The Shallows [Open]

[Mienai]

By the sea, that's the life that Kasen covets. That's exactly why Kasen found herself walking along the beaches by the piers of the harbor. A lot of ships were docked and many of the people running the fish market and unloading several crates from the ships kept themselves busy. In fact, Kasen came by the harbor so often many of the people here knew her by name and greeted her when they saw her. Some of the men that went out to sea quite often made jokes about her shark-like oddities. She would always playfully banter back to them when the did so and greeted them with equal cheer. Sometimes she would even help them unload their wares. But that wasn't what she was doing today. Despite being able to see the piers, she was a good distance away, walking the sandy beach. Her feet left small footprints behind her in the wet patches of sand as the tide washed in and out on the bank. Today she had plans to go swimming, hence the dark blue swimsuit she wore with nothing but a thin long sleeved shirt over top of it and carried a large beach towel in her hand.

She had traveled quite a bit before she placed her beach towel down, and removed the shirt, placing it down next to the towel. The salt in the air was like a comfort to her as she breathed it in. She put on a pair of sunglasses, tying her hair up in a ponytail and stepped out until she was about ankle deep in the waters. She looked out, seeing the shimmering on the surface of the waters from the sun, the waves lulling back and forth in a calm manner. The ocean was such a mysterious and wondrous sight to behind. It is beautiful but dangerous. None yet know the entirety of what lies within, and yet still they venture out to enjoy and explore. Kasen smiled, thinking of her own ties to the waters. So different, so freeing to feel your body coursing through the water, feeling the power from being part of something much, much bigger than yourself. Simply existing.

A moment passed before Kasen noticed something in the waters. A gray fin cutting through the surface, breaking the calm. Kasen hummed to herself taking another couple steps in. The fin languidly kept swimming in slow circles back and forth. Kasen was about knee deep in the waters at this point. A slight breeze was gently sweeping her long crimson hair to the side. She took a deep breath in. "Same, Same, Sharku" Kasen laughed to herself. She continued to watch the fin move for a bit longer, still keeping her eye on it before she decided to venture out further in the water, kicking her feet to keep herself afloat. Several times the water would gently splash her face as a new wave headed toward the shoreline. Kasen gently allowed herself to float on the water surface on her back, staring up into the sky. She rested her eyes for a minute, enjoying the flow of the water. She could get used to this. Just her and the water, and the inhabitants below.

 

[Gotō Daiji]

"Meh? Waughht's dahgt?!"
*translation: "Eh? What's that?!"​

Just outside of the tide's reach was a boy, crouched in the wet sand with a hand shielding his eyes from the hot sun. He couldn't be any older than seventeen...but that wasn't the weird part. Neither was his distinct head of rose-colored hair. No, the strangest thing about this particular youth was the severed tentacle hanging out of his mouth that he was currently nibbling on. Water was still dripping off of his lean frame...so if one were to put two and two together, it would seem that the lad already went on a bit of a fishing expedition. Before that he was out wandering around in nothing but his boxers (something about it being "too hot outside"?), but some nice old fisherman felt bad I guess and gave him a pair of orange hand-me-down swimming trunks that were a bit too big for him. So of course he immediately took to the water, playing and swimming and fishing and having a grand old time. But just as soon as he'd returned to dry land something else caught his eye. Or rather, someone. Who you ask?

Why the most beautiful girl he'd ever laid eyes on.

Long flowing red hair and eyes equally as sanguine. She was astounding. Gorgeous. And looked to be around his age. Why any man would be a fool not to fall for such a rare beauty. Which is why as soon as his sights were set, he took off from his stooped position in an all-out sprint. The boy ran like a madman, kicking up loose sand as he tilted his head back to finish devouring his makeshift tako sushi. It was...quite a sight to see honestly. Ever closer he drew to the red-haired beauty. She had already waded out a ways into the tide and had since laid on her back to float peacefully in the water, but she would no doubt hear his noisy approach as he sloshed foam about in every direction in his mad dash to get deeper out into the water. The waves and general sluggishness that occurred when entering wading out into the ocean slowed him down a bit, but all things considered he was still moving at a good clip. He was almost there now. Almost to her. Nearer and nearer and- ...past her? His eyes were lit up, seemingly amazed as he ran past the girl, trudging deeper and deeper into the tide...It almost looked like he was headed for-

...oh. Oh dear Kami.

