Starring:
Kasai and Chiru, Hayase, Mizumi, Naoya
Date: September 14, 2016
Summary:
Students and villagers come together to compete in a fishing contest down by the lake.
Poster's note: foul language filtered in obvious places.
"A Fishy Meeting"
Mist Lake
As spring continues to press on and a new season of fish have had time to mature and grow, some of the older villager civillians have decided to host a small celebration of sorts for this bounty. The area has been mildly cleaned up and more people have flocked over to the lake than usual on the premise of a fishing contest being hosted. Some food and drink has been put out, children run around playing with one another, and some experienced fishermen are dressed up ready to take home the prize of a free week's worth of meals at the local restaurant. Shinobi were welcomed as well, under the off chance that the festivities might get rowdy or in case wild animals were drawn to the catches. While Kasai and Chiru both would normally be happy playing amongst the frolicking children, they both have fishing rods that are far too big for them and butterfly nets slung at their sides.
A tall, built man with graying black hair, a wispy beard, and pale skin is knelt down by them both, trying to fuss with a couple of aprons on them meant to help keep their dresses dry. "There, better?" He wonders to them both with a kind, patient tone before the twins bob their heads and reach out to hug him. He smiles and pats both of their backs with a single pat, "Alright, go and catch some fish. Even if you both don't win, will make a nice supper out of it." When the twins let go, Kasai tells him, "Course we're gonna win! Those fish won't stand a chance." A man speaks above the crowd, "Alright, contestants, to your marks. The contest will begin shortly." The man leans down and kisses the top of one of the twin's heads before letting them run off to join the other adults in picking out their fishing spots.
It looks like Hayase is trying to get that free week of food…at the buffet table, in the next few minutes. It's (debatably) free but most people have the grace to pinch just a moderate amount. Not the Genin. She has a bowl, and is scarfing the grilled fish and rice down at an alarming rate. More than one bowl beside her has been scrubbed clean. Hayase seems impervious to the distasteful looks, or murmured suggestions that perhaps she's had enough. Well, she can decide when she's had enough. In fact, eating so much is a compliment to the people who made it! Clearly, this is polite. She sets down the empty bowl and snatches up a new one. She doesn't bite so much as suck it down like a whirlpool.
Eventually she's firmly ordered to stop by a Chuunin or maybe a Jounin. In return for her scowl, a fishing rod is thrust in her hands. And she's plainly told if she wants more to eat, she can go and win it. Grumbling, she goes to sit down and happens to do so somewhere near Kasai. Unlike the girl who's doing it partially fun, Hayase is in it for the prize. "What's your favorite kind of fish?" she asks the two curiously. She wipes a few sticky grains of rice from her chin.
Keeping a bit off to the side, a young Shirayuki sits upon some larger rocks that are away from the festivities. She didn't really seem inclined to o participate as of right now, and her two hands were occupied with a single book that was in her lap. Her eyes, however, were far from keeping to the page. She was no longer a student, so a majority of her reading was fluxury. One likely wouldn't realize that since the topic was a bit out there and it seemed to be more like an instruction manual than anything. Regardless, that is what Mizumi is reading.
Every now and then, Mizumi 'scans' the crcrowd with her senses. Primarily, she's attempting to gauge the chakra present. Was there anyone of interest within the group? She noticed both Villagers/Students and Genin, as well as some of the higher-ranked shinobi acting as overseers. Unsurprising. What /was/ surprising was that there were two signatures that were oddly similar. She would, had she knowledge on Shadow Clones, probably assume that. But since she -
But since she doesn't, then she would stand and make her way over to where Chiru and Kasai were seated. As well as Hayase. She didn't really offer any form of greeting. It should be noted that as she walked, she made a soft *thmp* with a wooden staff that was primarily meant to help her walk.
'Another spring, another gathering.. Itoko, I hope you didn't feed them your scraps as the winter grew long' is softly said with a bit of a sigh. Naoya has attended the gathering though he showed no interest in joining the fishing competition nor did he seem interested in partaking in the food and drink offered, though he luckily avoided having to handle with another glutton, someone assigned to the event had done so. What drew his attention was the man helping the twins along which causes a light smirk to appear on his lips. Waiting until the pair moved off with the poles in hand, Naoya walks along side the man before stopping.
