Becoming friends [Kumo shinobis only!]

[Estilo]

"Yes." Akiko had replied. "Most people in our family are shinobis, but not all are in the field and doing missions." It was then that the waitress arrived with their orders, and distributed them accordingly. Immediately, their table was flooded with the delicious scent of cooked food, and its effect was apparent in the manner in which they stared intently at their plates.

"This looks delicious. Let's eat." Yukiko's father would smile, digging into his meal with the rest of his family. Only a few seconds behind, Atlas would follow suit and pick up his chopsticks, proceeding to take a long whiff of his meal before actually eating it.

"How does your food taste like senpai?" Yuki-chan promptly asked, fumbling around with her chopsticks as she attempted to swoop up some noodles. Atlas chewed and swallowed the mouthful of food he had, smiling at the display of Yuki's efforts afterwards. Children always had difficulties using chopsticks, and he was no exception during his childhood either. Small and slightly clumsy hands made it difficult to carry on a meal without making some sort of mess.

"It tastes really delicious." Atlas answered cheerfully. "The cooks did a real good job of cooking the sauce for the chicken cubes. And there a lot of tasty vegetables in it, too. Mushrooms, cabbage, snow peas. Really good." He would utilize his chopsticks to gather a small lump of chicken and cabbage, and proceeded to drench it in the tasty brown sauce, before plopping it into his mouth. A satisfying mmm sound hummed from his mouth as he savored the delicacy, washing it down with a gulpful of ice water when he had finished processing it. "So... does the Fuyumori family come here often?" He would ask. "And what of the little twins?"

[Yuki-chan]

"It tastes really delicious. The cooks did a real good job of cooking the sauce for the chicken cubes. And there a lot of tasty vegetables in it, too. Mushrooms, cabbage, snow peas. Really good." said the male. He let out a 'mmmm' sound while he chewed the food he had ordered.

"The fish is fantastic. It tastes really fresh" said the older female while she picked it up with her chopsticks. "So...does the Fuyumori family come here often? And what of the little twins?" asked Atlas.
"We visit this restaurant on special occasions, like the time when I graduated from the Academy" said the younger female before she started on the vegetables.

"As for the twins...we wanted to focus on the relationship between you and Yukiko-chan. No offense, but it is a little easier without the boys" said the older male before he sipped some of his tea.
"Did you two wanted to see if we could get along well?" asked Yukiko while she looked at her father for a moment. He gave her a nod in return as he chewed on another piece of okonomiyaki. Her ice blue eyes returned to the soup as she thought on that.

'When I'm with senpai, it feels like I have an older brother who's watching out for me. Which is nice...I'm a lot smaller and weaker than pretty much all adults I know. Even teenagers are able to beat me up if they want to' thought the girl as she glanced at her parents.
He would be more than able to protect her if he really was a swordsman; she had never seeen him in action before. Perhaps it was time to speak up since they were almost half-way through the meal.

"Mum, I think Atlas is like a senpai. He asked me to tell me if I needed any help when we did that mission at the construction site. Which I don't think any of my classmates would have done...except the teacher or my best friend perhaps" said the Genin.
"Really now Yukiko-chan?" said Akiko before she looked at the said man. Her hazel brown eyes scanned him; was this man as kind as her daughter had said?

[Estilo]

"We visit this restaurant on special occasions," Yukiko responded. "Like the time when I graduated from the Academy."

"As for the twins..." The father continued. "We wanted to focus on the relationship between you and Yukiko-chan. No offense, but it is a little easier without the boys." Atlas cracked a smile, reminiscing on his own son with a mixture of heartache and longing. But he didn't let it show. He rarely let it show anymore, his physical gestures having grown into the habit of keeping any sign of those emotions at bay. Instead, he took another sip of his water, and listened with interest when Yukiko spoke up again.

