[Kirigara Sugita]

[attr="class","kirigara-border"]

[attr="class","kirigara-img"]

[attr="class","kirigara"]

[attr="class","kirigara-content"]

Sugita could always smell the difference in the water. Amegakure rained almost constantly, but as it was almost always raining, the typical dirt and debris didn’t fill the air as it did in most other countries. There wasn’t a smell of the rain. The lakes, however, were stagnant. Large puddles of water formed into larger beings, creating an ecosystem all to their own. Suga, for one, enjoyed stopping by several of them from time to time during odd hours. There was a certain peace about it that helped to calm the Genin’s mind. Usually running wild in its own imagination, the still waters were warmly welcomed.

The boy would stare at the reflection in the water, grey eyes peering back at him, mimicking his movements, and anticipating his thoughts. In the depths of the large puddle, many fish had made their home. They danced around in tribal motion, blurping, and wriggling as they charged one another for territory. It was primal and aggressive, but Sugita couldn’t help to be lost in the wonder of it.

"Sugita…there is another Lifeblade near.”

"You sure, Gingādo?”

The giant serpent entered his mind, floating around in the sky above him as if an imaginary friend. Gingādo hissed, his tongue reaching outward as he sniffed out the familiar chakra. It was not one he had come across before, but the similarity to his own was unmistakable. "I’m certain.” Gingādo paused, his tongue reaching outward again. "It is deep in the water.”

A ripple formed on the water, bringing the boy’s attention upward. Sugita cocked his head at the water, following a line where the ripples met. "No way…”

Shrubbery crowded his view, the line disappearing behind the thick bushes in between Sugita and whatever was at the end. Quietly, he lurched forward, separating the bushes until he caught sight of a small girl.

He had never seen her before. "You…have a Lifeblade?” Sugita questioned softly and curiously. He gestured at Gingādo at his back.

---

Shodo Tsuri

[googlefont="Poppins"]
[newclass=".kirigara-border]padding: 20px; background: url('https://i.imgur.com/bVfcFDu.png'); align: center; margin: auto; width: 350px; height: 550px; position: relative;[/newclass]
[newclass=".kirigara]margin: auto; width: 300px; height: 550px; position: relative; color: #fff; filter: brightness(1) contrast(1) blur(0px) saturate(1); background: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2); transition: ease 1.5s; overflow: auto;[/newclass]
[newclass=".kirigara-content]text-align: justify; margin: 0 20px 20px 20px; line-height: 20px; font-family: 'Poppins', sans-serif; font-size: 13px;[/newclass]
[newclass=".kirigara b]background: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.5); color: #11192b; padding: 0 5px 0 5px; border-radius: 5px;[/newclass]
[newclass=".kirigara i]color: #878688;[/newclass]
[newclass=".kirigara a]font-family: 'Poppins', sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold;background: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.5); color: #11192b; padding: 0 5px 0 5px; border-radius: 5px;[/newclass]
[newclass=".kirigara a:hover]font-family: 'Poppins', sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.5); color: #11192b; padding: 0 5px 0 5px; border-radius: 5px;[/newclass]
[newclass=".kirigara:hover] text-align: justify; position: relative; color: #fff; filter: brightness(1) contrast(1) blur(0px) saturate(1); opacity:100%; transition: ease 1.5s; background:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.5)[/newclass]
[newclass=".kirigara-img]border: 1px solid #535253; filter: brightness(1) contrast(1) blur(0px) saturate(1); background: url('https://i.imgur.com/EazuCcX.png') 100% 100%; transition: ease 1.15; margin: auto; width: 350px; height: 550px; [/newclass]
[newclass=.kirigara::-webkit-scrollbar]width:0px;[/newclass]
[newclass=.kirigara::-webkit-scrollbar-thumb]width:0px;[/newclass]

[Shodo Tsuri]

Kirigara Sugita

This wasn't the first time that Tsuri had spent her entire day down at the village's tranquil waters. The rhythmic soothing of rain as it hit the top of her unbrella and the back of her rain jacket, the slight motions of her fishing pole as Hakugei hunted in the water for prey, or rather waiting for prey to come to him. This was at least before things took a strange turn for the girl.

