[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]

Smiling, Chouji pours the eggs into the pan, sprinkling bits of ham in as well. It will be ready for cheese soon enough. "I'm very glad not to have been the first."

[windandrain]

"As am I," Saori grins, patting him on the shoulder. "I have a feeling about you. A good one. It's nice to meet such a generous young man."

[16autumnroad]

He blushes slightly at the praise, shaking his head. "Generous? You're the one who came to celebrate a stranger's birthday. You even baked a pie for someone you'd never met before."

[windandrain]

"Well, birthdays are special. Even I celebrate them, and I'm four hundred and seventy two." She laughs, watching the eggs cook.

[16autumnroad]

"Four hundred seventy two!?" The incredulous words slip out before Chouji realizes he's being rude. His apology is stilted and sheepish. "I'm sorry, I just... would never have known." After another short pause, he decides he's already been rude, so he might as well ask quietly, "Are you really four hundred seventy two?"

Chouji supposes that anything is possible, given how different some worlds are from his own. This was unexpected, though.

[windandrain]

Smiling at the incredulity, she nods. "I am." She leans against the counter, palms resting casually against it. "I may look it, but I'm not...human. I don't know what you're world is like, not really. In mine, I am a Myojin. A god of wind and rain."

[16autumnroad]

"We have shinigami, and the tailed beasts are superhuman, but that's not the same thing." He stops to think for a moment, then adds slowly, "There are shrines and such, but I don't know of anyone who has ever met a deity in our world."

He isn't positive what the polite thing to do is when a god shows up at his party bearing apple pie, but Chouji is pretty sure the proper protocol involves feeding her a good omelette. That in mind, he turns his attention to the food while he processes the information. He adds cheese and watches it carefully to make sure it cooks evenly and doesn't overcook.

[windandrain]

"Ah, another world where my kind have...I suppose the best way to say it is retired." Saori shrugs and watches him cook for a moment before going on. "Sometimes that happens. The gods of a place grow old or weary, or the people lose faith, or any number of things. And they just leave. Return to Heaven rather than visiting the world of men. But that's not really good birthday talk, now is it?"

[16autumnroad]

"Are there a lot of worlds like that? Not the one you come from, though." He hopes, at least. The way she said it did not sound as if Saori's world was among the ones with 'retired' gods.

He shakes his head. "We should probably stick to happy things for tonight at least. Like the fact that the omelet is ready!" Chouji splits it onto two plates and hands one off to Saori, keeping the other for himself. He takes a bite and gestures for Saori to do the same, waiting for her approval of the food.

[windandrain]

"From what I've seen, yes. But...in my world it's a slow process. I certainly am not retired, anyway."

She smiles and nods at the suggestion though, and takes the omelette with a grin. Taking a moment, Saori sniffs it and nods approvingly before taking a bite. Her smile grows by several degrees of...latitude and she takes another.

"It's perfect, thank you!"

[16autumnroad]

"Four hundred seventy two and nowhere near retirement." Chouji grins at Saori, joking with her. "Very admirable dedication."

And that smile prompts a widening of his own, as Chouji promptly sets about devouring his own share of the dish. "Good! I'm glad. You're very welcome."