[Shodo Tsuri]

Shinmen Akemi

Graduation was on a horizon that she could see in her sights! Well, not really, but she could pretend was couldn't she? The small pink haired fisher would not exactly mind if she was in the acedemy for forever... sort of anyways. She wanted to be a genin so bad! If only so she could go fishing without getting in trouble. It was going to let her go see her friends, like Junichi and Kazuki! Maybe if she was lucky she would get to work with all of them too! That would be really fun if it was true. She would have to pass her classes first though, not having been called anything close to the prodigy in her class Tsuri got through by her own blood, sweat, but mostly tears. Being known for crying like a waterfall if she was struggling, even as she pushed herself to go further.

Walking into the academy building after a short walk Tsuri would collapse the fishing pole she carried into her small catfish bag that she kept her school stuff in. The day before in class her Sensei Ms. Akemi had called the pink-haired girl out directly to meet her in the practice facility on the next morning. Tears already welling as she stiffened her upper lip for the meeting ahead, unaware of what it could be about. Finding her feet bringing her ever closer her nerves would rise, and soon she would push through the door.

A smile showing as she cried and skipped into the room, looking for her teacher before saying a verbal greeting as simple as, "Good morning Sensei! I hope you had a good day, I don't know what is going on but Im really sorry if I dozed off in class at all Im really trying to be attentive I promise!"

Simple.

- ❤ -

[Shinmen Akemi]

Life is a series of changes.
Plunge into the ocean.
Move with the river.
Dance with the rain.

"C’mon! Let’s go!”

And there she was~ The little student she had called to the Academy that morning for a little extra lesson~ It wasn’t entirely abnormal for the young teacher to meet up with students when she felt they might be struggling and Tsuri’s case was all her own. Like every young shinobi~ It was the blonde’s hope to have their young lives thrive and find their groove and fulfilment!

So the moment Tsuri had entered apologetically she’d be swept up in the bright energy of the teacher. The wrist of the girl grabbed and likely having her spin around to follow along with Akemi unless Tsuri had greatly fought it. To spin around and head out towards the exit to the very school the girl had just entered without so much as an explanation. A grin just remained ont he teacher’s face, giggling any time the girl would question her. And once outside? A brief pause. The blonde kneeling down and asking the girl to get on her back~ Piggyback ride!

And assuming all went well, or at the very least she could have Tsuri’s hand, they’d be off again. Ice to form at their feet and a brief and weakened plane of her brother’s technique following forward. A path of ice made and her feet moving across it expertly, the two could skate their way through the village with the ice ever so slowly melting behind them… rain certainly helped, but the path left by the pair certainly to be cold and odd to any who saw them zip past!

Coming to the gates to the Village. Bright energy of the Academy Teacher greeting the guards with a high wave and smile, chuckles upon the lips of both and one even briefly asking if she’d be swimming again. A giggle returned and hand lowered to press a single finger to her lips. A secret? But a wink and playfully off again. No more ice, but openly walking the edge of that great lake that surrounded their wonderful village and protected them! Checkpoints along a specific path, guards all about, and a secret monster hidden beneath? Hehe~

"I just wanted to take you out of the normal swing of things. You like water right? You seem to like fishing~”

Now the girl was openly addressed, kneeling again to let the girl off her back if it was so needed, but letting Tsuri take to her own feet now so they could walk side by side. A faint skip to the blonde’s step and a smile light and feathery. Things had become so much easier since her heart turned light~

Shinmen Akemi

MADE BY VEL OF GS

[Shodo Tsuri]

Shinmen Akemi

Tsuri would find herself whisked away as soon as she had arrived in the building. An odd whiplash of physical, mental, and emotional shock would overcome the girl as her teacher had taken her and tore out the school like a bat out of hell. What was going on she was so lost in the blink of an eye. As Akemi would stop and kneel to offer Tsuri a piggy back ride, the little pink-haired kunoichi-to-be would begin to comprehend what was happening. They were heading out for their lesson, and gladly she would oblidge her teacher.

Without further adue Akemi would begin to skate on the outer grounds of the academy and suddenly they would be off academy grounds. Then further and further out, away from the portion of the village that she had always been allowed in, though it was not much to talk about. All the way until she reached a part of the village that she hadn't been to in a long while; the front gates. The lord refused to let students walk out of the village... but no one had neard any news about him in sometime. Tsuri would realize they were going to leave through the gates and the excitement would erupt across her face like a kid that was discovering fun for the first time.