"Woah...~" he expressed his awe aloud to himself aloud as he inched closer and closer to the ever-moving fin. Nothing against Kasen, but his goal was never her. This is Keiatsu we're talking about...of course it was the shark. "Someone made a small boat!" ...and apparently he seemed to think it was some kind of miniature sailboat. Boy was he about to be thoroughly and painfully surprised. Nevertheless he pressed onward, hands up in a "grabby" kind of position. When it came to this kid there were always a lot of unknowns thrown into the mix. But at least one thing was very apparent. Something very, VERY stupid was about to happen.

[mft]
[Topic Entered]

 

[Kurosawa Nataku]

Red was the color of the day.

Originally Nataku had come out here to see his father, but instead he found himself unable to face the man. He couldn't show himself to his father in his current state of mind. It just wasn't something he could allow himself to do. So instead, he ran off to be alone. He wore his usual outfit for whenever he traveled outside the village. A red hat, a red coat, a black suit, orange sunglasses. It was pretty ridiculous if you thought about it, but he never did. He wasn't sure why he wore it, really, at this point it was just habit.

The location of choice was a place he figured he could not be disturbed. He was simply going to walk out from the harbor and into the water. He stepped out and his foot landed on the water as if it were solid ground. He casually strolled out to the middle, each footstep sending a soft ripple caught in between the breaking waves. He tried to get far from where anyone would be, and he ended up at the beach area that was almost never used as an actual beach. Almost.

He was a good distance from shore when he figured he had found a good spot. The water beneath him was deeper than one could stand, but that wasn't an issue. He wasn't going in the water. He finally had a chance to meditate without disruption. A conversation began, inside his head.

"So you brought me here to finally have a chat, eh?" came an uncomfortably familiar voice.

"Don't flatter yourself. I came here so I could sort this out on my own without distraction."

"But that means you don't consider me a distraction. So you've accepted what I am? What we are?"

"You are a distraction. Shut up." Nataku snapped at the voice, angry. A conversation involving thoughts often went strange. As both of them occupied the same awareness, they understood the thoughts of the other. And that meant that conversations would be caught between more complex thoughts that could not be expressed with words. Yet, they both understood. In that moment, Nataku's more complicated thoughts indicated that he was starting to consider that they might be the same person. That he was concentrating and trying to figure out what he was.

"I can help you, you know. I am your ally, you don't have to treat me like an enemy."

"And what is it that you think you can do for me?"

"Besides teach you what I know about the world, and cover for situations you can't handle?" Senkaku responded, sarcastically. "I'll explain how your power works. Maybe even where it came from. Where I came from. How both of us came to be."

This piqued Nataku's curiosity. "I'm listening," he said.

"First you need to accept that you and I are the same person, but we are different aspects of that person. One of us cannot exist without the other. You also need to realize that I'm not something new that just appeared today for the first time. You and I have been together since the beginning. We are the same person. I'm not some demon inside of you nor am I somebody controlling you or speaking to you telepathically. There are many moments you've had here that have shaped your knowledge and experience. In-turn, I have many moments like that as well. Technically, they were our moments, but we've split and lost some of that in the process. Together, we are strongest."

Nataku didn't fully buy it. He wanted to believe that was true, that this was actually a good thing. But his gut told him otherwise. That this was a trick. That he was a demon trying to fool him. He didn't say anything, though, he simply acknowledged this mentally. Senkaku understood, but before they had a chance to continue they heard something.

Splashing. Loud splashing. The concentration was broken. A pair of brown eyes looked toward the shore to see someone running in. Then they caught movement. There was a fin protruding from the water, circling about. A shark. Floating just near the shark was a girl, on her back, seemingly oblivious. Suddenly Nataku felt the urge to smile, and a smirk appeared on his face. The smirk didn't come from his own intention, however.

