The sunlight flooded in through the glass rooftop and the beautiful clean water sparkled in the light. This place was perfect in nearly every way; the absolutely beautiful scene painted when the sun hit its zenith and made the water sparkle in a way that you wouldn’t see anywhere else in Kirigakure no Sato, and probably nowhere else in the entire world. Kiyoko Takahashi couldn’t help but smile as she set her equipment down beside her chair, a common thing to do in this place, and took a seat, sunglasses covering her eyes and she laid down and soaked in the sunlight. She wasn’t dressed in her typical garb at all; all of her regular clothing in a bag beneath the chair, and her sword always within arm’s reach. Instead she was dressed in a two piece bikini of cerulean blue and white stripes, hugging to her impressively powerful body. Due to her intense training she was a rather muscular woman and always had been, and she wasn’t afraid to show it unlike some people.

She turned her head so that it was facing towards the door, her long and luscious blue hair flicking in front of her face as she did this. She brought her hand up and wiped the hair from in front of her eyes, pinning it back behind her ear so that she would be able to see who was walking in. She wasn’t wearing any makeup, except for a light lipstick that was barely noticeable, but her natural beauty was such that she didn’t need any. Her coat with her cards and her tools in it was close so that she could quickly grab it and swing it on if needed, but she didn’t expect to run into any trouble here. She turned her head back to look down at her toes and chuckled softly at the view, wiggling them and shaking her head.

Interesting how something so simple can amuse me so… She understood why simple things amused her, as when she was a child most of her time was taken by training, but it was still odd to her. She stood up and decided that she would do something that she quite enjoyed doing on days like today, the rare days when it wasn’t raining in the land of mist. Kiyoko ascended to the highest platform above the deepest area of the pool, her toes hugging the lip of the diving board as she bounced up and down a couple of times before jumping off and doing a flip before diving straight into the water.

Splish

As she submerged she remembered just how much she loved the feeling of the water crashing around her body. The weightlessness of her body as she speared through the water, kicking her feet and using her hands as rudders below the water. She was quite good at holding her breath and once she got to the bottom, before she kicked off she looked up to the surface, opening her eyes and enjoying her favorite part of the swim. The ripples in the water were white and vibrant, the waves pushing out towards the shallow end of the pool. The light coming through was beautiful and sparkling, yellow and white in different areas. She soaked in the moment for as long as she could hold her breath before kicking off and breaking the surface of the pool, flicking her head back and taking in a deep breath as her hair flicked through the hair, sending droplets of water everywhere. She made her way towards the steps closest to her belongings once she was composed and climbed them, grabbing a towel and drying off quickly before going to take a quick shower and returning to adorn her clothing once more.

She pulled on her socks first, knee high back that sat directly above where her knee started, pulling on her blue pants and black boots overtop. She then picked up a white undershirt and her jacket, blue with gold trim, and brought those to her body as well. The shirt was pulled on quickly and the coat adorned and buttoned carefully, as it was a beautiful and expensive coat. The last bit of equipment she put on was her cloak, black silk lined with red velvet and held on with a red clasp. Her mask stayed in her bag and she strapped her sword to her waist, pulling it out and wiping the blade with a cloth before resheathing it. Her pouch was by where her left hand would be resting so that she could quickly pull out her tools, and she sat back down in her seat, pulling out her lucky deck of cards and shuffling them carefully. Her eyes wandered back to the entrance to the pool as she shuffled, mindlessly repeating the action for no real reason other than it would pass the time until she decided to go somewhere else.

(825)

Upon her arrival to Kirigakure, Gin had promised herself one thing: that she would spend the following day relaxing in the public pool. It had been a vow of sorts, one that kept her going throughout the very long and exhausting trip. Sure, she had managed to get there in under two days, but that only meant that she had exerted herself even more than she had initially planned to do. She had crossed the entire continent in about a day and a half, which was no small feat. And so, the young Gin Kuroka – former Kazekage, veteran of the shinobi world, master swordsman and Bringer of Doom that Destroys the Dreams of all Genin – had decided to relax for once. And thus, she set off to the center of the village, were the more tourist-friendly shops and services were located. She was dressed in her usual attire – a full bodied suit that was navy blue in color and bore red markings. Her face, as always, was covered and even though hardly any of her skin was showing, the tightness of her clothing left little to the imagination. With her, she carried the many scrolls that carried her weapons and a change of clothes for when she got to the pool.

Fortunately for her, it was an indoor setting, which meant that she wouldn’t necessarily be cold when she got out of the pool near the evening. She was now in front of the building. It was large, but simple. The glass ceiling that formed a small dome over the pool made the otherwise unimpressive building stand out, however. She entered, checked herself in and stepped into the locker room to change into her bathing suit. It was a two piece strapless bikini that barely held her breasts in place, as was typical for the young veteran. She loved showing off her body and the deep purple swim suit did quite a good job at that. Gin removed the bandages from her face and head, deciding that the plastic surgery that had completely changed her appearance would be enough to hide who she was for now. Her left arm, replaced by a prosthetic, looked as if she had dipped her limb in a coat of steel that had proceeded to dry on her skin. Her body was full of old scars, remnants of past battles that had almost claimed her life more than once.

However, unlike many people, Gin Kuroka displayed these with pride. It was a way of telling the world how strong she was and how much she had survived through. The young woman had had more near death experiences than she could count. But she was still standing while her enemies weren’t, and that was all that mattered in the end. Coupled with her crimson eyes and her deep stare, the scars also served as an intimidating factor. She didn’t necessarily intent them to be seen as that, but it was certainly a plus when it came down to keeping idiotic and self-important men away from her. One stare was enough to send them running away.