'An experiment keeping a few chosen away from becoming experiments themselves. That's an interesting choice for a generation before my own.' Speaking faintly, it was unlikely that anyone would be able to hear Noaya beyond a dozen or two centimeters away. Looking forward, he would notice the 'glutton' being sent off to the docks only to let out a sighing grumble, "Hay-chan.. scaly glutton" is said a little louder than what was intended. Mizumi's presence didn't seem to catch the Okumo's presence directly, though with his familiarity to the area, where his brood might be at the time would be anyone's guess.
Both of the twins hum together at the same time at the girl's question, "We like flounder." They chime together, flashing Hayase a pair of big toothy smiles. "But…" Chiru says as she bumps her shoulder against Kasai's possibly in reminder so her sister doesn't get her hopes up, "There's no flounder in here, so we'll just catch something yummy from here! Hopefully there's catfish." Kasai mmm's loudly at the thought of catfish and nods her head eagerly, "Yeah! They have cute whiskers too." As they look around and try to scope out their other competition from the shore, Chiru introduces them both to Hayase while Kasai fumbles around with trying to get two wriggly nightcrawlers on their hooks, "My name's Chiru! That's Kasai, it's nice to meet you!" One elderly man hushes the noisy children from their other side and both of them turn to stick their tongues out at him as their remark before they grin mischievously and return their attention to their new friend. The man simply grumbles his distaste and mutters some garbled comments about the youth of today while fixing his own rod.
The man that was tending to the twins has found a place to stand by the food where he can keep an eye on the twins, though Naoya's words have him tense. He looks aside at Naoya, clearly trying not to crumble under the new found pressure, but he tries to remain visably calm to keep from drawing much more attention. "They did nothing for me but add to my nightmares…" He gruffly whispers to Naoya in a scraggly voice as his hands finds his pockets. "They would have destroyed them and…it's not what she would have wanted." His eyes glaze over with sadness before returning to their alert, fearful state. "It's been some time since any of the brood have come by…they…tend to keep to themselves. If there is anything that might…help, with making sure they don't know, we do not have much…but I am willing to listen."
The announcer and host of the event then steps forward with a practiced smile as he waves over a clapping crowd. After a short speech about prosperity and explaining the rules of the competition, the man raises his hand into the air before quickly dropping it back down, "Begin!"
If the Shirayuki checked, Hayase's chakra signature and physique would be ordinary. Yawningly ordinary. Not strong, not weak, not possessing any hidden tell, just your average shinobi. Before they start, Hayase's attention isn't on the lake at all. It's on Kasai and Chiru, and Hayase is looking so closely at both of them it's as if she's able to see the twins down to their hair follicles—and is seemingly trying to do just that. Though she doesn't seem apologetic, and she's pretty sure Kasai and Chiru wouldn't mind. It's probably commonplace for people to goggle at them. After a few unending minutes of this, Hayase smiles and says, "Sorry for staring. I'm Maki Hayase, pleased t'meetcha." She nods. "Flounder, yum. And catfish with their cute and /highly poisonous/ whiskers."
She gives a nod to the nearby Mizumi, and then smiles widely at Naoya. "Why Naoya-kun! Have you gained some weight? You're looking a bit pudgier." She sounds humorous, as if she's making a joke…right? She doesn't even bother to deny she's a glutton. She is. But somehow that doesn't translate into putting on more pounds. "I see food thrown away after festivities like this. It's a crime, when other people are starving out there. It's our civic duty not to let it go to waste." So it seems she had heard that last comment. She quiets as Naoya and the other man exchange a few vague words, and she opens her mouth to ask after it when the contest begins. As lines are cast, Hayase watches the other people for a time, and then casts her own line in imitation of the people closest to her. Then she puts on a look of intense concentration, as if willing the fish to bite.
Mizumi keeps a few meters away from the twins, and Hayase for that matter. The nod is returned, and then her gaze averts itself to a nearby Naoya. There's a brief glint in the Shirayuki's eyes, but it disappears quickly. What she would offer to the Okumo was nothing less than a rather casual nod before she would slip a bit further into the background to 'examine' these individuals' signatures. It was interesting that Hayase had been completely average as far as most people go. There was a distinct glint of the hitai-ate, though, implying she was a Genin. Taijutsuist? Mizumi would hazard that to be her guess.
