste of no fewer than twelve home prepared dishes. Her favorite part was always the end when the whole family would lift up the honorables and present them with kind and encouraging wishes and words. The gifts were also delightful, but the feeling of being carried by people who loved you physically and then lifted up by their declarations was such a blessing that Kannagi couldn't help but spend the four birthdays since she had been disowned by them in her bed with all the lights off.

She wondered how the people of Nikkousato or Gekkousato celebrated birthdays. Did they dress in costume? Did they bring multiple gifts? Should she bring food or would that disrespect the honorable today? It took awhile but eventually Kannagi had decided to dress up, but not overdress in that she was sure Kenji preferred a comfortable setting to a flamboyant one. A simple long black dress with a hip high slit fit her well. She slid on boots to match and twirled about, chuckling at the flirtatious comments she could just imagine Kenji making. He was always a goof that way. "Are you my birthday present?" Kannagi joked, impersonating his voice. After only a minute, she quickly grabbed a light pink sweater and dressed with it as well. Just a spot of color and comfort to tone down the elegance factor. She could always take it off if the feeling of Kenji's party changed but she was starting to doubt that whatever way Gekkousato might celebrate a birthday with traditions, Kenji might choose another sort of celebration for himself.

Kannagi gathered up her gifts: at the very least, she couldn't stop herself from acquiring a small collective of items to honor his birth and their friendship. She sealed the most important gift into a slip of paper and placed it inside one medium sized box with the other items. She supposed that the Irezumi used an abundance of color to bring joy to a birthday and so she wrapped the plain brown box in seven different colored ribbons, each with a swirling cascade at the ends instead of a single rambunctious bow. She tapped her chin once and peered out the window of her room at the inn. She didn't have the things that she needed to cook in this small room but perhaps in lieu of making something herself, she could bring something with her akin to how she would if she were still home with her family. Kannagi carried the box with one hand and set out, stopping to buy several containers of spicy curry with fresh vegetables and a box of sweet rice pastries with various fillings. Finally, so that she would be right on time, the kunoichi traveled to Kenji's home. She knocked on the door gently and then waited for him to invite her in.

As Kenji was chopping the lettuce, he noticed one very important thing he had forgotten... He wasn't wearing any clothing besides the towel still. That would've been embarrassi- Almost on cue, a knock come from the front door and Kenji resisted the urge to bring the knife to his heart to save himself. "U-Uh, be right there!" Kenji called out as he hastily put the knife down and ran into the guest bedroom, right for the nightstand as he grabbed the first pair of pants and underwear he could find, slipping them on as he put the towel around his head for his still currently wet hair and he quickly ran to the front door.

Pausing for a bit, Kenji would take deep breaths as he calmed himself down slightly, it really wasn't a big deal, he had worn less when the two first met, she wouldn't have minded if he would be shirtless for a short bit while he got the chopped lettuce prepared for some sort of salad that he was definitely going to make. Opening the door with a slight grin, that grin almost immediately disappeared as he saw the girl dressed up for quite the occasion and his mouth simply went agape as he stared at the beauty of the woman. He really didn't call her blue beauty for nothing but this was a new extreme for Kenji.

He only broke out of his own stupor with some slight laughter at himself, he must've looked quite odd to the girl only being in pants and not much else save for his towel around his neck while she was fully dressed and even had presents. "Well, don't you know how to dress to impress." Kenji would compliment with a smirk as he gestured for her to enter the house. "Sorry I'm not quite dressed as nice as you, but you gotta admit, I still look as half as good as you, don't you think?" Kenji apologized before gaining a grin on his face as he asked if he still looked half as good as the blue beauty, gesturing toward his lightly toned body, while flexing for the girl.

Laughing once more at himself, he would then turn his attention to the living room, the most noteworthy feature being the big bay window centered to the south, the same way the entrance of the house laid. Besides that, the house looked pretty plain for it's size and style, a simple L shaped couch facing away from the window and instead faced the TV at the opposite wall, the only other object in the room being a coffee table placed not far in front of the couch. The room itself shared the same colours and styles for the rest of the rooms in the house, a simple plain white wall with oak wooden floors. "Sorry there's not much, been trying to fix the place up and uh, most of the money went toward damages rather than furniture and the like." Kenji explained with a sheepish grin before turning toward the hallway right ahead of the two, one room being between what appeared to be the kitchen straight ahead and on the opposite of the room was a currently taped off stairway.

