10 the leaf village 2

(Kaz)

With a deft touch, Kaz returned a stack of documents that essentially meant he was now under the employ of the leaf village to the lovely dark-haired secretary. This contract would last for three weeks. Upon which time his contract would expire and he could either renew it or leave if he wanted. During the mind numbing process of filling out forms, his two escorts abandoned him, leaving Kaz to sign the contract on his own.

"Is there anything else I need to sign?" Kaz asked, his eyes drifting to the woman's round eyes, full lips and perfect teeth. She smiled shyly at him and pushed her dark hair from her eyes.

"Nope, all you need to do is return to the front gate and check in. I will send word to the front gate warning them you are coming. Just go sign yourself in and then you have clearance to be in the leaf village."She said, smiling sweetly.

"Thank you for all your help. That would have taken me far longer than twenty minutes to get through if you weren't here!" Kaz said, his eyes drawn to her athletic body and her tones arms.

"It was no trouble, and besides, for the next three weeks you are basically a member of the leaf shinobi. That means if you need anything then just ask me, and I will see what I can do." said the receptionist.

"Well, in that case, do you know where I can find some good food?" Kaz asked, his stomach rumbling to punctuate his question. She laughed, her voice soft and cheerful. His heart beat quicken unexpectedly from the sound and the smile, making him look away in embarrassment. She presented him with one page he filled out.

His eyes repeatedly drawn to the sharp lines of her jaw and her soft eyes. His hand brushed her soft fingers as he reached out to take the proffered papers, sending tingles of warmth up his arm. Feeling awkward, Kaz turned to leave and waved goodbye, leaving the building on his own.

He could feel those intense eyes following him as he disappears down the hall and was already trying to find an excuse to come back. She hadn't offered her name, but he would find it out the next time he came. His spirits light and his stomach growling Kaz headed into the leaf village to find something hot to eat.

The scent of grilling meat and the sweet tang of sauce drifted to his nose blown on the soft breeze. He followed the smell coming to a two-story restaurant with a balcony overhead. He could hear the loud chatter of customers and the hiss and pop of searing pork from the entrance.

A brightly glowing sign hung above the entrance proclaiming the restaurant as yakiniku, which literally meant grilled meat. Given that inside were dozens of people barbecuing and having a good time, Kaz decided that was a fitting name.

The door chimed softly as he stepped inside, and the scents of cooking grew only stronger.A kindly older lady approached him and escorted him to an empty table. He glanced around the restaurant, noting that his table was the only one not occupied. Unsure of what he wanted to order, he got one of each meat.

The diner was packed for dinner and Kaz was at a table that could seat five all by himself. Three teenagers enter the diner, followed shortly by a tall shinobi with black hair and a red sash at his waist. Kaz took the man in his walk, his stride, and the friendly greeting he received from the kindly lady that owned the restaurant.

The man was familiar, and Kaz knew why. He was Asuma Sarutobi with a thirty-one million Ryō bounty on his head. His heart beat quicken but Kaz let out a deep breath of frustration, this wasn't the time or place to try collecting a bounty.

The four approached, led by the owner of the restaurant. "Excuse me, young man, do you mind if we join you at your table?" Azuma asked kindly, his voice soft and deliberate.

"Of course, I'm not using the other seats. Please sit down." Kaz said with a smile.

"I am Asuma, this is Shikamaru, Chōji and ino." said the oldest of the four. The man grinned, holding an unlit cigarette between his lips. Shikamaru was tall for a fourteen-year-old with his black hair tied back into a ponytail, with black pants and a green shirt with his headband protector around his right arm.

Choji wasn't all that tall, but he made up for it in girth. His brown hair stood up like an unkempt rug and he wore a white scarf around his neck that dangled down his chest. A swirling red clan symbol adorned his shirt, and he also bore one on each of his cheeks. Ino, on the other hand, had her white hair combed to perfection, half falling over one eye and the other half pulled tightly behind her head.