Chiru and Kasai gained most of Mizumi's inner attention though. Outwardly, she'd start making her way towards one of the stands with food, feeling a bit hungry. Inwardly, she was focusing solely on the twins.
Lifting a hand up, Naoya brings two fingers to tap the side of his throat closest to the man, signally to focus on his tone. 'They are a interesting, they are also unique in several ways.. They are useless as they are to the clan. Before they were useless as a joint host body.' Staying beside the man, he motions towards a empty table, 'We can sit there. I have not come here as a member of the Elder's enforcers. You can relax, I wish to see their extent not to alter them.' Turning away, Naoya soon takes a seat but once resting, his head turns towards the pier, watching the competition finally began.
Waiting to talk back and forth with the man is paused when his name is called out loudly, causing his eyes to suddenly narrow. Tensing his right hand, something his shaped within his palm, a small core of webbing with two spines forming a cross. In a few moments, a miniature shuriken is formed out of chitin and webbing which allowed Naoya to flick his wrist, launching the tool. Curving past several others in the crowd, the chitin shuriken has one target.. the back of Hayase's head. Mizumi would be able to see the Okumo clearly, even the annoyance painted on his face at the time. "Annoying runt.." Glancing back towards the man he had been talking to, he closes his eyes and lets out a slow, controlled breath before sitting back in his chair. 'Apologies.. I know that glutton quite well.'
"It's okay." Chiru reassures, before Kasai finishes the sentence, "People do that a lot of times. Papa says it's just because twins are special and they wanna make sure they can tell us apart so they don't hurt our feelings…but usually they can't." Chiru nods her head in agreement, "So it doesn't hurt our feelings none, besides, we don't mind not being different from each other." Kasai and Chiru both have managed to mirror one another and cast their lines out at the same time, making the bobbers land side by side. This is about when Hayase tells them that catfish whiskers are poisonous,
"Really?" Kasai asks curiously before scrunching her nose, "I guess that's why you don't see a lot of them cooked with their heads on…" After Hayase draws attention to Naoya, the twins turn around and grin as they both wave at him and their father. They end up noticing Mizumi and smile cheerfully at her, "Hiya." They both chime together, "You wanna sit with us? You can tell grandpa to scooch over a little." They point to the fisherman that was complaining before, which earns them both a briefly annoyed glare that causes them to giggle with each other. "You tease Naoya-sensei?" They do let Mizumi get her snacks and Kasai grins and glances over at Chiru after she asks Hayase the question. "Sometimes we do too, we got to pull his hair once when he tried tricking us. I mean…that was after he did trick us, but still. He's fun. Not like our other teachers."
Gorou's eyes drift down and he clears his throat before inclining his head. His voice is softer this time, 'Heh…that they uh…are.' He concedes quietly, 'Wet near gave me a heart attack when they were born…' His eyes end up on the table and he nods once before walking over to sit down at the empty table, 'That…is a relief. Thank you.' Gorou relaxes now that he knows that the threat is not as big as he thought, 'When the girls told me about you, I…admit I was terrified. They don't seem to understand why I keep them away…but they are getting better, I believe.'He blinks after Naoya throws the shuriken and he glances back over at the girl with his daughters, "It's…okay." Gorou tries to reassure despite sounding shaken by the display of skill.
Meanwhile, Chiru would start to get a nibble on her rod and she squeaks out in excitement before trying to reel it in after she managed to set the hook. "Here, lemme help!" Kasai says, setting her rod down to grab the large rod with Chiru and pull on it as she tries to get the fish in.
Hayase doesn't sense the shuriken, but she does hear the gasp of one bystander as the chitin goes past them. She twists around just in time to duck beneath the thing. She yelps and immediately retaliates by snatching up the first suitable projectile she can get her hands on. Her bucket, which is meant to hold her fish. Instead of using it to collect her catch, she flings it with impressive force and accuracy at Naoya.
A few of the nearby fishermen look scandalized, as the bucket is immediately followed by her fishing pole. Hayase doesn't know about the ways of fishing, but it's safe to say she should know that the pole is for catching fish, not hurling it at a bystander pole, reel, and lure. Her patience for fishing has lasted for approximately three seconds, and now she takes a deep breath, before saying mildly to the twins and Mizumi, "Excuse me. I need to retrieve my pole." And she'd go to fetch it, without a word to her target.
