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It had been some time since Yuudai had shown his face around his hometown. He'd spent so long across country with distant relatives that he wouldn't be surprised if much had changed without him; a bit saddened, but not surprised. His sisters were growing up, and old friends hadn't kept in touch, but that was to be expected. There was a war afoot, and times were hard enough as it was without trying to maintain friendships through the difficult times. He'd kept in touch with Ran, but that was about it... as for all of the others, he felt he'd drifted too far, and would have changed too little, if he'd kept in steady contact.

And then there were those he didn't want to keep in touch with. His expression tightened at the thought of one in particular, one who had embarrassed him and violated his privacy and his integrity in the basest way. No, there were some acquaintances he was not looking to revive, not anytime soon.

He'd gotten back in touch with his own family and that of Ran's, spent a few days simply settling back into the rhythm of his life. His sisters took turns either fawning over the new way he styled his hair (over the shoulder and in a braid, as opposed to the high ponytail he used to carry) or catching him up on what had happened in his absence. He was surprised to learn of Jianyu's personal affairs, but had yet to make his way to congratulate his brother -- that would come in due time as well. For now, Yuudai simply wanted to reconnect with his community, establish himself inside it once more.

He found himself at the docks, slippered feet slowing to a dwindling walk as he recognized familiar faces, greeted those whose names immediately leapt to mind. Yuudai had always been good at placing names to faces, but there were many workers that he didn't recognize; seasonal, perhaps, or younger people that he hadn't yet met because they had previously not been old enough to work with their families.

Things always changed.

Rounding a corner, he glanced toward the ocean, eyes pinching a bit at the corners as a gust of sea breeze lifted his bangs, and he saw someone he recognized. Though his acquaintance with the man had been short, and he'd been forced to abandon their cooking lessons because of his absence, Yuudai remembered Kiran fondly.

Lifting his hand, blue-tipped nails catching sunlight, he called out, "Kiran!"

It had been some time since they'd see one another, and he certainly looked different -- different enough to cause a double-take for some -- but enough the same that it should have been obvious who he was. He hoped.

There was a small smile on his face as he lengthened his stride, approaching to make conversation easier. "It's been some time, hasn't it? How are you?"

It was nice to be recognized. In fact, it was nice enough that Yuudai's smile only grew, pleasure evident on his face when he closed the distance between them and bowed politely to his former acquaintance. It was nice to know that things may have changed all around, but people like Kiran were still selling their fish and moving forward in their lives; it made the changes less grating, more a natural progression. Not only that, but Kiran seemed happy, and time had wrought pleasant changes in him as well -- he was a little older, surely, but he seemed to have filled in his features a bit, come more into himself as a whole.

It just... it made Yuudai feel good. Thus far, everyone he'd encountered had changed for the better, and he hoped that the trend held.

"I recall your yellowtail being exceptional," he said, lips bowing up into a slight smile at the memory. How long ago had that been? A year, more? "It's nice to see that your business is still thriving."

At the mention of his absence, his mouth thinned out briefly. He brought a hand up,combing his fingers through the end of his braid, and shook his head. "I needed to leave for a time. I do apologize for the lack of notice... I wasn't aware that I was going until I was nearly out the door. I spent some time with family I haven't seen in a long time."

He took a deep breath, blue brows knitting. After a moment's consideration, his expression smoothed out again. "But it's good to be home. I've been meaning to catch up with everyone. To that end, would you like to join me for a meal sometime?" After a brief pause, he added, "I trust you've kept up on your cooking lessons?"

Yuudai could well understand taking pride in one's business; while he had been gone, it had hurt him almost as much to be away from the Inn as it did to be away from his family and friends. That business, passed down his family through the generations, was his pride and joy, and it didn't even belong to him yet. In due time, he would take the reigns from his parents, but he still had much to learn. Still, seeing Kiran's enthusiasm and pride for his own business reminded him of why he considered the other man fondly.

Placing his hands on his hips, he hiked his brows at Kiran's less-than-exemplary description of his own cooking talents. Oh, dear. He couldn't take his eyes off anyone for more than a moment, could he? How could he have expected Kiran to continue his cooking lessons with reliable instructor?

"That won't do at all," he said briskly, glancing past Kiran to see if he was keeping him from any important matters. No, it didn't really seem so; no one was clamboring for the other man's attention, at least. "It wouldn't be any trouble for me to teach you what I know. I enjoy it, and if you're going to live alone, you might as well know how to properly cook for yourself."

