An Enduring Rivalry!

[King of Cats]

The sun was harshly beating down on the denizens of Sunagakure. The people were of a varied sort as of late. Ever since Iwagakure invaded the village, people were popping up of all different races and nationalities. None from Konoha though. The people that were visiting, or some of them were living there, were Rock Country natives. They were a hardy people of different clans and cultures. They were mostly good hearted people. It was hard to believe that enemies of the nation could be so peaceful. They had been there a long time now. They had been there long enough to make a permanent mark. They knocked on the door hard, and despite moving in peacefully, it wasn't a good mark in most cases of IWagakure being in Sunagakure.

They had perversely navigated through all aspects of society in Sunagakure no Sato, and just like anyone who lived in an occupied nation, the people of Rock Country interacted in several ways with Wind Country residents. They worked with them. They fought with them. They went to church with them. They even had children with them. There were more and more mixed breeds of Iwagakure and Sunagakure popping up every year.

The children were met with a mostly negative review. People of Iwagakure wer leery to let them know their secrets, though they seemed to encourage the cross breeding for some reason. The people of Suna saw it as a cultural raping, and in some cases it was more than that. It was a rough time to be in a silent war with your literal neighbors, and Sunagakure wasn't proud of what had been done to them. The people grew tired and they became reclusive. LEss and less people would walk the streets and shop. Fewer people went to the oasis's and spent time with their neighbor. It was a time of patience, not action. The people of Sunagakure were building their forces to strike back at Iwagakure, but it would be a long time before that happened.

---

Despite the streets being relatively bare, there were still vendors open and the people who were spending money were walking around. IWagakure was everywhere though. They were in the guilds and mercantile circles, they were in the bingo halls and coffee shops. No where was safe for a rebel, but Mina Hizashi was no rebel. She wasn't a ninja, and she certainly wasn't one to go against the grain. She lived peacefully, subserviently. She wished no harm to come to her and her son, Seiji Kouseki.

The two were wandering the streets, hand in hand, looking at different fruits. You had to check the goods carefully before you bought them since most of them were grown in the desert. Sometimes fruit grew inedible, husking from a lack of moisture. Mina let go of Seiji for a second and picked up the melon she was eyeing up for lunch. It looked supple, better than just edible. Her mouth watered and she released a moan of delight at the idea of feasting on this desert fruit.

"Seiji, do you want a melon?" Mina said to her son and looked down to see his hungry eyes.

She didn't see him, so she looked around the stall. Seiji was nowhere to be found. She had lost her precious baby. Mina let out a cry of anguish.

[zory_alechiv]

Shoshiki Tsumugi

Tsumi hated the sunlight. Hated the way it burned her pale skin and burned her eyes. Even through her thick sunglasses and long sleeves, she could feel the heat and it was oppressive. Why did they have to come to Suna again? Oh right, her mother had to return to her clan house to get training information for Tsumi under her father's wishes. She much preferred being with her father. He only truly came out when it was dark and she wanted nothing more than to sleep. If she could find a shaded spot and nap, she might be able to deal with the oppressiveness of the heat.

And yet, here she was in Suna of all places. There was no shade, there was no escape from the heat. It was her destiny to exist in misery at this time. At least her mother allowed her to hide under a shop awning as she moved comfortably between stalls. Fruit from Suna, whoopie. They were as bitter as the desert in her opinion.

Tsumi knew she was awfully depressive for a five year old, but at five years she was already more intelligent than anyone else her age. She blamed it on her memory. She could read anything and retain it perfectly. It certainly helped during tests at the Academy, but here, there was no point. No point in Suna to remember the location of any of these places because if she could help it, she would not be coming back.

Reaching up, the girl pulled off her head covering revealing long, blond hair. Sunglasses were pulled off and sweat was wiped from the bridge of her nose. Her eyes mirrored her mothers. The were solid black with the exception of two red rings around the irises. Henrin, they screamed and allowed her to remain mostly unnoticed by the Suna natives around her. If it hadn't been for her awfully pale skin and little frame, she would have looked exactly like them.

Tsumi groaned and dropped to the sand, pulling her knees up to rest her forehead on. "Mother, hurry up," she grumbled. At least her mother was smart enough to let her stay out of the sun as much as possible.