Naoya's expression, which thankfully was not directed at herself, would be noted, and then the twins were calling out. She would blink a bit and sort of continue to get her snacks, merely offering a pointing finger in the proper direction to prove she wasn't trying to ignore them. She was a bit focused on something, though. Once she purchased some food, she would make her way back to the small group … Just in time to see Hayase hurl her fishing equipment at Naoya. The corners of Mizumi's mouth twitch slightly, but she forces her reaction away to offer a nod to Hayase. Then she would sit down beside the twins, taking the other genin's spot for her own. Mizumi proceeds to offer two snacks, one for each of the twins, to the two students before her. She does such rather quietly, mostly because she wasn't even sure what she should say.
Extending out his throwing hand, Naoya manages to stop the bucket without much problem and soon the other hand extends, catching the fishing rod. Upon closer inspection, the bucket was now attached to his hand through webbing binding it in place and the rod's hook and snared into his hand but only managed to carve into the webbed glove that covered it. 'I've read the reports.. I have clearance to most medical records within the village, not just within the clan.' Shaking his head lightly, the 'assault' of the fishing equipment didn't even cause Naoya to have a shaken voice, as if it was usual.
"This isn't the Acada-" blinking as Hayase drew close, a grumble vibrates in his throat showing his annoyance. "I was thinking it was another student attack. When Hayase draws close enough, he mock swings the fishing rod towards her but stops a few centimeters before hitting her head or her blocking arms should she actually try to stop it. Turning his wrists slightly, each are offered though removing the bucket would be more of a tug than the rod. 'Those two have already began to master several teachings. I plan to use their energy as a means to have them become effective assassin, turning it into a game for now.' As he spoke, Naoya kept his eyes onto Hayase, seeming slightly on edge, preparing to react quickly of another strike.
"Try not to 'lose your grip' on these again, remember.. the longer you're here talking to me about your catch, the less likely you'll be able to get away with any winnings." Lidding his eyes slightly, Naoya turns and nods towards the twins as they struggle with their first notable catch. "Look at that, seems you might not be winning the top prize, someone's just about the snatch it away Hay-chan."
The twins giggle at Hayase's tempermental display and call after her in encouragement, "Good throw!" Still, they try to remain focused on reeling in their catch and eventually a sizeable wriggling catfish can be seen on the other end. "Yes! Good for dinner. Wait…was the contest for the biggest or most?" Kasai wonders to Chiru, who answers, "I think they got prizes for both maybe." Kasai nods her head once and is about to carefully add the catfish to the bucket. She tries to definitely avoid those whiskers as she gets it off the hook and it eventually flops in. Though no one told the twins that when they get big enough, it's probably a good idea to kill the fish first. It knocks over their bucket, but that is quickly fixed when Kasai puts the upside down bucket over the fish and sits down on it as she retakes her pole.
When Mizumi returns to them with snacks offered, they both smile cheerfully before Chiru asks Kasai, "Can you hold mine for me? I gotta get another worm on my hook." Kasai nods her head and accepts the snacks while Chiru works on rebaiting her hook, "Thanks! Hey were you in the graduating class? Congratulations! We're in class now too! Naoya-sensei says the next trials will be in the fall."
Gorou nods to Naoya as he listens to him, "That's good to hear…I was nervous about admitting them. Their…mother wasn't really for the life, but they're so much easier to manage at home now that they have somewhere that really tires them out." The mention of assassins does have him briefly frowning in a somber, but not unhappy expression. "Whatever they end up doing, I'll support them. I'm sure they'll serve well if they do become shinobi one day." He sighs softly, "I remember the life, but too many wounds to get back out their now. Now I just try to serve the rest of the brood when I must and stay at home to focus on taking care of the girls."
Hayase blinks when Naoya mistakes her for a student. Oh yeah, he has that ongoing test with his students. He probably gets any number of things chucked at his head. "I'm not sure if I approve of that whole kill-the-teacher curriculum you are running at the Academy," Hayase says. Then she leans over to whisper something into his ear, with a gentle smile. Then she'd give him a soft pat on the shoulder.
If he allowed it, she'd reclaim her fishing gear, and wince as a few of the contestants start reeling in their catches. He's right, she needs to go. She hurries back to reclaim her spot, and cast her reel once again. The close proximity is both an advantage and a disadvantage to the others. It certainly puts everyone into a competitive spirit. But it can be depressing to see your neighbor with heaps of fish.