"There was a fire recently so been fixing what I could, only got the first floor done recently actually, first time sleeping here last night too." Kenji explained as they passed the bedroom and the stairway and right into the kitchen, the place having a small counter and cabinets as usual and nothing really stood out from anyone regular kitchen. Except for the half chopped lettuce sitting in plain view. "Uh.... Did I mention I slept in?" Kenji added with a slight nervous chuckle while his eye looked to the ground.

Kannagi waited by the door and when Kenji opened it she had to fight to not drop her jaw. Sure, it was his birthday but he wasn't planning on wearing clothing to his own party? She swallowed hard, thinking to herself that maybe on one's birthday they could do whatever they wished. In which case it would have been extraordinarily odd to point out his lack of attire. Wearing this sort of thing to the beach was unquestionable, but if she was going to get through her first birthday party then she would need to relax and remember to stay a bit more open minded. She looked him over after his compliment and slowly returned it to him, "You appear to be dressed to impress as well. Just look at your natural... style!" Kannagi gestured to his shirtless body unclear if what she said was going to be taken the right way.

After he flexed and chuckled, she was grateful to be invited into his home. She observed the small home with a smile. Something about its simplicity made her relieved and comfortable, reminding her somewhat of her own little studio though his place had far more space. She looked to the window and closed her eyes for a moment before turning to face Kenji again, "Your home is lovely as it is. Beautiful window, there. What sort of damages happened? I don't see any evidence of that.." As soon as she finished speaking she saw the taped off stair way and laughed to herself. Kenji explained that there had been a fire and she nodded understandably, "Fires happen often enough. I hope the repairs continue to go smoothly. You must have been working hard yesterday to have slept in so much on your first night here. I always have trouble sleeping in a new place, myself." Kannagi moved to put down the present and then go to the kitchen. She put down the curry and pastry containers and then looked at his salad preparations. She shook her head and faced him again. Suddenly it all made sense.

"You didn't have time to dress or prepare, did you?" Kannagi questioned placing her hands together in front of her chest. She waved him off and said, "It's your birthday. Why don't you put some clothes on, as impressively dressed you are, you could do with looking even nicer on your own birthday. I will finish that salad up and see what else I can do in the kitchen in the meantime." She gave him a polite half bow and said, "If that is all right with you..?"

As Kenji stood with a nervous smile while studying the ground, unsure how his guest would react to his less than stellar preparations but to be fair, he had to walk home and then finish making sure the place was good looking enough to have the blue beauty over. A surprisingly tedious process as he cleaned almost every place he could, even going as far as taping off the stairs and even then the stairs barely looked like they were burnt a few months ago. Still the praises she was giving him and even the compliment about his natural style was more than worth it to the one eyed man, even if he wished he had food to offer to her that wasn't just half chopped lettuce. He really needed to try and learn to cook.

As the blue beauty asked him the obvious he could only let out some nervous laughter as he looked up at her, a sheepish grin on his face as he moved some of his wet hair away from his scarred eye. "I I wonder what gave me away..." Kenji would jokingly ask the girl as he begun to properly dry his hair. "It was a long day of making things look nice and I really underestimated the walk back, thought I could just whip us up a salad while I run to get us some food from somewhere..." Kenji explained as he begun walking toward the bathroom attached to his bedroom, his voice getting louder as he moved further away to ensure she could still hear him. "I'd appreciate it if you can cook us something, those clams were amazing last time, even if they weren't exactly my taste." Kenji would call out from the washroom as he hung up the towel.

"Sorry for this, I really didn't mean to put some extra work on you when I am supposed to be the host." Kenji called out as he stuck his head out from the guest bedroom, bowing his head slightly to the blue beauty. "Just remind me to take you out later for the two times you cooked for us." Kenji simply told the girl as he went back into the room, shutting the door. Sighing slightly, Kenji simply face palmed while standing in the middle of the bedroom, that was embarrassingly stupid. He really needs to learn to cook and how to be a host, especially if he was going to start having Kannagi over.

Shaking his head, he'd begin to look through his clothing, looking for something that would fit the girl's own attire seeing as she went out of her way to dress up for his "party", if one could even call this a party considering it was only one on one and Kenji didn't even have anything prepared. Speaking of being unprepared, as Kenji looked at his clothing, he really didn't have anything special that stood out, most of his attire considering of the same outfit with variations, being far too lazy to actually going out and buy stuff to dress up. Something else that would probably have to change.