It would be a path she hadn't travelled for some time now and as they simply pushed through and away Tsuri found herself glowing with the amount of glee she felt. As they reached the lake, she looked like she was about to explode from the level of happiness that she felt. Was she gonna get to fish? Was her teacher gonna let her use the lake out here today... what was the catch though? Something felt fishy even for Akemi-Sensei about this. Then her teacher let her down and started to walk, speaking to on her almost too simple reasoning. Not that her mood could be hampered at this point she would seem to hop as she went as she walked the edge with her instructor.

"I love water, its always so pretty and its full of really yummy fish! Pa and Jiji taught me to fish with my brothers, but cause of my 'Kay Key Gen Kay' Pa said I had to be a shinobi so I've been having to fish where I'm not supposed to... I've gotten in a lot of trouble for doing it too... sorry for that Sensei."

- ❤ -

[Shinmen Akemi]

Life is a series of changes.
Plunge into the ocean.
Move with the river.
Dance with the rain.

A giggle from the older kunoichi’s lips as the younger girl would express her excitement. Akemi loved water too~ Her attire often reflected that of a swimsuit more than anything professional, something that had fallen into pattern. It hadn’t been fully accepted by teachers around her at first, but as the months and years had continued on with the blonde’s students flourishing despite her oddities, she had come to be accepted as the bright and odd ball of energy she was.

The girl cared for her students~ She wanted to be a light for them as much as she did anyone! See them grow, see them smile, the way that a kid grew from knowing nothing at the start of their career to blossoming into a full fledged shinobi was always amazing. Sometimes she thought it meant taking them out of the norm and expectation though, just as she was doing now~

"I love water too~ My brother and I used to call eachother ‘shark’ and ‘dolphin’~”

A little bit of a laugh at the end, glowing green eyes sparkling as she looked to the younger one. Pressures from family weren’t too rare among the shinobi world… Pressures from all sides, if anything, but her own family had always supported her even through her own special abilities. A lucky experience for her~ For even her brother had felt the heavy pressures that she had never seemed to.

Still. She wanted to take this girl out of the normal expectation.

"We all get into some trouble from time to time~ Sometimes rules should be broken too. You just.. Have to know what your priorities are. Are the consequences of your actions worth you attempting it in the first place? If you’d get caught, would your heart still sing?”

A little smile to the girl and Akemi perhaps feeling her words more close to home than the younger one. A hand reached out to ruffle the child’s hair with a laugh once more. Akemi had broken many rules.. And even now would tread the line of problem and joy. Worth it though, in her own mind. If the worst occurred, she’d never have done differently.

"So tell me what fishing can teach you~ Hm?”

A little question~ Was there even a lesson here?

Shinmen Akemi

MADE BY VEL OF GS

[Shodo Tsuri]

Shinmen Akemi

"Ehehe, that's really funny Sensei!" Tsuri would start off with a giggle at her instructor's admitted silliness. Nodding along as she listened with a brimming smile cast on her face. Like she had been given the greatest gift that any one person could ever give her; a place where she felt at home. Unlike the river's near the south where her family was from, Amegakure was extremely landlocked and it made fishing, outside of the village's 'area of tranquility and peace' very hard to do. Akemi earning a large amount of cookie points with a student that had already throroughly enjoyed learning from the older kunoichi.

Listening to her favorite instructor tell her to break the rules if it was 'worth doing' was certainly a treat as well. Not because she was going to use it as an excuse, but because it encouraged her to go fishing more often within the village itself, obviously! She was a young and impressionable youth after all, ideas had to come from somewhere and she happened to like the one her academy instructor was giving her at the moment, "Uhmmmmm, well I usually have a lot fun fishing, and I can't do that often since I have to be attending class and I can't come out here to this super pretty lake."

"Ah! Oh! Oh! So much, it can teach you how to watch an area, and how to focus, although Papa and I usually dazed off when we would really get deep into a fishing trip... BUT! The biggest lesson of all is patience, it teaches people not to rush to the answer, and that sometimes going slow and steady outweighs the need to rush! You can go hours without actually getting any sort of progress on a catch, but that's fine because you can reel in and cast out your line to try again!" Tsuri would gush out, her speech moving to the grittier details of fishing about care for the equipment and water movement. Things Wisp does not know for descriptions. Continuing on and on for a spell before looking to see if Akemi was still listening to her or not. A slight dawning realization that ranting about the importance and joys of fishing so in depth probably wasn't what her instructor had had in mind by bringing her out her. That would be the next thing to figure out though, "Hey, Sensei? Why did you bring just me out from class to the lake?"

- ❤ -

[Shinmen Akemi]

Life is a series of changes.
Plunge into the ocean.
Move with the river.
Dance with the rain.