Hayase isn't in denial though. Winning is going to take a lot of luck. She's relaxed a bit, but now she's looking curiously at the three girls. "What kind of guy is he like?" she asks him. "As a teacher, that is?" She casts her line far into the water.
When the whispering ends, Naoya couldn't help but starts to smile baring the tips of his fangs at a seeming joke being told. "Now now, if one of them actually manages then I think you'll be in for a challenge, don't you? Anyways, what better way to learn than to actually try the craft, again and again?" While he seemed set to talk to Hayase longer, his lifts his now empty hands and motions to shoo her away. Lowering his hands back into his lap, a faint chuckle could be heard as his eyes watch the one girl before shifting to watch the twins gaining a treat to tide them over from Mizumi. "I didn't expect that, she seems rather locked in those text but I guess she's still aware of those around her."
Nodding slowly, he glances towards the side to examine Gorou briefly before saying 'With how well you raised these two, depending on how long it will be before they are chuunin, you may be called upon. Even if you don't spawn heirs through the program, you might be assigned special cases.' Closing his eyes and crossing his arms, Naoya tilts his head back, angling it so that the sun could strike it fully, seeming to actually relax for a time. 'You are proving to be good at nurturing even ones you do not understand. Dismiss the idea 'we' would take them away, or the idea that you are 'worthless' to the clan from the internal scarring.'
"He's pretty neat for a teacher." Chiru says as she casts out her line again. "Makes sure that we stay focused on all of our lessons, always makes sure that we keep trying to be the best in our class, and does demonstrations so we don't just have to read it from books or practice it by ourselves." Kasai bobs her head in agreement with Chiru's words, "Yeah, he can be a bit rough sometimes, but it's usually just to help…sometimes he's mean and hurts us but it's not like the way the other teachers do it. He gives us a chance to make up for it, so he can be nicer again, instead of just using our mistakes as some excuse to give up or do those dumb tests." They both frown in a pout at the same time over the thought before Kasai grins and tells Hayase, "Still mad at him for stealing our candy though." She peers over her shoulder at Naoya suspiciously before trying to wiggle her rod to jiggle the bait around some more. "But he says we can get it back the better we do at our lessons. But he could have just fibbed and ate it all himself."
Gorou folds his arm over her chest, laughing uneasily at Naoya's words. "Yes…I suppose." He does glance aside at the younger Okumo and nods his head slowly, before letting himself relax enough to genuinely utter a quiet chuckle. "Yes, there will be no more heirs from from me. Not the youth I once was, and there will be no replacing Kouki…but…if they require help with the children, I'd be more than happy to try for said special cases…I'm sure Chiru and Kasai would both enjoy the company." He does reach out to offer his hand to Naoya, not bold enough to initiate direct contact. "Thank you though…I really…don't know what I would do without them. And it good to know that the new generation still sees some potential in us as we get more near to the end of our roads."
Hayase regards Naoya for a long moment and then says, "You're right of course. If someone manages to kill you, they'll have my highest regard. I'll make sure not to underestimate them." She says this with a sweet smile. She looks over then at Gorou and gives a slight bow. Naoya and the twins seem to know him, and hold him in such regard. She'd introduce herself, and ask him very politely to take care of her.
Hayase listens closely to Chiru and Kasai's words. She bites her lip at one point, as if trying not to laugh. But by the end she nods. She scoots closer to Mizumi and lowers her voice, so the nearby Okumo can't overhear. "Yes, Naoya-kun is a very thoughtful guy," she says. "He can be harsh sometime, but what he does always has a point. The thing that truly offends him is complacency. It doesn't matter what level you're at. If you're moving forward, he'll be satisfied. In fact, while I might like making students like me enough not to kill me, I think it would disappoint your sensei. You need to put in your best effort to assassinate him. Nothing would…whoa!" She actually got a bite.
She almost makes a botch of it, even though it's just an average sized fish. But she manages to reel it in and from her expression, it might as well have been a shark. She dumps the fish into her bucket. "Most of all…use your head. Even if you make your arm stronger, your mind needs to be equally as sharp to catch him off guard. It'll take more than a fishing pole and a bucket."
