The Elder Trees Rage: Meeting in Distress

“Sekoia are you okay?” Pain asked, looking at her identical twin as she sulked on the floor.
“Shishi wouldn’t take the lunch I made for him.” Sekoia replied solemnly. Pain cringed a bit at the mention of Sekoia’s cooking, it was like looking at the best cooking you could lay eyes on. But past its aesthetics, it was digestive poison and could hospitalize someone. Little bro I don’t blame you, but you know how she gets if you don’t take it…
“Pain! I know what I can do to get it to him! He can’t say no to me if I force him to take it!”
“No!” Pain called out, but it was too late, sekoia had taken off, and the puff of smoke just made it even scarier on her end of the situation. Shikimoa would be lucky if he survived the day, that was for sure.
Further in town, Shikimoa was jogging around dodging through the crowd, working on his reflexes, all the while not stopping his movement, that was until he felt a killer presence and a chill ran up his spine.
“Shishi~ Nee-san brought your lunch to you.” Sekoia said in a chilling voice causing the crowd to step aside from the young shinobi before them. Turning his head Shikimoa let out a scared laugh, his eye twitching all before he ran off as fast as he possibly could. Twisting through what crowd he could until he started to reach a dead end, looking around frantically he noticed a boy his age to the side, shuffling over he was lucky his sister had chose to walk after him.
“Hey, look I’m in a bind, and if I don’t get some help my sister is going to murder me with her cooking I’m going to transform and hide, just point her off if she approaches.” He said before performing the Tiger, Monkey, Serpent hand seals and turning into a street bench on the road side.

Word Count: 328

The young uchicha was out to simply wander about, having ensured his mother he would be back before sundown. It was a promise he always made and often came by sooner, but his mother had become a bit more paranoid after the festival. His sisters were always watched by either his parents, grandparents, or just a capable family friend. Of course he understand why, but he still wished things could have been normal. He felt bad about the girl's death to, but had known little to nothing about her or her family. It was hard to feel much for someone like that though he still felt a bit sad for what happened. As for himself, he was just glad Pallas hadn't been effected by the attacker's bugs though she still had nightmares about the creatures.

While he thought about the whole ordeal, he was walking in autopilot, not really paying to what he was doing outside of following the path and not bumping into people. It kept that way until another kid ran up to him, asked him to cover for him, and the proceeded to turn into bench. So, yes, Nathan was a bit thrown at what had just happened and wasn't sure what to say now, especially as he saw the older sister come towards him. He could still point though.
((223))

As Sekoia approached the boy Shikamoa had hastily asked for help, he began to pray inside his head that she would just pass by. His older sister dressed in a sun dress and a apron; she looked like she was ready for housework and wasn't supposed to be leaving the house. Looking left and right she squinted her eyes and the atmosphere around her went cold, her attention turned to Nathan and she was suddenly in front of the young Uchiha boy. Giving him a scary, and oddly soft, smile she began to speak, "Hello Little Ninja, can you tell me if you happened to see what happened a boy your age when he came this direction? He's my little brother, and I seem to have lost him when he turned this corner. He's about your age, black hair, his eyes look like a dead fish, I wanted to give him this bento I made him after he refused to take it." As she finished speaking she tilted her head and ever so slightly her cheeks puffed up, her sandy, caramel colored hair falling to the left as her head moved, the sun coming from behind her into Nathan's eyes, It was impossible to tell if this was on purpose or by accident, her mood seeming to sour further as she waited.

Total Word Count: 550
(I need to fix my bad habit of spelling it Shikimoa when it's Shikamoa.)

Nathan paused for a bit as a thought came into his mind and accepted it though it probably lacked a bit of clarity. The souring of her mood made the tension lighten up, reminding him of his sisters when they were frustrated. It was easy to do due to the terrible jokes he would have, all of which probably would probably caused an audience to throw rotten food at him. "Umm...he blended in with a booth and then left after you passed him." It was simple and he was sure that it lacked any real glaring issues with it minus the possibility of the little brother being absolutely terrible in the justu. He knew he seen a few other kids do it in order to avoid grown ups."May, I take it to him myself? I can sneak it to him better than you. I just give it to him and then go." Okay, now words were simply coming out of him and seemed to make sense to him. He had paused to fully understand that he had continued, easily to be assumed to see her response to his suggestion. If she simply went to search for her brother then they would be in the clear and if not then he would just have a bento. It was doubtful it was as bad as the other kid said and Nathan felt like he was about to get a free bento.
((239/462))

"Why aren't you a little gentleman, if only my little brother would willingly take it as much as you." Sekoia said as she handed the bento to Nathan, taking note that he was indeed a Uchiha. Patting his head in thanks she gave him a very happy smile before completely disappearing into thin air. After a few moments the crowd started to flow up and down the street again, Shikamoa dispelling his disguise he quickly put his hands together and bowed to Nathan, "Dōmo arigatōgozaimas. Hey, by the way what your holding very very potent poison I wouldn't eat it, if that was your plan."

