Murakami had decided.
After considering every possible scenario he hoped his relationship with this group took, he finally decided on the mask to wear for this group
A stranger's perception of you depends on the mask you had on when you first met. It was all an illusion or perception and he had made a decision on the template he wanted to build.
Murakami took a deep breath and wiped the head of sweat that was creasing his forehead. "I'll be back with more hands to help get all these moving."
He said to Daichi who was moving through the kitchen with an efficient speed as he dishes out the dish into bowls and plates.
His movements didn't stop but Murakami didn't bother to repeat himself and picked up the tray and walked out of the kitchen, took a turn and slid the door to the backyard open.
Setting his tone, he said, "Dinner is ready."
"YES!"
Murakami nearly jumped in fright but quickly composed himself before moving his gaze to the origin of the sound. Upon seeing who generated it, he sighed and shook his head.
'Who else could it have been?' he thought to himself as he walked over and placed the tray on the table and slid the plate onto the table, one for each.
"This smells really delicious!" Miko exclaimed in amazement as the aroma of the dishes wafted into her nose. "You cooked this?"
She turned and looked at Murakami with an intensity, but before Murakami could respond, Aiko chuckled.
"I told you right? Murakami's food is the most delicious."
Bonk.
"OUCH!"
Before Aiko could continue bragging, Murakami had appeared behind her lightly tapping her head, but her knew the amount of force behind that 'tap'
"Don't go running your mouth as you please." He then turned to Miko and smiled. "This was cooked by both Daichi and I."
"Eh!? Dai-chan is here?" Aiko, who was rubbing her head, paused and looked up at Murakami resentfully. "Hey! I didn't know that."
"I know. That's why I hit you. If you had just kept silent, you wouldn't have had to say anything in the first place." Murakami replied and turned to the girls. "If you girls don't mind, could you be of some help in serving the dishes?"
"Oh? Huh? Oh!" Miko, who after going through whatever she went through finally nodded.
Murakami smiled and looked at Yui who nodded before he turned to Hiyori.
Hiyori looked at his eyes for a short while before shrugging. "Sure, why not?"
With that, he picked up the tray. "Follow me."
The four girls followed closely behind with Aiko trailing behind and grumbling to herself and soon, they arrived at the kitchen and were amazed at the quantity of food and the finesse at which they had been dished into the plate.
"Impressive, right?" Murakami asked. "That's Daichi's handwork. The best partner anyone could ask for in the kitchen."
Just then Daichi came into view scratching his head. "Don't praise me like that Murakami. You were already halfway through when I joined."
"Yeah, Dai-chan! Don't be modest. This smells like heaven. And I didn't even know you were here!" Aiko annoyedly rebuked from the back.
"Eh?" Daichi looked behind the girls and sighted Aiko who was pouting behind the group, then grinned sheepishly. "Aiko-chan? You're here too?"
"Obviously," she shot back, though her pout softened when she saw the food. "Murakami invited me. And I invited my team. Surprise."
Miko stepped forward first, tray in both hands, eyes flicking between the dishes and Daichi. "You really made all this?" she asked, voice quiet but impressed.
Daichi nodded, rubbing his neck again.
Yui, standing slightly behind Miko, peered at the tamagoyaki with wide eyes. "It looks… perfect," she said softly.
Hiyori crossed her arms and leaned forward to take in the sight. Although she didn't say anything, her expression did all the talking for her.
Murakami glanced at her, then back at the group.
"If you girls don't mind, instead of admiring it, could you help carry them out? We'll need more hands for the soup bowls and side plates."
Miko nodded immediately, already reaching for a stack of small bowls.
"Of course."
Yui stepped up beside her, carefully lifting a tray of grilled fish.
"I'll take these."
Hiyori moved to the counter without a word, picking up a large serving dish of vegetables.
Aiko lingered a second longer, arms crossed, looking between Murakami and Daichi.
"You two got something to tell me?" she asked, though her tone was more playful than angry.
Murakami gave her a confused look which only irritated her. "Murakami, you invited Daichi and you didn't tell me you invited him and Daichi, you were invited and you didn't bother to tell me when we met earlier this morning."
Murakami gave an almost invisible smile you wouldn't notice unless you knew to look for it.
"Is there a particular reason why I must tell you that?" Murakami asked.
Aiko gasped dramatically, hand on her chest. "Rude!"
Daichi chuckled, already handing her a tray of rice bowls. "Here. Make yourself useful."
Aiko took it with mock indignation, then turned to the other girls.
"Come on, let's get this out before it gets cold. The boys are probably starving by now."
The four girls moved in a small procession back toward the clearimg where the rest of the group waited. Behind them, Murakami and Daichi exchanged a look.
"Think everything will be alright?" Daichi asked under his breath.
Murakami picked up the last tray, soup bowls steaming gently. "What could possibly go wrong." he said simply and walked out.
Daichi laughed softly. "Yeah."
He followed Murakami out, the kitchen falling silent behind them save for the soft hiss of dying coals under the pots.
