The Reign of Clamu

Mission Info:

Handfuls of reports had been passed around until the village had posted an assignment to handle the wild animal at large. Kannagi couldn't believe her ears when she heard about it, and when she read the assignment in her own hands, she couldn't believe her eyes. The blue haired woman rolled it up delicately into her pouch and got ready to leave her single room studio apartment. She wore a long flowing mauve skirt with black shorts underneath and a neck-high sleeveless black top. Her feet embraced fitted wooden sandals, the perfect sort for traveling across the desert. Kannagi assumed she wouldn't be the only shinobi on this mission but by and large, if anyone was going out on the assignment besides her own self, she had not been informed. Kannagi secured her pouch, medical bag and senbon launcher to her person. She headed to the stables first to find her dear pony Cirilla standing in her stall munching on sweet grass in the shade of the building. Kannagi ran her hand through her blue hair and tousled it with the wind as she called out, "Time to go, girl. We have a mission!" To her dismay, Cirilla didn't budge or even look up. "Come on now, we haven't been working too hard. Let's go," she summoned, gesturing with a hand. Still, the gray mare refused.

After about ten minutes of coaxing, Kannagi was forced to leave her stubborn horse behind and seek out a ride from someone else. A caravan looking for a ilttle protection and help in crossing the desert agreed to swing her by the coast and with her knack for survival, the kunoichi agreed to the terms. The trip took a couple of days but she made it to the coastline without trouble and wished the merchant luck in the rest of his personal journey. She could smell the brine on the air, taking joy in the wind off the sea. It was always windier by the waves and she favored this sort of weather the best. Kannagi walked through the sand dunes, following her nose towards the water. At the top of one of the great dunes, a great gust of wind wrapped around her, throwing her hair and skirt backwards and up into the air. Kannagi stood there, hoping she would have looked heroic, confident, and capable. Plenty of the people she had done missions with had looked down on her and later regretted it, but things always seemed to go better with a good first impression. Where she stood, fighting with the skirt and her hair and the occasional mouthful of sand and dust, Kannagi recalled why she always tied up the front half of her skirt and merely prayed to herself that nobody was here to see her.

WC: 466

Back at the sun village, a trend Kenji hoped wouldn't stick considering how many times he had been here already. Still, he had to admit the people he had met so far were pretty interesting, the ones to pop out the most being Sojiro, Genkumaru and of course the blue beauty herself, Kannagi. So he had to wonder, who was he going to be partnered up for this mission? Of the trio he knew, he was probably rooting for Genkumaru the most, things with Sojiro still felt a bit odd to the one eyed shinobi and while Kenji was no stranger to making a fool of himself, he couldn't be bothered to think of any pick up lines to try on Kannagi.

He still was pleased with himself over his first pick up line, the love at first sight was a solid line and it wasn't his fault some people didn't understand romance. Although even if she didn't know what was love, she at least could spot a joke when it happened and that was more than enough for the lazy shinobi. Alas, he couldn't spend any more time in his thoughts as he quickly seen an all too familiar outline dead ahead and Kenji couldn't help but smirk to himself. The blue beauty herself was currently fighting against the winds to keep herself somewhat decent.

"Well, well, well...." Kenji begun to speak as he approached Kannagi, his smirk growing into a grin and yet he made sure to keep his eyes at her face rather at the fact her skirt was currently doing it's best to fly up and make Kannagi indecent. "Well...." Kenji once again said as he begun to rack his brain for something funny to say, something to flirt with but his mind was currently fighting the urge to look down. "Welp. I give up. I got nothing. You look great." Kenji just gave up and told her she looked great despite the fact her hair was a whirlwind. "And I swear, only half of it is because your skirt is flying up." Kenji joked with a small laugh to himself. "Speaking of which... you got a tie or something to stop that....?" Kenji asked as he turned his gaze away and idly scratched at his cheek, a bit unsure how to go about asking her to ensure her decency.

By the time she heard the familiar voice, her lithe hands had managed to strangle her flowing skirt in front of her body, wrangling it up in her fists until the gale had finally passed by. The woman turned her blue eyes down on Kenji as he climbed the sand dune towards her. Luckily for him, today Kannagi was in a playful mood. She shuffled her skirt over into one hand and threw her now free right hand over her lips in mock surprise. "Oh my..! Is it love at first sight!?" If he could tease her, she would tease him. That was the socially acceptable thing to do, right? Kannagi hadn't ever really made friends in her life, being an outcast in her own family and then being so new and independent in the ranks of the shinobi. Her new friend Genkumaru was a challenge to tease given his emotional seriousness and their difficult missions. This man's easy demeanor gave the impression he possessed a sense of humor, so she lowered her hand, cocking her hip to the side with a smile. "So you must be here for the wild animal attack, too. Shall we join forces.... Kenji, was it?"

