The song of cicada filled the air. A stagnant smell clung to the notes over a pond slick with algae. Through the murk, the stillness of the pool was broken by the ripple of a line cast into the water.
On the other end was a boy twiddling a reed between his teeth hunched onto a log pulled from the surrounding woodlands far off the beaten path. In his hands, he held onto a wooden rod with his feet hiked up on a leather backpack stuffed to the brim with his belongings, with a bedroll hanging from its bottom. Beside it, his cloak cast aside lazily to battle the day's heat.
He began to whistle over the tone of the choir of insects as he watched the water carefully. A nearby kindling had been built and encircled by stone, with embers the same shade as his hair waiting for him to prepare a meal.
Light smoke billowed over the canopies of trees, an unintended signal to his location to a trained eye. Kakesu’s eyes, however, remained watching the silty waters in search of shadows. His stomach grumbled, craving more than the berries that he had been sustaining himself on.
Last Edit: Aug 31, 2021 23:54:10 GMT by Kakesu Aoki
It wasn't his usual plan of action to get lost in the woods in the middle of a mission. Granted the circumstances that led to this were a bit out of his control, it wouldn't stop Yusuke from smacking himself upside the head in the end. A few hours of silence in the forest was about enough for him to get over what had happened in the hours before, and a few more hours of searching to realize that none of his team were anywhere near his location. A silent curse followed this revelation, or rather there wasn't anybody around to hear him yelling to the sky.
It was supposed to be the final stretch before he could finally head back home. He was craving a homecooked meal after all the back-to-back missions, and a nap on a comfortable bed was the next appealing thought on his mind. The realization that their mission had gone sideways, and as a result he was now stuck somewhere near Earth Country, meant that home was once more off the table for now. The mission was still active, missing team or not, which meant they were in for a terribly timed game of hide-and-seek until they found each other in the woods.
"Nothing."
He said in frustration, digging his heel into a set of footprints that were definitely made by himself at some point doing his search. Yusuke reached across to his bicep and untied the headband he kept latched onto his arm. They were far too close to unfriendly territory for him to risk being brazen with his loyalties, and as such, it was stuffed in his pocket until further notice.
The hours that followed were pretty much a blur as he combed the area, searching every potential path and clue to the location of where his team had dispersed. Once again there was nothing, except for the familiar smell of a campfire in the air. It was faint at first, but his nose honed into the scent and he followed it with haste.
Yusuke emerged from the woods to view the scenic little clearing with visible confusion at first. After all the bushwacking he'd been forced to undergo, it was a relief to find something that wasn't just more trees for his eyes to parse through. Yusuke settled his eyes upon the individual who was relaxing on a nearby log, perched over the pond with a wooden rod in his hands. He felt his stomach grumble at the thought of grilling up the fish that were hiding beneath the waters and raised a peace sign up with his hand as he stepped into view. "Yo!" He called out, only just loud enough for the other person in the area to hear.
"Think there's enough fish in here to make dinner for two?"
MADE BY VEL OF GS + WW
Last Edit: Sept 3, 2021 23:20:32 GMT by Uchiha Yūsuke
Kakesu turned quickly to the sound of a voice behind him, cutting the whistle of his tune short. His eyes held a startled look revealing he had been caught completely off guard. Within a moment his anxiousness melted away into a smile.
“There might be, for a helping hand,” he said as studied the dark-haired person standing before him. A bit older than himself, and when he stood a bit taller more than likely. He looked back over at the water, hoping that a fish might have tugged at the line.
If he was a bandit, he probably would have just killed him, right? Still, he looked at the water and began planning an escape path over it briefly just in case. He drummed the fingers of his left hand over the fishing rod as the smallest bit of anxiety crept back in.
“Fire could use some more wood, mister. But what brings you out here in the woods, you aren’t lost are you?” he asked. He got lost all the time on account of not being able to read many words. He had gotten so use to it that when he did know where he was in relation to the road, he was proud of it. This was one of those times; or at least he thought it was.
Yusuke's grin widened after his host replied in favor of him sticking around for something to eat. His gaze immediately swung across the campsite, taking in the outskirts of the small clearing in search of any dead wood lingering on the ground. He went to work picking up the pieces that were least damp than the others, piling them up in his arms before making his way towards the fire.
The slight air of awkwardness was understandable given his surprise entrance, but Yusuke didn't seem to emit an air of uncertainty around him where he moved. The older of the two boys threw a few pieces of wood into the fire as his newfound companion spoke up once again. "Oh, you know. A little bit of this, a little bit of that." Yusuke chimed back a moment later, dodging the question with impassivity, yet still engaging in the conversation. He stoked the fire a bit more, moving around some of the coals with a forked piece of wood. "I was travelin' with a few friends. Ended up getting lost about.." A hand cupped his chin. "...Probably five, or ten miles east, a bit deeper into the forest."