Each of the four had leaf headbands and gave Kaz a pleasant greeting. Well, besides, Choji he was practically bouncing in his seat his mouth watering.

"Are you in the chunin exams?" Shikamaru asked, stretching lazily. Kaz, who wasn't really paying attention to the three genin raised an eyebrow.

"Nope, I am an independent shinobi." Kaz said with a shrug. Azuma perked up at that, his eyes glimmering with danger. "That sounds like a drag," Shikamaru said with a bored look.

"You wouldn't happen to be a bounty hunter, are you?" Asuma asked, his tone dangerous.Kaz waved his hand dismissively." You don't need to worry about me Asuma, besides it would be foolish to try to collect the bounty on the son of the hokage." Kaz said, revealing some of his hand.

"A bounty hunter? Who is your target here in the village?" Asuma asked, his face far more serious than before.

"That is classified. And I don't believe I can say with three genin in the room."Kaz said his mouth watering as a lady brought several platters of uncooked meat to their table.

"As long as you are not her to cause trouble, then we won't have to come to blows."Asuma said, his eyes darting to the piled meat. He could have answered that threat, but Kaz was sworn to secrecy, and intended to keep his mouth shut.

The three genin perked up at the sound of grilling meat. The owner of the restaurant placed a bottle of sake in front of Asuma, which lightened the tense atmosphere around the table. Kaz place his entire platter onto the hot grill and used his chopsticks to spread the thin slices of meat around.

The pork sizzled and popped, smelling of sweet spices and slowly darkening.The kindly owner of the restaurant placed a tray of small bowls filled with several sauces on the table.

"What do you think, Shikamaru?" Asuma asked, glancing at the kid with the bored look on his face.

"I think he is either here to babysit the genin from his village or he is looking for someone. If you ask me, that would be too much work." Shikamaru said in a bored tone.

Kaz cracked a smile using his chopsticks to dip a slice of beef into a bowl of soy sauce. He groaned in pleasure, enjoying the tangy sauce and sweat seasonings. He swallowed, taking his time before answering that statement.

"I am here on an unrelated mission. The hidden grass genin here doesn't matter to me." Kaz lied, thinking of Karin.

"Are you going to finish that?" Choji asked, stuffing slices of meat into his mouth. The genin snatched some of Kaz's pile of cooking beef in the blink of an eye. Kaz hovers over how food protectively, pointing his chopsticks at Choji like it was a sword.

"Back off, this is my food!" Kaz said, matching Choji's furious pace of eating. His lips burned from the hot food but Kaz devoured the remaining meat on the grill doing his best to out eat the frantic Choji.

"It's not my fault you eat so slow!" Choji retorted his chopsticks a blur, as they took meat from Kaz's side of the grill. "Ill show you slow," Kaz said, stealing some seared beef from Kaz's side before the young man could react

"Hey, I was saving that!" Chojis said.

The others, meanwhile, stare on with a sort of stunned fascination as both Kaz and Choji turned a simple meal into a game of who could eat the most."One more platter of beef!" Kaz shouted to the passing owner.

"Make that three!" Choji replied, just as loudly, his chopsticks never stopping.

Kaz wasn't sure how this little contest happened, but he was having a lot of fun. After so much travel, he was famished and was determined to put this genin in his place. The other three at their table picked at the roasting meat, keeping their distance from the frantic eating duel.

After about an hour of eating, his stomach ached, and he glared across the table at his rival.He wouldn't loose, this was one thing Kaz was the best at and that was eating food. Chojie's hand trembled and his face paled, but he put a slice of meat in his mouth, anyway.

Despite his feeling of nausea, Kaz did the same glaring at his opponent. Elation filled him as Choji dropped his chopsticks, a signal of defeat. Kaz whooped and groaned at his heavy stomach.

"Am I seeing things? Did Choji actually lose an eating contest?" Shikamaru asked, his eyes wide.

