One of the few places that he hasn’t been before; though a very unusual place to hang out for him. The village’s dock; oceans that led them from Konohagakure to Kumogakure and Kirigakure. From hearing people talk, Susumu figured that a lot of people come here to relax and have a good time with fishing. This intrigued Susumu. Instead of spending his cash on going to the store to buy his own well-earned food, he figured he might as well make a little bit of an adventure out of it and go fishing by himself. With a fishing rod hanging over his shoulder and the bait in his other hand, he sat down at the edge of the docks. He didn’t bring a chair or anything, so sitting on his rear end will do him fine for now. This didn’t really seem like the kind of thing Susumu would participate in. It seemed like this would require a lot of patience and the ability to keep yourself calm if it doesn’t work out the first time. All of this seemed very unlikely for him. Once he set his mind of food, however, there was no way you could get him out of it. There were just a few other people fishing here, seeing them as competition. They’re all out for the fish on the same ocean. It’s only natural for Susumu to try and be the best at even this.

He threw his fishing rod back and almost immediately launched it forward, trying to get it as far as possible away from the shorelines. He wasn’t an experienced fisher, but this seemed like it would be very effective when it comes to catching bigger fish. This was just his logic, anyway. Though, after five minutes of just sitting there, resting his cheek on his shoulder and blankly looking into the horizon, he got already a little bit bored. Susumu realizes that, during these moments, you really get to know yourself. You’re sitting here by yourself, nothing else to do but wait and think about life. At least to him, that looked like it. He waited for the fishes to start tugging on the bait hanging from the tip of that fishing rod, but they didn’t seem like they were in the mood to eat. Susumu was, however, and he couldn’t quite handle the fact that they wouldn’t bite. Looking from left to right, he could see that the few fishermen that were already there had gotten a fish a couple of times already, really grinding Susumu’s gears. He began tapping the ground with his foot, indicating his loss of patience, almost a few veins popping out from his forehead. “Damn. Fishes.” He quietly said. It wouldn’t look good if a kid suddenly started losing his temper on the middle of the street. Not only would he attract a lot of attention, but he was a stranger around these parts, as well. The last thing he’d need is people focusing their attention on him.

He was almost capable of just throwing away the rod into the ocean, hoping that he’d at least kill some fish by dropping it on their heads, but he needed to get a grip on himself. He could actually feel himself getting moodier and moodier. He’s always been like this. He doesn’t like to lose, especially against nor the fish, nor the fishermen around these parts, but still, it was only logical that he messed it up. This was his first time throwing around a fishing rod, let alone trying to catch a big fish right away. The big waters played a part, as well. Although there are many fish, the chances that they bite in your single rod are really minimum. Susumu would need more rods for it to be more effective, but wouldn’t that just count as cheating? This was one thing he wanted to avoid. With his eyes steadily focused on the one point in the water; where his rod reached out under the surface, he wondered what he’d gotten himself into. He should’ve at least brought himself some company while he put himself through this mess. With a slight sigh, he threw himself backwards and just lays there; looking up at the open sky above him. Should a fish catch on, he’d probably hear the water splash.

Word count: 724

Sinclair stood behind an old man with the usual smile lit on her face. Just hours ago, that morning, she was walking through the streets of Konoha when she happened to hear an old man rattle on endlessly about the secrets to fishing to his friend. Both had fishing rods and baits on them which told her that they were heading to the village docks and curious as she was about these secrets, she wasted no time in following the men.

Once he noticed her, he restarted his stories as a fisherman, beaming and retelling the many secrets that only he, as a great fisherman, knew. While it did bore her after half an hour, the thought of seeing those secrets in action kept her from vanishing on the old man s she always does on people that bore her. And now that they were finally at the docks, she helped the men with their equipment as they both found a cosy little spot and sat down with their rods ready. The old man, whose name she had not even bothered to ask, skilfully put the bait over the hook and with a swish, whirled the rod around and threw it across the ocean where it landed in a shady area. As the ripples slowly died down, she noticed the man relaxing his own wrists, keeping a gentle but firm grip. Much to her surprise, it didn’t even take him five minutes to get a fish.

She carefully listened when he started explaining the way he caught one so easily and slowly took mental notes down along the way till she finally found the act of fishing to be boring. Yes, it was a good way to pass time with and it was nice to be in a quiet place but the waiting period and the old men’s stories tired her out quicker than she expected. When she found the two of them busy chatting with themselves, she slowly slipped away and walked up a small path towards where more people came to fish with their rods in hand.

Her clever looking eyes slid across the area, found the people, mostly experts, catching one fish after another until it finally landed on a queer looking fellow who didn’t even seem like he belonged in the picture. Sure enough, he was having a hard time with the sport too as she could easily tell from his expression that he had been waiting for a while with an empty bucket for a fish. It didn’t surprise her since he looked like an amateur at this, just as she was, but when she saw him give up and lay back down, Sinclair couldn’t help but giggle a little. She must have seemed strange for giggling to herself but no one seemed to pay much attention as they were all engrossed with the little fishes they were catching.