He shrugged. It was close enough to the truth, and it would prove infinitely healthier to his new friend's condition to not know the fine details of what he was up to. After he was satisfied with the fire's intensity, Yusuke would join Kakesu near the water's edge, lowering down onto a nearby boulder and getting as comfortable as it would allow. His eyes moved across the pond, looking for the tell-tale signs of fish waiting to bite.
"I'm Yusuke, by the way."
MADE BY VEL OF GS + WW
Last Edit: Sept 4, 2021 2:30:53 GMT by Uchiha Yūsuke
“Kakesu,” he responded, offering Yusuke a half-salute with a grubby right-hand brushing against his auburn hair. “That’s a far distance, Yusuke. I hope- Oh!”
A pull at the end of the line! Kakesu stood up as the rod began to arch forward. His breathing stopped as he began pulling the line back and fixing the strand beneath his arm: a necessity for his rudimentary pole that lacked a reel.
He backed up as well, coming closer to Yusuke as the water rippled and a small shadow began to show in the water. In closer proximity the minty smell of the aloe that Kakesu used as a hygiene product would be more apparent, as would an underlying scent of sweat from his well-traveled clothes.
It was a larger fish, and he was having trouble with getting it out of the water.
“Hold onto this!” he said shoving the rod into the hands of Yusuke as he kept a cinch on the line already pulled. He focused chakra into his feet and began stumbling over the water, tugging the line with a green bass jumping in and out of the water as it was pulled ever nearer.
He lost his footing a bit and began sinking down but was right on top of the fish now. He clamped his hands on the end of the line and pulled it forward before stumbling back towards shore and falling on his ass in a foot of water. He had a grip on the squirming bass, but it was trying to wrestle free!
Last Edit: Sept 4, 2021 20:16:23 GMT by Kakesu Aoki
Sharp like an edge of a samurai sword, the mental blade cut through flesh and bone. Though my mind's at peace, the worlds out of order, missing the inner heat, life gets colder
The words were cut off from his mouth when the fishing rod was shoved into his hands, and his newfound friend went for the squirming fish that had found itself, unfortunately, hooked onto the end of the line. He let out a small laugh at the sight of the scene unfolding, taking a moment to step a bit closer to towards the water's edge in order to give Kakesu more room to work with. The first half of their dinner looked poised to escape the boy's grip it seemed, and Yusuke would only sit back for a few moments longer until he decided to give Kakesu a helping hand.
Having spent so much time in the wilderness these past couple of years, Yusuke had picked up a few tricks here and there when it came to the art of survival. Some were more efficient than others, whereas the current one he was considering was much more of an improvisation than anything else. He gripped the rod tightly, slinging it beneath his arm as he maneuvered his free hand down towards his hip. A hand slid beneath the velcro strap of the hip-mounted holster, retrieving from it a single senbon with a thin wire attached to the end. Whilst Kakesu struggled to keep the fish from making its great escape, Yusuke calmly followed the scene with his eyes. Crimson features overtook the brown of his eyes, swirling into effect with the activation of his Sharingan eyes.
"Just hold 'em still a bit.." He muttered, not to nobody in particular. A moment passed, and then he acted without hesitation, and to perhaps even to the surprise of his friend. The senbon was released right towards the fish in Kakesu's hands, digging beneath the scaley flesh and entering the area beneath its gills. He tightened the wire between his fingers and yanked the wire as hard as he could, pulling the now lifeless fish from the hands of Kakesu and onto the ground near the water's edge.
"Success!"
He smirked, wiping his hands clean in an exaggerated manner and giving Kakesu a satisfied grin. Yusuke pushed off the rock's face and quickly removed the needle from the fish, and handed the rod back towards Kakesu when he was done. "You'd be surprised what you'll think of when you're hungry for fish and don't have a rod." He continued. "But I'd say we make a pretty awesome fish-catchin' team, eh?"
MADE BY VEL OF GS + WW
Last Edit: Sept 6, 2021 17:47:48 GMT by Uchiha Yūsuke
“’Eeeey! That’s for sure!” Kakesu cheered as the fish stopped squirming, looking at the lifeless fish. He glanced at Yusuke’s eyes, noticing the change, and finding himself curious, indicated only by a brief pause and stare. Too polite to ask, he looked down at the fish. He hadn’t gotten a good look at what he had thrown until he saw it pulled out. It was the kind of thing shinobi carried… along with big money. Thoughts of home and his duty came to mind briefly.
He scrambled into his pack and started pulling out some lemon pepper spices that were sure to up the flavor profile and started oiling the pan and getting it hot. He also gathered an assortment of little gemstones and shells he had collected in hopes of perhaps getting Yusuke’s interest to make a purchase.
“You know how to clean a fish?” he asked, holding up a small filleting knife that was a bit crude with a wooden handle. If refused he’d start cleaning it himself. He was too hungry to teach the skill if the other wasn’t experienced or didn’t want to sully his hands.
