[Voice / Action: CH1 Floor 4, 5/1] Birthday Party (Joint post with Ino)

[16autumnroad]

[VOICE, INO]
[A loud, familiar voice would be heard throughout the network today. Good thing it's not so early in the morning when it hollers or there'd be a lot of ruined mornings today despite the important announcement.]

Hey, Luceti! We've all had a lot of drama these past few days so, what do you all say about a little party? It's Chouji's birthday today and, of course, that needs celebrating!

Come by the first community building and you'll find the happenings on the fourth floor. See you there!

[With a little giggle, the announcement ends there.]

--

[ACTION]
It was only a little bit of a surprise to Chouji when he received an invitation to his own birthday party, delivered to the apartment door. These were things you just had to expect and accept with Ino as a teammate. Everyone on the floor along with Kiba and Asuma received paper invitations. Then he heard her network post, inviting pretty much everyone in the village. Ino.

He'd laughed and grinned when he woke up to a knock on the apartment door and the smell of chips that morning, a purple whirlwind demanding entrance to the apartment so she could decorate it. A glance down the hallway showed a trail of butterfly decorations, marking the path of Hurricane Ino.

Chouji gladly spent half of his birthday in the kitchen, likewise decorated with butterflies, cooking for his own party. He'd always been the team's cook, and there was no reason for that to change just because it was his party.

By dinnertime, the common areas as well as Chouji, Shikamaru, and Masaomi's apartment held enough potato chips to feed an army even without all the food Chouji cooked. Barbecue, of course, along with vegetables, rice, fish, chicken curry, miso soup, and one or two desserts. He made sure to include pudding, his thanks to Ino for her thought and effort.

Now they just needed some guests to help eat it all.


((OOC: I am very close to done with the semester and will be back to full tagging speed ASAP! I'll match whatever format you tag me in, prose or brackets.

Open to anyone! Threadhopping and mingling highly encouraged! It's a party.))

Comments

[16autumnroad]

Chouji knows what Neji's doing. Lee has been doing the same thing. Lee in the corner and Neji hugging the wall as he hovers outside the main activity both stand out too much to miss.

Knowing that Neji has little cause to celebrate at the moment, Chouji is touched that he made the effort. Neji's quiet consideration doesn't go unnoticed, and he'll receive more of the same back. Chouji smiles softly. "Neji. I'm glad you came."

[screw_fate]

Neji bows his head in answer to the greeting, offering a neatly-wrapped gift. If he's going to come, he'll do the whole thing properly; Chouji of all people truly deserves the consideration.

"Thank you. It's good to find reasons to celebrate." The words come out a little awkward, a little stilted -- but it's a lot better than he has been, and he's making the effort again. "I hope the year will find you well."

[16autumnroad]

"Mm. The party was more Ino's idea than mine, but I did plan on asking friends to join me for dinner tonight." Neji would of course have been invited to that, so he's glad to see the other shinobi braving the more crowded room instead. He accepts the gift with another smile, thanking Neji quietly. "I appreciate the thought."

There's something bittersweet about hearing Neji offer wishes for Chouji's future when his own is so uncertain, but Chouji doesn't stop smiling as he assures his friend, "It already is." A gesture of one hand is enough to encompass the food and the people currently populating his apartment, Neji included. His year is off to a wonderful start. What more could he ask?

"I've just been opening gifts as I get them, if that's alright. I didn't really... plan on them." He turns Neji's gift over slowly in his hands. Chouji doesn't even try to guess what anyone is giving him, grateful as much for the thought as for whatever he receives.

[screw_fate]

It's long and cylindrical; inside is a scroll, which opens to reveal a delicate painting in a classical style, of a butterfly perched on a blossoming branch, accompanied by a few elegantly calligraphed lines of poetry. If there's one thing Neji is always possessed of, it's an excellent sense of taste.

"I'm glad." Happiness is something they need to find wherever they can; it's elusive, too easy to lose. But to take pleasure in the company of friends...

Well, perhaps it's something that not only Chouji can reach for.