And so the former Kazekage stepped out of the locker, with her bag in hand in time to see a young girl diving off the diving board and landing gracefully in the water. Ah, a young kunoichi, there was no doubt about that. After all, very few civilians had hat innate skill and grace along with a well-toned and muscular body. It was nice to see that she wasn’t the only person taking a day off. Gin thought she might as well do the same. Besides, she loved showing off.

The former Kazekage climbed the steps up to the diving board. She stretched her sore muscles a little before attempting anything. She jumped high into the air, making sure to rise at least a meter and a half from her starting point while she was at it. She curled her body into a small ball, flipping forward several times before stretching her limbs as far as she could and diving head first into the water. She felt the cool liquid brush against her skin. The relief she felt in her whole body was almost instant. She swam over to the shallow end of the pool and settled herself in the corner, just letting herself relax for the first time in a very long time.

She had no intentions of getting out of the water for now. She was at peace and considered this rest to be more than well deserved. Of course, as was customary for the young woman, things never wen according to plan. There was always some sort of interruption along the way, not that she minded. As long as the interruption proved to be worthwhile and useful, there was no harm in it.

[Word Count: 805]

Reina did a small stretch atop the diving board.

She was dressed in a one-piece light blue swimsuit that she had just recently purchased. She was still unused to the sight of seeing all those scars on her body just from the single training session with Shinobu, and as with any normal person, she tried to cover them up to pretend they weren't there. It was easier to pretend something did not exist if you couldn't see it, not that her arms didn't give her away to the harsh training schedule she had been subjected to.

Having been training with more dedication after feeling completely useless, Reina had toned her body more. In fact, she had spotted and subtly beat up a group of boys who had been eyeing her pervertedly while she was purchasing her swim suit. Needless to say, her new training did help slightly in beating those eighteen-year-olds up. And they had been so adamant that they could take her, a 'little' girl, on.

Reina jumped on the balls of her toes atop the springboard several times, before arching forwards and diving down into the crystal clear water below. The pool was one of Kiri's most famed tourist spots, as the cool water helped soothe aching muscles, which was exactly what Reina needed right now. She could still feel the aftereffects of her training with the slavedriver, and while dreading their next meeting, she also looked forward to it, no matter how unlikely it was.

On her way down from the diving board, her sharp eyes caught sight of someone at the corner of the pool. While she would have normally ignored her as she would other people in the background, something about her caught her eye. The thing that struck her as odd about the person was the cyborg arm, it's dark, silvery surface a stark contrast to the newcomer's somewhat pale complexion. She was wearing a two-piece strapless purple bikini, and Reina almost lost her composure. Hell, if she was bisexual, she would've jumped the woman on the spot, she thought. But, her training had its effects, and she focused on the water below her, breaking the surface with little splash.

She let the feeling of the water around her envelope her, taking her to a new world. The cool sensation washed away all her pain and fears. It reminded her of her past, before she had decided to be a ninja, when her parents would always bring her to the seaside and create various aquatic attractions with their clan's Hyoton, just for the sake of making her happy.

She swam about three metres underwater, heading to the shallower portion of the pool and enjoying the cooling sensation, before her head broke the surface and she took a deep breath. Her long, blond hair clung to her back as she waded to the end of the swimming pool, close to the stranger she had seen earlier, and leaned her neck against the edge, eyes closed.

All seemed good, but she had a distinct feeling it wouldn't last.

As she watched the doorway to the pool intently, Kiyoko watched and saw a few people walk in who intrigued her greatly. The first of these people was a middle aged woman who was impressive to say the least. Her body was the kind of thing that would make most people drool, a perfect mixture of beauty and strength. Kiyoko could see the several battle scars all over that body and, most notably, the beautiful metal prosthetic limb that she had attached to one of her shoulders. She was a warrior, she was a ninja, it was impossible to deny it just by looking at her. She was a person who drew the attention of everyone in the room, both in awe and in fear of what she could potentially do to them. Kiyoko shuffled her cards, one by one, and viewed the seals she had written on the back of them. There was no way she could defeat that woman by herself, of that she was sure.

The second one who drew her attention was a young blonde girl who she believed that she recognised from around the town. She also was covered in scars like the first woman and looked as though she had gone through hell and back and still came out looking beautiful. She was another person who was obviously a ninja and therefore drew Kiyoko’s attention. The third of them was a girl who Kiyoko knew she had seen before at the Academy. This one was a young girl named Keiko, and she had always seemed to avoid socializing with Kiyoko, or anyone else at the academy. She wasn’t entirely sure why the young girl had such an attitude but it had bothered Kiyoko. She watched around as the majority of the people inside of the pool hall began to file out and she wasn’t entirely sure why but it was a good chance for her to have some fun.

She stepped up from where she was standing and began to walk towards the pool, her long hair and cloak flowing behind her as she went. Once she got to the edge of the pool she focused a small amount of chakra into her feet and began to walk out into the middle of the pool, smiling at the three still left. “Hello ladies, I apologise for intruding on your swim. My name is Kiyoko Takahashi, and I may be a little bold in saying so, but you all seem like strong women... would any of you be interested in a game of chance? Perhaps a card game?” Her mother had always told her that cards were a great way to make friends and she was hoping that she was right, pulling her special deck out once more and showing them to the ladies who were still in the pool.

(1300)

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