“Are the fishes giving you a hard time?” she asked while she approached him from behind. With her own hands tied behind her in a relaxed manner, she stood above the raven haired man with the same smile she always wore. “You seemed like you have been here for a while already and couldn’t help but notice your, hmm, dilemma?” she shifted her eyes, replaying the sentence in her head to make sure she worded that right before straightening herself. With a thoughtful look on her face, she sat beside him and started, “I have never tried fishing in my life as well. But, I was with someone who was doing it quite well just a few moments ago and from what he was saying, you’re just doing this wrong. If you don’t mind my company, we could do this together?” she offered, partly out of curiosity to fish for the first time and partly out of boredom. It was not like she had much to do and she was already at the village dock. She might as well stay and make something out of it.

670

The sun, which was shining down upon him, suddenly disappeared as he got covered with the shadow of a person he wasn’t familiar with, as well as a voice that he had never heard before. The fishes wouldn’t bite, but at least there was someone around that apparently decided to create small talk with Susumu, which should bring some entertainment back in his daily life. Averting his gaze from the sky towards the recently met individual, it appeared she was a rather young girl, neat blonde hair that made their way down her back. It seemed that the expression and body language Susumu was revealing to the people around him, that he was indeed having a rough time getting together a decent amount of fish to still his hunger for later on. Looking back at his rod for a split second, he sighed once more. “You’re right..” He began. The tone in his voice showed a slight disappointment. “I didn’t plan to go home empty handed, but I suppose like this it’s what’s going to happen.” He threw his upper body up to get into a sitting position next to the girl. He figured it’d be the polite thing to do, besides the fact that the stones of the ground were giving him an uncomfortable feeling in his back.

Using his left hand to rub the lower part of his back and massaging it a little, he immediately stopped once the girl mentioned being with a fisher before. From the way she said it, it appears she must have gotten some knowledge about how to fish properly. Almost a sparkle was seen in Susumu’s eyes as his blue eyes met hers. It peeked his interest. He’s been sitting here for a while now and if he’s not quick about it, he’ll get hungry soon enough. Which normally means that he wouldn’t be able to function properly thanks to his appetite taking over his mind. “I don’t mind your company at all.” Of course, he was interested in being able to catch fishes by himself, although that wasn’t all to it. From his past experienced, having a conversation with people that he already knows and just met, is more entertaining than being here by yourself and just pretty much using your imagination to kill time. “I was almost close enough to just jump in there myself with a kunai in hand and get the fish personally.” He stated, letting out a chuckle. Of course he was joking, but part of him knew that he would be capable of such a feat. But maybe that’s just his confidence doing its work.

Reaching out for the rod, he picked it up from where it stood and reeled in the fishing wire, preparing to throw it out once again. Of course, he needed to check if the bait was still intact, which it was, obviously. He didn’t have any fish pull the hook just yet, so unless the bait is still alive, it’s not going anywhere. While reeling it in, he turned his head to face the girl’s direction once more. “You’ve heard it from someone experienced yourself, so mind giving me some quick tips and tricks?” A grin crossed his lips. He made it painfully clear that never once in his life had he held a fishing rod, let alone used it. Back during his previous travels, he actually hunted on other animals; hunting on the waters has never and probably will never be his strong point. He’s a real man for the land. The other people around him were probably people that have been fishing from child on out. Thinking about it, should Susumu keep this up himself, would he get to become an experienced fisherman? It’s not something that he’d particularly want. The bait swayed from left to right in front of him. Having messed it up himself before, he held out the fishing rod into her direction. “Why don’t you show me how it’s done?” It almost seemed like a challenge, another thing that Susumu had most likely brought up to make sure they don’t waste their time just waiting and waiting. There needs to be some competition, at least.

Word count: 700

It seemed that she had found something interesting to pass time with. The young boy was eager to have her show him the tricks she had learned. It succeeded, naturally, in putting her in a better mood as well. Though his last sentence ended with a trace of challenge in them, Sinclair didn’t mind and only chuckled at the boy before pulling the rod off him. Her only experience came from watching the other man and Sinclair was smart enough to know there was a huge gap between real experience and her logic but was slightly excited to see if she could do better.


“He was some sort of master at this,” she started, unimpressed, as she inspected the rod in her hands. “I met him in the middle of the street exchanging stories of his achievement and got rather curious. They were really slow. I had already followed them for half of the way till they finally noticed me. The man was more than happy to give me some useful tips and I watched him fish for quite a while too until his age-old stories started boring me. He wouldn’t stop and I had to slip away before he noticed I was gone,” she shook her head as the boring old stories of how he caught the biggest trout in a competition ran through her head again. “ And I didn’t even ask him for his name...”

She started fumbling with the hook and bait once she finished her speech, pulled the live bait onto the hook with a clearly displeased click on her tongue, and struggled. It was one thing to watch an experienced man do it and copy the motions herself. Fortunately, her photographic memory did aid her in getting the job done in a couple of minutes. But she noticed, while quietly fuming inside her mind, the difference in time between the old man and herself.