"The generation before you also hold use, but each use is different." Unraveling one arm, Naoya looks down at his right hand, tightening it into a fist before letting it loose and relaxed again. "While the younger generations are refined experiments, if they are raised poor, they will never become optimal. In this case, your thought weakness is cured by them.. they are your proof, and your strength." Glancing to the side when he noticed movement only to see Gorou's hand which causes him to pause momentarily. Eventually though he extends his own hand, grasping the man's firmly and nodding to him.
After a moment, Naoya shift back with his hands to his lap and his eyes forward, watching over the four that interested him for the time being. "This is needed some times.. Summer is going to be cruel on them all I feel. Worse than this winter had been for us all." Despite the sullen prophecy a soft smile was on the Okumo's lips, though something shifted.. his eyes darkened and his gaze was becoming distant.. inturn several spiders that had been close to the pier work their way under it and between the boards, observing the group from below.
"We dunno if we wanna really kill him though." Chiru mumbles, sounding a little sad about that as she mumbles to herself quietly. Kasai nods her head in agreement before musing, "Maybe tease him more, but he's too neat to kill." Chiru is the one who peeks over her shoulder as if making extra sure that they aren't hearing anything, while not being the most subtle about who they're talking about. When Chiru's attention returns, she does tell Hayase, "But…if he does that with other kids, then that means that he doesn't really die. Or they've got a bunch of him locked up. So, yeah, I guess we can try really hard and use our brains. Kasai's even reading more! Used to be I did all the reading and note taking and just told her about it later." Kasai hums, the mention of fishing and their lessons bringing to mind a certain lesson. "Naoya-sensei." Kasai hollars over, much to the dismay of other fishermen. "If you henge to be a fish, do you get to breathe underwater?"
Gorou nods his head slowly, though Naoya's comment has him looking confused. "Will it now? Why is that?" He wonders, though the announcer steps up and blows a whistle to call for time on the contestants. "Alright, bring up your catches and let's see who's won." Kasai and Chiru peek up, then they both abandon their fishing poles to hop up from the bucket. By this time the poor fish is dead or barely clinging to life after being out of the water for this long. They each gently pick it up by either side of its mouth and carefully start to carry it up to be judged. Thankfully, Hayase will not be alone in her slim chances of winning. Upon a quick glance, several fishermen seem to have caught bigger catches and more of them than either Kasai, Chiru, or Hayase.
Hayase laughs softly. "I said try to kill him," she says humorously. "There's no way you can kill him, at your level, or even put a dent in him. But it's nice to hear you don't want to kill Naoya-kun. Just don't tell him you said that, and we'll keep it between us. He may give you detention if he knows you're not putting in your best effort." She smirks…and catches another fish. It seems the gods are taking pity on her, or she's getting outrageously lucky. She grins and reels it in. A catfish. She sighs at the normal size though. Better than nothing, she supposes.
As she baits her pole again she speaks without looking at the twins. "I'm extremely good at memorizing a person's anatomy at a glance, down to the last detail. You are both certainly twins, but there's something else. Not anything artificial, like clones or…science-y stuff. If you don't mind me asking, what is it?" Her tone is more curious than demanding.
"It will mark almost two years since contact with one of the Tailed beasts. Meaning either it is in enemy hands and we are going to war.. or it rebelled and we are going to far against it." Shrugging his shoulders faintly, Naoya begins to shift to his feet at the question but he doesn't answer it. At the conclusion of the contest, he moves over to shift behind Hayase, using her head as an elbow rest before lowering his voice some. "Now, what kind of things were you whispering to these two to make them think someone could henge into a fish?"
Having not yet answered their question, Naoya turns to Chiru to say, "I won't give you an easy answer but.. if you can henge into a fish and find breathing nearly impossible, then you may be able to breath with the help of water. Try one then the other, don't dive right into the danger." Glancing back towards Hayase, he starts to inspect her catch wondering if it would be enough to count as a snack.
"Yeah, you're probably right…something did hurt him though, pretty badly before the last lesson." Chiru says, nodding her head and waiting before she walks up to where the rest of the contestants are being called. Kasai blinks after being reminded and nods her head in agreement, "Yeah! That's right, I remember that! He never did say what happened to him. I guess thinking about the candy made me forget…" It's difficult telling how long the thought will stay with them, because now they have to answer Hayase's curiousity. "Huh? Oh, well, we dunno much. But papa says that we're like momma and her sister. But they left, so we couldn't ask them much about it…papa didn't get to know much either, but he says we were born together and just broke apart one day. Says there might be a few other people out there and it's like we're from the same family too." Kasai nods at Chiru who handles most of the talking, "Me and Chiru would really like to meet them someday."