"I will show you the kind of person I am and exactly what you are capable of, Senkaku said, mentally, and took charge of the body. Suddenly, another body appeared in front of the man in red. It was a young girl, no older than ten. She had white hair, red eyes, and a strange marking just above her nose. She was pretty small, and seemed innocent looking. Just after she appeared, the body of the man in the red coat disappeared. They were both instant happenings. There was no smoke and no flashy effects. This was the power of the Rinnegan that allowed him to exist in several bodies, and use those bodies to summon one another. The girl, Nanami, now stood in the water staring at the scene unfolding.

That's when she realized what was happening. When the boy blasted past the girl and headed straight for the shark, Nanami kicked into action. She began to sprint gracefully across the top of the water at lightning speed. As she approached, she heard what he said. "Woah... Someone made a small boat!" She saw him reach for the "boat" with open hands and wouldn't have it anymore.

"IT'S NOT A BOAT YOU IDIOT!!!" she yelled and didn't slow her approach. She came in at a speed that was unrealistically fast for a girl her age, but even moreso due to the fact that she was running on top of water. She got too close and couldn't slow down in time to stop him from grabbing the shark, so she did the next best thing. She tackled him. Although her size wasn't much, the force of the impact would feel as though she was much bigger. This was due to the massive speed, and the fact that she was a Kaguya, encased with a thick layer of bone internally. She was rock solid, and weighed a lot more than she looked.

She tackled the poor boy in a bear hug style and the two of them plummeted straight into the water, a few feet from the shark and the floating girl. Nanami's clothes weren't meant for this, but she didn't seem to care. Instead she righted herself and stayed floating in the water, now swimming instead of standing. She glanced at the shark, making sure to keep her distance, while she also started chastising the clearly older guy, "Are you crazy!? You can't just grab a shark. You could have gotten seriously hurt!"

 

[Mizutsune Mira]

A mass of pitch black thread, covered and tangled in with Seaweed floated on the ocean like a blob of oil. Mizutsune just decided to feel the water, swaying to and forth like a hula dancer. How good would she be at dancing anyway? Some people were scared of her, and she didn't like to scare. Mizutsune really just didn't understand anyone, but that was easy to understand why. Lost in thought, she didn't realize that hey, PEOPLE EXISTED! She got hit by a violent wave of water, making her recreate a head and look around. Mizutsune just stared at, three people and a shark. The floating head had glowing purple eyes that rapidly zoomed in, twirling into a vortex of black thread that fired high into the air and smashed into the beach. Rapidly chocolate skin would form from the flood of flesh, filling up like a soda bottle. Pink and white flesh would rip out like claws before covering her crotch and chest, forming a beach bikini. A glowing crimson orb vibrated and pulsed for a few moments inside herself, an artificial heart that quickly got covered up by the moving thread.

Spoiler

The overweight woman smiled brightly, walking over a couple of steps tell her feet went into the water. She shivered with a cold pleasure before unraveling her feet, turning them into thousands of tiny threads that danced across the surface. She moved as if her feet were made of millions of daddy longlegs, striding across the surface of the water like it was casual. The deranged science experiment unraveled into another tornado of thread, before reforming on her stomach, floating gently on the surface of the water. Mizutsune placed an elbow on top of the surface of the water before placing her head on top. She asked, "What is wrong with a shark? They always tickle and nuzzle my sides when they swim by!"

(mft)

 

[Mienai]

To say that her quiet lasted a little longer than a minute was probably an overstatement. It felt more like 30 seconds truthfully. Kasen had just managed to relax in the water, lying on her back when a loud voice, followed by rather hectic splashing was heard in her general area. She flipped herself upright in the water, her feet now treading lightly to keep her afloat as she looked around for the source of the ruckus. She noticed a boy with pink hair practically cutting through the water, heading right for the shark. A chill ran through Kasen. Boat? He thought it was a boat??? "It's not a boat...hmhmhm."<i></i> Same laughed. Kasen rolled her eyes. She was about to call out to the kid, afraid he would agitate the shark and then they'd be in a bit of trouble if the shark got defensive.

However, that became unnecessary for her intervention because another girl came over, running full speed on the top of the water. Kasen cringed a little and put her hands over her eyes, afraid to look, but peaked through her fingers at the last minute as the girl crashed into him. There was another loud splash and Kasen chuckled a little. So peculiar. The little girl was rather feisty. Kasen appreciated that. Still shockingly, more surprises were to come. A, well, what she thinks was a person showed up beside the small group of misfits that appeared to be growing. Kasen kind of cringed internally. More threads, like that magician's assistant. At least this other girl seemed friendly. She was commenting on the shark as well, how they tickled her when they swam.

