Mana continued to stand there completely confused. At some point, the awkwardness had become unbearable and yet still she couldn't find anything to say. She was happy to see her friend but after all that time she wasn't quite sure as to where everything was anymore. Shimo left the village on a quest of self-discovery and had his license suspended and was so crushed and confused by what happened when he fought Sugemi. Now he looked rested, completely refreshed yet at the same time he looked like a homeless bum.
"You let yourself go..." Mana smiled just a little, testing the waters by just letting her little toe dip. Judging from Shimo's warm laughter they were quite warm and shallow.
"Yeah, well... A courtesan in Tanzaku told me chicks dig guys with longer hair, you've only grown cuter over the years though, Mana-chan" the Yuki swordsman shrugged with a small speck of longing in his voice.
So was Shimo feeling just like Mana was for some time now? Nostalgic and longing for the days past? The days when they were all a team thinking they're going to change the world? Was that the reason for his return or has he actually discovered himself like he intended to?
"You should never take an advice from a courtesan seriously, Shimo" Mana snapped back.
"Truer words have never been spoken..." Shimo broke into a wild laughter, must've been a reaction from his memories of the woman in question and some seemingly unpleasant history that the two shared. Just what sort of adventures did he have? His torn up and dirtied, burnt up kimono suggested that a lot of fighting was involved and his eyes looked much more careless and much more matured. This Shimo Yuki was a whole different young man from the one who left.
"Oh my God! This is Audra steel! The real deal! How on Earth did you get it, were you in Kumogakure?! These cost a whole fortune!" Meiko was geeking out on Shimo's sword which she somehow held in her hands and was examining at the moment.
Shimo freaked out. "Wha! How did you do that!?" he yelled out referring to Meiko's ability to snag his sheathed blade from his belt and just casually examine it and identify the steel alloy by just looking at it.
"Forget it, she's like that, if it's an armor or a sword or whatever she's gonna be all over it..." Mana smiled looking back at Meiko. The blacksmith was feasting her eyes on the various engravings and the fancy work that was put into the sword.
"Yes, it's an actual Audra blade, I studied under an Uchiha who had once faced the current Raikage and copied some of her moves using his Sharingan. Unfortunately, he trusted a courtesan far too much to be considered wise and he lost his arm in the process, a blade such as this was useless in the hands of a one-armed swordsman so he gave it to me" the Yuki explained casually walking up to Meiko and taking the sword from her hands.
"I am not worthy to be in its presence!" Meiko bowed handing the sword back to Shimo who only grinned.
"If you're going to work with me protecting Mana-chan on this mission, I have a feeling we'll get along..." he concluded.
"What's an Audra blade?" Mana wondered out loud.
A loud slam on the table interrupted the hearty conversation, all three teens directed their attention back to the Hokage, it appeared that their bonding and catching up would have had to wait for just a while longer.
"That being pushed aside, I can still only count two ninja in the room, now that I've officially reapproved Shimo's license. Also, having the difficulty and location of the mission in mind the third genin must be a medical ninja" Hanasaku rumbled out with an authoritative tone, not the likes which one would've had the courage to argue against.
"Where on Earth are we going to find a genin medical ninja? Most medical ninja don't train students until they're at least Chuunin" Meiko scratched her chin.
This was just so stupid! After all these aces in Mana's sleeves and all this surprising luck that had followed her to get this mission approved... To bump into a dead end like that!
"Oh well. And I was so hyped to get to show off in front of Mana-chan..." Shimo shrugged indifferently. This journey of self-discovery he went on must've been quite something. The Shimo that Mana knew was never this calm, this relaxed, so confident. It was like he returned a whole different person indeed.
"Well, if this mission was to get approved it is a mission of maximum urgency, the source from which it originates is an ancient scroll, the object is located in another country's territory and it is an object of incredible importance. You have twenty-four hours to find a medical ninja to complete your squad or this whole parade is canceled. I will not have children leave on a secretive illegal mission unless it can be done quickly and efficiently!" the Fifth concluded her will.
"Well, technically, Fifth forgets that Fire and Wind Countries have the Serenity Treaty signed which is still in effect allowing us and Sunagakure to salvage cultural relics inside the Countries of each other and granting us a truce for five more years until it is renewed, there will be nothing illegal about this mission. Technically the box could be used as a weapon, if its mystical abilities are real, I'd say it is defined more as a "legal grey zone"... Still, the Fifth has spoken, unless you have some other urgent matters the three of you are relieved" Hanasaku's assistant added to the mission objective and concluded.
Mana angrily rubbed her eyes with her knuckles, she was tired and frustrated. She was so close, so close to getting this mission put together. So close to reacquiring her chakra manipulation or at the very least giving Meiko a nice adventure as a reward for her kindness and skill. So close to catching up with Shimo and getting to know just how much he had grown over the time he had been missing...