"Did you two wanted to see if we could get along well?" She'd asked, receiving an affirmative nod from her father afterwards. Intrigued, but not that surprised, Atlas would pick up his chopsticks and dig into the rest of his Moo Goo Gai Pan. He knew they got along quite well, and in the week they had gotten to know each other, he was quite frankly alarmed to see their progress as allies and friends. It was almost like Yukiko was a long lost little sister he had never known, and he couldn't deny the fact that he felt obliged having met her. It kept him on the straight and narrow- helping Yuki-chan go on missions and achieve her goals- and he couldn't imagine that with anyone else.

"Mum," The girl said. "I think Atlas is like a senpai. He asked me to tell me if I needed any help when we did that mission at the construction site. Which I don't think any of my classmates would have done...except the teacher or my best friend perhaps." Her statement made him smile, as he chewed his food then swallowed it down, and her turned his gaze over to Akiko when she turned to him with her hazel-colored optics.

"Really now Yukiko-chan?" She'd said, in almost a murmur, evaluating Atlas with her eyes.

"I try to treat everyone I meet with some degree of respect, madam." Atlas smiled. "Your daughter has been a great help during the missions I've partaken in lately, and I've grown to see her as a very helpful companion. She's extremely intelligent and quick-witted, I must say. I am sure she will grow to become an equally successful ninja as yourselves." He took a moment to pop a chicken cube, moist with brown sauce, into his mouth. When he finished processing it through his muzzle, he would continue. "I am sure she told you I'm helping her find a team. Am I correct?"

[Yuki-chan]

"I try to treat everyone I meet with some degree of respect, madam." said the male with a smile. "Your daughter has been a great help during the missions I've partaken in lately, and I've grown to see her as a very helpful companion. She's extremely intelligent and quick-witted, I must say. I am sure she will grow to become an equally successful ninja as yourselves." said Atlas. The youngest female could not help but to smile a little; he surely was more polite than some of the scumbags in her former class.

"Well, I'm almost done with my meal. Could you please have us excused for a few seconds?" asked the other male before he stood up. The older female followed him and Yukiko was left alone with the young man.
Both of them now went towards the bar to order something to drink - or so it seemed. They would discuss the situation about the older Genin being their daughters teammate.

"What do you think we should do? I didn't sense anything weird from this guy...the only weird thing is that he smiles all the time" said Akiko in a low voice. "Same here. I think we should approve him until further notice. He has taken with her on some dangerous missions, but has always made sure that she is not injured" said Kenichi.

Both of them ordered a very small glass of sake before they went back to the table. "All right Yukiko-chan. We have decided that Atlas-kun can be your senpai until further notice" said the woman with a smile on her face.
"YAAAAY! Thanks!" said the girl before she hugged both of her parents; this meant that he could be her partner until she found a real team to go on missions with.

[Estilo]

"Well, I'm almost done with my meal. Could you please have us excused for a few seconds?" asked the older gentleman, rising from his seat and scooting out of the booth for his wife to follow suit.

"Of course." Atlas would reply. "I'll finish my meal here in the meantime, and keep Yukiko company." He watched as the couple walked over to a nearby bar, seemingly ordering two small cups of sake, though leaving Atlas to wonder what form of first impression he'd left them with. Hopefully nothing too bad; bad enough to pressure them into wanting a drink of alcohol. Was that the reason they'd left to the bar? He mentally laughed as he continued to eat his food, gathering the last of it with his chopsticks and plopping bits into his mouth. Whether they thought well of him or not, he had no choice in the matter now. He'd probably receive his verdict by the end of their meal, he figured.

As the couple continued to talk over at the bar, Atlas discreetly called over the waitress with a wave of his hand, tossing the woman a smile when she walked over. "Thanks for the good service, dear. Could you please place the bill on this card?" He asked, retrieving his shinobi I.D and handing it to the waitress. "And add 15% of the total for your tip."

"Thank you, sir! I'll process your transaction right now."