'My Lady, there is a powerful blade near... please be advised and draw me back. I can not protect you and fight the fish in the water at the same time.' Hakugei would speak into the young girl's mind with a tone of worry as he felt the presense of the life blade of Tsuri's clansmen. Having only recently learned how to properly communicate with the blade itself she wasn't the most in-tune with the notion and he caused her to jolt a little by the sudden thought speech sent her way.

"Eh, wait... I thought Ojii-San was the last one and he's not in the village since he retired... Does that mean I have family here! Is it Ippo-Oneesan?" Tsuri would ask excitedly for a moment, her smile widening as she reeled in Hakugei back to the top of the rod. Her eyes sparkling with pure joy as she thought about seeing her eldest brother again. It had been so long she missed sneaking out and fishing on the boat with him late at night like they had used to. Turning around she had begun packing her things.

Sitting perched upon a rock the same size as Sugita was the small pink-haired girl that he found himself drawn too. Tsuri having just put away her smaller objects with her like her lure she would recieve another message, 'They are here my lady, proceed with caution. My jaws are ready when you are.'

Looking up she would catch full sight of Sugita, immediately feeling an intuition to her own safety as okay. Hakugei was such a worrywart. Smiling she would hop off the rock and hold her fishing pole and umbrella close alongside her lifeblade Hakugei who hung off of her pole, "Hiya! Is that what you call them?"

A bright smile sitting on her face.

- ❤ -

[Kirigara Sugita]

[newclass=.sugita]width:350px;padding:25px;text-align:justify;background-color:#ffffff;font:13px Open Sans;line-height:20px;color:#000000;[/newclass]
[newclass=.sugita:hover]margin-top:0px;opacity:1;-webkit-transition-duration:.5s;transition-duration:.5s;-moz-transition-duration:.5s;[/newclass]
[newclass=.sugita b]color:#333451;[/newclass]
[newclass=.sugita i]color:#656b8c;[/newclass][googlefont=Open+Sans]

[attr="class","sugita"]Sugita was confused by the girl’s question, written clearly in his gesture with the tilt of his head and sudden, doubled blink. "You’ve…not heard them called that?”

Gingādo chimed in as he did not recognize the chakra that surrounded his fellow Lifeblade. "She is an outsider,” he said with a gruff. "I do not recognize this Lifeblade of hers. Perhaps she is not of the clan’s core?” It took Sugita a moment to understand what Gingādo had meant by this, but when it clicked his mouth opened to form an: Oh!

"Well, that’s what we call them, yea. This is Gingādo, my Lifeblade,” Sugita said, tapping lightly on the hilt of his blade. "He’s…a bit more complicated than that, but maybe that’s a story for another time.” A small laugh escaped him, followed by a shy smile as he rubbed the back of his neck.

Grey eyes searched around. "So, did you drop your Lifeblade in the water or something?” He leaned carefully over the water, eyeing its depths with furrowed brows as he tried to see if he could see a shimmer in the water.

Just what was she doing out here anyway? She was younger than he was, for sure. Sugita dared not to ask for fear of being rude, but the curiosity was there, nonetheless.

Shodo Tsuri

[Shodo Tsuri]

Kirigara Sugita

Tsuri would cock her head to the side, her eyes slightly crossing as she looked up to the boy that seemed to know about Hakugei and what he was. Was there a side to her own family that she had never been introduced to? She actually was really excited if that was what this was, if not then it just meant they had to be related distantly at least! Like a cousin that was so cool!!!! Smiling she would respond, "Hakugei is right here? What do you mean Senpai?"

'You truly are fearless my lady...' Hakugei would speak to her internally as she continued to interact innocently with the boy who didn't seem too much older than her anyways. Rattling her fishing pole as she had spoke, Hakugei would rattle in front of the two, like she was saying the giant skewer of a hook was her lifeblade. A dangerous move that she thought was worth taking if this boy already knew of them, BESIDES he probably already knew about the no breaking rule.

"I'm Shodo Tsuri, but my friends at the academy and my family call me Sakanawa, you can too Senpai! What's your name?" Tsuri would happily ask, unaware of Sugita's own conflict over the knowledge of her kekkai genkai. She seemed like most academy students, innocent and playful. It made sense why she was called Bubblefish with the sort of bubbly outer appearances she was giving to the boy.