Overall, it was rather interesting to see the personal take on things from other people. She supposed she used to have a fear of sharks too, I mean anyone would. But she'd been living with one inside her for years now, she befriended them in the waters. They were highly misunderstood creatures. Kasen cleared her throat. "I quite agree, sharks are simply more curious than anything. I still wouldn't recommend grabbing one outright though." Kasen laughed, her sharp teeth obvious now. She took the time to casually swim over to the shark, being careful to allow it to become familiar with her first. She still wasn't sure what it was and how some seemed to just know but the shark allowed Kasen to place a hand gently on it's head, giving it the equivalent of a "pet". Kasen smiled before allowing herself to continue to float next to it, unafraid. "So, what brings you all to the beach? I don't think I've seen you around?"

 

[Gotō Daiji]

"WAH-!!!" was the only thing the boy managed to get out before being tackled and dragged underwater by a mysterious assailant. An unusually big splash was the end result, followed by some gurgling on the boy's part. He'd heard some screaming, and had just turned his head to find out what it was when all of sudden he got crashed into. Just what exactly was going on? By the time he came sputtering back up to the surface his attacker had already recovered, and was now casually treading water. "Ow...what the hell was that for?!" was his immediate response, though spoken more in a tone of light irritation than anger. Manners were something that were entirely lost on the lad, and believe it or not, his entire family. From the force of the impact alone he expected a bigger person -- perhaps a large man -- to be the culprit, but in actuality it wasn't even close. Turns out? It was a small girl with a matter-of-factly frown on her face. She spared no time in scolding the reckless young man over his stupid decision. But...for some reason he didn't seem all that surprised though. He just blinked vacantly a few times as she tore into him. Eventually he responded...but probably not in the way she was expecting. A hand came up to rub the back of his head tenderly as he replied. "...you're heavy." ...like I said. Manners? Non-existent.

But so what? It was true! This kid's head was made of legendary stuff too, lemme tell ya. So if she caused even a bit of an ache then that meant there was more to her than meets the eye. Too bad the rose-haired youth wasn't more perceptive (or just, y'know...had common sense) or else he might've put two and two together. Instead, his attention soon turned back to the "boat". A hand came up to rest on his chin as he watched the animal's fin go round. "Hm..." a "thinking" sound could be heard coming from the boy if anyone were listening closely. Whatever he was mulling around up there had to be significan- "'Shark', huh...?" Of course it wasn't. It was obvious just by observing him that he'd never seen one before...but it also seemed like...he'd never even heard of one? Perhaps this would put it in perspective for these fine Sand Shinobi if his attempt at grabbing a shark already didn't. This particular foreigner was a bit...well..."dense". Anyways, the group were a ways out from the shore now after that tackle. The strangely weighty girl had to resort to swimming, but the boy was taller, so he was still able to touch bottom (though the water was up to his chest). While he was busy watching the shark another person had approached, and was now lying relaxedly on the water's surface. His eyes drifted over to the newcomer as she proclaimed her fondness for sharks. He didn't seem to be perturbed at all by her...oddities, which was probably weirder than the strange threads themselves. According to her, sharks were harmless tickle monsters. His response was to nod towards Mira and reply, "That sounds fun!" ...yeah. Sure it does.

The girl with red-hair begun to float nonchalantly next to the shark. She even went as far as to pet it! Watching brought one of those big trademark grins he was known for to his face. He loved animals. And these things really did seem harmless. Surely he'd be able to pet it as well...right? If anyone were paying attention they'd notice a slight crimson coloration to the water just below the lad's face. Unbeknownst to him, the collision from earlier had cut the inside of his lip slightly, and a small trickle of blood had traveled down his face and fallen into the water. He was used to shrugging off MUCH worse injuries than this, so he didn't even notice he was bleeding (not that he was all that self-aware in the first place...). Normally this wouldn't be a big deal...but they were in the water. Next to a f**king shark. So yeah I'd say it was a bit of an issue. This specimen might've been particularly docile and tolerant of people, but once a shark got the scent of blood...well, you know the rest. Kasen asked a question but he never got the chance to answer. Instantly it turned on the boy, opening its gaping maw and rushing forward to clamp down on him without warning. Some onlookers from the beach witnessed this and screamed in terror as even more red liquid was freed from the boy's body. It was a bloodbath.

