Grabbing a bite to eat

[Nicholas]

"It's just Nicholas, I don't like titles. And no - while there are more than a few people who'd like to see me dead, it's not the reason I don't have a last name. If you really want to know, I simply can't remember it."

[Kekeya Sasaki]

Kekeya looked at Nicholas seriously. "Can't... remember..." He found his eyes back on the girl for a moment, but back to Nicholas, as his second bowl arrived. "I see. That is unfortunate." Kekeya began to eat once again. "One more question. How did you know my last name?"

[Sachi Akita]

Sachi put her hand in front of her mouth and yawned, "Thats a boring reason.. I still say its because you like to appear more mysterious. The girls like a guy that has a mysterious air about them.. right Kemi?" Sachi asked, bouncing up to look over Nicholas's shoulder at Akemi who had been quiet through the discussion.

Then she looked over at Kekeya, "Nicholas is very smart and makes it his job to know everything that goes on around the village. There's not much that goes on without him knowing." She said.

[Nicholas]

"Like the Fuzzball said, I'm very good at what I do, and past mistakes have taught me to do my research before doing a job. I've read pretty much read everything the Intelligence Division has on everyone who was involved in that skirmish a month or two back, plus I've still got a substantial network of contacts left over from a few years ago."
Nicholas took another sip from his tea before he continued.
"I've pretty much memorized everything there is to know about you, your friends, and the Akatsuki involved in that attack."

[Kekeya Sasaki]

Kekeya bit down on the ramen in his mouth and swallowed. When his mouth was empty, he let out a loud "HA!" He continued to say, "You may know what my fighting style and techniques are, but there isn't any possible way you could know any more than we do about those Akatsuki members." Then something rang in his head. "Especial..." Kekeya sighed. "Oh, never mind. Sorry for the out burst."

[Akemi Yamagata]

Akemi studied Kekeya silently for a moment, watching the exchange between Nicholas, Sachi, and him.

"We've met before, haven't we Kekeya? A couple of years ago I think?" She asked after a few moments.

[Kekeya Sasaki]

Kekeya dropped his chopsticks. How did she know his name? He hadn't said it yet. He looked at her with mild suprise, but then he realized who this girl was. He remembered her face, but she had changed since then. "I... think so... Yamagata..." Kekeya stopped after this and looked at her with his eyes widened and brows furrowed, but he didn't say anything.

[Nicholas]

Nicholas calmly watched the exchange for a brief moment before speaking.
"And I couldn't agree more - the reports that you and your group filled out were the source for the bulk of the information I got. Just the same, though, it was more than enough becuse of how well your group handled it. You forced them to show their hand, and managed to report on most of their abilities, even their kekkei genkai. Just knowing how to neutralize those alone will likely be more than enough to tip the balance in Konoha's favor the next time they appear."

[SarahTsukiOokami]

Sara quietly walked in and took the seat closest to the wall at the bar. She absent-mindedly ordered her usual and pulled out that familiar book. She inhaled deeply taking in the aroma that surrounded her. It was a comforting scent, which is just what she needed after the long mission she had been on.

She opened her book to the page that had been dog-eared, and started reading.

[Kekeya Sasaki]

Something broke Kekeya from his concentration. A familiar presence. He turned slowly to see an all too familiar face. The largest blush spread across his face. He almost forgot what a blush felt like. He wanted to talk, but he couldn't find the words. Finally, speech found Kekeya. "Sara... You're... back? It's... good to... see you again..." Now the blush deepened.

[Nicholas]

Ignoring the new arrival, Nicholas simply went back to his tea.
Now I remember why I built my house in the middle of nowhere. It's getting way too crowded here....
While he had no problem with people in particular, he didn't like crowds, another habit left over from his mercenary days. Crowds let people that would normally stand out blend in, and he had learned to avoid them long ago after the first three or four attempts on his life.

[Sachi Akita]

Sachi clapped her hands happily when she spotted Sara. She pushed between Kekeya and Sara, nearly knocking Kekeya off his seat in the process and threw her arms around Sara.

"Oh my gosh, its so good to see you Sara!" She cheered. She sat down in an empty seat and began asking Sara lots of questions about what she had been up to, but not really giving the other girl any time to answer.

[Yuu Kobayashi]

Jysika tripped as she entered Ichiraku's. She looked around sheepishly to see if anyone saw her do it. She smiled a little shyly when she spotted so many people sitting inside. She giggled nervously a little at herself and pushed her hair out of her eyes.

"Hi Akemi-chan. Hi Nicholas-sempai. Hey Sachi!" Jysika greeted the people that she was the most familiar with. She sat down on the other side of Nicholas and smiled politely at Kekeya and Sara.

"Hi," She said to Sara, nearly shyly, "how are you?"

Then she focused her attention over to Kekeya, someone that she had seen around the village but didn't know very well. She cocked her head to the side and studied him for a moment.

"You have interesting hair, you know that? When the light hits it, its a very pretty shade of orange." She informed.

[Sachi Akita]

"Did you say orange?" Sachi squealed. She spun around very quickly in her chair to look at Kekeya and squealed again, falling out of her chair backwards in the process.

"Oh my god Kekeya, your hair is ORANGE!" She yelled.

[Nicholas]

Crap. Nicholas finished off his tea in preparation for a flash step - it was a very small, crowded shop, and if Sachi lost it things would get noisy fast.