[16autumnroad]

"Ah, this is beautiful!" He might think Ino went a little overboard on decorations and party planning, but one thing Chouji did not do was criticize her choice of decorating theme. The butterfly is just as fitting on this scroll as they were covering his apartment. "Thank you, Neji."

He smiles. "You and Tenten are decorating my room in very different styles, you know. She managed to make pictures out of needles. Between that and one or two of the butterfly cut-outs from Ino, it'll be much nicer tomorrow than it has been since I got here." Chouji has mixed feelings about settling in here, of course, but a look at Neji is enough to quell the negative ones. At least here, Neji and Asuma-sensei have a second chance. That's reason enough. He'll go home someday, he's sure, but for now, Chouji won't fight settling into Luceti.

[screw_fate]

"Of course she did," Neji chuckled, showing true warmth at the thought of Tenten being so true to her nature (and her talents!) even when preparing perfectly unwarlike gifts. That was one of those things that could still coax a smile from him, could still remind him that there were things to smile about in the world.

[16autumnroad]

Chouji beams at Neji, the only possible response to a laugh that hasn't been heard often enough lately, nodding as he agreed, "I thought it was a fitting gift coming from Tenten, and the pictures were wonderful. All of the gifts I've received were very thoughtful, though."

Careful not to give Neji more than the slightest evaluating glance as he wonders whether or not Neji has been taking care of himself properly lately, Chouji asks brightly, "Have you eaten yet?"

[screw_fate]

It's a small thing, lacking in energy, but the warmth is there, a step forward.

"I haven't," he says, in answer to the question; the reply comes with a slight shrug, a neutrality toward the idea of food, but he has a good sense that Chouji won't let it pass so easily. He's lost weight, after all, and that's not a particularly good thing.

[16autumnroad]

"No one can come to an Akimichi's party and leave without something to eat," Chouji declares lightly, a general teasing statement rather than anything directed at Neji specifically.

Taking the step forward as encouragement, he beckons Neji toward the food table. There are some things Chouji doesn't pay much attention to, but neither friends nor food has ever been on that list. He's observant enough to catch the weight loss now that he's gotten a good look at Neji.

[screw_fate]

"If that is rule, then far be it from me to rebel," Neji agrees with a small, quirked smirk -- barely present, but an indication of amusement nonetheless.

Trying, that's what this is -- they're all trying, all striving. Can he, too?

[16autumnroad]

"Well, no one's ever written it down, but I'm pretty sure anyone in my clan would tell you the same if they were here to do it. Obviously it's just an unspoken clanwide policy." He glances down at his chest, which for once isn't adorned with its usual kanji. Chouji is out of uniform tonight.

"Food is very important," he declares unnecessarily, grinning at Neji. He does notice the effort, and he'll encourage it as much as he can. The smirk seems a good sign.

[screw_fate]

"Clan culture, of course." Naturally Neji - Hyuuga that he is - understands perfectly. The Akimichi are an old, old clan, with their traditions that stretch back far beyond the modem ninja world that they know.

"Without proper food, our strength is less," he agrees. "Though I doubt we need fear such a thing so long as you're among us."

[16autumnroad]

"Exactly!" Chouji is a traditionalist at heart. He likes the clan history, and he appreciates the importance of bearing his family's legacy. The fact that so many Akimichi traditions involve eating is a pretty big bonus, though.

Chouji ducks his head slightly at that last part, though it does nothing to hide the smile spreading across his face. He takes Neji's comment as a compliment, acknowledgement and appreciation of what little he's been able to do as his comrades pick up the pieces. And though he'd known from the start that everyone would see through him easily, he still feels a little awkward having his efforts directly pointed out. "Cooking seemed like the least I could offer to my friends and comrades," he insists quietly.

[screw_fate]

There are several ways to answer that, ranging from deflective to revealing; Neji opts for something in the middle. Chouji has been good to him, good enough that he won't do him the disservice of blocking him out entirely, but his natural reserve still holds strong.

"Coming from you, I would hardly call it 'the least,'" he points out quietly, meaning it; Chouji's cooking is excellent, and the communication of caring that comes with it is even more so.