Our story begins on a beautiful morning. The sun was just about to rise; breaking the darkness that covered the world with reds and golds peeking through the gaps in the mountains and lighting the sky like a scene out of a play. The birds were chirping in the vast forests, bringing the firsts sounds to break the silence. At the coasts, the birds' songs were not quite as pleasant and the voice of a gull could barely be called song.
The village itself, which would only have looked like a fly's waste on the map if it had been on one, never slept. When those who lived the day began to get up, those who lived the night were just going to bed. With all the burning, red lights of the small village, people rarely took the time to enjoy the sun's rise.
Despite this day being a beautiful one, by all means, it was not a special day. Special days were rare in this small village. They had their festivals, of course, but for a place that prides itself with being one of entertainment, the festivities of those arrangements were just routine.

As a village divided into people of the day and people of the night, the regular citizens rarely paid any heed to those in the middle; the shinobi and kunoichi of their village. Their warriors and their guards; the ones that kept them safe from the wicked ways of the outside world and made it possible for the small village to remain one of entertainment by their own rights, rather than following the word of a larger village.

---

Haruka groaned deeply in the back of her throat when she felt the burning sensation of sunlight filtering through her eyelids and turned to her other side, immediately regretting her decision to move. It was as if even the small movement of turning around made her room dance and she had to open her eyes because it felt as if her bed was spinning around. Her vision was blurry and stars danced before her eyes. She blinked a few times, trying to gain some sort of grip on reality.

She had only gotten home to her tiny apartment a few hours earlier and even though she felt like she had been electrocuted repeatedly by a ridiculously powerful raiton-user, she swung her legs over the edge of her bed and sat up straight. She had to take a moment to keep down stomach contents as she felt as though she had just done 80 cartwheels one after another. She stood and paused again, steadying herself on uncertain legs. With determination usually only seen in the gaze of shinobi fighting for their lives, she trekked to the bathroom, knelt in front of the toilet and heaved.

After brushing her teeth very thoroughly, taking a cold shower and getting dressed in clean clothes that did not smell like the floor of a public restroom, Haruka felt better. She did not feel good, but it was better. She did her usual morning routine, starting with stretching her sore limbs. Every muscle in her body felt like it was on fire. She winced at the usual tug on her abs the scar across her abdomen always caused and opted against stretching her left arm, already feeling as though the formerly-torn tissue of her bicep had been pierced by a branch anew. Instead of dwelling on the memories that threatened to surface, Haruka slipped on her sandals, locked the door behind her and ran.

Usually, she ran around the village once, climbed a mountain and took a nap up there. After finishing her usual lap, she stood before the mountainside and did just not feel it. Her head was still spinning and just the thought of using her sore arm made it sting. She decided to keep running, instead, and push the limits of her own stamina. Running was good for her lungs, anyways and she had had trouble breathing after her last session of training with her water technique.

---

Koichi's sleep was interrupted by the light of the sun hitting his face. Covering his eyes, he slowly sat up, looking about with a groggy expression. "Morning already? Man...I hardly got any rest." Koichi rubbed his eyes for a few minutes, before standing up from his bed and going outside. Koichi's family, unlike the rest of the common villagers that lived in the main part of the village itself, didn't really own any functioning showers. In fact, almost everything had to be done manually. In almost clear view, Koichi was completely nude as he walked outside of his small house. Luckily, there weren't many that lived in close proximity, other than some of the other farming families. Entering a small stall, Koichi began to pump a small lever, allowing water to flow over him as he cleaned himself the best he could. After a relaxing clean-up, Koichi headed back inside and donned his usual attire.

Today was a bit of a special day for Koichi; it wasn't very often that he was able to get a break. In fact, he hardly ever did stop working. In order to make up for this, Koichi had offered his parents to bring some of their crops into the village for sale. With a skip in his step, Koichi wandered back outside, collecting a few of the harvested crops, and placing them in a large basket. Heaving it over his shoulders, Koichi waved towards his parents, and slowly made his way into the village. It was exciting to always go to the village, because there was always a chance to see shinobi from Kumogakure. His face had completely changed since the morning, a bright look growing as he tried to spot any shinobi that might have come from Kumogakure. "Alright...let's see here. The Marketplace needs to restock on goods. Seems like the Kataku no Kanki requested some food delivered, too....where exactly is that?" Koichi looked confused, trying to figure out where he needed to go. He had never been to such a place before and was almost oblivious to what it was.