Formal" Kenji:

Returning from the bedroom, Kenji would adjust his jacket collar and stop at the kitchen entrance with a grin on his face as he showed off his... Regular attire with the addition of a shirt. "Ta daa, what do you think? Breath taking?" Kenji would ask as he did a little slow twirl to fully show off his outfit before once more laughing at himself. He probably should cut back on laughing at himself but what else could he do when he was failing at everything? "In case it isn't obvious, I uh, I don't go shopping for clothing very often..." Kenji admitted sheepishly as he rubbed the back of head neck, still maintain the grin despite it too looking sheepish. He was feeling very out of his element frankly but at least Kannagi seemed to be good sport about it so far.

"All right, you owe me a nice dinner sometime," Kannagi answered with an agreeable nod of her head. She leaned slightly and watched him go, catching herself at how odd it would look and what Kenji might think if he had seen her. This was a strange birthday party. No colors, no lights, no music, no food. The blue haired woman needed to set things straight. He might not be Irezumi but technically neither was she. Birthdays needed to be celebrated, it was a way for those around them to honor the person and show how valuable they were. It was a way to encourage them to reach new heights, to believe in themselves and realize all of the people who believed in them were right there by their sides. She looked around the small empty room and sighed to herself. Trying to get ahold of any of his friends was a little hopeless at this point; she didn't know where they all were or if they would even be able to make it. It was a waste of time to focus on the people aspect of a party. Instead, she busied herself with making objects using her paper jutsu.

Kannagi quickly created a bundle of curly fabric streamers in various colors and hung them up on the walls. It wasn't much, but colors spread joy and she hoped it would do at least that much for Kenji. Next, was the music, but she couldn't play anything. She would have to put that aspect off until later, if Kannagi was able to develop an idea then. He had asked her to work on food and he was going to come out any second to see that she hadn't even finished the salad that she offered to complete. The woman bustled back into the kitchen and finished chopping up the lettuce, hearing Kenji returning from the hallway with a bold 'ta da'. She smiled and turned around to look at him. He wore a jacket and a shirt: it wasn't much but she doubted he had a grand armoire of outfits and it was a step up from his usual garments. "That's more like it. You look like you're ready for your party now." Suddenly an idea both ridiculous and wonderful took hold in her mind and she couldn't resist. She moved away from the salad again and grabbed up a streamer from the wall, a bright blue one.

The kunoichi bustled over to Kenji's side and wrapped it around the color of his shirt like a flashy bow tie. Her eyes widened suddenly and she reached into her pink sweater pocket and pulled something out. "Oh I almost forgot this," Kannagi said in an alert tone of voice, direct and motivated. Her deft hands carefully enclosed around the small piece of black fabric as she made her way behind Kenji and tied on his eye patch for him once more. "I do appreciate that you let me borrow it for a mission. It would be remiss of me to not return it to you." Then without waiting for a reply she headed back to the salad to put it together in a bowl. Lettuce by itself wasn't very exciting but the curry she had brought was still warm and using a bit of the extra sauce from the meal would make the lettuce seem more tantalizing. Gently she poured a dallop of the curry sauce in to create a tangy flavor in the salad, hoping it was a good enough decision considering that the options for food were so limited at Kenji's place.

As Kenji sheepishly looked at the blue beauty, he couldn't help but notice the new decorations around the kitchen, various coloured streamers had seemed to made their way onto the wall and he raised an eyebrow as he looked at them. He never even thought about decorating the place, even if he had the time to go out and get food, he probably would've just left it as it was... Suppose it was a long time since he even bothered to celebrate his birthday, he would've assumed having such decorations would appear childish.

Although what surprised him more was Kannagi's actions after complimenting him about his admittedly lack luster appearance, the blue haired woman grabbed a bright blue streamer off of the wall and approached him, the height difference allowing her to reach his neck was ease as he simply stood there quietly and allowed her to do whatever she had in mind. The feeling of her being close to him was something a bit odd considering the last time he had her close to him, she was unconscious and unable to move except for the few times she struggled to open her eyes. A stark contrast to the focus as she finished tying the streamer into a simple little bow tie for the man, a smile forming on his face as he gently grabbed the tie and examined it.

Before he could even give her a thanks, she spoke up once more as she said she almost forgot something, moving to go behind the man and he once again remained quiet as he let her do as she pleased with him, an all too familiar fabric going around his covered eye and being tied back to where it belongs. Truthfully had it been anyone but Kannagi, Kenji wouldn't have even entertained the idea of lending out something so precious to him but then again, Kannagi wasn't just anyone. Almost as quickly as she finished, she made her way back to the lettuce, presumably to work on the food. "Thank you Kannagi..." Were the only words Kenji could really say as he simply smiled at her for the kindness she has shown him.

