[Miyamoto Ikana]

Ikana had found herself with the passing of time becoming a more polite, quiet, and well natured girl, as she had been in her distant past. She found herself improving, both mentally and physically when she put her past behind her, and as the economy of Kirigakure improved, so did her general life. This was especially true in the case of her store. Selling explosive tags, bomb balls, storage seals, and other custom order equipment, at the increase of military operations and need, she found her shop was always rather accessible. This was especially true for fellow orphans of which she'd sought to aid, and some of them might be working her shop even. This allowed Ikana to focus on her other pursuits, namely, her Shinobi career at large. 

Ikana would consider herself an entrepreneur, potentially lower middle class, considering her merchant nature. Today, along the outskirts of a rough and dreary day along the coastline, she performed a series of seals. She'd wanted true mastery and greater pursuit of the water element. So, today on this cold, rough day, a storm beginning to form, as the ride rose, the waves were particularly fierce. Standing atop the surface, she awaited the tall wave to begin its approach. "Suiton: Suijinheki!" Manipulating the sea before it, it rippled, and would rise forth in an aggressive wave. Tall and rippling over and on top of itself to collide with the wave before her. Seeking to halt the wave from washing atop her, and instead to yield.

As if that was possible. For her to fight against the sea itself. "Haaaaagh!" Clapping her hands together, she tried to hold, only then for the wave to eventually break her own with its collapsing force. Washing over her, and colliding with her body. Causing her to stagger and squint as it washed over her. Yet, she seemed unyielding there as she stood, her body soaked. Wiping water from her face and messy strands of hair. "...Again." 

[Suzuki Taru]

Taru spent her time near the water about as often as she could. She was someone who appreciated nature, and of the things within nature, water was what she loved most of all. Everything about it transfixed her. The creatures that dwelt within, both near to the surface and down in the deep dark, hidden from everyone's sight. The way that it swallowed up light as it got deeper. The nature of the water itself, powerful and demanding and all-consuming.

So it really wasn't surprising that she was along the edge of the water today, scouring for creatures that may have washed up along the edge of the water, or perhaps for a spirit living underneath the surface that might whisper wisdom to her.

Instead of any of that, instead she found a thread of fate! Along the water, she spotted Ikana, having a wave of water splash right over her. It had been a while since Taru had seen Ikana, but she was glad to see her. She wondered what the other girl was doing? The only way to find out was to go ask!

Taru took off at a run and then launched herself off the bank and into the water, splashing into it in a very dynamic entrance and thoroughly drenching herself. Then she stood up and shook out her hair.

"Hi! Are we trying to be dragged into the depths of the water?" She greeted quite casually, all things considered.

[Miyamoto Ikana]

Taru was what someone could consider a "familiar face", an icon, considering their tree like appearance. WIth the sound of the resounding splash, as Taru came forth before Ikana, she turned surprise. "Taru? No. No! I'm training Suiton!" Ikana was...what. Thirteen? Fourteen now? She wasn't sure, but she found that in her slump of depression it had driven her to waste and squander potential. If she worked hard and dedicated, she was sure she could have easily made it to Jonin by now. So now, here she was, trying to catch up to speed. As she formed a swift set of handseals, looking out to the next oncoming wave.

"Suiton! Suijinheki!" Calling forth the power of the waves, she sought to create a condensed and tight wall of water, of which to defend herself, and evidently now Taru who now stood beside her. Her hands clenched as she sought to make it rise up and tall. Some ten feet tall, as it clashes with the wave oncoming before it. Some of its mass lay stirring and washing past them in the collapse, but just as sure as the tide was to come, so was it that Ikana's wall would inevitably break. Washing over her chest and arms as she braced them to her chest. She tried not to be carried and washed away by the power of the destructive sea. Instead, she channeled her power and sought to learn what it meant to become a master of Suiton.

"I don't know too many Suiton jutsu...So I need to master what I have. Until I can learn some more. I have to keep working hard if I'm ever going to get anywhere." That said, she found herself weaving the seals again. Bringing her arms upwards towards her chest, and leveling them, horizontally, as she takes a deep breath. Channeling her chakra once more. 

[Suzuki Taru]

Well, that definitely made a lot more sense than getting dragged away into the water. Taru was glad that Ikana was being productive and also taking some time to enjoy herself in the water, though it was also interesting to see that she was still hard at work. She hoped Ikana had been taking more breaks since they'd hung out together at the lake!

She observed as Ikana raised her hands and formed a wall of water, trying to defend against the waves. A harder task than one would imagine. Despite being so fluid, the ocean was also unimaginably powerful. And sure enough, Ikana's hold eventually broke, allowing the water to wash over the two of them. Taru wasn't bowled over by the water, managing to stay upright, though it was a near thing even for her.