"Look, guys, I know we should be looking for a medical ninja so our destination should be the Konohagakure Hospital and all but... Could we stop for a snack?" Meiko almost begged the two giving them the worst case of puppy eyes that Mana had ever seen a human being make.
Shimo laughed out and Mana could only sigh, the stress and frustration of trying to get this mission together were getting to her. She wanted to just pass out, she's been studying, reading and putting things together, comparing and combining historic theories and trying to make sense of it all, trying to predict the Hokage's possible responses and quarrels with the mission and refine the basic concept of it. Now they had to find a genin skilled enough to be a medical ninja and Meiko wanted to waste time snacking.
"Fine, let's make it quick though, genin medical ninja don't quite grow on trees" the magician replied as the two turned for the Yakiniku Q restaurant of Meiko's choosing. Based on the choice of the young blacksmith Mana was starting to realize that the three may have gotten stuck there for a while.
There were numerous restaurants and cafes and places to eat in Konohagakure. First, there was Ichiraku Ramen which was becoming infamous for its incredibly fatty and quick served food. It used to be a small establishment of an old timer with a dream to cook the best noodles just like his grandma used to make them - quick and fatty. Turns out this quick and filling style of eating pleased many visitors and so Ichiraku was becoming incredibly popular among both locals and tourists. Mana didn't fancy fatty foods herself, not just because she was looking after her image as an entertainer, more so because she wasn't the greatest of eaters in general. She couldn't stomach fatty foods and only needed a minimal amount of any kind of food to feel sated.
There were plenty of sweet shops like the Dango Shop and Amaguriama. They served national sweets and recipes that the ninja managed to secure from other countries. Strangely enough securing a recipe was a quite common average difficulty mission, it also quite fitted the traditional formula of the mission involving secret information and scrolls that needed to be retrieved and protected so ninja partaking the mission needed little extra preparation and training for it. The magician had somewhat of a sweet tooth occasionally loving a sweet or two but always feeling done with them after a piece or two whereas the sweets were served in entire boxes. For that reason, Mana rarely visited those shops too.
The final most notable restaurant was the Shushuya. It was a more adult-oriented pub/restaurant which served alcohol and strange exotic foods. Its entire menu was comprised completely of weird and unheard of dishes from other countries making the restaurant Mana's favorite, sadly due to its reputation and manners of things most commonly discussed over alcohol minors weren't allowed inside which irked the magician since she only could taste the food through leftovers her parents brought home.
The restaurant selected by Meiko was infamous for its godlike beef and barbecue. It was a paradise for people who loved to eat fatty and large servings of various sorts of meat and poultry dishes. That being said, it differed from Ichiraku Ramen because the food served was quite sophisticated and not nearly as quickly made. Also usually the people who favored the restaurant tended to be quite the lovers of food making the magician suspect that Meiko liked to eat a little bit more than their busy schedule allowed them to. Still, the blacksmith was her treasured acquaintance so the magician decided to let her indulge.
As suspected the place was crowded and smelled of barbecue and cooked meat. It had also the quite pleasant smells of various spices and tomatoes as well as some of the more popular local sauces in the air. Mana's nose was not the sharpest one in the shed yet even hers managed to identify and catch all of those smells so the aroma must've been quite intense. Perhaps that was the main cause of Meiko's open and comically watery mouth and her rush to shove something into her stomach. Strangely enough, while, initially, Mana wasn't a fan of the idea, watching her friend react to these smells and the prospect of food was just hilarious so she was beginning to enjoy this trip somewhat.
"Well, may as well eat too, haven't eaten since... I dunno, does a roadkill count?" Shimo wondered after the three finally found their seats.
"Awww, I hate those! My father eats those in a soup with red beets and it's the worst thing ever! If I wanted a crushed animal to eat I'd crush it with my own hands" Meiko replied missing the point of Shimo's sarcasm. The young man stretched out and smiled.
"Well then, I'd like to buy your father a drink in a couple of years..." he replied. It was strange how much Shimo changed from his early days. The gentle Yuki swordsman Mana knew could have never stomached roadkill.
As the time finally came for the three to get served Mana politely shook her head and refused, Shimo ordered a single serving of barbecue sausages. After Meiko started naming what she'd be eating the magician found herself getting bored and so she leaned over to Shimo and asked.
"So, did you find yourself already? Is that why you're back?"
"No. I just realized that I can never find myself in a place where I don't belong and so I've come back where I do belong. Konoha was always my home and while I'm glad of the experiences I've had outside and thankful for all I've learned, this place is where I'll find myself, I know it" the young swordsman explained it all, after that both youths turned at Meiko who was still letting the waitress know what she'd be eating.
"Meiko, just because I told you I won't be eating anything doesn't mean you have to order for me..." Mana whispered in the girl's ear as she just appeared to be reading the entire menu out loud to the waitress rather than ordering.