- ❤ -

[Kirigara Sugita]

[newclass=.sugita]width:350px;padding:25px;text-align:justify;background-color:#ffffff;font:13px Open Sans;line-height:20px;color:#000000;[/newclass]
[newclass=.sugita:hover]margin-top:0px;opacity:1;-webkit-transition-duration:.5s;transition-duration:.5s;-moz-transition-duration:.5s;[/newclass]
[newclass=.sugita b]color:#333451;[/newclass]
[newclass=.sugita i]color:#656b8c;[/newclass][googlefont=Open+Sans]

[attr="class","sugita"]"Haku…gei?” Sugita mimicked the words, their meaning confusing him. White Whale? His eyes fluttered around, searching for the being she was referring to. Hearing the girl call him senpai, however, caught him off guard and his eyes snapped back to her with a blush in his cheeks. "Please, you don’t have to call me that,” he laughed off nervously.

He eyed the fishing hook carefully, and for a moment he swore it was a joke. He spoke inward to Gingādo, "Is she telling the truth, you think?”

"Hmmm,” Gingādo hummed, his rough and hoarse voice echoing in Sugita’s mind. "An odd one, it is, but…perhaps she is truthful, yes.”

Sugita offered a small bow, immediately stepping back. "Please, really! Just call me Sugita, or Suga for short.” The boy laughed nervously again, rubbing the back of his head. He had never been referred to as a senpai before, and he didn’t believe he had yet done anything that would be deserving of the respect or title. She was younger, sure, but not by much at all which is what confused the Genin so much.

"Shodo, hmm?” his head cocked to the side followed promptly by a welcoming smile. "So, the, you’re like me? How strange, huh?” The two were both from the Araikettei clan, but both seemed to be either half blood or had taken to another name. He didn’t bother to dig into Tsuri’s personal reasoning behind this, but he couldn’t help but be a tad curious.

"Sooo, what are you doing out here anyway? Training? Kinda a weird place to train, isn’t it?” he questioned the odd positioning in which he believed Tsuri had chosen to train with her Lifeblade. It anything, it seemed as though she may have been hiding.

Shodo Tsuri

[Shodo Tsuri]

Kirigara Sugita

Intent to listen to every word Tsuri would go so far as to basically avoid even blinking in her mannerisms as she took in this youth who claimed to be related to her... which very likely could have been the case, he looked an awful lot like her brothers did. She was the odd one who had her mother's genes and took on pink hair and odd eye color. Most of her family had similar blue-silvering hair and deep misty eyes. If that wasn't to believed the fact that Hakugei was reacting this way to someone else's blade was also an interesting prospect. There was a dismissive line that would get her very close to the boy.

Tsuri would shake her head as if to say 'no' as she looked to Sugita, a smile on her face, "Lucky! Why would you ever say its weird?! Sanosuke-San had so many questions for me that I just couldn't answer. Do you know Sanosuke-San? He was a really cool gentlemen who helped me figure out I had a thing called a Kekkai Genkai... whiiiiiiiiiiiiiiich happens to be a thing you have too! Does that mean that your related to Ojii-San? Shodo Matsu? He didn- eh?"

Tsuri would glance to Hakugei in a short moment as she stopped spewing questions and statements in a rapid fashion, 'My Lady, you are going to fast for the lad. Slow down or perhaps you will scare him, I would much like to see you make a friend then lose one after all.' Tsuri would take a deep breath and slow herself, bowing slightly in an apologetic manner, "Sorry Senpai, I got excited."

- ❤ -

[Kirigara Sugita]

[newclass=.sugita]width:350px;padding:25px;text-align:justify;background-color:#ffffff;font:13px Open Sans;line-height:20px;color:#000000;[/newclass]
[newclass=.sugita:hover]margin-top:0px;opacity:1;-webkit-transition-duration:.5s;transition-duration:.5s;-moz-transition-duration:.5s;[/newclass]
[newclass=.sugita b]color:#333451;[/newclass]
[newclass=.sugita i]color:#656b8c;[/newclass][googlefont=Open+Sans]

[attr="class","sugita"]Why was it weird to train in a place such as this? Well, Sugita couldn’t really find an answer for that. It was just…different. However, what was odd or different for Sugita wasn’t necessarily the same for someone else. Sugita found himself training almost exclusively in designated areas. Here, there didn’t seem much room to move around, and the water would be a nuisance, wouldn’t it? Granted, he didn’t quite know the water walking technique yet, so having a lake in the middle of a training area would seem to be quite the obstacle. Given time, perhaps it would be more viable. It did make him wonder, however, if Tsuri already knew this technique.