The instructor giggled and smiled along as well, hard not to be pleased when another was joyous along with her! Her students were often so full of life and amusement, the girl thrived in her position as a teacher. Perhaps not the greatest~ But it surely lifted her heart to be around that energy so constantly.

And Tsuri herself? Her energy revolved strongly around fishing, amusing~ It was both original and not! Fishing was what nations were built upon, a staple of food groups, but also something that was done so rarely for peace of mind and joy anymore in comparison to those vast fleets of fishers that it was hard not to enjoy the simplicity of the youth.

A question was asked about what could be taught from fishing, what did Tsuri learn? The list was extensive and Akemi couldn’t have been more pleased with the answer. Plenty! Which some seemed applicable readily to the girl and other things perhaps not so much. It had the blonde chuckle, a hop to the side, into the edges of the water of their beloved lake~ And a quick spin! Her foot skimming across the top of the water to spray in a circle about her to even mean to hit the other girl with the droplets of flung water~

On and on the young girl had gone, something that Akemi listened to without fail even as she danced around and grinned. It’s what Tsuri enjoyed~ And involving one’s self in their passion was the perfect way to make them attentive and excited. Paused though. Tsuri turning it on the teacher to try and bring it all back into focus.

"Everyone has their own way to learn and I thought I’d explore yours a little more today.”

A smile and a little chuckle, the blonde walking herself through the small waves of the lake’s water’s edge even as they continued their pace.

"Okay! Now. Give me two ways that fishing could be directly applied to class. You obviously learn a lot from it, but if I was going to introduce fishing to the class one day, what might my lesson be about?”

Critical thinking on her own skills~ It made it so that Akemi could curb the girl’s thinking but allow her her own ideas and realizations. If she got stuck, the teacher could always guide~

Shinmen Akemi

MADE BY VEL OF GS

[Shodo Tsuri]

Shinmen Akemi

Tsuri would nod a bit at the instructor as she spoke about ways of learning. Tsuri was finding that learning in collectives was hers, the whole learning alone process had taken her for forever. Junichi was Ten when he finished the academy! Ten! That was an amazing feat even among all the other standards, not to mention that he had done so with his twin brother Kenichi. Tsuri was not that sort of child prodigy super genius, but she had her own skillset that was strong.

Akemi would then pose a question that would make the girl seem to light up even moreso than she had before, her eyes practically sparkling. Her eyes continuing in a wanderlusty way as she made an expression like she was having a hard time to really think about the question and what it was really asking for. Tsuri would then slam a fist into an open palm and speak up, "The first lesson would be tranquilip- ... sorry, quiet stillness! Fishing requires you to patiently wait in a stilled manner as the fish can sense even the slightest shifts in water so you have to be still, and being loud with also vibrate on the water. For shinobi quiet, quick, and stealthy are all big factors to doing the job. So we need to be able to practice those virtues in any way we can!"

Tsuri would animatedly speak as she explained, moving from sitting still the way she was taught, which was, possibly surprisingly for the older Kunoichi, a meditation pose. Legs crossed having pulled her fishing pole out to rest gently between her calf and thigh in a manner that held it aloft and still. Her hands cupped together. Standing soon after she would explode into smiles again, "The other way is survival. Most lakes and rivers can tell you plenty via fishing. It can teach you how to fish, firstly, which can feed you. Streams can also lead you to larger bodies of water, or from them, which villages crop up on. Amegakure even is a river-settled village... but that's because we like in a country full of river veins, Papa used to take me and my brothers fishing on the all the time."

- ❤ -

[Shinmen Akemi]

Life is a series of changes.
Plunge into the ocean.
Move with the river.
Dance with the rain.

Opening the floor for students to learn things on their own, or to think more deeply about them, was always an interesting way to teach! How others thought about things was constantly a learning process for Akemi herself. Everyone had their own process and links, what she might immediately connect to a subject one of her students went a completely different way! So what about with Tsuri~ Where did her mind go?

The first lesson the girl so easily laid out. Not just a simple one word answer, but comparisons on how the skills might effect both situations as a whole. The blonde grinned throughout the answer, listening as Tsuri made her point clear, and with a giggle she’d nod enthusiastically.

"Great~ I’d agree to that. In either situation it can be important, but it’s not the whole story either, is it? Situational.”