Scarlet continued to fall into the water, a steady supply of it now available. This was a horrible turn of events. Sure he'd gotten lost but after he ended up at the beach all he wanted to do was enjoy himself and now he was shark food and-...wait. Why had it not shut its jaws yet? "Oi..." The boy's voice echoed from inside of the shark's mouth. His bleeding hands were currently busy keeping the shark's mouth open, one on top and one on bottom. Despite his injured mitts, he didn't seem to be having all that much trouble stopping the animal from moving or eating him. It would seem that his lean frame belied some rather impressive physical strength. Slowly the boy withdrew his noggin from within the confines of the shark's mouth, bringing it far enough back so that he was staring the beast directly in the eye. His face now wore a slight frown...but nothing like one would expect from someone who almost just got devoured. No fear or desperation. Just what seemed like minor annoyance. "Don't eat me." His words were stern, which was unusual for the youth. But even stranger than that was what happened next. The shark...despite having smelled and now having had a taste of his blood...just sort of stopped trying to eat him. (Gaze of Enslavement) In fact, the animal seemed a bit nervous all of a sudden. After not feeling any more pressure from the shark's mouth, the boy removed his hands and the overgrown fish went right back to swimming like it done before. Definitely strange...but the boy didn't even seem to notice. Whatever had just occurred was most likely an unconscious feat on his part. Didn't stop him from having fun though! Next time the animal swam by him, he let out a, "Hup!" and hopped onto its back, his grin returning as he rode passenger on the animal, calm as ever. "Hehehe...~" his sly laugh sounded off as he balled up his fists and placed them on his hips. Here he was, having the time of his life...on a shark's back...who had JUST tried to eat him.

"Odd" didn't even begin to describe this kid...

[mft]

 

[Kurosawa Nataku]

A very strange girl appeared. No, it was the way she appeared that was strange. Threads. I've seen that before... The girl made a weird comment about sharks. This caused Nanami to frown, slightly, as she was in the middle of lecturing a kid who needed to understand how dangerous his actions were. The red haired boy she had tackled called her heavy. This guy... She made an angry face. "I never said anything was wrong with sharks, I simply think something is wrong with this human!" she responded, point her finger in the direction of the guy. He began to mull over something. The way the next words came out convinced Nanami that this guy was a grade A moron. She slapped her hand to her forehead, literally 'facepalming'.

And this same moron thought the idea of nuzzling up with sharks was fun. Great. Even worse, the red haired girl was petting the shark nonchalantly. The shark didn't seem to mind, until something happened. Nanami didn't notice it at first, but the impact had caused the boy to start bleeding. What was going to be a casual conversation turned much worse. The shark noticed the blood first and went straight for him. Nanami was about to, regrettably, kill the shark with bone bullets from her fingers to prevent it from killing the boy. However, just before she did, she noticed he had grabbed it and protected himself. She decided not to interfere or show any of her abilities, and stopped herself. A scream could be heard from the shore nearby.

A lot of blood was coming out, largely due to the fact that he had grabbed the shark by the inside of its mouth. This kid might have been tough, but he was still a moron. He told the shark not to eat him... and it listened?! The next time the shark came near him he actually jumped onto it and began to ride it as a passenger. Nanami was stunned. There was now a kid who was bleeding everywhere, still, because his hands were ripped open by a shark. And that same kid was now riding a shark and laughing. You've got to be kidding me...

"Oi," she began, tenatively, "You should probably get your hands checked out." Her eyes followed him as he swam around on a sharks back. She wanted to just grab him and heal his hands, but she also wasn't sure she wanted to reveal her skill as a shinobi. It also seemed like a lot of effort to catch him since he was moving around.

 

[Gotō Daiji]

[Topic Left due to Inactivity]
[OOC: Maybe some other time guys!]​

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