Making his way around the village, Koichi had to spend a good hour or two just trying to find the brothel. He walked up to it and looked around, raising a brow at the establishment. He looked up at the sky, covering his eyes from the sun, and looked back down at the brothel. He slowly walked up and knocked on the front doors of the brothel, waiting for some kind of answer as he slowly took the basket off of his back. He fixed his clothing in the meantime, trying to dust off what he could in order to make himself look presentable; if there was anything he learned about business, it was that nobody was interested in someone who looked like they lived on a farm....even if that actually was true in Koichi's case.

Staring at the ceiling while lying in bed Tashiro just staring and thinking, "How long have I been awake for two hours? Or maybe it was just an hour." He shook his head and reached over and slapped his alarm right before it could go off and then sat up. The first thing he does is yawn and then wipe the sleep from his eyes not that there had been any.

Quickly getting up, he goes the bathroom and showers up and then gets dressed. Dressing up in all black like he normally does, putting on his long coat almost last. Walking into the kitchen and like a very normal site it was bare his mother who he lived with was already gone. It's not like he expect much from her as he barely knew her. He had a year to get to know his mother but yet he hasn't learned much. She was a doctor to the village and she was almost always busy and never home. Just like when Tashiro grew up he still had expected as much. He opens the fridge to look for food and to find a note on the door to remind him to pick food up later that was left by his mother. Letting out a sigh it seemed he needed to go out and find himself some food and fend for himself.

He almost headed out the door before grabbing his sword then holstered the sheath across his back then went outside of his home. As he walks through the door way he reaches back inside and grabs a key then locks the door just as he left. His mother had her own key so he didn't have any problems locking up when he left the apartment. He walked out of the village and looked to go catch his own food and to do a bit of training.

Just as he was leaving he noticed someone running, looked like someone else had the same idea he had or was just doing their morning work outs. Either way it caught Tashiro's attention and he was curious of who it was and decide to go find out as he started to head out towards the female who is running about to try and figure out who it was.

Morning in Kataku no Kanki was always so peaceful. Those who had worked the night before were sleeping, and those who hadn't didn't have to worry about cleaning until later. Instead it was their time to relax, to feed the children, to play with them. It was Natsu's favorite time of the day. Already he had been up for a little while, long enough to bathe and dress in his usual daytime outfit. But not long enough for his long, orange, locks to dry yet.

Natsu sat on the floor in the entrance, the large open room where all guests were greeted. It was also the furthest away from those who were sleeping. On either side of Natsu was a little girl, both barely seven years of age. Tsubaki and Matsu, twins. They were practicing their braiding on Natsu's still wet hair. In his lap was the appointment book, he was going over numbers from last night and making sure that everyone who actually showed up paid. Standing nearby was one of the brothel's prostitutes, and new mom, Megumi. She was nursing her three week old.

A knock at the door surprised everyone, and Natsu found himself trying not to curse as the twins tugged on his hair. "Natsu, will you be a dear and get that?" Megumi asked, ushering the twins to her side as she did.

"Of course." Natsu responded, rising to his feet and not bothering to shake out his braids. He did however, pull his yukata back up to his shoulders where it belonged.

Natsu opened the door and took a moment to examine the figure in front of him. It was scruffy, rather cute, young man who was holding a basket of food. Natsu clapped his hands together quietly and put on a charming smile. "Oh, you must be here about the our food order! Please, come in, I'll get you the money." Natsu waved the cute delivery boy inside.

As he moved over the front counter to get the money that had been counted out the night before, the twins scampered over to the newcomer and watched him curiously. Megumi, who was still nursing, chimed in. "Oh my! Well aren't you the cutest delivery boy we've ever had!"

"Isn't he?" Natsu responded. "If you ever find yourself a customer here, ask for Natsu."

"No dear, ask for Megumi." Megumi said quickly. Neither of them remembering that not everybody was comfortable with talk like that.