She directed her attention to the skirt, with her back now to the wind it was much easier to handle. She knotted it twice at her hips, giving it a look of an asymmetric high-low skirt. Kenji might have thought he would have seen something more, but her tight black shorts gave the obvious reason for why she felt no need to be embarrassed in this situation. "I got it, now. Hopefully my indecency isn't too distracting. I hear the wild animal is a real threat." After a pause, she turned to look down at the beach. It looked pretty vacant from up here but perhaps a closer look would help them to find or track this creature. The report, she had noted, declined to indicate what the animal was. A shark? A hungry coyote? A man covered in sea weed trying to scare beach goers away in order to cover up his illegal pearl operation? The last one was ludicrous of course, but then again, shinobi had to be prepared for anything.

She started down the dune and headed for the flat sandy beach itself. "I hope you're not one of those guys who thinks women are wrong for field experience. I want you to know I am very capable and doubting me out loud," She glanced at him, a strange dark look in her eyes, "Well it hasn't looked pretty for those who have tried it." She suddenly smiled then, almost uncanny to see, and looked around the beach, assessing it with her eyes. She could see nothing wrong at first, sighing softly to herself as another gust of wind billowed her skirt behind her.

WC: 460

Kenji couldn't help but grin as the blue beauty made a call back to his first pick up line, how she was able to resist such honeyed words were beyond him but the fact she could joke about it made it worth it. And then she couldn't quite remember his name and he felt his soul leave his body for the second time since meeting her. "Ow. You really know how to hurt a guy, you know that?" Kenji told her as he placed his right hand against his heart and feigned pain in his chest while he threw his head back dramatically. "But hey, at least you kinda remembered me. Kenji Haruka, still at your service." Kenji reminded Kannagi and once again attempted his one eyed wink, otherwise known as a blink for Kenji.

Kenji only paused for a second as he thought about it and silently cursed his lack of a second eye, just imagine all the winks he could be giving to all these ladies. "That.. That was supposed to be a wink by the way." Kenji clarified as he scratched at his cheek once more and looked away with a feeling of awkwardness over him. Thankfully as he looked away, she had managed to tie up her skirt and even seemed to make what Kenji could only assume to be a joke about her skirt being prone to flying up and potentially revealing things that Kenji was pretty sure would cost him his eye if he saw without permission. "It's less the indecency and more the concern of losing my eye." Kenji retorted with a simple shrug as he turned his attention to the beach, wondering just what exactly they were going to hunt here.

Before he could even question his companion about what they'd be hunting, she begun walking forward and gave the one eyed shinobi a warning about not looking down at her and Kenji's right hand formed into a fist and his grin faded as he remembered the last time someone gave him a warning. A fist that became unfurled as quickly as it came as Kenji reminded himself, this was probably just a girl who had bad experiences and not some careless crime lord in hiding. "In terms of combat and abilities, I don't really care what's in your pants." Kenji replied with a shrug as he followed along, a grin once again taking place as if nothing had happened. "When it comes to the bedroom however..." Kenji trailed off with a slight laugh to himself, attempting to keep things in a more casual matter.

Kannagi smirked as he replied to her. She couldn't tell if he was a genuine womanizer by his words, the posturing and wink failure were too comedic to give the words much strength. She eyed him carefully. Was he teasing her? Was he... flirting? She cleared her throat and straightened her back, shaking her head side to side with a nervous tone, "Might want to work on that wink, Haruka." Kannagi hoped he would see that as a joke also and added, "I don't know if you would look as good wearing two of those eye patches." The blue haired kunoichi had already been half way down the dune before glancing back. She thought she might have seen him curl his fingers into a fist, but then his hands were relaxed as ever upon the second glance. Maybe he was preparing for battle, or just working out some stress. He didn't look angry or aggressive to her now.

It sounded at the least that although his mind was consistently detoured by what sat between his legs he didn't doubt her capabilities as a shinobi. His interest in her bedroom activities made her flush brightly. Kannagi faced the dune once more as she continued until they were upon the beach. She felt tense then, and awkward. She hadn't dated nor seen the point in it. A relationship was a mutually beneficial symbiosis of sorts, benefiting the two involved or the community at large. What she could or could not do behind closed doors could not have been known to him, but she had no experience in such things. Teasing was one thing she could handle, address, even return when she was feeling light-hearted. If his direct interests only mirrored his juvenile sense of humor, then she had nothing to fear. A quick slap on the back of his head might bring him into a more respectful state, but it could also cause more problems than it was worth. If his interests were more serious, well, she didn't want to think about dealing with that. There was no training or reference guide in such situations to fall back on and Kannagi had no desire to look like a lost fool.