"Young lady, I will ask you to make a double order after you're done eating the first, I've run out of space in my notebook, sadly. I apologize!" the surprised waitress bowed quite low as an additional apology.
"Also, when you actually do bring her the food we'll have no space on the table..." Mana joked looking at the young woman who rushed into the kitchen to list this insane order that will undoubtedly test Yakiniku Q's kitchen manpower.
"So, what's this Audra blade you were so obsessed with, Meiko?" Mana couldn't wait to find out. Maybe the explanation of just what kind of tool her friend carried around would help her understand the nature of the trials he faced?
"You know the general rule - "mind over matter"? It applies to chakra quite well, that is to say, no matter how strong you are you cannot break a defense that uses chakra, your punch would only feel as strong as a normal blow. You cannot protect against an attack the nature of which is chakra unless the nature of your defense is chakra of greater strength or density" Shimo began to explain.
"It's a blade that can fight against chakra-infused blades made of the Audra alloy" Meiko summed the explanation up quickly.
"You see, normally chakra-infused blades pass right through normal blades, almost like to a heated knife going through butter, they offer no resistance. Audra blades are able to block blows from chakra enhanced swords or not go dull after being blocked by one. They're basically slightly inferior versions of a chakra enhanced tool but they are able to contend with them instead of just breaking" the swordsman finished his explanation after giving the blacksmith a cruel glare for interrupting him.
"How is that even possible?" Mana wondered.
"It's an incredibly complex process. It involves combining the Kirikuzu bloodline iron dust, the dust of an incredibly tough meteorite steel and some blood iron as a catalyst. The Kirikuzu iron dust is basically living embodiment of chakra and blood iron serves as some sort of strange catalyst that makes it activate. They don't consume each other but they somehow feed off of one another and work in constant harmony and if the ratio of the ingredients is right - Audra steel is made" Meiko started explaining waving her arms and somehow making even larger sparks and stars form in her eyes from the excitement of explaining the process.
"And it's so amazing because one doesn't even need to use chakra at all, as opposed to chakra infusion that actively uses it..." Mana started to seemingly understand why her blacksmith friend was so amazed by the exotic steel.
"Can your father make it?" the magician wondered just out of curiosity.
"Sure, if given the right materials. It takes just one syringe of blood for a skilled Kirikuzu to infuse small iron dust of their own inside and control the iron in the blood by controlling the iron inside the iron and it'd take a decent chunk of the meteorite to extract what's useful and what's just a dumb space rock. He hasn't done so yet, no one came to him with such a request but he's above the needed level to make such a blade" Meiko nodded.
Mana would've thought that nagging questions of such a nature would've annoyed the blacksmith but they were only boosting her excitement. It appeared that Meiko was far too interested in the subject to ever get tired of talking about it. Cooking Meiko's order was taking a while, understandingly so but Shimo's order didn't take too long so the young man was enjoying his barbecue the first, much to the despair of the yearning Meiko and much to the amusement of Mana while watching her friend drool.
"So, for how long have you been standing there in your little camouflage technique? I'd figure standing by the wall whole day would've been boring..." Mana tried to annoy her eating friend to get some sort of angered reaction, maybe to make him look at least a little bit more like his old self as compared to this mature and relaxed man she saw right now. Not that she hated the current Shimo but seeing some of his old self in there would've been quite great.
"Eh, one thing you learn while standing in ambushes for your sensei's stolen underwear is that freezing and lack of comfort are worth a good entrance. Besides, it's not like the Hokage's office was my first stop, I stopped at home too, washed myself and all that, I grew out my old clothes though so I'm stuck with these rags..." he replied with an indifferent look while slowly munching on the small pieces of meat dipped in the tomato and chili sauce spiced up with some herbs. The slow manner of Shimo's eating only made Meiko more miserable.
"That's gonna be a good story for the road..." Mana laughed out. Initially, she was worried that her friend may have gotten into some pretty shady business but based on his stories and impressions it appeared that he may have been more into the weird side of outside the village walls than shady. The magician would've been crushed to find out that yet another one of her friends had become tainted by the dark and gritty world around them.
"Eh, all I overheard was a couple of small-time mission objectives, the more time passes the more shit stays the same: washing dishes at Ichiraku, filing for the Police Force, those brats these days do all the same things..." Shimo shrugged waving his chopsticks still holding the small piece of meat around while Meiko's eyes followed it like a cat follows the small fuzzy object when you wave it in front of their noses.
"You douche-nozzle, all of us are still genin. I mean... You two..." Mana looked to the side finally seeing some action with the waitress placing Meiko's order on a giant wooden slab and preparing it for delivery to the table.
The three shared a laugh, despite Meiko's hunger the young woman finally saw her desired food being prepared to be served and despite Mana's own inner darkness regarding her loss of identity. The magician was just happy because her friends were happy, the fact that they still had to find a medical ninja for their squad was almost forgotten in this brief moment of bliss.