---

Koichi smiled widely as Natsu opened the door. "Yeah, that's me. It won't be too much that you have to pay; we're having a sort of special or something on deliveries." At the request to come inside, Koichi heaved the heavy basket once more, carrying it in as he looked about curiously. He knew what the place was for, but he wasn't very well educated on the whole idea of it. Setting the basket down, he waited for Natsu to get the money, when he heard a lady and Natsu speak about him. Koichi flustered from the compliments that he received and chuckled, trying to play it cool. "T-Thank you. You know, mom says I got it from her!" He felt incredibly embarrassed over the whole ordeal, but hey; at least after all of this, he could do whatever he liked for the day.

At the offer of asking for someone here, Koichi only flustered even more, waving his hands dismissively. "Oh, sorry, I-I don't go to these type of establishments, nor' have I ever been to one before. I don't even know who Natsu or Megumi are. Sorry." Koichi thought it might have been insulting to not know who these were, so like a 'polite young man', he bowed slightly towards the two. Afterwards, he looked down at the twins watching him. He was somewhat intrigued as to why there were kids in such a place. He could only deduce that either someone that owned the place had brought their kids to work or some idiot brought his children and left them there over night. He looked away from them and went back to watching Natsu, waiting patiently for his pay with a large smile on his face.

After running for a little while, Haruka noticed the sound footsteps falling in with her own; someone else was running as well and judging from the fact that the sound did decrease in volume, she could only deduce that the person was likely running in the same direction as her. Now, the thought in Haruka's head was nowhere near as eloquent as that. Her only thought was, that this person was following her. The person was wearing all black, but his outfit reminded her more of a samurai than it did a ninja. She could spot the glittering of his hitai-ate on his arm, so she knew he was a shinobi. Her own Konoha hitai-ate was safely stashed in her kunai holster and other than her physique attire, there was no way to know that she was a ninja. She had even opted to leave her weapons in the safety of her home, unlike this fellow who had a katana resting on his back.

In a place like Gobi, where missions were as far between as they were and as poorly paid, compared to what she was used to from Konoha, it was not hard for her to imagine that the ninja here would be a bit desperate to earn a few extra easy bucks. In fact, even in as thriving a village as Konoha, some of the people who had been hit hardest by the war had taken to such measures.

Slowing to a halt, Haruka turned to look at the person behind her. With an arrogant grin on her face, which really showed the fact that she was missing one of her front teeth, she crossed her arms over her chest and gave a small chuckle, “If you're hoping for some easy cash, you seriously chose the wrong girl to mug,” she said arrogantly, placing a hand on her kunai holster to let him know that she was both ready and willing to fight if it had to come down to that.

Natsu's first impression of the delivery boy had been wrong. He wasn't cute, he was down right adorable. Clearly not used to brothels and the talk of those within them. The delivery boy didn't seem to understand that Natsu and Megumi were trying to say that they'd sleep with him. The two shared a look, and then burst out laughing. When they stopped, it was Megumi who spoke up first. "Oh dear, I'm Megumi and that's Natsu."

Natsu collected the money from behind the counter and stepped back out into the open space. "We were trying to subtly say that we would both sleep with you." He explained, extending the money out to the delivery boy. "I know you said there was a discount, but keep the full amount. Consider it a tip. Unless you want something else as a tip?" The last sentence was said half teasingly, half seriously. He wanted to see the reaction he would get out of the delivery boy. But hey, if the boy wanted what he was offering, Natsu wouldn't refuse him.

Megumi shook her head, at Natsu's antics. Her baby was done nursing, and she politely turned around before tucking herself back into her top. She then motioned for the twins to follow her. "Come on girls, breakfast should be done by now." With only light protesting, the twins followed Megumi toward the rest of the brothel. Thus leaving Natsu and the delivery boy in the entrance alone. Natsu leaned against the counter, regarding the delivery boy with a smirk.

---

Koichi could hardly take the conversation, his face burning up greatly after they had explained themselves. Adult conversations such as this were things that he had tried to avoid for quite a long time now. "Oh....well...I-I don't think I'd be able to. I-I mean I have the whole day off, but I don't want to waste my money in one place, you see." Koichi's attempts at an excuse were...somewhat lacking. It was mostly the truth, however. He didn't exactly want to blow all of his money in one area just because it was entertaining. That didn't really matter too much now, because his face only seemed to fluster up the more Natsu talked. Everything he said just made it worse for Koichi.