Word Count: 655

He was a bit surprised she accepted the offer and was glad he didn't have to worry about the truth. It would be easy to actually give it to her brother, but was sure that it would go into the nearest trash can. The young uchiha gave a small laugh at the patting though was more of petting person. Of course her suddenly disappearing was a bit of a shock, having him look at the empty space for a moment or two before looking over to her brother. He looked down at the bento and shook his head. "Well...it wasn't originally, but not that you bring it up, I will give it a try. Seriously, how bad can this be?" He asked while removing the lid to see what was the sister had made for her brother. Of course, the young uchiha would glance over the food to see if anything was visibly wrong with the meal.

Nathan tended to be the human garbage despoil for his family during meals to him being able to eat most foods and how much he could eat.

(( 185 / 647 ))

"Well if I am honest with you... On a scale of 1 to 'Your Dead' its more of a 'Early Grave' kind of level." Skikamoa said as bluntly as he could have possibly done. Looking at the be to his face twitched and looked scared of the look of the contents, they all loked comepletely normal now, but he smelled the same stuff he normally did, the smell of unknown substances mixed in most of which were mostly inedible. It was food only someone who could get past the deadly taste that could eat the bento box. Despite what Shikamoa saw as her improving drastically in hiding everything, he knew one thing for sure, his sister could not fix a proper meal. If this boy wanted to try and eat it he could, but Shikamoa counted his words as his warning, if he had to be hospitalized for eating it that was fine, Shikamoa would just make sure he survived. Looking back at the boy, he sighed, "Eat it if you want Ill take you to the hospital when it makes you sick." He stated sitting down against the oak of a wooden alley fence.

Word Count: 850

"Well if I am honest with you... On a scale of 1 to 'Your Dead' its more of a 'Early Grave' kind of level." Skikamoa said as bluntly as he could have possibly done. Looking at the be to his face twitched and looked scared of the look of the contents, they all loked comepletely normal now, but he smelled the same stuff he normally did, the smell of unknown substances mixed in most of which were mostly inedible. It was food only someone who could get past the deadly taste that could eat the bento box. Despite what Shikamoa saw as her improving drastically in hiding everything, he knew one thing for sure, his sister could not fix a proper meal. If this boy wanted to try and eat it he could, but Shikamoa counted his words as his warning, if he had to be hospitalized for eating it that was fine, Shikamoa would just make sure he survived. Looking back at the boy, he sighed, "Eat it if you want Ill take you to the hospital when it makes you sick." He stated sitting down against the oak of a wooden alley fence.

Word Count: 850

Nathan looked down at the bento before shifting his gaze back Shikamoa. He wasn't hiding the fact that he was skeptical of the claims, but was obviously taking the other boy seriously enough to pause. His eyes focused onto the supposedly toxic substances and simply shrugged. "Well, as my stepdad always says, 'Do knock it until you try it'." He said before taking the chopsticks in order to grab one of the little items of food and soon had it in his mouth. It was instantly regretted, but not enough so in order to force him to spit it right out. His face twisted in small disgust though didn't suffer from the ordeal of illness or death.

Then, he swallowed.

It felt like a rock hit his stomach and the urge to vomit came as the food failed to mix well with what he ate earlier and his stomach in general. Nothing came up, but he put the chopsticks back and put the lid back on. "Okay, yeah. That tastes like crap." He said while remembering the few times his mother attempted something outside of making noodles related. "You wanna get something else for lunch, but I need to get something to wash that taste out of my mouth."

(( 209 / 856 ))

"Pfft, haha you actually ate that. Yeah, sure I'm Sourufoji. Sourufoji, Shikamoa pleasure to be of your acquaintance." Shikamoa said with a slight smile, though his voice and eyes betrayed the toothy grin he was flashing. Watching the boy practically go pale from the food, Shikamoa could tell he was a good guy at least. No one voluntarily ate his sister's cooking and lived to be proud or ashamed of that. Patting the young Uchiha boy on the shoulder he started heading for the only good food place in town that sold truly good food; Ikimaru Ramen!
"Come on, I don't know about you, but training has been tiring today. Even if it was technically just running from my sister. Oh! I hope ramen sounds good by the way, because that's where we are heading." Shikamoa called as he walked, expecting his companion to catch up to him in a moment or two, while they dealt with the taste in their mouth.

Word Count: 1012

He was a few steps behind the boy as they began to move. His stomach soon began to settle enough to allow him to finally keep up with him. "Yeah, ramen sounds fine, I think there is place nearby isn't?" He kept ahold of the bento and began to simply to look for a nearby trashcan. "So, does your sister actually tested her own food tastes horrible or has she never tried to eat what she cooks?" He said while holding up the bento up to eye level, giving it a small shake. "There is no way she could have eaten this and said it was good." He put the bento down and sighed. "Name's Nathan by the way. I would tell you my family name, but I think my jacket already told ya." The young uchiha pointed to the uchiha symbol on his back just in case Shikaamoa hadn't seen it yet. 