Outside, the voices of the waiting genin rose in anticipation as dinner was served.
…
…
The initial excitement of the deliciousness of the food had passed and the group were just stuffing their mouths with whatever they could get their chopsticks on.
Murakami watched all these with an expression that betrayed no emotion. If anyone looked at him at that moment, they would be met with a pair of calculating eyes.
He had come to build a profile on the twelve boys and girls around him. It wasn't anything deep, but he felt comfortable enough to navigate a conversation between each of them if the situation presented itself.
His closest friends; Aiko, Daichi and Katsuro aside, the rest were barely passable in regards to intelligence.
To Murakami, intelligence was the ability to think independently, and entertain a thought without being affected by it.
That was a high standard but he wasn't about to lower it.
In a system built to indoctrinate children from the onset, it would be a miracle to find an independent thinker.
In terms of intelligence, Katsuro took the lead, then came Aiko and Hiyori.
Hiyori was from the Yamanaka clan and they had an entire system Murakami was unaware of, but he was glad they did.
From the way she talked and responded to his questions, he was assured to an extent.
Aiko was on the same level as her adaptation-wise.
Murakami didn't have a sure way of measuring but he was confident that Aiko would not lose to Hiyori in that regard considering she had grown under his influence.
He was hoping that the level of intelligence in the group would improve with time and experience. He was also prepared to play the role of guiding them.
"You've been weirdly silent, Murakami." Kenji gave a pointed look at Murakami who was observing the group.
Murakami turned his gaze to Kenji and sighed inwardly. 'Then there is this guy.' Smiling outwardly, he said. "It's not every time I have this number of unfamiliar faces visit my home." Then sweeping his gaze around the table, his smile grew wider. "I'm just overwhelmed that I do not know what to say."
"Gasp!" A loud gasp followed as Murakami finished speaking, and turning to the person responsible, Murakami's eye couldn't help but twitch.
"Is something the issue, Aiko-chan?" he asked with a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes.
"Of course there is." Aiko immediately replied, not noticing the change in him. "You and being overwhelmed in the same sentence just doesn't make sense to me. How can I not be shocked?"
"Right? It'd be like putting Katsuro and excitement in the same sentence." Kenji added with a nod. "That doesn't make sense."
Murakami looked between the two and didn't know where to start.
Kenji was a good guy, just overly competitive and clingy in the wrong way.
No matter the level of dissatisfaction you have about me, at least have some propriety.
Aiko on the other hand…
"It's true that we are all familiar faces here, but as you all know, I was never one to engage in conversation." Murakami said with a chuckle.
"You bet, I can count on one hand how many times I've heard you talk in the academy." Sora said in agreement.
"Oh? You were paying that much attention to me?" Murakami asked in surprise. He had always prided himself with being the one observing others, he didn't expect to have been observed by someone in his class without him knowing.
"Humph. I make it a duty to have a general knowledge of the people around me." Sora harrumphed smugly and turned back to his food.
"That's impressive." Murakami said genuinely. "You'd make a wonderful spy for the village, right Katsuro?"
"Hmm? Oh, yeah." Katsuro, who was calmly eating, was initially startled at being drawn into the conversation, but nodded. "One's observational skills plays a major role, another is your analytical ability."
He placed a piece of meat in his mouth and chewed slowly, uncaring for the eyes on him. Shortly after, he swallowed and continued.
"Anyone can be observant, but not everyone can make a rational analysis of an observed event."
"Hmm, so it takes more than just observation to make for a good spy." Murakami said and rubbed his chin with his left hand as though he only knew this.
"That's right.".
Hiyori set her chopsticks down neatly on the edge of her bowl, her gaze rising to meet Murakami's.
"That's right," she repeated, "Observation is just the first step. Anyone can watch. A spy, or even a decent shinobi, has to filter what they see. Separate signal from noise. Understand motive. Predict the next move before it happens."
She paused, letting her words settle.
"Most people see what they expect to see. A good analyst sees what's actually there… even when it doesn't fit what they want to believe."
Katsuro gave a small, almost imperceptible nod, the corner of his mouth lifting just enough to show he approved.
Murakami on the other hand had a smile as Hiyori finished. 'As expected. My judgement was not wrong.'
"Exactly." he added.
Aiko tilted her head, looking between the two of them with mock suspicion.
"You two sound like you've done this before. Are you secretly training to be ANBU or something?"
Katsuro groaned but didn't bother to reply while Hiyori turned to Aiko with a smile and a glint of amusement.
"I'm just saying what the clan teaches. The Yamanaka don't fight with blades first. We fight with what's between the ears."
"Your mind." Murakami said, then turned to Sora. "You heard what they said. So? Do you think you have what it takes to make a good spy?"
Sora shrugged. "I wouldn't know for sure, but I'm confident enough in my observational abilities."
"Interesting, then I have a question for you, as both a friend and a teammate." Murakami said and slowly placed his chopsticks on his plate. "