When both of them were left alone, Koichi reached out for the money, and began to fidget with it slightly as he placed it away in his pocket. "I'm...not quite sure about this. I-I haven't really done anything about this...plus I was hoping to do some fishing." He rubbed the back of his neck nervously and looked towards the door. If there was any time to escape, now would most definitely be the time. In fact, it was looking quite promising right now.

“If you're hoping for some easy cash, you seriously chose the wrong girl to mug,”, hearing this from the girl who was running around outside the village. Tashiro wasn't really surprised by her reaction of the girl anyone around these parts are desperate for money. The moment he saw her grab the handle of her weapon Tashiro says, "Whoa there, I don't mean you any harm I was just curious of who was running so close to the village. I am just out here to do a bit of training myself."

Tashiro had hope he could make this a less threatening situation trying not to make any threatening gestures or movements. This was something he was sort of use to when talking to people from or near Gobi. Everyone is on edge a bit when talking to strangers and yet Tashiro couldn't blame them as he too would be questioning someone he didn't know if they walked up to him. It was the same reason he was curious of who was running near the village.

Quickly thinking Tashiro comes up something more to say to help the situation in a friendly manner, "I am Tashiro by the way, I am sorry for interrupt whatever you were doing as I said before I was just curious of who was running around outside of the village. So there is no need for weapons...or jutsu..." Tashiro trailed off at the end he wasn't sure if she was a shinobi but her overall appearance gave it away but he wasn't sure so he trailed off once he figured he was saying too much to someone he didn't really know.

As the sun rose, a single ray shone in through an open window in Mikio's house and slowly crept across his face until he was wrested from his sleep, seeing only bright red even with his eyes closed. He wasn't really much of a morning person, but not the kind of guy who would sleep forever either. He did stay in bed for few minutes looking around the room, letting his eyes slowly get used to being open and breathing in the fresh morning air.

Once he decided to get up he was fully clothed and had a piece of bread in his hand within a minute with the almost blinding speed of someone who does the same thing every morning. He ate the bread as he walked outside, crossed his small patch of vegetables and continuing on until he came to his own private well. The well had been an important part of the house back when he'd first bought it with a few friends from the orphanage. Having half a score sweaty and exhausted ninjas-more-or-less-in-training at the same time without direct access to cool and fresh water would've been hell. He grabbed the rope and threw in the bucket, far below it hit the surface with a splash that gave a slight echo as it travelled up to Mikio. He then pulled, hearing the satisfying sound of water drops dripping from the bucket and back into the water. The mere sound made him feel a bit refreshed. When the bucket finally reached him he lifted it up and drank five huge gulps in one breath, spilling cold water on his chest at the same time. The coldness spread through his body and as he was done he couldn't help but give a satisfied "aah".

He washed the sleep off his face and turned to his vegetables. They were growing nicely, and would feed him for most of the year if he only tended to them properly. He dipped his hand in the bucket, grabbed some water and threw it out over the patch, effectively recreating a very short but intense rain. He pulled out a few weeds absent-mindedly and suddenly froze as he heard running steps approach. As opposed to most people, who tense up when they are caught in a fight-or-flight moment most experienced martial artists, such as ninjas, relax instead. A relaxed muscle can move faster and that fraction of a second can save lives. The steps disappeared and Mikio realised that they had probably come from a couple of runners on the road, on the other side of his house. It was a pretty popular path, but sometimes the sound of rapidly approaching footsteps of unseen people sent shivers down his spine. He'd dropped his bowl of food a few days ago just because some kid had rather hastily decided to take a break right outside his home.

Mikio left the garden, he didn't have the motivation any more. He went back into the house and looked at the clock. He had an appointment at the school in an hour to teach basic throwing techniques to the youngest. He'd be really early, but getting out of the house would help dissipate the uneasy feeling he'd gotten. Besides, he could train at the school before the kids showed up, it would probably be good for them to actually see someone who knew what they were doing first, maybe one of the more perceptive ones would pick up a clue from the way he flicked his wrist or something. He grabbed his pouch which held his small supply of standard ninja equipment, which was what the kids were training with, and with a broad happy smile on his face he left his house and started to walk down the path that lead to the village proper. The school was on the other end of it, so he'd have a chance to watch the marketplace on the way there, maybe he'd set aside some fresh fish for later.

