[Shodo Tsuri]

Hase Hoshi

Tsuri hadn't made sushi in a while for anyone, but today was a little different. Er, that wasn't exactly directly honest in either form. The girl made sashimi all the time, the only difference was that she had a little bit of rice this time! Where the fish came from no one needed to know though. There was absolutely nothing wrong with using the fish you catch to eat okay! She swore by that! Today, she had a friend coming sort of though... Hase Hoshi, a young genin from the village she met by chance who was supposed to be coming by the park so that the two could sit down and talk... she wondered if he liked fishing... that would be really fun! For now thougn she was absolutely focused on making sure that the food was good.

Quell your anxiety child, my fangs find you only the best fish.

Wha... who? Tsuri would look around and wait for the voice the old man that she had just heard, but who had said that? Oh she was just hearing things from the excitement and fear that was building in her gut. Quietly, she would continue to wait from teh pagoda where she had sat dow a small cloth and had a plate sashimi sushi ready for the two to eat.

- ❤ -

[Hase Hoshi]

I will shine

Life in Amegakure, for the average person, was rather stoic if not outright glum. The near constant rain storms and strict military regulations had a way of beating down on most cheery personalities, but it was that sort of atmosphere that actually pushed Hoshi to hold onto his passionate disposition. That also meant that whenever he met someone that didn't have a dour attitude, he was compelled to get to know them better!

In this particular case, it was some young kid that he had happened to bump into while on his business around the village, and after a short chat, they decided to meet for a talk and lunch. It was now the time for their pre-arranged meeting, and while he didn't show up early, the young genin did happily arrive at the pagoda just on time. It was raining, of course, and he held a plain umbrella over his head as he drew closer. Spotting the girl's pink hair prompted him to jog the last few meters, smoothly lowering and collapsing his umbrella as he came under the protection of a roof.

"Heya! I'm not late am I? Is that-"

A friendly, initial greeting stopped right in its tracks as he spotted what was supposedly going to be their meal.

"I-Is that sushi? Where...?"

Hoshi had heard of sushi of course, had it even, but where did Tsuri get it? The ocean was... so, so far away, which meant that saltwater fish was quite the luxury here in Amegakure. Unless this was raw freshwater fish, which was concerning in its own right.

Shodo Tsuri

[Shodo Tsuri]

Hase Hoshi

Standing as the dancing genin arrived Tsuri would wave and give a little curtsy, almost tripping in the process. Catching herself she would look to Hoshi as he spoke.

"Sashimi on rice! Homemade and delish~!" Tsuri would respond almost immediately cutting off the older boy with a bubbly grin and a cheerful tone that spoke on pride as much as it was genuine excitement. The girl thought that no one would ever find her sashimi and rice weird here though, catching a small hint that it was definitely throwing Hoshi off with how non-existant it was here.

That was to be expected since most people couldn't tell when a fish was safe or unsafe to eat especially with the limited channels of fish in Ame. This was, surprisingly, salmon which she had definitely caught in water... though why it was where she could fish she definitely didn't know. She definitely recognized it and could prepare something of this level... but how the hell it got here in the village water had to of been a freak acident, but that just meant that her and Hakugei had been extremely luck to find it.

"I couldn't bring more since Pa can't send me fish until I graduate... Is it not to your liking Senpai? I don't really know why this one was in the village, but I managed to fish it up!" Tsuri would ask sitting back down and looking to her Senpai and tilting her head. Her inhumane eyes looking up at the boy.

- ❤ -

[Hase Hoshi]

I will shine

There were a lot of questions that needed to be answered to be convinced Hoshi that a meal of raw fish was safe enough to eat, but all those questions went out the window when it came to avoiding disappointing a junior, especially one who had worked so hard to make it. Putting on his best smile, the genin shook his head, raising his hands to chest height apologetically as he took a seat across from the girl.

"Nono! It looks.. great! I can't wait to dig in!"

Extra enthusiasm was put into his voice as he inspected the sushi further, noting that he could at the very least recognize that it was salmon... which also raised more questions. Where did Tsuri find a salmon to fish up? He turned his attention away from the sushi to instead focus on the academy student herself, slapping his hands against his thighs as he turned the conversation to a topic he was much less apprehensive about.

"Graduate? So you're in the academy?"