"I see... I only know a few suiton ninjutsu, too, but most of them aren't quite as suited to big moves like what you're trying to do!" She forged a few hand seals and stuck her hand into the water in demonstration. When she pulled her hand out, it was surrounded by a swirling construct of water, in the shape of a crab's claw.

Keeping that on her hand, she tried to offer Ikana some advice.

"I think when working with water, you have to keep the flow in mind. If you're trying to guard against the ocean, there's nothing you can do to stop it, so you have to try to divert it instead."

[Miyamoto Ikana]

"Huh...Neat." She sounded off. Looking towards the claw of water Taru seemed to form. "To be honest, I know more about Fuuinjutsu than I do Suiton." Something that was hard to digest, considering she prided herself on her water release. However, at the next moment? "You and I should trade techniques sometime Taru-San." Her eyes focused, and with it, there was the call. To try to control the flow to divert as opposed to contest. "I know, but..." As she saw the rippling sea, the toppling waves, as well as the next one coming forward?

"It's not that easy. Suiton!" She calls forth, and with it, she fuels the technique again. Another rushing influx of water that ripples outwards from her way, trying to meet the wave ahead of her. It was funny how much energy she needed to exert for the mere attempt at facing off against nature. How weak and fragile they all were to its mighty power. Suijinheki. The wall of water rippled and blasted forward from the sea, but upon Taru's recommendation, it split and rippled in a parting clash in the center, as opposed to more spread out. Trying to concentrate the force in a single area. It didn't seem easy in the slightest. No. Not really.

Taking a deep breath, it really did feel relentless. Up until? A particularly large wave came forth. So large and heavy that it not only washed over Ikana's own wall, but then Ikana herself. Taking the liberty to hurl her backwards, a strange sucking feeling, as it threatened to drag her out of the sea. The wave washed over her again, bashing her against the sand and somewhat rocky shore as she gasped. The buffeting force and bludgeoning giving her an idea for the first time of what it meant to be truly at nature's and in a way, water's mercy. Gasping as she scrambled onto the shoreline. Flinging handfuls of sand behind her as she tried to move. Her eyes frantically searching as she gasps for sweet air.

What about Taru? 

[Suzuki Taru]

"We could definitely trade techniques," Taru agreed, beaming at the thought. She wasn't the best of teachers or anything, at least not in her opinion, but working together to learn things was something she found a little more digestible than tutoring. If there was a back-and-forth of knowledge with someone about the same skill level as her, she'd probably do fine.

Before they could talk more about that, though, another wave came. Ikana raised her hands and formed her wall of water again, pushing it forward to guard against the buffeting waves. She managed to hold it longer this time by diverting the flow, dispersing the force. But eventually an enormous wave came and washed over Ikana's suiton technique, as well as over the two girls.

Taru was very strong - she could take a lot more force before being knocked over than most shinobi. Still, a wave like that could topple just about anyone. She was pulled under the water for a second, but didn't panic, allowing herself to remain beneath the wave for just a second until the turbulence lessened. Then she surfaced and scurried up the shore. She looked less afraid and more exhilarated, a wide ecstatic smile on her face. Open water was dangerous, but that was why she loved it.

She would quickly try to move to Ikana's side and help her back up.

"Are you alright?" She asked. "That was a really big one!"

[Miyamoto Ikana]

Taru seemed like one of those freespirited people. The kind that didn't seem to worry about a lot of the conventional things that people did. Was there going to be rent for the next month? What was the newest style of fashion or entertainment? How did people think about them and how they acted or looked? Taru seemed to avoid any normal convention and seemed to believe in more spiritual things, including fate. However, as she found herself somewhat disoriented, trying to get up onto her feet? She looked on at the ecstatic face of the person before her. In a way, Taru truly seemed to be an odd person.

"Y-Yeah." Slowly shifting herself, and sitting onto her knees along the sand, she shook her head, and found herself looking to the angry sea before her. "I can use just about any kind of practice I can get. It's a pretty harsh world out there, you know? Besides, I've spent a lot of time out at sea." She knew that despite the beauty you could get yourself lost in, it was also more than possible to find the sea was harsh, cruel, and unforgiving. Then again, that was just how the world was wasn't it? Well, at least it didn't act maliciously or out of cruel intent.

"Say...Taru-San. When you met me for the first time, if I remember. You were talking about how it must have been fated to be. Right? Or destiny?...Do you really believe that? That everything that happens is because of some mysterious force?" She curled her knees in towards herself, considering that as she strained her hair, twisting it to get rid of some of the water. Looking out into the distant horizon. For a few moments, she tried to imagine or feel that otherworldly power. Maybe godly or otherwise. Ikana didn't really know what to feel or believe.

[Suzuki Taru]

Ikana said it was a harsh world out there. She wasn't wrong, really, though Taru never quite thought of it in that way. Everything in the world was just doing its best to exist and sometimes those existences intersected in conflicting ways. Did that make the world harsh? Or cruel even? She didn't think so. She liked to think of the world as kind despite all the conflict within it.