A wink from the older girl, knowing that Tsuri would be right on board. Fishing wasn’t all stillness. If it was, how would someone ever reel one in? It all depended on what part of the process one was in. As for the girl herself, the blonde giggled a little more as she noticed the position the smaller one was in. Actually still and quiet, something that didn’t generally relate to the young girl at all. But, as she had just spoken, situational~

And with a gesture that was unneeded, Akemi would wave for the girl to continue, urging her for the second lesson. Equal light and expression was shown~ The girl eagerly throwing herself into another lesson of sorts. Survival. A good lesson for anyone and her point more seemed to be learning from the landscape, the rivers. Fish showing signs of survival from what bodies they originate from or where they lead.

Nodding once more, the blonde eagerly offered a hand out to the girl. "Good points~ I’d extend the lesson on the second one I think though~ You learn more about the landscape, fish, and sustainability? No?” Trying to make sure she knew where the girl was going, but meaning to have Tsuri take her hand all the same.

"I’ll keep you up, but try to focus your chakra a bit at your feet. Call it an early lesson in water walking~ Don’t worry too much tho!”

It was just a little practice, something to think about. The girl liked water and fishing, so naturally she’d take to walking on water soon, or at least want to~ And with the slightest bit of molding her chakra, things might have been made the slightest bit easier with a hint of frost forming beneath the girl’s own feet. No ice.. Nothing substantial, but [water walking] herself Akemi would keep the other girl up with her as they walked out onto the lake.

"I’d go with observation as a whole. Fishing is all about the details. Where to cast. What you cast. When to wait, what to watch for, and when to strike. You’ve learned a lot about your prey over the years~ What fish likes what bait, or where they’re most likely to be when.

The same comes with our jobs. All of us will have different goals and missions. Some of you will be medics and need to find exactly what’s ailing a shinobi. Others will be assassins to strike at specific targets and opportune times. Some will be political leaders or teachers that need to read the room and engage with people.”

Squeezing the girl’s hands lightly and encouragingly and grin down.

"Everyone is different and no one can really know what you’re capable of except you. I know you have your own way of doing things. And I know that if you put your passion in line with your future goals, you can climb as high as you dare. I’m just here to help you see the future ahead and work towards it.”

Then with a light tug, she’d mean to spin the girl around, holding her hands and letting droplets of water fling about as she took the girl in full circle, spinning with her, then laughing to set her down near her own feet again.

"So what do you see on the horizon?”

Shinmen Akemi

MADE BY VEL OF GS

[Shodo Tsuri]

Shinmen Akemi

Tsuri would listen to her teacher beckon for her to tell more and had promptly done so, apparently impressing Akemi with her answers even if it was a bit contrived. Earnestly Tsuri could talk about fishing all day, but she was truly not fit to teach someone about the benefits of fishing unless it was the act of how. At which point she was easily the best fisher in Amegakure! The little fisher-shinobi would happily take the hand that was extended to her as she was pooled towards the water. Leaving her fishing pole behind on solid earth she would move to follow the instructions, "Eheh, fishing can either be simple or a profession of factors. Bodies of water and fish both follow patterns that are both really interesting! Its what makes studying their habits all the more worthwhile in my opinion... water-walking though? Thats a thing!?"

Tsuri's voice would rise in excitement as she was basically held just above the water's surface.Excited by the suddely registering fact that she could learn to walk on water! Her grandpa had not told her she could learn something this cool if she were to enter into the academy! She would have so many things to show off to her older brothers about when she finally saw them again, but for now she would focus on controlling the chakra at her feet. Tsuri had never been good with chakra control, but often she wasn't the most exhuasted child in her class. Opting to spend a lot of time meditating to try and train she never really got the hang of more practiced control... was that a factor on if she could walk on water or not?

The girl would step around and sink slightly, but maybe she was a bit natural at this in someways. Listening to her sensei as she was lead further onto the water listening to the lesson plan that her teacher would plan around a class fishing trip and going on further to explain that people all had their specialities and their weaknesses, something that Tsuri was all too aware of over all. As well as stating that she was going to support all of them along the way and that got Tsuri smiling brightly towards the blonde kunoichi in an awed manner. The question that she would then present though would have Tsuri turning her gaze all the way up towards the hazy grey sky with a blank look as she thought before responding.

Mmmm.... Honestly? A lot of fun! I think Shinobi are really cool even if I just wanna work with my brother's on Papa's Fishing Company! But I also see a lot of blood, as much as I don't wanna hurt people Hakugei is a sword and my only area I do well in is weapons. That makes me think I'll do really well in the field! But being in the field means things can be dangerous, and just like I kill fish to survive I might have to do that to people, Im not sure how I really feel about that though," Tsuri would state her voice a little somber for the girl as she was normally a rare ray of sunshine, but it wasn't like she was stupid enough to be oblivious of a part of what the job entailed. The girl would look up to her Sensei finally and the smile would return to burn brightly in her eyes and even brighter on her face, "Maybe one day, if its too much, I'll take your job Sensei. Make sure Ame teaches 'em right!

