"Damn it." Zazou muttered under his breath. The sun had only came up a few hours before, but with the density of the mist it was hard to determine the exact time. Not that he cared. There was a stillness; no wind, no noise. Silence.
A wooden pole extended out into the river below. Akin to a fishing rod, but it was more put together and rough around the edges than anything that could be bought in a store. The line on the end of it extended into the calm water below, as Zazou sat atop a mound, hunched over waiting for a bite. After all, it was the perfect time to fish.
"Damn it." His voice had become more irritated but he was calm, a flick of the wrist with the rod in his hand trying to bait a fish into a bite. There was nothing. Zazou was relying on catching a fish for a meal, yet here he was, wasting his time instead of improving himself. How infuriating.
Again his wrist flicked, unwilling to reel in. Perhaps he could have cast out, but he had a feeling. Any minute now, he would get a bite. He had to be prepared, have the strength to reel it in. All he needed was silence and concentration. He took a deep breath.
A small wake could be seen slithering through the misty blue, passing right under the spot where the lure bobbed. For a brief second it looked like the disturbance would swim on by, avoiding the obvious trap, but it came to a sudden halt. Tension gripped at the opposite end of the line, followed by a harsh pull from beneath the waves. Something was snagged there and giving a whole lot of resistance - a big catch!
Mere moments later bubbles started to cluster on the surface of the pool and gradually bigger waves rippled outward. It gave the distinct impression that ought was about to emerge from the murky depths. With a final yank on the fishing line, the struggling thing came bursting out of the water with a huge splash.
It was difficult to describe at first. All one could see was a wild mane of black twisting around in protest, arms flailing this way and that in a frenzied panic. Had anything other than water been within reach, then it surely would've been thrashed into a bloody pulp by the alarming amount of movement going on. Instead, the end result was a chaotic scene of splashing and...angry growling?
"Mmphff!"
Makoto gave a muffled snarl, fangs clenching down harder on the fresh fish caught between her jaws. The catch was still alive and wiggling like its life depended on it, but that seemed like the scarcest of her worries right now. The cause of the Inuzuka's dismayed flailing was because something sharp was snagged in her hair. Predictably, she kept trying to fight against the unseen force - tugging and pulling like crazy - only for the line to get more tangled in her mess of black locks.
Zazou's eyes followed the movements of the shadow underneath the water. They widened, perplexed by what he was seeing. Did he reel in the biggest fish in the river? A monster even? He couldn't tell, but his tongue snaked out of his mouth and licked his lips in excitement.
"Che! I can eat for a few days, maybe even a week!" He exclaimed, hand gripping the rod and pulling while he tried to reel it in. That was when he realised that he didn't have to reel at all. This thing was coming right out at him! The water bubbled, formed around this beast from the depths as it came flying out towards him. Naturally, Zazou fell backwards and was soaked, his rod tossed to the side and his arms brought up defensively to cover him.
The Chunin bounced up, hand on the hilt of his ninjato to carve up this monster among fish. That was when he saw, well, quite the opposite of a sea creature. His hook was still firmly caught in the locks of a woman, hunched on all fours with a fish in his mouth. Wait, wasn't that...
"Makoto Inuzuka!" He shouted, pointing his finger towards her accusingly. Never had he met her, but she was the Jonin sensei of his platoon. That thought wasn't even in his mind, given how upset he was. "Oi! That fish is mine! No wonder I can't catch anything with you lurking in the water scaring them away!"
Without another word, he leapt into the air, adjusted his elbow and aimed to drop it on her head to make her release the fish while she was distracted by the bait, but more likely than not, his howling voice gave him away.
Too distracted by the pain running across her scalp to register anything else, Makoto was left wide open. It was quite possibly during the last second before impact that she felt a tingle up her spine, the woman's instincts telling her to move. But she didn't get the chance, a harmful elbow crashing against her skull, knocking the jounin's senses for a loop.
Makoto lurched forward and spat the fish out, the scaly thing jettisoned from her jaws and flopping right back into the pool. Infuriating as it was to lose the catch, a tiny morsel like that was the last thing on her mind. She was much more busy staggering from the dizzying aftermath, her limbs splashing wildly to gain whatever balance she could muster.
"RRRAAAAAHHHH!"
The Inuzuka suddenly swept around in a blind rush, gaze ferocious and claws at the ready. Those nails were quick to swipe in Zazou's direction, latching onto the fabric of his clothing and yanking him downward as if planning to drag him into the briny depths. Even dazed, her strength proved to be formidable, like her entire being was driven by the urge to repay pain with pain.
