| The Hardest Part Is Over [closed to Ryouma and Kakashi] | [Jun. 25th, 2008|04:49 pm] |
[[Takes place the morning after Words and Deeds, following this conversation.]]
At one o'clock on a February afternoon, the little coffee shop down by the river wasn't particularly crowded. A few customers were lingering over their lunch; a table of pretty young women was breathless with laughter and gossip. The waitress had turned her attention to cleaning up after the lunch rush, but she straightened with a smile as a new customer ducked in. The gossiping girls poked each other into a moment of silent aesthetic appreciation.
Ryouma tossed them a distracted grin, but his eyes didn't linger long. The "ninja tables," with clear sightlines to all the exits and a little more elbowroom around them, were mostly taken, but no absurd shock of silvery hair caught the light. His brows knit in momentary irritation. Waiting for someone was bad enough; waiting for coffee was agony.
He ordered one cup while he waited, and drank it sitting by the window, where he could see the door and half the street. Twenty minutes passed. He finished his coffee, tossed the cup, and headed back to his seat.
"Waiting for someone?" one of the girls asked, as he passed their table. She tilted her head to look up at him with a bright, sympathetic smile. Ryouma smiled back.
"Meeting a friend," he said. His eyes flicked to the empty chair next to her. Three girls at the table, all pretty, all well-dressed, all probably a little older than him, all looking forward to the chance of a more interesting afternoon than they usually had. The girl who'd spoken to him discreetly moved her handbag off the seat of the empty chair. Ryouma's smile twisted a little. "I'd better go hunt him down. See you around, ladies."
He could've kicked himself as he headed out the door. But he let it close behind him anyway, and headed for the training fields where, with luck, he might find Kakashi.
The jerk owed him. |
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