Tsu sat in the ramen bar, carefully stirring some noodles with a chopstick. She had been taken over by another ninja... and had almost harmed a student. Worse... she'd been taken down by a student as well. She sighed gently and raised some noodles up, gazing at them in a bored fashion. Maybe she was too weak.

"Is this seat taken?" A voice asked from behind her. Ishiaki leaned forward and smiled, indicating the seat across from her. He held something behind his back, averting it from her gaze.

"No... take it." Tsu said with a small nod to Ishiaki. She didn't even really look up at him. She seemed preoccupied.

Ishiaki sat down, keeping whatever was hidden out of her sight still. "What's troubling you, little one?" He asked her carefully. He knew that the jibes about her height were usually a good way to make her annoyed.

"I'm not being much of a good teacher." Tsu said as she hung her head, sighing and stirring her noodles a bit more. "My students don't really seem to learn anything from me."

"I thought that your students were progressing rather well?" Ishiaki asked her curiously. Something was dreadfully wrong here...she hadn't even reacted to the 'little' comment. Let alone try to find out what he was hiding from her...

"They're progressing, but not through me. They move forward and get strong, but I'm not teaching them properly..." Tsu sighed gently, twirling the noodles slowly, staring at them "I'm not strong enough to make them stronger. How can you get stronger from someone who is just... plain... weak."

"If that were true, you would have been down amongst the horde when you were under the influence of the curse mark. But you fought it the entire time, Tsu." Ishiaki pointed out to her

"I fought your students the entire time." Tsu sighed, shaking her head and frowning gently at her noodles "El fought it better than I did."

"You fought my students because I told them not to let you get to me. I was your singular focus. The other members of the horde had entirely different ideas driving them." Ishiaki informed her carefully. "Unlike them, you didn't want to kill any of us."

"Well... maybe not kill, but you CERTAINLY would have been exhausted afterwards." Tsu said with a little giggle, before shaking her head and sighing "Still... I lost."

"From what I can gather, if it was anyone but Akane who was holding you off...that would have ended differently." Ishiaki explained with a sigh. "Apparently one of the remaining medics had given her an experimental pill of some sort. It completely restored her chakra levels and physical energies."

"I still attacked a child and lost." Tsu sighed "Which I am glad for... but it feels so... troubling... to be told about all of this. I don't like to lose control in any way... and I certainly don't like to hear I attacked a student."

"If it makes you feel any better, Akane attacked you first. You were defending yourself against her.." Ishiaki attempted to clarify. "But I didn't stop by to reminisce about the previous mission, you know."

"Alright..." Tsu said with a small smile, looking up at him "I've just been a little... down you know? That's all. Anyway. What did you want to talk about?"

"Cheering you up, actually." Ishiaki replied and brought his hand up, revealing the flowers that Kami had arranged for him. He hoped they looked as good as she said they did.

Tsu blinked at the flowers. Then she gave a small smile and reached over to take them. "You're sweet, you know that?" she asked with a little giggle "More than you realize."

Ishiaki shrugged. "I don't even know if they look good."

"They look amazing." Tsu said gently, shaking her head and giggling "Who helped you with them? I mean... the design is a little complex, even for you."

"Hmmm let's see...where does one buy flowers in this town?" Ishiaki asked her with a smirk, scratching his head. "I went to the greenhouse, of course. Kami works there and she picked them out and arranged them."

Tsu smiled slightly, then slid down from her sear so she could settle on the same side as Ishiaki. She snuggled up against him, smiling as she gazed at the flowers "They're beautiful."

"I am glad you like them. I'll be sure to inform Kami that she did well." Ishiaki told her with a smile. He slid his arm around her waist and held her to his side. "So, would you mind if I joined you for some ramen, or is that asking for too much?"

"Of course you can join me." Tsu said with a small smile, playfully squeezing Ishiaki's arm "How could I say no to such a polite gentleman? What do you fancy?"

"The Misu Pork is my favorite thus far." Ishiaki told her with a nod. He raised his hand to the waitress as she passed, he was enough of a regular that most of them knew him by sight.

Tsu nodded over to the waitress, then when the woman came over she ordered the Misu Pork for Ishiaki. She then pulled over her own food and started to eat it again, obviously hungrier now that she had been placated. She was so easy to make happy. At least for him.

Ishiaki looked over at her, "Have you been to many of the other restaurants? I was surprised by the amount of variety around here truthfully."

"Not many, I admit." Tsu said with a small nod "This is a new place... compared to my old take out areas." She smiled gently to him, then squeezed his hand "Why? been to any nice ones?"

"This is one of the nicest places in town." Ishiaki explained with a shrug. "There's a barbecue joint that isn't too bad."

"We should try that place another time." Tsu said with a smile as Ishiaki's food came "Mmmm... smells nice. You have wonderful taste... in food and women."

"So it would seem." Ishiaki told her with a smirk

Tsu smirked at him, snuggling up against his side and giving a playful wink "Are you always so nice to the girls you like? Or is it only the little girls you like that you're kind to?"

"Maybe a little of both?" Ishiaki retorted and playfully nudged her. "The ramen is best when hot, you know."

"Well, I'm eating my own... slowly." Tsu chuckled, eating a few more pieces of her own noodles "Go on. Yours has arrived."

"Did you think I was going to feed it to you?" Ishiaki asked her and broke his chopsticks in half, digging into his own bowl expertly, especially for a blind man.

"It would be nice." Tsu pouted slightly, but she was smiling at Ishiaki "Anyway, I was half expecting to have to feed you your noodles."

"Why would you have to feed me?" Ishiaki asked her curiously. It wasn't as though he were injured or anything now...

"Because you ain't eating it yourself." Tsu pointed out, shaking her head and trying not to point out that he was also blind. Did he really need that pointing out for him? No.

Ishiaki shook his head and started to eat his ramen. After a few mouthfuls, he looked over at her and smirked. "It is rather difficult to eat while conversing, isn't it?"

Tsu nodded, having pretty much finished her food by now. It had been quite cool by the time she had finished it. She smiled as she watched Ishiaki "Just finish up your stuff though."

"Why the rush?" Ishiaki asked her curiously. "You got something planned?"

"Maybe I want to repay your for being all sweet, hmmm?" Tsu said, smiling and raising an eyebrow at him "Or maybe I just want to take you for a walk?"

"A walk would be rather nice." Ishiaki told her with a smile and bent his head to finish up with his soup.

Tsu giggled gently, nuzzling up against Ishiaki for a moment before pulling out her little pink purse. She pulled out some ryo for the food. "Where do you want to walk?"

"Well, have you familiarized yourself with the village entirely yet?" Ishiaki asked her curiously, before picking up his bowl and drinking the last of the broth. When he finished, he placed the chopsticks inside the empty bowl and turned his attention towards her.

"Not entirely. I don't have that kind of memory, but I know my way around a few places." Tsu said with a smile, standing and waiting beside the table for Ishiaki to join her "What about you?"

"I have successfully mapped several routes between my cottage and my favorite eateries, training fields, shops, and the Shimagunikage's office." Ishiaki explained with a shrug. "I don't have much else to do in my time off other than wander around."

"Well, I suppose I've been doing a few strange things in my spare time..." Tsu sighed, thinking of her own habits and training regime. She reached out for his hand "Come on, we'll go for a walk."

"What sort of strange things?" Ishiaki couldn't help but ask her curiously. He grasped her hand and they left for their stroll. (where should we end up? lol)