“Whoa there, I don't mean you any harm I was just curious of who was running so close to the village. I am just out here to do a bit of training myself.” the stranger quickly deflected and Haruka felt a weight lift off of her shoulders. Just before he had spoken, Haruka had realized that the hitai-ate around the boy's arm was not the one shinobi of Gobigakure wore, but rather one of those from Kunogakure.

The nature of her grin changed in a matter of seconds; the arrogantly lopsided grin grew to a soft smile and she let out a small chuckle again, but this time the relief in her tone would be obvious.

"I am Tashiro by the way, I am sorry for interrupt whatever you were doing as I said before I was just curious of who was running around outside of the village. So there is no need for weapons...or jutsu..." the boy kept talking, trailing off as if he was indirectly asking her a question.

Relaxing her pose and rolling her left shoulder a bit in an attempt to relieve the tension in her arm a bit, Haruka tried her very best to be as non-threatening as she possibly could. “I was just training,” she clarified softly, wiping a bit of sweat from her brow; she was feeling worse and worse the further into the day she got, “I do this every morning and every night. Usually, I'd be climbing the mountains by now, but my arm is a bit … Well, it's seen better days,” she admitted sheepishly, raising her arm and flexing so the very large, very obvious and very gross scar on her bicep was clearly visible.

She purposely did not mention whether she was a ninja or not. She still was not quite sure whether Gobigakure was still under Kumogokure and if it were, if this guy perhaps could be some sort of enforcer to make sure that other villages did not infest their outpost and especially not with all the fighting that was going on in the minor villages around the world.

Just as the girl Tashiro was talking to seemed to ease up. Tashiro was starting to feel relieved that this girl wasn't feeling threatened anymore, or at least she didn't seem like she was going to attack if Tashiro did or said the wrong thing by accident. He listened as the girl spoke about why she was out here. It seemed she was out here for the same reason as he was to do a bit of training. When she showed him her arm he said almost instantly and wincing slightly, "Ouch, looks like it would hurt a lot. Yeah I wouldn't be climbing any mountains either if I was hurt like that either."

Quickly Tashiro understood why she was training even though she had an injury just like that. He himself remembers training through pain when he was much younger. Training almost day in and day out with his father to hone his skills with a sword, fighting through the pain so that he wouldn't be burdened in a fight when he was in pain. Enduring pain was a way that Tashiro learned to over come injuries. Part of him felt bad for the girl he just met even though he doesn't know her he understands.

Tashiro also noticed something else seemed to be wrong with her, he quickly came to the conclusion she might be more hurt then just the arm and hasn't fully recovered. He was going to ask if she was alright but it seemed she would most likely dismiss that anything was wrong with her since she was out here training in this condition.

Soon Tashiro says, "Well it seems we both had similar ideas, I came out here too to train like I said earlier. I was going to go to the mountain to train myself, and maybe catch a bit of game while I was at it. I haven't been in Gobigakure long, I figured it would be best to get some training done. You're from the village too right?" That question was asked a bit unsure, while Tashiro did just said he just came from the village he didn't know if this girl was or not though He then adds a question quickly after that last one, "Well if you are, would you like some help with your training?" Tashiro asks this question instead of asking if she was alright since he already assume how she would have answered that question anyway.

Megumi stood out on the water as the morning sun illuminated her frame. Her uncle had already set sail with a bunch of her siblings and cousins to catch their next batch of fish. While most people in Gobigakure were alive either in the morning or the night, fishermen paid no heed to the sun. Light or dark made no difference to them; what they followed were the tides. Sometimes that brought them up with the sun, sometimes before. Megumi had fallen into this rhythm as well, waking with her family as they prepared for their trips, and helping them with a few things before they set sail. Being able to walk straight up a mast usually meant they sent her to tie a knot in some hard-to-reach place. If she was going to be a ninja instead of a fisherman, then they might as well use her ninja skills to get ready faster.

She followed them out, walking beside the boat as they sailed off, and waved goodbye to see them off. Then she began her training. Out in the ocean was an unconventional, but in her opinion, effective way to train. It required constant chakra control and balance. Unlike walking on a flat surface, the ocean rocked and rolled, constantly trying to toss her about as the waves rolled in. She'd seen young shinobi who just mastered the art of walking on water try to follow her and instantly get soaked. Waves required more chakra at the crest and less at the trough, so a constant, controlled fluctuation of chakra was necessary. There was no one to teach her any advanced techniques, so at the very least she could refine her fundamentals.