Hoshi always enjoyed meeting other, younger shinobi in Amegakure. The adults he ran into were usually dour or creepy, with most of the genin and academy students he bumped into being far more personable. Maybe there was something about training to be a human weapon that sucked the happiness out of people? Hoshi didn't really get it.

Shodo Tsuri

[Shodo Tsuri]

Hase Hoshi

Tsuri was always excited to talk on shinobi stuff as long as it wasn't about how bad she was at it. Some of the instructors had had to get onto her for quite a bit to get her to properly finish the courses just do to how much she struggled with almost everything. Fishing seeming to be her only real skill, but she was so close to done... it would be totally fine, "Mhm! I'm super duper close to the end though! I just have to make to some time in the spring and Sensei told me that I would be doing my final examination to graduate! But until then I'm just training what I can to try and improve my skills... not a very good fighter though. hehe"

"How is being a genin Senpai? Its pretty cool right?" Tsuri would ask with sparkling eyes on her face as she on purpose or not curled her fingers in and squished in her cheeks, her chin resting on the back of her palms. Giving her a childish sort of cute appearance, more than what was usual for her. A slight smile on her face as she bounced ever so barely on her feet idly from rocking herself back and forth.

'An honorable gentlemen! Recognizing my lady's cooking skills. A worthy man for his title as a shinobi indeed.' Hakugei would proudly state into the back of Tsuri's mind. Giving the girl a hard time from having her voice shift into laughter as Hakugei sounded so old fashioned it made her want break out into a giggle fit. She did her best to resist.

- ❤ -

[Hase Hoshi]

I will shine

Thankfully, for Hoshi's stomach's sake, Tsuri seemed to be more than happy to talk about her current status as an academy student. She apparently was nearing the end of her time as a mere student, capping off her answer with a bit of humbleness to boot. The genin fell further into ease as the conversation's attention was turned back towards him, a wide, genuine grin on his face as she proudly folded his arms across his chest.

"That's right, being a genin is awesome. No more boring ol' classroom lessons, and tons of uh.. fun missions." There was a falter in Hoshi's response as he actually remembered what his missions had been like. Before, the concept of missions had been overwhelmingly exciting, but after actually doing them... well... They still were appealing, just not in the same way as seen through the eyes of his younger, more naive self. "AND when you become a genin, you also get to start learning some real cool jutsu!"

On that note, Hoshi inspected the sashimi once more, rubbing his chin thoughtfully for a moment before gingerly taking hold of the utensils in front of him, if there were any. Either way, he brought up the raw fish to his face, giving it yet another inspection, this time aided by his sense of smell. The genin concluded that it was probably safe to eat, so he finally took a small bite, chewing it slowly as he took in the taste. The flavor didn't seem off, and after a few chews Hoshi began eating with a bit more gusto.

"Mmm. This is pretty good actually!"

Shodo Tsuri

[Shodo Tsuri]

Hase Hoshi

Tsuri would listen to her senior with great fascination to the ideas being spouted though basic as they were. She seemed to miss the slight faltering in the boy's voice, but that was to be expected from someone so naive and young. Her senior's words were romantic still in her mind, but as someone who so readily practiced the blade, and took the life of animals mentions of danger and killing seemed... unideal for her. Both in the sense that it was less likely to affect her for as long, and also because she seemed so excited about the life ahead of her as a shinobi.

Her face would become serious as she very intently watched Hoshi eat a bit of her fresh sashimi. Seeing the boy find it edible, and then start eating a bit more she would grab one for her self and chew on the piece of sushi with a tilt to her head, "Better, but my Papa does it best! He taught me the basics before Ojii-San sent word about me to the Lord to enroll in the academy. Makes me curious how that transpired, but I am here now! How did you get into being a shinobi Senpai?"

The girl would ask, trying to pry into the mind of someone who may have joined by choice rather than the way she had... honestly her sending to the academy had always confused her, but that didn't matter here now. She was gonna live in the present!

- ❤ -

[Hase Hoshi]

I will shine

Despite the relatively substantial difference in their ages, Hoshi felt significant amount of satisfaction from seeing the wonder in Tsuri's eyes as he flaunted the merits of being a genin. The genin maintained a slow but steady eating pace as Tsuri gave a bit more information on herself, piquing his interest though she asked him a question before he could pipe up himself. He paused to consider his answer, though he didn't have to think for more than just a moment.

"Well... it's a good way to earn a living! At least, it's probably the best way to make money here in Amegakure. We don't get to choose where we're born, but it's always in our ability to make the best of it."