But by the time it was over, she had done a neat job with it. The bait now wound around the hook, clinging tightly to it as if it already knew and accepted its fate. “Stay here. I’ll be back in a few minutes,” she instructed and placed the rod down. Once she got up, her eyes skimmed the area and landed on an old man sitting far away from them with his grandson. He was merrily teaching the younger boy about fishing, its tricks, its pleasure and its rewards. She could tell, almost immediately, that the man was a local who was more used to fishing in this area than the other man and didn’t think twice before striking up a conversation with him. They chatted animatedly for a few minutes and from a distance, one could tell that they were talking about fishing from the way Sinclair’s eyes moved from the man’s rod, to his face and to the calm waters.

After a little, she came back to the young boy and took the fishing rod again. “I was asking about the fishes in this place. Apparently, the fishes around here like to hide under shadowy areas,” she told him and with a flick and swing, threw the line behind a bunch of rocks where there was a nice dark spot and sat down without uttering another word. Seconds flew past them and Sinclair’s quiet musings got interrupted, a couple of times, by the cheer and laughter of others around her.

The red floater attached to the hook calmly bobbed up and down on the water. For a few seconds there was no sign of anything taking the bait until Sinclair felt a sharp tug at the end of the rod. She jumped up in surprise, keeping a firm hold on the rod and pulling on it, still half shocked from having caught something so early. “I think I did it,” she hollered and pulled the rod back up with all her strength. Sure enough, she saw, struggling at the end of the hook with its tails flailing wildly, and helplessly caught in it was a fairly big black fish.


“I think we just caught the first of many.”


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Susumu blinked a couple of times as the girl walked away from him as soon as she finished talking about that man she had met earlier; a man that was portrayed as some sort of professional in this area and one that knows a lot about how to catch multiple fishes. Figuring that she’d probably gone back to ask his name and some of the few handy tips he’d be able to give her, he’d patiently sit there at the edge of the water waiting for her to return. The rod was placed on the ground next to him. The sun above in the sky made the water sparkle, almost clear enough to actually see the fishes swim around in it. But seeing them is only half the job, the other half is succeeding in catching them. A bit of time having passed, Susumu had gotten a little bored with himself and let out a mild yawn. The warmth of the sun was actually draining his energy. He would’ve took a nap if it wasn’t for the girl that decided to keep him company. Susumu himself had failed multiple times in catching a fish that he didn’t know how he’d feel if the girl would actually catch a fish faster than him. But that shouldn’t be possible, right?

It didn’t take too long or the girl had eventually returned to the fishing spot where Susumu was seated. While she picked up the rod and explained that the fishes liked to hide in shadowy areas, Susumu remained seated though focused his eyes on the line that was aimed right at one of the darker spots on the water. That place would indeed seem the most logical place for a fish to hide out. Fishing does really require patience. Fortunately, Susumu at least has some of that. A little bit more and he’d probably snap from either boredom or impatience. The two of them just sat there while the others around them carried on their day. Some of them went home with many fishes, while the others went home empty-handed. Susumu wasn’t planning on that, he at least wanted to catch a couple of fishes before he’s heading back. Susumu hadn’t noticed the tugging happening, only after ‘til Sinclair had jumped up to her feet and tightened her grip on the rod she was holding. It almost bend completely, showing that the fish was indeed competition worthy of reeling in and getting caught.

As it got closer and closer, it showed that it was a rather big, black fish that was splashing the water up on the land, some of it getting in Susumu’s face. Having the short fuse that he does, getting a little annoyed, he lowered himself over the edge, hanging his upper body above the water and reaching out to the fish that had gotten closer to them by now. He needed to catch it. Not knowing if the girl was actually prepared to eat the fish, or if it was actually allowed, without thinking he just wrapped his arms around the fish as tightly as he could. He could feel the fish being slippery, almost unable to get a good grip on it to get it to the sidelines. Throwing himself backwards, the fish got launched into the air and as Susumu fell on his back, the big black fish landed straight on his stomach. He was rather heavy as Susumu let out a few coughs the moment it made an impact. “Pfff.” He let out some false air from his mouth in order to calm himself down while throwing the fish off his body, next to him. “I can’t believe you caught one before me.” He began, looking at the fish that was surely a catch. Although he wanted to catch a fish on his own, he wasn’t disappointed by what the girl had accomplished. It was a sight to behold. “Good job… What’s your name?” He wanted to call her out by her name, but thinking back, he didn’t think that they had actually introduced each other yet. Given that he was the one that brought it up, he began. “My name’s Uchiha Susumu.” It was a plain introduction, he didn’t know how else to put it. He was still a little bit surprised that she had actually caught a fish in no time, while Susumu almost spent a few hours here by himself without any luck whatsoever. Hopefully, it will indeed be the first fish of many.

Word count: 752