While standing on the churning water, she cycled through her weapon scrolls. She practiced the forms of each of her weapons, trying to get smooth, refined movements even on the uneven surface. Once she finished with each of the weapons, she practiced her ninjutsu. First the basics. clone, substitution, transformation. She had practiced these techniques so frequently that they were second nature, but unfortunately, techniques were hard to come by here. Then, she moved on to her "advanced" techniques. The whopping three water release techniques she knew. She made hand signs, imagined enemies running at her, and summoned columns of water to swat them away. Finally, after a few hours, she walked back to shore for a break before she resumed her daily training.

She probably smelled like salt, be she didn't care. There was no point washing up if she was just going to get sweaty again in her next round of training. She headed towards the marketplace to grab a bite to eat, and then she saw a familiar face. "Mikio, good morning!" She said, giving him a wave. Officially, they were the same rank, but Megumi knew that Mikio was far more talented and far more skilled than she was, so she held a deep respect for this man. Perhaps a bit too much respect. Mikio was the village's leading expert on shurikens, and Megumi seemed to make it her life's work to pester every leading expert she could find for advice. "Heading to the school again?"

Mikio had explored the marketplace thoroughly. He'd walked faster than he had meant to and arrived at the centre of the village even earlier than he'd thought and as such had had time to spare. He'd found some beautiful mackerel (put on ice by the nice vendor for later), some fresh fruit and incense for meditation with a nice, deep, earthy smell. His house would smell like a troll's lair next to the harbour tonight.
He'd only just turned away from the incense salesman when a familiar voice reached his ears and a young lady came into view, waving at him. She wore short tights and whatever a yukata would probably look like if it had been designed by a perverted bath house manager in his early 50's. Her clothes didn't matter though, it was the voice and face that sent his brain into overdrive, quickly fetching her name from some dark corner of his mind.

"Megumi-san!" He exclaimed cheerfully and almost went in for a familiar and extremely unprofessional hug, but stopped when he saw the young woman bow. His training kicked in, and he returned the bow, still smiling.
"Good morning to you too. Yes, I am on my way to the school actually. Today is the first day for a new batch of tiny ninjas to learn the noble art of throwing sharp objects at each other." Then, realising what he'd just said, he gave a deep and hearty laugh "no, not at each other, that will have to wait. It's only the basics today, only the basics."
Without thinking about it his right hand raised itself, cupped with the thumb holding an imaginary shuriken in place and flicked his wrist like he would if he were throwing one.

"Hey, Megumi-san" He said, only a second later, his smile somewhat faded and a worried tone in his voice "I haven't seen you in a while, how have you been? You haven't been sick, have you?" Then he brightened up again "Or have you had a mission? Somewhere exotic? Come, tell me all about it, we'll have some fruit. I have time to spare. We'll sit down over by Musashi's, he won't mind."
Musashi Hikaro, Gobi's number one candle maker with 40 years of experience. He often took some of his work outside on nice days and provided seating for visitors so he'd have some company as he worked.

"Yes, I suppose you don't want to rush having them throw sharp objects at each other. Not unless you have a full squad of medics on hand anyway." She gave Mikio a small smile when she saw him mime a shuriken toss. She wasn't as enthusiastic as the senior teacher, but she still had a relaxed posture. Often times, experienced shinobi were too busy to give her the time of day; she relished in the opportunity to sit and chat with one of her seniors, even if it was just small talk. She quietly followed him to Musashi's and took a seat across from him so that they could talk. "No, I haven't been sick," she said with a small chuckle. "Just been trying to keep myself busy."

Her lips pursed slightly, though when Mikio mentioned missions. There were never any exotic missions, and Megumi wondered if Gobigakure even issued missions beyond the village limits. "I've been on a few missions. Nothing terribly exciting, though. Let's see, in the last one, Kazuto was out in the woods collecting mushrooms and herbs for his remedies. He seemed convinced that he needed an escort for protection, so they gave me a bodyguard job. Well, someone was looking for him, alright." She let out a heavy sigh. "His ex wife was convinced that one of her children was his, but Kazuto thought it belonged to one of the prostitutes." She rubbed her face and tried not to groan thinking about it. "That was a fun conversation."