Gorou frowns deeply at that, not needing to say anything to understand the gravity of the situation. He just nods his head slowly and stands up to walk over to Kasai and Chiru. "Catfish, huh? Looks very healthy. Think that it'll be a fine supper." The twins smile up at their dad and hug him before nodding at Naoya, "Okay Naoya-sensei. We'll try to practice and see if we can do it and we'll be real safe about it!" Meanwhile the judge stops by Chiru and Kasai first to measure the catfish. "Only one, huh? Would have expected at least two from you both." He muses before they shrug helplessly and he moves on to try to measure Hayase' fish. Eventually he walks away back to where he could have everyone's attention. Unfortunately for them, the prizes would go to two local fishermen from the pier. One caught a beauty that's nearly the length of his whole arm, while the other caught ten fish altogether on his own.
Hayase elaborates a bit on what Naoya has to say about a fish Henge. "Henge is just a disguise," Hayase says. "And one that needs to be maintained by constant chakra. It's easier to dumb down your form. Like still being a human, or disguising yourself as an inanimate object. Adding abilities like breathing underwater or being stronger is…difficult, maybe impossible. I once turned into a bird once and tried flapping around." She grins. "Let's just say it's good that I was sturdy as a shinobi when I hit the ground."
Hayase frowns when Chiru points out that someone did manage to nail Naoya. She supposes Kiri students aren't to be underestimated after all. The students get Hayase's full attention when they go vaguely into their past. "Meeting them might be nice," she says. "But shared abilities as shinobi aren't what makes a family. What makes a true family are the strong bonds of friendship and love." Her voice is sharp and full of conviction. She looks angry. Maybe because of what she said, or maybe because in the fishing contest she was utterly flattened. She shrugs. "Maybe next time."
"When you can test something on your own, do so. Knowledge is important, not just success but failure as well." Looking towards the winning fishermen, it was clear why the children failed to outpace tried experience. Nodding in their direction he says, "Now, each of you learned a little more about fishing, it might help later on as well." Lowering his head, Naoya starts to whisper to Hayase in turn, it was clear her expression wasn't overlooked. Turning to Gorou, he nods lightly, "Kasai, Chiru.. time for you two to get another snack before taking you father home. You should show him how far you've managed to advance your techniques.. that is, if you wish to win back those treats." Shifting his arm from Hayase's head to her shoulder, he glances around and softly murmurs, 'I wonder if you came alone or with your mother and baby brother. Hopefully you weren't going to keep these treats from them too, where you?'
"Uh huh, that's why we know they're still family even if they're far away, mama and our auntie still love us a lot. And they'll come back eventually." Chiru says, nodding agreeably. "And we won't need to know anybody else." Gorou looks exceedingly uncomfortable with where the conversation has ended up, but puts on a brave smile as he brushes Chiru's hair. "Yes, that's right. Now come along, going to show you how to scale it and get it prepped for eating." The twins smile cheerfully and bob their heads before following by both sides of their father as he tries to lead the way back home. The mention of snacks though cause them to perk up and they both drag their father back over to get ready to show him, Naoya, and Hayase everything they've learned together. Whether or not they earned their candy back is difficult to say, but they'd have fun until it was time for them to part ways and head back home again!
She sighs and rolls her eyes when Naoya talks to her. Was she that obvious? Though she doesn't look annoyed that he had noticed. She even smirks when he mentions her mother and little brother. "My mother is on a diet that could starve a minnow," she says. "She always has been. Her choice. I just wish she didn't make the choice for us too. We don't exactly starve there…but I'll probably pick something up anyway for all of us. Although I'd probably have to pry her teeth out to force one more calorie of food down her throat, than what she's planned out. She'd probably faint if she saw me now." And she's saying this…while scooping up food and wrapping it to stuff into every pocket she has.
She turns to Chiru and Kasai and inclines her head. "It was wonderful meeting you, Chiru-chan. And…Kasai-san." Then for no reason whatsoever she'd give them both a hug, and Naoya as well, though the hug for him looks as if she's trying to break every bone in his arms and ribs. Then she's off.