Then Ikana asked about Taru's beliefs in destiny or fate. She followed Ikana's example, trying to squeeze some of the water out of her drenched hair as she thought about the answer. She hummed thoughtfully.

"It's complicated," she decided on. "I think we have the power to change our fates. I also think something can be... meant to happen without it being predetermined," she tried to explain. It was a little contradictory, but many of her beliefs often were in strange little ways.

"Have you ever been in the right place at the right time? Or the wrong place at the wrong time? You make all the decisions that bring you there, but it can still feel like you were supposed to be there. I think those feelings have a kind of power."

If you felt something was meant to happen, then that must've been the case, or something like that. She wasn't the greatest at explaining her philosophy because it was just something she felt, not something she had rationalized her way into.

[Miyamoto Ikana]

It was a somewhat difficult thought process in this regard. "Change our fates." She sounded the words, but that sounded contradictory indeed. Wasn't fate predetermined by nature? The nature of destiny? Trying to keep an open mind, the girl tucked her knees into her chest, taking a deep breath. She seemed somewhat deep in thought when confronted with that question. "I guess so...Though for the most part, I felt as if those things were meant to break me down." Closing her eyes, she took a deep exhale, never finding a real conclusion to that period of her life. Instead, having her ditch those thoughts and feelings in order to live a modicum happier.

"I don't know if I believe in destiny or fate, I just try to live day by day. Easier to do it that way than think you're meant for something more. Or greater. I don't know...I've never really had much praise or anything in my life. So I'm just trying to figure out if I'm going the right way. If I'm becoming something worthwhile." Looking out across the raging waves, it made her wonder about her future more than her past. "Sorry. I guess I made things a bit sad." Revelation aside, she began to stand again, stepping back towards the water's edge. Prepared to cast her Jutsu again, she formed a few handseals, she channeled her chakra.

Stepping towards the waves which were weakest along the shore line, she found herself raising another wall, rippling and moving forward, colliding with the smaller waves before her. Idling herself as she focused on the execution of her technique. "I'm just trying to...get by. It gets awfully lonely sometimes on that adventure."

[Suzuki Taru]

Break her down... Taru had never really felt that way about hardship. It was just something that happened, though she'd struggle to explain why. She tended to assign feelings to things that she knew didn't really have them. In her mind, even negative emotions were things that might think and feel, and might want companionship for a while. Tragedy and strife would find places to rest in the human mind because they wanted to be understood.

"I don't think it's sad," Taru reassured Ikana. "Or, maybe it is, but I don't mind it. You're just speaking what you feel and I'm glad you shared it with me," she said, still smiling, though she hoped it was a more encouraging one now, more gentle and less manic.

"I think, uh, how to say it... Well, I think you don't have to be lonely. I like spending time with you and would adventure with you, even if that adventure was spiritual! Oh, and... I don't think you need to become something worthwhile because I think you already are," she decided, confidently.

"While growth is good, it isn't your worth. There's nothing greater anyone can be but themselves. Waking up and living each day is already an amazing miracle. Living each day the greatest destiny. I think, at least. I think everything that exists is... extraordinary. Because there's never been someone like you before. And there will never be anyone like you again. And that's true of everything that's ever lived, and even all the things that ever haven't."

Even the water before them was constantly changing. From second to second, the ocean that exists now would never be the same as the ocean that existed a few minutes ago.

She reached her hand forward and started to manipulate some water on her own as well, twisting a tendril of water through the air. Usually she'd use it like a whip, but right now she just wanted to admire it.

[Miyamoto Ikana]

"I'm glad you're listening." She didn't really know how to explain her feelings or why she felt them. Maybe it was because she wanted a closer bond. She wanted something intimate. Closer, more precise for herself. She'd never had biological parents with her, and her adoption was incredibly brief. She regretted not basking in the parental love she could have had, whether it was, or wasn't a lie. Now she was at the point where she was "too old" for that kind of thing. How was Ikana supposed to take it really?

"I already am?..." Leaning and arching backwards, her head looked to the sky. There was nothing greater anyone could be but themselves. waking up and living every day was a miracle. Living was the greatest destiny. She took in all Taru said, and with it, she found herself taking a deep drag of air. "You know. I guess it's kind of stupid then. What I tried to do a while back." She smiled for a few moments, her eyes closed, as she thought back to her apartment. How the hook broke off the wall when she tried. She ought to be grateful she supposed she lived in that rickety old place. How it couldn't support her weight.