"I think so. Kaz, how did you eat so much? You are so athletic, and slim?" Asuma asked, a hint of respect in his eyes.

Kaz shrugged and was happy with the victory, at least until the bill came. He walked from the restaurant, clutching his extremely light purse.

Beside him, the other four walked in step, and Asuma was mimicking Kaz as he hefted his own mostly empty purse. It appeared Chojis' frantic eating cost Asuma as much as Kaz paid.

"You got lucky!" Choji grumbled, walking down the street, both happy and with a fiery spark in his eye. Kaz grinned and saw an opportunity."Oh, yaa, well if you think so, then we could wager Ryō on the winner next time. Whoever loses pays for the winner."Kaz said, setting his trap.

"Your on, Asuma sensei, can you spot me some Ryō?" Choji asked, glancing at the taller man with the red sash at his waist.

"No chance, I'm staying out of this."Asuma said, lighting his cigarette and exhaling a grey cloud of some that drifted around his face. "Shikamaru, you believe me right? I can win next time!" Choji shouted, his face a mask of determination.

"Dont be such a drag, it's just eating food."Shikamaru said. "I wish I could make you this exited to train."Asuma said with a wistful smile. A grin formed on Asuma face at that comment, as he clearly had an idea.

"You say you can win, Choji? "Asuma asked. "Ya, of course, Kaz has nothing on me!" Choji said, growling, his face a mask.

Ino cut in her face flushing bright red as she glanced at Kaz. "If you asked me who would win in an eating contest two days ago between you and some stranger I would have voted you Choji. But after watching you both eat, I am betting on Kaz."she said, her face beat red by the end of her comment.

Kaz grinned, his heart skipping a beat at that warm look. "Set the time and place, Choji, and I will be there!" Kaz said.

"I will only give you the Ryō, if you win in the upcoming finals two weeks from now." Asuma said, cutting in.

"There you have it, in two weeks we will have an eating contest!" Choji shouted, rushing off towards the forest.

"I think you're going to regret that, Asuma."Shikamaru said.

"Maybe, but if I'm going to still be your teacher after the chunin exams, I need to learn how to motivate each of you properly. And it looks like Choji is going to be extremely motivated to train."Asuma said, with a smile.

"What a drag."Shikamaru said unhelpfully. Asuma seemed like an alright teacher, Zosui would've just used physical violence to motivate his students. Kaz shook his head. Well that got Zosui killed by one of those very same students, so perhaps it was a bad method.

Asuma turned to Kaz,"It was nice meeting you Kaz, please excuse us. We are going to do some training."Asuma said.

Kaz nodded, watching Asuma and Shikamaru walk after Choji who had already disappeared down the street. The extremely quiet Ino paused there for a second, her cheeks flushing as she glanced up at him from under a lock of white hair.

The young woman opened her mouth, then closed it several times. She eventually settled on a wave of farewell before following her friends.

Kaz smirked at the odd interaction and decided that perhaps he should do some of his own training. It was still midday, and there was time to train before the night's activity. He only had three weeks to uncover which of the great nations was here to spy, and what their plans were.

Kaz approached the front gate with a contented smile and a wave. "Hey! Iruka, you are still on duty?"Kaz asked.

"Hello again, you are Kaz right?" Iruka asked, marking something down in his ledger.

"Yep, that's me, Kaz Taberu of the grass."Kaz said, tapping his headband proudly.

"I thought you got lost in the village after you didn't report back."Iruka asked, smiling.

"Well, I found a nice barbecue restaurant."Kaz said cheerily, patting his full stomach. Iruka laughed, "Well, that's good!" Iruka said, sitting back on his stool.

"Do I need to sign something or did you already get word from the hokage?" Kaz asked.

"I already got word from lord third. Just sign here and you will be cleared to stay in the village for three weeks."Iruka said, offering him a single paper. Kaz signed the paper with little care for its contents and then waved farewell.

He exited through the front gate in search of a quiet, out of the way training spot.