Truth be told, it had been a long time since he was in a position to take care of anyone, and his mothering instincts were practically bursting at the seams of him. He highly doubted that Kiran was paying much attention to the nutritional value of what he was eating, anyhow, and if he couldn't even cook very well how could he be expected to created a balanced diet for himself? The very thought was preposterous. They were friends, anyhow, and Yuudai wanted to reconnect with people now that he was back.

It was a logical endeavor. "It will give us time to catch up, anyhow," he added, semi-hopefully.

Time spent with only his family had reminded him how much he actually missed conversing with people his own age, it seemed.

Plain white rice and fish. Oh, he certainly had his work cut out for him. More pleased by the prospect than not, as Yuudai liked to be busy and he liked to feel useful, he mentally went over his schedule to see where he would have an opening. As before, he could slip some time in between his morning chores and his evening duties to the inn, although that was dependent on whether or not Kiran was available then. Well, they would make it work somehow.

"That's not good for you, you know. You need a healthy, balanced diet, especially if you're going to be working and spending all hours out on the sea." His tone was crisp and a little reprimanding, but not altogether full of censure. "I can certainly help with that."

He reached up to rub his chin, expression thoughtful. "Actually, if you recall where my family's inn is located, this will be very easy. You can stop by whenever you have free time, as I can usually be found there, and I'll just take you into the kitchen and we can cook something."

Most people learned best by doing, anyhow, and if he could make Kiran useful while he taught him, that would be more the better. He could send Kiran off with a packed lunch of his own making after a hard day's work, and it would give Yuudai some quality time with someone other than his family.

Yes, it was an excellent plan. Especially since he didn't plan on entertaining Bataar in his home again anytime soon.

Yuudai honestly didn't understand how anyone reached adulthood without even basic cooking skills, such as Kiran's mother. Honestly? It was one of the first things that had been taught to him and his sisters, though of all of them, only he and Masami had really taken to the art. Still, all of his sisters were more than capable of preparing a decent meal, even Shizuka, and she was the youngest of them all! One day they would have to provide for their own families, and it wasn't really all that wise to depend on one's spouse to take over the culinary duties, especially in the case of... well, being a woman.

Yuudai would of course cook for his family when he eventually married and had children, but that was to be expected. He would be running the ryokan and it would be part of his job duties. If his wife wanted to cook as well, that would be fine, but for the most part, Yuudai intended to take over the domestic chores.

He had begun to think more and more about his future domesticity, given that he was aging and moving on in his life. Not all of his thoughts had been exactly... settled, however, and he was hardly going to stand there and deeply contemplate his future in the midst of a conversation.

Ridiculous.

"Right now would be fine," he said, tucking his arms around himself with a pleasant smile. "I was just taking a walk and then intending to go home, anyhow."

Yuudai felt a sliver of guilt creep in when he saw Kiran lose business due to conversation, and he knew that he was at least partially to blame for that. Being someone who was standing there conversing with him rather than purchasing food, it didn't exactly look good for business. Because of this, he resolved to take some of Kiran's catch off his hands and use it in turn to cook; this was becoming a bit of a habit with them.

"If you want to pack up now, I'll help you," he offered. Already he was pushing his sleeves up, flipping his braid over his shoulder so that it wouldn't be in his way. "And I'll purchase some of this fish. We'll use it tonight, and then I won't feel poorly for disrupting your business."

There was certainly more than one way to cut and dress a fish, and he was willing to bet that Kiran didn't know his way around seasoning and spice any more than he did, well, anything else in the kitchen. The prospect of having so much work to do was exciting rather than annoying, however.

Yuudai felt a little badly, seeing Kiran hoist up the crate and prepare to carry it like it was nothing. He wanted to be able to assist in some way, but he didn't want to insult his friend by implying that he would struggle with it; obviously he wouldn't, as he did this for a living. Yuudai would certainly prickle if someone attempted to relieve him of one of his regular duties.

He offered Kiran a smile, one that widened to almost boyish embarrassment at being referred to as a good friend. Yuudai didn't actually have many that he could call good friend, and he was looking to change that -- especially with those who were aligned on the same side of the war as himself as his family. That was getting more and more difficult, what with Jianyu as his brother-in-law and Ran's family being firmly aligned with the Legion, but...

Times were changing. He had to change with them.

"I'm ready," he said, his voice a little more serious than it had been. Still, he did his best to shake off his somber mood, smiling a little bit at Kiran again. "My parents will be glad to see you, I think. They enjoy getting to know the vendors we buy from, and haven't had cause to go out to the market themselves much lately."