Hoshi had always considered the fact that if he hadn't been born into a shinobi village, his life would have been significantly different, but he was long since come to terms with the cards he had been dealt.

"You said your dad taught you the basics? Is he a fisherman or a chef of some kind? And your ojii-san... you said he's the one who wanted you to be a shinobi? Was he some kind of shinobi too?"

Shodo Tsuri

[Shodo Tsuri]

Tag

Tsuri would listen while taking another bite out of the food that they had laid out in front of them. Hoshi was a very different person from her when it came down to where they were from, Tsuri had grown up in a quaint fishing family, while Hoshi spoke as if they had only ever been in Amegakure. Swallowing she would reply, "I suppose that's true. Papa was rather happy that I was born with the gift to do this, since it seemed that neither of my older brothers were capable of what he and grandpa were looking for, I don't fully get it but it has to do with my fish hook here," Tsuri would state pointing to Hakugei who hung snuggly on a thread necklace on her chest. A look of contemplation being prominent amongst her features for a moment before she would leave.

The topic switching back to her origins, the pinkette would smile as she nodded in agreement with Hoshi's questions to affirm them. Swallowing another piece of sushi she would speak, "Yep yep, when you grow up in a family of fishers you learn to eat like them! My Uncle is the cook of the village's local inn and most of the town eats from the inn, so I helped in the kitchen on occasion, Papa taught me all my knife skills though. He was very particular about it, but he never would tell me why. Ojii-San is a retired Shinobi to my understanding... he mentions the Lord Second a lot in his stories, so I think that puts us super duper into the past for when he was active! I guess he wanted to pass on the swordsmanship he learned when he was younger and I'm the one it best suits if I had to guess. He's also the one that originally taught me to fish!"

Tsuri would explain all of this excitedly. Seeming to enjoy talking about what her family had taught her and the pride of what her family did and their origins seemed clear as she continued to speak.

- ❤ -

[Hase Hoshi]

I will shine

Tsuri explained a bit more about her reasons for being a shinobi, which ended up only confusing Hoshi a bit more. Something about that fish hook? It certainly didn't look all that special but... he'd just have to take Tsuri's word for it. He politely nodded as the academy student got more and more invested in telling her story, though once again he found himself a bit confused. Swordsmanship? What did that have to do with fishing and fish hooks? He did his best to keep his curiosity to himself, instead focusing on the important emotional beats.

"I'd love to meet your Ojii-san some day then! If he's got stories about Lord Second then I've gotta hear about them. Stories are the best way to learn about the stuff that happened in the past, better than boring textbook history lessons."

If there was one thing Hoshi was glad he didn't have to endure, it was the rigid curriculum and schedule of the academy. He nodded as he finished the last bite of his meal, having still not quite gotten used to the taste of the fish.

"So, do you got any other friends in the academy? Anybody you might be teaming up with once you graduate?"

[Shodo Tsuri]

Hase Hoshi

Tsuri always enjoyed it when others were willing to listen to her happily talk about her folks at home. Honestly she did miss her brothers more than she actually thought she could. The two had always made trouble for her by playing pranks with the fishing nets, but they had also always come to her aid when she needed them. Her Papa was a strong man with a pentient for fishing that was almost savant like, which had come from over fourty years now of fishing experience. He had always come back with lots of fish, and when they were lucky enough to head outside of the country and fish on the oceans he had been able to bring back so much squid the family had collectively gotten sick of the tentaculed creature.

"I think he's supposed to come visit not long after I graduate, but I really can't tell. He always sends his letters in as few words as possible, haha. I think he prefers in person conversation. But I agree, history textbooks are boring... but the teachers seem to think paper homework is necessary still. I just wanna fish, but its hard to write a paper while reeling in a whopper!"

Tsuri would take one last bite from the food and pout a bit over the matter. No matter how you looked at it, Tsuri was very out of place even still in the city. Popular as she was in school, and as much as she enjoyed her friendships, there was a level of outsider syndrome from her spending her time out on the river veins towards River Country. Hoshi's next question would break her from the pouting and she would go into thought for a moment.

"I think I'm graduating right now out of sync with a lot of the students... mostly cause I've been in a lot longer. So I think I may be put on an older team? But being on a team with the Susano twins, Yua and Habiki could be fun... maybe," Tsuri would look to the finished plate of food and then back to the dancing shinobi, "Do you have to go soon Senpai?"

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