"I tried to..."end" everything. Because I figured I was worthless. That nobody really ever wanted me in my life, and how at that point in time? Nobody would. I'm just glad that I could be good. Useful to someone. Even if I don't get praised. Because. Well. I realized that there's no worse feeling than feeling like you're living in this world for nothing. Having someone to find value in you. It truly means more than anything in the world. Other than strength." Honestly? She didn't know why she was so open with Taru right now. Maybe it was because she felt like she could trust that she wouldn't snitch. Or maybe because she felt like telling Taru would have no long term repercussions.

Maybe it was because she felt like it wouldn't really matter.

"You made my day today." She said, looking at that water she formed.

[Suzuki Taru]

Taru listened quietly to Ikana's words. They hung heavy when she spoke, sharing this incredibly painful moment from her past.

Death wasn't something that Taru feared, in the abstract. She juggled poisonous boulders and jumped off cliff's edges and wandered into dark and deadly woods. Still, when faced with the real possibility of it, she'd blanched. In the exams, even she'd felt stress as the toxins took hold in the examination chamber. Ikana had chased that feeling on purpose, alone, right to the brink. Even Taru knew that they kind of thing must have come from a place of terrible pain, at the end of a very long rope.

A vulnerability, told plainly, openly. Taru wouldn't squander this trust.

She came over to sit next to Ikana again, plopping down right next to her and then throwing an arm around her shoulder. Taru was brazen with affection, unabashed, happy to pull the other girl into a hug without question.

"I'm glad that you're still here. You don't have to judge your past by if what you think you tried was stupid or not. You survived and you're still here and now you get to find reasons to keep moving!" She insisted, giving Ikana an encouraging little shake.

"That pain must have been very powerful... but you've bested it now. You're very strong," she said.

[Miyamoto Ikana]

"I-" When wrapped with an arm around her shoulder, she found herself slowly folding her own arm around Taru, resting their head along their shoulder. "You don't know how much words like that can mean." She says, closing her eyes and smiling as she did wonder what she'd keep going and living for. Dreams. Aspirations. Though she couldn't lie and say that life wasn't good. That it wasn't getting better with the passing of time, at least physically and financially. That said? She found herself wondering if she really did "best" that pain, more so throw it behind herself. That was a question for an Ikana of the future. A later time.

"I'm not strong Taru-Chan." She said, almost confident in that. Though, she did add something. "But I'm working on getting stronger." Words confidently stated, she rises to look back towards that raging sea. Slowly standing back up and looking towards its expanse, she turns towards Taru again. "Maybe it was destiny. For us to meet like this. For you to talk to me and guide me in the time I needed it most." Thinking that through, she shakes her head from side to side as if contemplating the validity of her own words. Though it was hard to digest.

"Let me know if you need anything. I'm happy to give you some free storage scrolls. Explosive tags. Anything I have. You seem like someone that's worth it to me, and I want to make sure you have everything you need to be around for a long time."

[Suzuki Taru]

Ikana didn't find herself strong now, but she said she was working towards getting stronger. Taru disagreed - she thought that Ikana must be very powerful to persist as she had, to recover and to keep moving - but she wouldn't say so. She didn't want to disagree with Ikana, because it seemed the other girl was content with her thoughts, and was motivated to try hard and grow. Having something to reach for was very good for the mind and soul.

When Ikana stood, Taru stood with her, beaming when Ikana said it might have been destiny for them to meet. She agreed! Even if the tides of fate hadn't literally pulled them together, their meeting was still and always would be something that was meant to happen.

"You're so generous, too!" Taru chirped, when Ikana offered to give her anything she needed. She really did need to beef up her inventory! Affording all the things a shinobi needed was difficult, so knowing Ikana was around to give what she could was a big help.

"I'm not as good at making things, but if there's anything you need, or want help with, let me know, and I'll be there to help you, too!" She reassured.

Then she grabbed Ikana's hand and started inching back closer to the water. "Now... do you want to run around in the waves again?"

After such a heavy talk, that could be a great way to spend the afternoon before they needed to part ways and get back to work.

[Miyamoto Ikana]

"All it takes for most of this stuff is time." That was something she had to give. Her soft brown eyes seemed a bit more relaxed and at peace as Taru provided her own comfort and time. Rising to the occasion, she makes her way up as she stands, looking a bit dubiously to the rough sea waves, which seemed maybe just a little bit less rough. "Yeah...Sounds like a plan. Though keep an eye out for any fish or shellfish that wash up. I'll make us dinner." Closing her eye and giving a curl upwards of the lips, with a cute tilt of her head? Ikana head off.

Combatting the waves and getting experience on how to combat the raging waters, she found herself vetting herself in the art of Suiton considerably. The only difference was that she wasn't doing it alone this time. For the first time in what seemed like a while, she had a friend with her to continue her training. Not just a friend maybe, but someone that she get close. That was something that was really hard for a girl like Ikana. Friendships were fickle and seemed to get her hurt more often than not. So, with that established? It was time for repetition. Channeling the power of Suiton against the power of the waves and nature itself.