Formal Kenji:

The smile quickly faded as he realized one very important thing, one that was only brought to mind as Kannagi poured some curry sauce into the chopped lettuce. He had tasked her with cooking without even providing her with any food beyond buns, lettuce and some random veggies stored in his fridge. "Man, I'm really dropping the ball on this whole hosting a party thing, aren't I?" Kenji awkwardly laughed and said as he looked around at all the things his party had so much, which was provided by the only guest he even invited.

"I uh... I never really celebrated my birthday since I was 13 so, can't exactly say I have much experience in hosting one of my own..." Kenji told Kannagi uncomfortably as his eye fell to the ground for a few seconds before it would shoot back up and the man would grin. "But hey, at least I got a killer guest to show me how a party should go." Kenji would attempt to keep the atmosphere lighter as he simply patted the girl on the back. "Seriously, without you stepping up, we would've probably had a mixture of lettuce and random vegetables I have in the fridge." Kenji would laugh a bit at the idea, then again he probably would've done exactly that if he had more time to prepare. He probably would've called it the Haruka salad too, not like there was any other Haruka around to tell the blue beauty otherwise.

Kannagi tilted her head over to look at Kenji before putting the bowl of lightly dressed salad down. "Well, my family has a way of celebrating things and I try to come prepared. I have never been to a birthday party, or even one's personal home before this. I just wanted to try and do it right. I mean, make a good impression, you understand?" Kannagi pulled open a few cabinets and located two bowls and two plates.As Kenji explained his situation, she couldn't help but let out a bark of laughter. "Of course, two people who don't really know how to celebrate this. I'm just trying to do what my family does on a much larger scale. We usually celebrate big, with feasts and colors and music." She lifted up the bowls and gestured at them with her head before filling the plates with the curry she bought and the bowls with her pseudo-salad side. "So, time to feast?"

Kannagi looked around for a table and spotted the living room where she had left her gift seemed the most cleared out place to go. Kannagi carried the two plates to the living room area and requested, "Grab those bowls will you? And some silverware to eat with?" She wasn't really sure how to do a party but food was the great equalizer. The meal was complete and ready to eat, what better way to break the awkward ice and tension that she could still feel in the air then to share lunch together? She put the plates on the table and then took a seat, crossing her legs. The large present sat on the table to the side of them and she had to consider to herself if she brought enough to show Kenji what surely all of his friends wanted to.

"Well your family sure as hell know how to make a party." Kenji could only compliment the blue beauty as he simply nodded his head at her question if it was time to enjoy the fruit of her labour. Something that still didn't sit right with the one eyed man truthfully, this was supposed to be his way of apologizing for getting her hurt and yet all he really did was make her throw him a party.... He simply put those thoughts away, he'd find a way to make it up for all she has done for him somehow. Suppose it would start with grabbing the silverware and bowls for the blue beauty as she carried the rest of the food to the living room, the only room with anything close to a table... A bit of an oversight on the one eyed man but then again, he didn't expect anyone to be over at this place so soon.

"Say, you never really did tell me much about your clan... Or anything actually." Kenji would suddenly realize as he sat across from the blue beauty, recalling the first time they met in which she simply introduced herself as Kannagi. He never bothered to ask for more because it wasn't his place but he figured with all the talk of her family, why not take this chance to learn a bit more about his friend, it is what friends are supposed to do... Right? "I mean it's not like I really care where you come from but would be nice to know a bit more about you." Kenji further clarified in case she wanted to hide the fact she was from some influential family on purpose, even if Kenji could safely say this was the first person he had ever seen or heard about that can use paper in such a way.

Either way, he'd hand out the silverware and Kannagi's salad bowl as he would begin to try out some of the lettuce, curious on what exactly the taste would be with merely the lettuce and some curry sauce and to his surprise, it would actually taste pretty good all things considered. "Huh. You somehow made this lettuce better than I could've..." Kenji would comment as he resumed eating the lettuce and listened to whatever Kannagi would have to say. He really, really, needed to learn how to cook, if not for himself than to at least try and pay back Kannagi for all the meals she made him.

Kannagi sat there for a moment too long in silence. It would be enough time to make anyone wonder if they had crossed a line. She was proud of where she had come from. She loved her family. She loved her clan. The only reason she didn't discuss them was because she was no longer one of them, in their eyes. She could never return to them either. Kannagi considered Cirilla, the only living thing that could understand what it was like to lose all of that and even after four years the gray mare still seemed better adjusted to Nikkousati than Kannagi was. Still, this was a birthday party for her friend. He didn't ask out of a desire to stir up anything negative and hiding it might make her seem like a rude guest. She didn't want to change the friendly atmosphere and so, she could possibly be discreet about her own situation. If he wanted to know about the Irezumi, how could that be harmful to her?