"THAT. WAS. MINE!"
As Makoto roared at the top of her lungs, that clawed grip tightened and she shifted in the water, making a twisting motion not unlike the jutsu of her clan. Though weighed down by the water, the Inuzuka still had ample energy to make a single heaving motion, releasing the chuunin from her grasp and lobbing him back to the shore.
His elbow connected exactly where intended and upon impact, a sadistic grin spread across his face. He could see the fish being released from the canines of the Jonin and Zazou extended a hand to grab it, but then... plop. It wriggled itself back into the water.
When he saw it, his jaw hung open, his emotions somewhere between rage and complete disappointment. There was a good few seconds before he snapped back into reality, the trigger being latched onto by the front of his shirt and suddenly dragged right into the river. Muted shouting came from him under water, bubbles ruptured to the surface as he was dragged around. He attempted to latch on to the hand of the Inuzuka, but with all her strength she tossed him back to land with no trouble at all.
Zazou rolled onto the ground, tumbling in the dirt before he got to his knees and coughed up whatever water managed to find its way into his system. Wiping his mouth he looked back towards the body of the river and with little hesitation, leaped into the air. A quick string of handseals formed, the water lashing from his skin as he did so, before with a mighty howl a bolt of lightning darted and crackled towards the water. The intent was to conduct and numb the sensei underneath and render her unable to bounce out of the water so easily.
The ninja landed on his feet, adopting a fighting stance where his body was slightly crouched, feet dug into the ground with one hand extended forward and the other flexed back parallel to his face. Some dogs weren't so easy to calm down...
The Inuzuka gave a low growl while she rubbed the top of her head, grimacing from the soreness that dazed her senses. Combined with the tangled length of fishing line still caught in her hair, the building frustration flickered in her eyes. That same gaze peered toward the shore a moment later, frosty hues seething with ferocity.
Only one target laid within her sights - Zazou.
"What's the big idea, huh?!" the Inuzuka demanded behind another intimidating growl, her posture somewhat hunched as she crept to the shallows. Each wading step she took through the pool was made with a deliberately heavy splash, her movements purposefully subdued to illustrate a growing aggravation. "The Saba-Ou is mine, y'hear? Ain't no way yer stoppin' me!" she barked defensively, pushing a thumb against her chest for more emphasis.
One could only assume she was talking about the escaped fish, though for it to have a proper name was utterly peculiar.
Holding up clawed hands and staring at empty palms as if picturing the prize plucked away from her very fingers, Makoto anguished with a mournful growl. "I was *this* close to gettin' the slippery thing before ya decided to jump in an' muck everythin' up!" She clenched her fists after making that assertion, a fiery glare returning to the chuunin by the shore. "Well it won't happen again, got it? I don't care who sent ya!"
One thing the snowy haired Chunin and his platoon Sensei had in common was passionate, fiery outbursts. He did let her ramble for what it was worth, standing on a little mound of dirt before pointing his finger right back at her.
"Why can't you fish like everyone else in this damn village, eh!? " He yelled in return, his point now curling into his palm as he clenched his fist. "What the hell is a Saba-Ou!?" His face was contorted with confusion, he wasn't sure what kind of sense she was trying to make out of the whole thing. Somewhere, Zazou thought he was wrong and hesitated for a moment. Then he had to ask himself who the hell goes underwater to catch fish in their mouth?
Despite his outrage, he knew not to push the Jounin's buttons too much. He didn't want to end up lunch meat to her and her dog kin. She asserted it wouldn't happen again, but Zazou needed food and she was in the way. He bent down and reached for his rod, remarkably still in tract after their tussle. Reeling it in, he found the gut all tangled and out of shape, the hooks caught up in the mess.
Letting out a sigh, he threw the rod down and pointed back to her. "And another thing, you owe me a new rod!" That was something he wasn't going to negotiate on.
Was that confusion she spotted? Huh. Maybe the guy didn't know a thing about Saba-Ou after all, but it didn't make his interference any less frustrating. Why get so worked up about a broken fishing rod anyway? It was his own fault for relying on a tool when he looked perfectly able of diving for a meal.
"Whaddya mean? That's just a stick! If ya wanna catch somethin' then get off yer backside and learn how'ta swim."