[King of Cats]

Wandering away from his mother, Seiji made his way through the fruit stalls. He dashed through the carts, touching his hand on every gourd he could find. Seiji had a joyful smile spread across his green lips. The red haired boy laughed quietly as he ran further from his mother. He was much faster than she was, even at his age. Seiji was a ninja in training. He wasn't particularly skilled, but he showed potential in chakra control, something his mother could never compare to. As a result of his aptitude, Seiji was fast than a normal person, stronger than most regular en, and absolutely goofy. He got a kick out of ruffling his mothers feathers. Seiji kept running through the fruit stalls as quietly as he could, dodging his mother's watchful eye.

Plowing through the stalls, Seiji saw a young girl with her mother. The girl was white like Seiji, something that was a sign of non native roots, a rarity in Sunagakure. Or at least it used to be. Seiji knew right away that the girl was Rock Country. He instantly hatched a devilish plan and started dashing toward the girl.

As he got closer, Seiji jumped onto the cart that the girl's mother was looking at. He climbed up the cart and onto the awning. Seiji stood on the wood sun protector and then jumped down. As he did so, Seiji rocked the cart over and flipped it on it's side, sending the fruit to go spilling all over the street. The vendor started screaming at Seiji as he climbed, but he was quickly knocked over when Seiji jumped. The man fell unconcious from a bump on the head, but Seiji wasn't paying attention. He was busy seeing what kind of rise he would get out of this young Iwa lass.

[zory_alechiv]

The small girl lamented her torturous afternoon as her mother dragged her from stall to stall. It was only when her mother stopped that she found the reprieve under another wood awning and pulled off her sunglasses to wipe at the sweat.

CRASH

The sound drew her attention as a redheaded boy clamored up the cart her mother was at. At first, Tsumi was highly amused at the antics of the boy that wasn't that much older than her, and then he leapt onto the wood awning, causing it to crash down around her. She barely avoided the wood smacking her in the head as she rolled forward and was pushed right into the bright sunlight. Immediately, she could feel the heat on her face, her skin feelign like it was frying and she was furious.

"Baka!" She yelled, her mother scolding her somewhere behind but with the woman downed next to the cart, it left an angry blond to chase after the redhead. Her sunglasses were gone, somewhere in the destructed wood, but she threw her hood up over her head and raced after him, intent to punch that smug grin off of his face.

[King of Cats]

The art came clamoring down and banged against the hard stone ground. Seiji carefully managed to fall with the awning, using it as a trampoline, and jumped right before he hit the ground. Rolling forward, Seiji continued running through the streets. He maneuvered through the carts and made his way onto the next street.


This street was filled with cock fighting matches. Seiji ran through the painted circles on the cobblestone streets, ruffling the feathers of both the chickens and the betters. They screamed at Seiji but he kept running.

Turning right, Seiji ran for a moment ."That girl is probably mad as hell!" Seiji thought to himself and climbed up a wall. He hiked his leg up onto the box and used his right hand to pull him upwards. The jade gemstones on his hands glistened in the bright Sunagaure sun. Seiji struggled to get up the wall and got stuck with his leg up in the air. "DRATS!" He cried out and let go. The boy fell to the ground not so gracefully and then looked at the path of destruction he had carved. There were chicken feathers trailing through the streets and broken boxes all over. It was a real mess, but that was the least of Seiji's worries. A young girl was hunting him, and now she had caught up with him.

[zory_alechiv]

"Tsumi! TSUMI!" Her mother yelled but the young Iwa was already too far away to slow down now. Her legs pumped as fast as she could, hood falling down and leaving blond hair flying behind her. Her stature was much shorter than the boy's she was chasing after, but she was determined.

The more Tsumi ran, the hotter her face got, and the angrier she got. This boy was going to get her burned and then she was going to have to listen to her mother scold her. Her father might even reprimand her too and force her to train while she was sunburned.

Finally, Tsumi caught up with the boy as he fell back down. The blond girl was breathing hard but it didn't slow her down as she converged on the boy and heaved him up to his knees before attempting to smack his cheek. "Ya big meanie! What's the big idea? Huh?"

[King of Cats]

Looking at the girl, Seiji wondered how she had kept up with him. He was no Shinobi, but he was definitely above the average mischief makers level of parkour. She had managed to keep up with him regardless, so Seiji coudn't help but wonder if she had been at the academy. Seiji smiled a wicked grin and picked his head up to look at the girl. His hair was in the way of his cinnabar red eyes. "What do you mean?" Seiji stuck his tongue out and jerked on his lower eyelid, making a rather ugly face.