"You're the best." Atlas smiled, thanking the waitress once more before she left to charge his card. Before he could turn to Yuki-chan and spark some form of conversation, her parents had returned from the bar with their respective cups of sake. They looked ready to say something, and Atlas was intrigued to know what. Having finished his meal, he would place his chopsticks neatly on the empty plate, ready for when the waitress returned.

"All right Yukiko-chan." Akiko had started. "We have decided that Atlas-kun can be your senpai until further notice."

"YAAAAY!" Yuki-chan suddenly cheered, leaping off to hug her parents. "Thanks!" Atlas took in the sight with a cheerful expression, glad the parents approved of him so far, but more so that Yuki-chan was happy.

"Boy," He said in a slight chuckle, rubbing the back of his neck as if bashful. "I can't remember the last time someone was so glad to be teamed up with me like that. You can rest assured that I will do all it takes to keep Yuki-chan safe. I give you my word."

[/justify][/blockquote]

[Yuki-chan]

"Boy, I can't remember the last time someone was so glad to be teamed up with me like that. You can rest assured that I will do all it takes to keep Yuki-chan safe. I give you my word." said the male while he scratched his neck.
"Good to hear that. Perhaps we should pay the bill after we've drunken up the sake" said the older male before he took a sip of the clear liquid.

"He...perhaps I should train on some jutsus next. I haven't done that since I graduated" pondered the youngest female. She took a sip of her coke while the older female looked at a painting that featured two samurais playing shogi.
The waitress came back with Atlas' card, which made both parents rise their eyebrows. "Remind me to transfer some money to him" muttered Akiko to Kenichi, who nodded.

"I'm afraid we have to go home now. It was nice to meet you Atlas-kun" said the older man with a smile. "See you on the next mission!" said Yukiko with a smile before her family exited the restaurant.
It was time to go home and get the twins to bed. But the duo would meet each other on the next mission since the adults had approved the young man.

[Exit Yukiko, Akiko and Kenichi]

[Estilo]

The parents were tasteful with their restaurant of choice, and the food had been delicious, so, overall, this entire meeting had sat well with Atlas. He was pleasantly full and was at the verge of ordering a dessert before Yukiko's father had spoken up. "I'm afraid we have to go home now." He would start with a smile. "It was nice to meet you Atlas-kun."

"Likewise," Atlas replied, watching as the father scooted out of the booth and stood up, followed by his wife and little Yukiko. "I do hope we get the chance to do this once more." He'd turn to Akiko, and politely nod. "And it was a pleasure meeting you, too, madam." He was somewhat crestfallen to see this dinner end faster than he had expected, but he figured they had duties to do as parents, and those could not be ignored under any circumstance. After little thought, however, he knew they had gotten what they wanted out of this dinner and that they had little more to share until next time. The whole point of this meeting had been to judge his character, to see if Atlas was indeed who their daughter had said he was, and thankfully they had learned that he was. He wasn't some sort of criminal or maniac with ill intentions- he was a shinobi of Kumogakure. A man who upheld the laws of the village to his best of abilities, like them, and he truly hoped they could continue to connect in the future based on that similarity between themselves.

"See you on the next mission!" Yuki-chan would suddenly say, proceeding to leave the restaurant with her parents.

"Bye, little one!" Atlas would smile in return, tossing her a small wave as the trio opened the front door and left. After they'd gone, he'd turn back to his table and down the last of the ice water in his glass, snapping his jaws at an ice cube within his mouth and crushing it to pieces. That was a bad habit he needed to get rid of... chewing on ice. He'd heard it was bad for your teeth, but he wasn't sure if there was any truth behind that rumor. His eyes would catch the sight of the waitress once more, as she passed by his table. With a cunning smile, he would call her over with a small gesture of his hand. He felt in the mood for a bowl of ice cream before he left. And why not invite the waitress, too?

Today seemed pleasant, and the morning was only just ending.

EXIT

[DAVID BOWE]

+90 -- Yuki
+104 -- Espada