Biting through a piece of fishing line that still dangled from her wild locks, the Inuzuka growled in discontent. She was having a difficult time understanding the chuunin's reasons for being upset when he was the one throwing elbows. Then again, she was always better at understanding beasts than she was at understanding people.
"Everythin' was fine before ya got here, thank ya very much. I coulda nabbed that fish and never gone hungry again if it weren't for all yer floppin' around!"
Makoto's scowl turned deeply furious for a moment, like the beast inside was going to jump out. Then just as quick as it flashed through her gaze, the energy faded. The jounin relented with a sigh and a roll of her eyes, seeing no point in arguing over the what-ifs. Setbacks were to be expected and, to be frank, she felt like she should've been more prepared to begin with. Thankfully, she could learn from those lessons and use them to overcome the next part of her hunt.
Assuming a scolding tone of voice as she regarded the chuunin moment later, she carried on with a bit less frustration visible in her grimace. "The Saba-Ou's not gunna listen to some whiny pup, so just stay outta the way if ya got any sense." Though the words posed a certain challenge when combined with her bestial demeanor, it almost sounded like a warning too. Like she was trying to push Zazou aside for his own good. Granted, she still hadn't explained what any of this was really about.
The Inuzuka snickered, "Course, maaaaybe I'll share Saba-Ou's power if ya get ridda that bad attitude of yers."
The two didn't seem to let down from each other and their shouting could probably have been heard some ways off towards to village. Zazou wasn't doing himself any favours getting so worked up against his Sensei, but he wasn't going to shy away from a challenge just because she held a rank over him. Though it would have been much to his detriment.
"You call that doggy paddlin' swimming!?" He blasted back at her, before his ears perked up to this fish having some sort of... power? Musings of a mad woman, he thought. Then again, what if there was something she wasn't letting on to? Zazou was gullible enough to lower his guard visibly, his shoulders resting and his body language seeming more relaxed.
He folded his arms as though he was conceding defeat in the whole fishing matter and looked at her sternly, the tone of his voice deepened as though it had become apparent he was being serious. "Oi, sensei." He said, walking over to her. "You wouldn't lead me on, right? What is this power you're talking about?"
Makoto blinked, totally baffled by what she just heard. Was this rowdy pup just messing with her or did he really not understand why Saba-Ou was so important? Clearly he was no career fisherman if he didn't know that much.
"Huh? Yer fishin' in these parts an' ya don't know?"
The Inuzuka shifted her gaze to the side, contemplating if it was even worth the trouble of explaining. Yet after seeing how quickly the man's tune changed at the mention of power, perhaps it wouldn't hurt to indulge him. So long as he didn't lash out again.
Clearing her throat and adopting another stance with hands held upon her hips, Makoto decided to give it a shot.
"Legend has it there's a special fish swimmin' these waters. Somethin' that's been livin' here for longer than anyone can remember."
She paused for dramatic effect.
"Saba-Ou. The king of all mackerel."
A ridiculous name for a fish, yet the Inuzuka recited it with the utmost seriousness. It sounded like she believed the stories whether or not they were far-fetched. What other reason would she have for going to such lengths to find a mere fish?
"Folks say it has magic o' some kind. Can make the rivers flood or dry 'em up. All sorts of stuff."
Makoto nodded solemnly and then raised both hands out in front of her, claws clenching at thin air as if she was pretending to hold an imaginary prize.
"But if somebody manages to catch it, then Saba-Ou has to grant them a wish!"
Zazou did seem to be listening intently, however his facial expression became considerably more dripping as time went by and she explained the powers of this would-be fish. He wasn't convinced, not in the slightest, but part of him wanted to see where this went.
"Sounds like an old wives tale to get people out fishing more for food." He said, folding his arms and looking the Jounin up and down for a moment. She did really seem to believe it... so surely there was something to this. Maybe not a wish granting fish, but there might have been something lurking in these waters yet.
Moving forward, he grasped his rod and pointed at her. "You better not be leading me down an empty path here!" He boomed, knowing fine well that there had been many within the Mist that were out to take advantage of the gullible - shinobi or not.
"You seem to know a lot about this Saba-Ou." He noted, "So where are we supposed to start looking? There's a hell of a lot of water on every side of us."
"Damn it." Zazou muttered under his breath. The sun had only came up a few hours before, but with the density of the mist it was hard to determine the exact time. Not that he cared. There was a stillness; no wind, no noise. Silence.