[Lonely] Gone Fishing

[nghtmr103]

It was dawn in Kirigakure, the sun glowed through the mist with a dull light as it did every day. Sanno arose early amidst the new sheets he had bought with money he had scraped together. Looking around the house in the pale daylight he picked up the scraps of trash from the previous night. These trifles always passed him by after a long day of training and working to make ends meet. As he entered the kitchen Sanno searched the cupboards finding little more than the tail end of a batch of noodles and what was left of the meat he had procured from the local butcher. The ice box had what was left of the fish he had caught the week before. A makeshift bowl of noodles and meat bits Sanno then prepared the fish and a bit of white rice for his mother who was stirring from her rest in the other room.

”Mother I have prepared breakfast for you, I am going down to the riverfront to see if I can’t catch some more fish for the week. If I am lucky I will get enough to sell to the local fish monger.”

Sanno’s mother slowly emerged from her room looking a bit sickly as she did many days now. A faint smile crossed her lips as she observed the meal Sanno had set out for her.

”Thank you Sanno, now you run along your mother will be fine once I have this nice looking meal in my stomach.”

Sanno let the closest thing he could summon up to a smile cross his face and without further delay grabbed his aged fishing rod and headed out the door. As he walked down the streets he felt the odd glance or two as some of the town attempted to avoid eye contact all together. It did not bother him anymore, he did not mind their scorn or pity. It was difficult to tell the two apart at this point. Past the buildings he was now in his favorite surroundings. The one place he felt at home was the patches of forest and the lush waters of Kirigakure. Civilization was such an overrated luxury, too many people and too much noise for his liking. All his personal training and much of the food worth eating were all obtained out here. Finally reaching his normal spot by the riverside Sanno set his line and placed the rod firmly in he ground.

As he waited for a bite on his line the boy practiced the fluid motions of martial arts he had learned. It was important to never let your guard down and never allow you skills to waiver or else death came swiftly in the shinobi world. Soon enough there was a pull on the line and Sanno reeled in his first catch of the day. The scales of the fish reflected what little light shown through the heavy mist and it kicked and struggled at its captor.

”Survival of the fittest my friend, and today I will eat well off of you. I thank you for the meal.”

It was a good size and would make for an excellent meal, just a few of these and his household would be fed for another week without having to worry. With a few extra he might even be able to afford something extra for his mother. Even though the fish that he caught was far better than nothing he was all too aware of how tiresome the same thing every day was.

Hours went by on the somber morning as Sanno practiced both his accuracy with kunai and his martial techniques. This was interrupted only intermittently by the interjection of unlucky fish who had taken his bait. As the sun passed along the top of the mist clouds till it was roughly midday Sanno enjoyed the slight pleasures of the winds flowing off the mountaintops protecting their village. Obtaining an adequate amount to suffice Sanno gathered a small bit of Hyouton chakra into his mouth and blew it down onto the catch. The freezing chakra would keep the fish nice, fresh, and cold for the trek back to house. With this last act he took the day’s rewards and started back. The distant sound of trading vessels pulling into port were a reminder that only a short distance away was the bustling docks of Kirigakure. The day had been good to him and his mother would have good food for the days to come. Dropping off the fish at his home Sanno quickly headed back out while the sun still shown upon the ground.

A few excess fish he could not fit into their icebox would get him a couple extra coins in his pocket. Heading to the fish-monger he saw the man sitting idle as the morning rush had dwindled, and the men of the trade ships had not yet come to survey the market. As Sanno approached the stall and the shop-keep started to get up and put on that fake fish-oil salesman smile. As soon as he recognized the identity of the boy who approached he laxed his demeanor and settled back down with a slight disappointed scowl.

”Yeah Sanno what do you want?”

”Caught these fresh this morning and froze ‘em what will you give me?”

The always stingy man looked at the catch and picked them all up individually, examining them as he placed them in a row along an open spot of countertop. When he was finally finished he reached under the counter and brought up a pittance of money and dropped it in front of Sanno.

”Take it or leave it, I only put up with this bartering crap cause of your poor mother I hope you know. So be thankful I am willing to buy from you at all.”

This bastard, he was always like this to Sanno, of course Sanno didn’t treat many people in this village with much respect either, it was just the way things were. Grabbing up the money he said not a single word in response and simply left with a slight jingle now added to his pocket. With the day not yet over he ventured to see what more the day could offer him.