"I see you aren't from around here, rock-head." Seiji kicked at the box that was next to him, knocking a hole into it. "We don't need people like you here. Go back to the cold, you aren't built for the sun." Seiji pulled his hood back over his head. He also had fair skin and had to stay out of direct sunlight. He was a native to Wind Country, but somewhere in his ancestry he inherited light colored skin. Probably on his father's side. They were a pack of dogs.

Seiji glared at the girl, his red eyes striking her unique iris'. That was when Seiji recognized Henrin eyes. He could believe this girl could be Henrin, ad he glared even harder, trying to see more clearly to tell if his eyes were playing tricks on him.

Suddenly, Seiji spit into the ground. "Chalk eater."

[zory_alechiv]

Tsumi

Fists clenched in her tiny palms, dark eyes flaring under his ugly face. So he had done it on purpose? Because she was from Iwagakure. She wasn't old enough to understand why Suna hated them, not really. Not when she often came here with her mother. Tsumi knew her mother was from here, but her father hadn't been back in a long time. She knew of the war, knew it was before she was born.

Tsumi stepped closer, hands balled in her fists at her side, her tiny shoulders trembling with anger. "Take that back you...you...Sand Monkey!" She snarled, even as he spat at her feet. Reaching up, she grabbed his nose and yanked on it, intending to hurt him.

"You think you're so smart, worm." Worms burrowed in the sand, right? It would work. Bright, jade gemstones caught her attention and they would have been pretty if it hadn't been attached to someone ugly. "No amount of gems gonna make you pretty. You're gonna be an ugly sand squirmer the rest of your life."

[King of Cats]

What Tsumi said to Seiji really got his goat. The boy immediately gasped and took a step back, bumping into the wall he had been trying to climb. "You dare!"r He cried out in disbelief. He had never been compared to a monkey in such an obtuse way. The boy could have fainted.

After taking a second to absorb what he ears had heard, Seiji balled his fists up. "I'll beat ur..- I'll kick ur BUM!" Seiji twitched, he wasn't used to cursing, so saying bum to a girl really bothered him. The boy stuck his balled up fists in the air and crouched kind of low. "Let's go!" He charged forward as if he was going to tackle the little girl.

[zory_alechiv]

Tsumi

Behind her hood, Tsumi raised her pale eyebrows. She wasn't sure what he had been about to say, but it didn't seem to matter as the boy crouched low. A fight? Oh now this was turning into more fun than she anticipated. The blond grins behind her face cover and crouches down as well, hands balled into fist before her.

"Yea? Think you can worm?" The Iwa child crouches as well before pushing off with her feet to meet him head on. A small ripple of a laugh escapes but before she can take a step, an arm around her waist picks her up and lifts her high in the air. "Let me go!" She kicks like she's still running, but the hold is relentless.

"TSUMUGI SHOSHIKI!" Her mother barks and the blond girl stills, going limp in her mother's arms. She winces, eyes slipping shut because she already knows she's in trouble just by that tone.

"MOM! It's not my fault! That Sand-worm started it!" Tsumi flails, pointing a small hand at the other boy. Instead of turning to him though, the woman pops her daughter in her mouth, her Henrin eyes flashing in anger towards her daughter.

"You will not call him that. Now apologize!"

Tsumi glares balefully up at her mom and crosses her arms before making a dramatic showing of sealing her mouth. She wouldn't.

[King of Cats]

Young Seiji dove into a crate, Tsumugi's mother pulling her from his trajectory. "Yow!" He cried out and rolled around on the ground. After a moment of crying, he got to his feet and looked at Tsumugi's mother holding the little girl. "HMPPGH!" He snorted and crossed his thing arms. Seiji was quite upset that he collided with that very hard, wooden barrel.

Tsumugi was lifted into the air and refused to apologize to Seiji. Well, he wasn't going to apologize either. though, he did feel a strong urge to coming from this woman. Seiji tried not to look Tsumugi's mother in the eyes, and he stared at the hoisted toddler. "I'm Seiji Kouseki, ye bum. I hope we never meet again!" Seiji's voice rose into a shout, and then he quickly dashed off before anyone could say anything to him. The young boy was filled with anger, and there was something else about Tsumugi that just drove him crazy. The green-lipped, future ninja couldn't help but think of Tsumugi as he ran back toward his mom. She had learned from his running off in the past, if she stayed where she wass he was sure to return, a trait he shared with his father.