She leaned back in her chair, looking up into the sky. "You know, I've heard stories about what ninjas from other villages do. I don't understand it. Why are we so far behind? We should be getting jobs from all over the world. Maybe they're boring or dangerous jobs that other villages don't want to do, but there have to be jobs like that out there. How can this village improve if we aren't even showing anybody we exist?" At that she bit her tongue and tried to collect herself. "Sorry. It's just frustrating. I feel like I'm capable of more than they're having me do. Maybe I'm wrong, but how can I know?"

“Ouch, looks like it would hurt a lot. Yeah I wouldn't be climbing any mountains either if I was hurt like that either.” the boy stated with a wince. Haruka only shrugged. She barely remembered how much it had hurt. She had been rather preoccupied at the time, trying to get to Suzaku. Hell, she barely remembered anything that happened, other than him lying on the ground.
No matter what, it was years ago by now and despite the fact that the scar still hurt quite badly on some days, she barely even noticed it was there for most of the time. It mainly just served as a reminder that she was not as invincible as she had once thought and that death followed the path of life she had chosen.

It seemed as if they both disappeared into their own minds for a few seconds and when Haruka's mind returned to the surface again, she caught a glimpse of something in the eyes of the boy that made her feel a tinge of comradery. That glimpse of understanding.

"Well it seems we both had similar ideas, I came out here too to train like I said earlier. I was going to go to the mountain to train myself, and maybe catch a bit of game while I was at it. I haven't been in Gobigakure long, I figured it would be best to get some training done. You're from the village too right?" the boy asked, seeming a bit unsure whether it was okay to ask her that or not. She somewhat understood. Gobi was a place of entrainment, after all. A foreign shinobi in Gobi likely meant that they were there for pleasure rather than business.
"Well if you are, would you like some help with your training?" he then offered.

Haruka seriously considered the situation for a moment. She had been asked directly if she was from the village and she was nowhere intelligent enough to muster a proper lie, should that become a necessity, so telling the truth was the only option she had. Being hung over really did not help her ability to think. Of course, Haruka had no idea if this was what the boy meant, but with her limited mental prowess, she never even considered that he might mean something else. “Actually,” she began, rubbing the back of her neck awkwardly, “I'm here on, uhh, vacation, I guess you could call it.” The tinge of pink that rose to her cheeks betrayed the sort of coy tone she was attempting to use. “I've been here for a little while, though,” she added for good measure.
She really did not feel like training any more. She actually just wanted to get something to eat; her stomach was stating to ache a little bit with hunger. “And no thanks to the training tips; I'm just about starving, so I think I'll just head back to town and grab a bite at one of the restaurants.”

Watching the girl just shrug off the fact that Tashiro commented about how the scar looked like it would hurt. Seems like the girl was use to the pain that she hadn't thought of it. After Tashiro had asked his two questions he saw that she was thinking about the situation.

He listened to the girl's answer. Hearing she was on a kind of vacation before when it came down to asking if she was from the village. Seeing her come up with the answer a bit awkwardly and a bit embarrassed when coming up with an answer to his first question. Considering the nature of the village, and some of the establishments he wasn't surprised. It wasn't a village where they were subtle about what goes on within the village. With what goes on in the red district, and the casino it's no wonder if a shinobi did come for a vacation here they would be embarrassed to admit to it.

Not really surprised that she declined wanted someone to train with. He heard what she said about being hungry, a valid reason, other then the fact that Tashiro was just a complete stranger to the girl. Tashiro replies, "Well, I guess I best head out then wouldn't want to keep you out here. Sorry once again for interrupting your vacation training." He was about to head out unless the girl had something more to say to him.

Mikio gave a hearty laugh when Megumi told him about Kazuto and his problems.
“I’ve seen that child, it looks nothing like him!” He said and slapped his knee and leaned back as he laughed. The candle-maker, sitting right beside him was so focused on his work that he only gave a small snort of appreciation as he continued to carefully rub wax onto the candle in his hands. Marriage and relationships were problematic institutions in Gobi, where prostitution wasn’t so much rampant as expected. The men and women who worked at the brothels were as much the backbone of the village as its craftsmen and farmers. In a place like that, keeping track of who and when you should or shouldn’t have sex (with) wasn’t as easy as in other places. Kazuto’s situation was not unique in any way.