 ((156 / 1, 012 ))

Shikamoa snickered, "She has and does, but my sisters lack a sense of smell or taste. So there is a way, and its what he does. I give her credit for trying at the very least no?" Shikamoa say scratching the back of his head as he listened to Nathan introduce himself. He found the name to be really out of place, but didn't necessarily mind that. Flashing a smile Shikamoa spoke again in his disinterested voice, " Nice to meet you Nathan, and yeah I saw. As they continued to walk the crowd bustled around them slowly thinning out as they reached the edges of town and ran into a small ramen booth, the ramen booth. Looking both directions he decided to ask something that came to mind while they walked, "So Nathan. What brought you out here?"

Word Count: 1150

Nathan suddenly felt a bit of regret for insulting her food and actually joking about the cooking of someone with those disabilities. He still felt a bit justified though, especially since the food was so awful. As they walked, he was fine with the small silence that they shared and having finally seen a nearby trash can when they neared the ramen booth. The question made the urchins raise a brow. "Just wandering really. Not much to do at home since my little sister took a nap. So, I decided to just go out in a walk. I managed to come here just soon enough to help you escape eating this bento." He held it up, giving it a small shake before bringing it toss it the nearby trash can. "Why did you want know anyways?"

(( 136 / 1, 148 ))

“Just basic curiosity, I don’t tend to ask people questions unless I wish to know what kind of reason fate has brought one to another’s aid. I like to know how people are working through things or how they are drawn into things.” Shikamoa said this without any sort of emotional tone, but those that listened carefully would have heard an odd hint of enthusiasm. Raising the cloth piece that draped down on the ramen stand Shikamoa smiled to the owner inside.
“Good afternoon gentlemen, how may I serve you today?” The owner asked, setting his hands on the counter.
“One bowl of Ikimaru Beef Ramen please sir.” Shikamoa said as he sat down, waiting for Nathan to order before he continued their idle chatter.

Word Count: 1275

The young uchiha noticed the feeling behind the other's voice and was left pondering. He didn't say anything as he followed behind Shikamoa. His hand was brought up to move the fabric out of his way as his friend moved inside. He had little idea was on the menu outside of one. "Same as him." He said while pointing to Shikamoa with his thumb. Once the man began to work in the food, Nathan began to speak his mind. "Have to admit, I never really heard anyone speak about fate before." He said while finally sitting down at the counter. "I thought about fate a few times though, but it's nothing I really cared for."

(( 115 / 1, 263 ))

"Fate isn't ever really something that a lot of people like to think of, since most people think of it as predetermined. Which is the honest truth, life is a predetermined roller coaster, however, the choices you make are what creates the basis of your fate. Multiple roads that can be followed." Shikamoa spoke in a tone that expressed deep meditative thought over the subject, like a wise old monk that decided to meditate for days on end in isolation without any sort of rest from it. As they spoke the man who was making their food began to prepare the noodles for the two boys with whom he was to serve two bowls of ramen. He listened silently to the two boys conversation and felt he had heard that sort of speech that from some clansmen before a long time ago, the old Hyuuga clan if he was correct. It was hard to really tell off of no context as to the boys conversation.

---

Word Count: 166
Total Word Count: 1441
Bonus EXP Gain: 1400

The uchiha looked at his food, simply thinking in silence for a few moments. "Gonna be honest, but that sounds like a terrible roller coaster. Seriously, think about it for a moment." He held up his chopsticks, moving them slowly upwards. "You're going down a hill, but then you make a sudden turn." He said while angling his sticks slightly as he slowly brought them down. "And unlike these things. You're going to fall of extremely fast and you will get hurt." He frowned and looked down at the food once again. "Sorry, if I came off rude." He said while finally putting his chopsticks into his food so that he bring the delicious substance into his mouth. He felt a bit depressed on the subject and felt that he had insulted other in some way.

(( 136 / 1, 399 ))

"You aren't coming off as rude; however, I would like to point that your statement was a rather pessimistic one. Sure you may be going downhill, but what exactly does that mean? Are you falling down on your luck? Are you just not fairing well in health, that sudden turn could be the same thing as that drop, fate isn't that predictable." Shikamoa replied to the other boy as the bowls of ramen were put before the two ninja trainees. Thanking the chef for the meal he dug into his mean with glee, the delicious taste heavily out weighing the food his sister had probably tried to give him. Slowly feeling on the sauce absorbed noodles fill him up as he ate his bowl of ramen.

---

Word Count: 127
Total Word Count: 1568
Bonus EXP Gain: 1550