The girl would state the last sentence in a jokingly tough voice as she made expression of childish mock towards some random elder, the kind that tended to complain about the new generations rather than help them.

- ❤ -

[Shinmen Akemi]

Life is a series of changes.
Plunge into the ocean.
Move with the river.
Dance with the rain.

A soft laugh from the blonde haired teacher and energetic nod towards the question on if water walking was a thing. Indeed it was! There was that and lots more to learn down the path of a shinobi. Amazing feats were an every day thing~ But hours of training and heartbreak too. Those that joined the Academy had plenty of trouble ahead of them yet hopefully a very rewarding life too.

The two danced on the waters, getting a feel for life, lesson, and chakra. Tsuri introduced to a small bit of what control could do and Akemi hoped she enjoyed! The water was a breath of life to the Shinmen girl and at the very least was the home for Tsuri’s targets!

Targets… the very thing the small girl wasn’t sure what she thought about. Taking the lives of others? Battling and seeing bloodshed? It was a lot to see one of her youths thinking about already. Deeper thoughts that really… didn’t have a great answer. To tell someone not to think too much about it might demean life itself! But if she worried too much it could stump her further career. An ever difficult battle.

"It’s definitely something you have to figure out on your own. If you’re ready for it, if you think it’s worth doing. But I think that the fact that you’re already conscious of the weight of your actions, you’ll turn out just fine~”

A few encouraging words and a bright grin to Akemi’s lips, the two girls met in brighter spirits with the next tease from Tsuri’s mouth. A tease that would get a laugh in return and quick nods from the blonde woman.

"I wouldn’t complain~ If that’s your calling, don’t let anyone stop you!”

That smile was difficult to kill and the energy from the young woman remained high. A few hops taken on the waters and Tsuri taken along with her, keeping her hands and helping her by guiding her feet whenever she needed.

"Ready to show me some fishing tricks~”

Assuming the conversation was winding down as she thought, the blonde opened up the opportunity for the girl to show off her own skill in real time! There was time to enjoy company, afterall.

Shinmen Akemi

MADE BY VEL OF GS

[Shodo Tsuri]

Shinmen Akemi

There was comfort in knowing that what Tsuri was thinking was thought of as reasonable in the light of the woman she called her teacher. If there was a life to be lived in sheer ignorance of the atrocities that she would one day be likely to commit upon another then she did wish for that. But as a fisher, she understood the importance of not being swayed into thoughts of pity for those that she would feed herself on. In her mind equating the life of another shinobi to a meal ticket was cruel, but practical in helping her to wrap her brain on the matter. It helped to keep her smile as bright as it ever had been before, "We will see where I go in a few years then!"

The pinkette would reply cheerfully, her beaming smile never seeming to even lightly lower from where it was on her face.

Focusing then on the water that she ever so barely stayed above due to her teacher's assistance, the girl would grin even brighter... or it seemed so, impossibly so, "Which sort of tricks do you wanna know Sensei? Jigging? I could show you quick casting! Dancing bait is also a neat trick for the smaller fish, but I don't normally go after them."

- ❤ -

[Shinmen Akemi]

Life is a series of changes.
Plunge into the ocean.
Move with the river.
Dance with the rain.

A giggle from the young blonde and eager nod. "And I’ll support you all the way!” A few years of school and then life, perhaps to be a shinobi or maybe Tsuri would turn to fishing as a full time occupation~ Maybe she'd take Akemi's spot, or become a teacher, or teach future generations. Who knew what the future might hold, but the world was awaiting!

Dancing atop the water, helping the young girl, her words would have hinted towards the lesson’s end. Sometimes in life… it wasn’t as simple as ‘how to throw a kunai’ or the practice of a singular technique. There was much to learn just in life, on how to face it, and how to make sure you were on the right path. Akemi was sure that Tsuri had plenty more to think about! But her love of fishing didn’t mean it was a detriment to her future either. Hand in hand with what she loved, hopefully she’d keep smiling.

Though to learn about fishing, the younger girl instantly beamed and set off into questions. The blonde bursting into laughter open and free. Clueless, but happy.. Akemi may have loved water and enjoyed swimming whenever she was afforded the free time, but to suggest she had any idea how to fish that didn't include freezing a portion of the lake or spearing it with a projectile... well...

"What in the world is jigging?? Haha!”

Shinmen Akemi

MADE BY VEL OF GS