"Sanosuke…san? You’ve met Lord Sanosuke?” Sugita’s eye lit up. He had so much respect for the Ame Lord, and his recent training with him had helped to develop his skills and thought processes even further. He had so much to thank him, and words couldn’t even express his gratitude. It was nice to see that he paid such close attention to the future of their village with Sugita and apparently Tsuri as well. It bought a smile to Sugita’s face.

"Hmmm....I can’t say,” Sugita said pondering. "I’m mostly just close to my immediate family. I’m not sure I’ve ever met an Ojii or Shodo Matsu.” As active as Sugita was in his clan, he wondered if perhaps he SHOULD pay more attention to the members within it. They were, after all, family.

Sugita waved his hands. "You have no reason to apologize. No worries, at all, really!” He laughed, hoping to subside her worries. "Since we’re family and all, how about we train some time? It’d be good to see how differently we utilize our Lifeblades, no?” Perhaps this could be his start to getting closer to the other members of his clan. He liked the idea of being able to help Tsuri grow and develop her skills as well.

Shodo Tsuri

[Shodo Tsuri]

Kirigara Sugita

"EHHHH? EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEH?! L- L- LORD?", Tsuri's eyes were rather unnatural, but they complimented her usually, but when surprise and panic mixed on her face she would have her jaw drop. That had been the lord that she had met a few weeks before? Was he knew? Tsuri didn't remember any Lord Sanosuke in her classes. When was this put in place again? She would turn beat red, "H- He didn't tell me he was Amegakure's Lord," She would exclaim as if she was losing her damn marbles over the revelation.

She would lower before eventually rolling onto her back. Small ponds sure did have a lot of the same fish huh. Her gaze looked glossy as if contemplating death or something similar for a moment, before she heard Sugita mention the words 'family' and 'train'... was she supposed to accept that so easily... well probably so he was more than likely her cousin, but she really didn't get all of this. TAKEDA SANOSUKE WAS THE AME LORD.... Kireina-San had set up a meeting with the lord and just not told her... how. Family. Yeah that checked out.

"I would love to uhm... is Sugi-rin better? Sorry lot to take in at one time," Tsuri would say with an apologetic look on her face, "Could we talk more later? I need to get back to the academy pretty soon... I can come visit and meet your side of the family!"

- ❤ -

[Kirigara Sugita]

[newclass=.sugita]width:350px;padding:25px;text-align:justify;background-color:#ffffff;font:13px Open Sans;line-height:20px;color:#000000;[/newclass]
[newclass=.sugita:hover]margin-top:0px;opacity:1;-webkit-transition-duration:.5s;transition-duration:.5s;-moz-transition-duration:.5s;[/newclass]
[newclass=.sugita b]color:#333451;[/newclass]
[newclass=.sugita i]color:#656b8c;[/newclass][googlefont=Open+Sans]

[attr="class","sugita"]Sugita was a bit confused by her reaction. She really didn’t know that he was the Ame Lord? The boy smiled a bit. It really sounded like Sanosuke. Suga could see a humble side to him. "Well, perhaps I shouldn’t have said anything then,” he teased a bit followed with a shrug. "You would have found out sooner or later anyway.” It’s true. Given their line of work, they’d have to run into the Ame Lord sooner or later. It wasn’t as though he could keep it a secret for too long.

The grey-eyed boy nodded with a gentle smile, "Sure, fine by me!” he said genuinely. Mostly, he just didn’t see himself as a sensei, and being called something like that …well he didn’t think he deserved or had earned that kind of responsibility. He was only a few years older than Tsuri as well, so it made him feel a bit off.

Perhaps he was humble as well. Just how much was he like Sanosuke…

"Oh!” Sugita said. "I didn’t realize the time, either…yea, no problem! We’ll meet up some time for sure.” Sugita waved, the two parting ways. He had a feeling he would be seeing more of her around, and the thought of this made him happy.

[End]

Shodo Tsuri