He then listened carefully, smiling and nodding in understanding as Megumi told him about her frustrations. He understood them well. The skills that ninjas like himself and Megumi possessed, and that children of the village were learning every day were not suited for an isolated life in a relatively peaceful village. It was hard to justify training and getting better when the highest demand on fire users was to light the great bonfires in the spring. Someone who has matched himself with real ninjas from other villages like Mikio knew exactly how wide the gap in power was, and that it was only in war and conflict that the ninja arts could really shine.

“Don’t wish for war” Musashi Hikaro the candle-maker said, apparently following a similar train of thought as Mikio had. The candle maker had lived through the war, same as Mikio, but with the perspective of a relatively powerless civilian. Even if he’d been a soldier, armed and armoured, there was not much to do against a highly trained ninja. The size of the walls were a great example of when kind of protection you’d need to even start to consider yourself safe.
“That is very wise of you, have you breathed in too much wax again?” Mikio said to the candle-maker with a smile, and was rewarded with a similar snort as earlier.
“I think that the jobs we do here in the village exists in the rest of the world, but there are also many more ninjas in the world. If we’d been the only ninja village we’d be travelling from west to east every day, lending our services to anyone willing to pay. But we’re not alone, not by a long shot, and some of the other villages are home to really amazing ninjas. You should look up some of the people that have moved here from other hidden villages, they have really awesome stories to tell.”

Mikio took a huge bite of an apple, and chewed for a minute. “I know it’s frustrating, but if we stop doing our best everything falls apart. If you truly are destined for greatness you’ll find a way to show it, and I hope I can be apart of it, if only as a teacher from long long ago.”

”Well, I guess I best head out then wouldn't want to keep you out here. Sorry once again for interrupting your vacation training.” was the final words of the boy. He seemed as if he was ready to leave, but hesitated a bit, obviously out of politeness.

“It was no trouble. It's kinda nice,” Haruka she said softly, her tone growing fond at the last sentence, “”It's been a while since I had a real conversation.”
And it was the truth. Since leaving her home, the only conversations she had had was brief exchanges with vendors and when asking for directions. She could not remember the last time she had actually felt anything even close to a bond to someone, but she was quite sure it would be a while before she did again.
With a small wave she turned her back and was about to leave, only to look back over her shoulder, “I'm Haruka, by the way,” she finally introduced, remembering that the boy had told her his name at the beginning of their conversation, “Hagane Haruka of Konohagakure no Sato,” she elaborated, “If you see me on the streets, come say hi and if not, I'm out here every morning at the crack of dawn,” she added with a grin splitting her face and showing off her missing front tooth.
Unlike her new buddy, she was not very polite and left without waiting for a reply. She was not running and he could still easily shout her out if he wanted, but she was not going to stand around any longer; she really was starving.

Megumi pursed her lips when the candle maker told her not to wish for war. Did she really sound that bloodthirsty? "Of course not. I would never want a war to come to this village if it could be avoided. But, there's gotta be something between war and walking dogs for the elderly." She leaned back in her chair and took a deep breath. She knew Mikio was right. This was the same line of work that took her father's life and she should consider herself lucky that things were peaceful so far. And she was sure some more exciting missions would come her way eventually. She was just getting impatient. "But, at least that gives me more time to train so I'll be ready if things do get dangerous," Megumi said, trying to push away the cloud of negativity she was surely creating. She definitely didn't want Mikio to think of her as a brat whining about crappy missions.

Then, Megumi smiled when Mikio mentioned her finding greatness. "I suppose you're right. Greatness comes to those who can hold it, after all. No sense in rushing things before I'm ready. And I actually have met with some shinobi from other villages who have settled down here. Most of them seem to be trying to get away from it all and aren't very talkative." She was flattered that Mikio said he would want to be a small part of whatever she achieved, but she figured he was just being nice to get her into a good mood. He was a seasoned veteran, after all, and Megumi would be happy to be part of his legacy as it stood.

"Hmm... Hey, I just got an idea. If you don't like it, you can just say no, but, do you think you could use an assistant to help you teach the academy students? I mean, I've never taught anyone before, but it might be a good change of pace." Plus, I'll get to see you demonstrate your shuriken techniques, she thought. Megumi didn't expect him to accept. After all, who was she to be teaching young shinobi? She had never even been in a life or death situation yet. Still, it was getting dull doing the same training routines every day. A bit of variety would be nice.