Kannagi had taken a bite of her lettuce salad and was delighted that it actually tasted so good. The sauce was clearly the key ingredient there. "Lettuce is lettuce, but whomever made that curry should get a reward," Kannagi lightly agreed with a laugh. She poked at the salad with her fork and then gave Kenji a half shrug. "My clan is known for their secretive traditions and culture. Not that they are actually secret, but so few people get close enough to them to learn about it that it just might as well be. My family is large, nomadic, and they live in the desert and plains mostly. It's strange to always be on the move, but you find more of your family all over the place when you travel enough." She ate some of the salad, "You wouldn't believe just how big my family is. It's kind of unique. Like the size of a very small village where everyone calls everyone family."

That was broad enough. No names or specific pieces of information, but there were no lies uttered either. "And they do know how to celebrate, you were correct there." It felt good to remind herself of the wonderful memories she had in her life.

Kenji wasn't always the best at talking to people, but he could tell when there were some topics people preferred to not talk about it and the silence that was filling the air after he had asked about the woman's family told him that he just found a sore topic. Before he could apologize however, she tried out some of the lettuce and seemed to agree that without her, his little... "meal", if one could even call it that wasn't particularly good, which seemed to lighten the atmosphere a bit before she begun to tell him of her family.

The one eyed man only listened quietly as she spoke about it, explaining some of her behavior, mainly the fact that she was good at harvesting from the land due to her family. Still he couldn't quite imagine a family as big as that, being an only child with his only known family being his mother and father, Kenji couldn't quite picture anything larger. Yet he thought it would sound peaceful, to have such a large group of people to be there and supporting you... Kenji only shook himself from his mind and followed the blue beauty's lead of eating more of the lettuce, giving a small laugh as she told him he was right about them partying.

"It sounds like a nice family, I imagine family reunions must be quite the event." Kenji would attempt a joke as kept eating, before his eye wandered over to the presents waiting for him and he couldn't help but wonder just what exactly they were. "You know, I didn't think you would actually get me something...." Kenji would comment as he decided to take the topic away from the family talks and onto more birthday related stuff. "I mean you're more than enough of a present for me." Kenji would joke as he tried to wink again, this time he did it on purpose to his credit before he let out some slight laughter.

Kannagi Irezumi brightened up immediately, like little lights were lit behind her blue eyes. She put her meal aside and reached for the present with a hungry eagerness. "Oh, yes! I didn't realize... I mean, I don't know when you're supposed to extend gifts to the honored." She shook her head and had to expend effort to lift the box with her outstretched arms. At least, it appeared like she needed to; in truth the box hid a few small items including a scroll with an object seal upon it, a small pouch of something jingling together, and a palm sized container of ointment. The specifics of what was within the present was of course still hidden by the wrapping over the box itself but Kannagi passed it over to Kenji and encouraged him to open it. Once he did so he would be surprised to find the gift had multiple parts to it.

The small ointment was a healing ointment from Sojiro's medical shop, a tool Kannagi thought was necessary for any shinobi like to get injured. She pointed at it and said, "In the case that I am not there beside you to protect you next time," She gave him a wink and a deep belly laugh, "I have to make sure I'm looking out for you after all. And that is for Lingchi. I assume he costs significantly for repairs and parts, but I wanted to leave what you did with your friend up to you." The little pouch of jangling metallic sounds was heavier than the pouches they normally received for a single mission. It contained 50 ryo. The scroll there remained curled up and tied with a pretty red ribbon and Kannagi rubbed her hand smoothly over her knees in a light nervous gesture. The scroll held the biggest and most important part. She had only included the other small items if Kenji turned out to only desire the practical things in his day to day life. She looked over at him with large blue eyes and swallowed hard.

"That one... well... maybe we should wait until after we finish eating.." She looked at her food, her appetite suddenly gone. She wanted to keep the day light, airy, and fun. Kannagi had noticed however the lack of something Kenji had once carried around with him on occasion. It seemed important enough to carry even if she had never seen it contribute to Kenji's battles or missions, important enough that she had run the idea by Sojiro who had only offered her encouragement and was no real help in her overall decision. Now, the kunoichi was concerned that she might cross a line by bringing up a dark event for them or a personal meaningful moment from his past that she hadn't recognized.