Nagare sat by the poolside looking out at the sun. The fog had cleared just an hour ago, and since then it was all sunshine and rainbows. It didn't help bring up the mood, seeing as he had just killed his best friend. He looked back down at the serene blue water and tried to take his mind off of things. Horui was busy swimming around in circles, having a blast. He saw the whole situation as a successful mission more than anything, attributing to the fact that Gakuto was just a mutual friend to him. Neither Nagare nor Horui, however, wanted anybody with them at the time. They needed a moment to rest.

It wasn't very often that Shou found himself wandering to the pool of the village. Usually he preferred to spend his time in the salty water of the sea rather than the chlorinated water that always seemed to be so stagnant. He frowned a little as he walked in to the pool area and saw the crystal water, the only disturbances in the water being because of people's movements. Pursing his lips, Shou decided to sit at the edge of the pool with his legs in the water rather than slipping directly into it, contemplating the manmade body of water. A copy of the real thing. Boring.

Still, it was water and when he couldn't get to the sea it was always a good place to swim even despite the disturbances of others. He looked up after a moment observed the people, his eyes catching on a man with a different hitai-ate who wasn't in the pool. One that designated the man as a Kumogakure shinobi who was a long way from home and a rather sullen looking one at that. At least there was something different in the monotony of this place. Smirking, Shou studied the man trying to gauge him.

Nagare looked over and noticed a boy staring at him. He immediately looked away and at the water, pretending not to notice the kid. Horui saw this, and thought Naga. You seriously can't be avoiding eye contact. Just say hi to the guy. and continued swimming.

Nagare reluctantly listened to Horui. He wiped his eyes with his sleeve and put his glasses before turning to the boy. "Hello, my name is Nagare Sōseiji. Nice to meet you."

Shou raised an eyebrow as Nagare looked away from him, smirk growing a little bit in slight amusement. Was he shy? Maybe this would be fun... or maybe he really was just a boring regular shinobi. It was a little hard to tell, he'd have to get to know him to find out. He narrowed his eyes as he was spoken to by the other shinobi as if deciding what he was going to do. He contemplated a few things before relaxing after a moment and leaned back on his hands, elbows straight as he looked at Nagare. "Pleasure. I'm Hōzuki, Shou." He replied simply before looking back out at the pool again, nonchalant. "You're a long way from home. What brought you from Kumogakure to Kirigagure, Nagare?"

Naoko started to the marketplace once more to get medicine for his mother. On the way, he saw the pool and decided to take a little rest. He saw a spot and sat down in a criss-cross fashion and stared at the water below him. He looked at his reflection in the water and started to think about his dad.Naoko decided not to bring back old memories and looked up and saw Shou and Nagare. His eybrow raised in wuestion as he wondered why a Kumo nin was here.

"Well, I'm was on an important mission, but I finished it. I'd rather not talk about the details."

Horui noticed Nagare talking to the guy, and got out of the pool and sat next to Naga. Nagare handed Horui his glasses (he had taken them off to get into the water), who accepted them with a smile before putting them back on. "This is Horui. He's kind of like my brother." explained Naga.

"Hmmm..." Shou took a moment's breath and pursed his lips for a moment as he stared out at the water not looking at the two before turning his almost gold eyes upon them. "You don't have to discuss your business with me. I have little interest in missions that other shinobi take unless it deals with something I care about." He said with a lightly sarcastic laugh. As long as Nagare and Horui weren't hostile, he had no reason to go after them for anything or make them discuss what the had come to Kirigakure for in specifics. His eyes flicked between the two, studying the them with an almost cautious look in his cool eyes, distaste growing in the pit of his stomach. Kind of like? He thought, his eyebrow arching a little bit as he studied the two. Try fucking body copy. His lips turned upwards into a sneer as he looked at the two of them. Identical. How had he not noticed the guy in the pool was so similar to this Kumogakure shinobi? It was ridiculous.

Just like he and Shouta had been before his brother had been killed two years ago. It had been freeing to be away from the monotony of having someone look exactly like you. He wondered how this Naoko and Horui could stand it. It had been a relief for him when his brother had been killed before him and he had seen his brother's body fall. He would never again have to try to show that he was an original person, save for to the people who still remembered his brother who had in turn, turned out to be a failure at this point. At least in Shou's mind. Led by the distaste of the identical pair he looked around and caught the eyes of another Kirigakure genin staring at Naoko in a similar fashion that he had. A low laugh rumbled in his chest before he glanced at Naoko and Harui again. "Seems like you're getting a lot of curious attention. We don't see many Kumogakure shinobi here. Even if we're supposed to be allies."

"Don't get too hostile, now. I know that Kumo-nin don't often come here, but I had to in order to defeat a rogue ninja that was actually planning on destroying the village; I highly doubt that you guys want that to happen again." Nagare, now bored with Shou, stood and greeted the dark-blue haired boy who had just arrived. Horui turned to Shou and shrugged, then laid back on the surface surrounding the pool, casually sunbathing.

"And what's your name?" Nagare asked the blue-haired kid.

Since Naoko didn't talk much, he didnt answer. Insted,Naoko just stared at the Kumo. He was supsicious about the foreign ninja. He decided to test him. He quickly got up from his position and through a punch at Nagare's face. Because of his agility, he moved like a chunin. Wasn't going to try to kill him, just a simple test.

"Hostile? I'm not being hostile, you haven't seen hostile." Shou snickered a little in mock amusement, shaking his head and looking at Naoko again, staring at him. However, Shou's smirk did falter a little as he listened to the man's reason for being there, turning into a frown. That did make Shou bristle with anger, his quick temper not being kind. "What? Do you think that we're not capable of defending our own village from rogue shinobi? Did you forget what Kirigakure shinobi are famous for?" He snarled as he watched Naoko's movements and he stood. "Hunter-nin. We get rid of your lost causes. Yes, we may have had issues recently but we rebuilt. And we're still the best at what we do."

Nagare held his tongue while Shou went on a bit of a lecture about how famous Kiri's hunter-nin were. If that were the case, why hadn't they just killed Gakuto themselves? Suddenly, the other kid's fist appeared, seemly out of nowhere. Naga effortlessly dodged the punch, while Horui took out Yami no Ikimono, ready to summon something if the dispute grew worse. Nagare, now fed up with Genin of Kirigakure, pushed the puncher into the pool, before turning back to Shou. "How is that not hostile? And if you Kiri-nin could stop this rogue yourself, why didn't you?"

With no response from either the sharp-toothed Genin, nor the one who had attacked him, Nagare figured he should just leave. He wasn't the "hanging out by the pool" type, anyway. He waited for Horui to put his clothes back on, and they left, promptly, headed back to Kumo.

[Exit, Thread Closed]