She wet her lips and pretended not to hear Kenji then, decidedly her best option. She tasted the brine and stretched her shoulders back comfortably. Her sandals slid off beside the dune and she left them there purposefully to feel the burning sands turn into a cooling surface besides the incoming tide. The frothy water ran over her feet and she squinted towards the dunes, back the way they had come. "I don't see any tracks. If it were coyotes or a pack of wild animals, there should be signs of life to prove such." The shore seemed to lack the usual broken shells and hermit crabs. If it was a shark, she assumed the village would have just said so blatantly. Sharks weren't that uncommon. "What wild animal leaves no tracks?" With her back to the sea, she asked Kenji this, one hand on her hip.

Now Kenji was used to many reactions to his more perverse jokes, ranging from slaps and punches to laughter and some times it wasn't even just an awkward or pity laugh too. So when he saw the blush cross the blue beauty's face and her following silence, he made note of it and told himself to refrain from such direct jokes without at least clarifying this was all in good fun. Unless of course she was just one of those people who can't quite handle the bedroom dance so to speak. Eh, he'll find out eventually for now it seemed it was time for him to get somewhat serious and help her figure out what could be attacking people and not leaving tracks behind.

"Hurm. Animal likely resides in the ocean and comes out for it's attack... But what sea creature comes out of the ocean to hunt? Unless defending territory? Possible but what sea creature could be this territorial to attack creatures on land?" Kenji begun to think out loud to himself as he rubbed his chin and squatted down to look closer into the ocean and around the sand, looking for any sort of clue of what could be doing this. He couldn't see anything however, sand was wet and no unique trail could be found in the sand that wasn't washed up, adding more weight to his sea animal attacking yet he couldn't quite think of any sea creature that would come onto land.

"Maybe Scrump that ended up here?" Kenji questioned as he remembered reading about the fish with legs that bared dangerous set of teeth and could be found residing in shallow waters. "But native to other side of the world... Unlikely to have made the trip unless released intentionally but even then, doubt it could survive long enough to become this big of a problem." Kenji however quickly shot down his own idea as he remembered they preferred the swampy lands and last he recalled, swamps were very different from the sea before them and even if it was released here on purpose, he was almost certain a shark would make quick work of it before it could establish itself as a threat here. "But what else could reside in the water and come to land? Crabs?" Kenji questioned as his eye kept scanning the sand, when he saw a shift in the sand and what appeared to be a small worm was currently digging around in the sand. Right, could be underground threat too.

"Also possible animal lives underground, any evidence lost from wind shifting the loose sand or simply washed up by waves..." Kenji informed his partner as he picked up some loose sand a fair distance away from the worm and let it flow from his grasp and back to where it belongs. "Could be silvers, little buggers are everywhere and could be dangerous in big enough crowds or if grew big enough." Kenji pointed out as he thought about it, he personally never had to fight any before nor did he know for certain if they could even live near the sea but it was a possibility he had to keep in mind, although as he thought about it, one creature sprang to mind, one that he hoped he was wrong about. "Could also be possible that a spire viper decided to set up camp here... Plenty of water and enough visitors to keep it well fed and hydrated..." Kenji spoke as he recalled the horrors of the learning there was a giant snake just waiting out here somewhere in the desert, capable of popping out of the ground and either eating the puppeteer whole in one swell swoop or just crush him with relative ease.

"Sorry." Kenji suddenly snapped himself out of his own thoughts as he realized just how long he has been talking and not even trying to take input from the local shinobi who probably knew this area far more than any fancy book he could ever find. "You're from here, aren't you? You probably have a better idea of what to expect than me." Kenji simply told his female companion as he got back up to his feet and stretched a bit, letting out a yawn as he did so. "Say, about earlier... If I made you uncomfortable, you'd let me know right?" Kenji decided now was the best time to at least make sure the blue beauty was feeling fine about all his stupid flirting.

Kannagi waved a hand around in the air and returned, "I am from a little bit of everywhere out here. I traveled a lot growing up. I must admit I am still puzzled over the rumored attacks though." The blue haired woman listened as he walked himself through the puzzle on his own. He questioned everything, bringing up ideas without shooting them down. It left them with a list of suspects, no evidence and no animal to stop. Kannagi itched her neck and then stepped forward to Kenji as he wandered around. "Your comments don't bother me. Unless you actually insinuate I am lesser or insult me, you have nothing to fear from me. I am direct and honest." She gave him a genuine smile so he would know he could believe her, but it usually took more than words to convince others. After the way she had handled so many missions, Kannagi wouldn't be surprised if her temper was more renown than her honesty. It wasn't something she had to think about for long.

Rising up from the ocean behind her in a massive wave came the beast. The water drew away from the shore and upwards, suggesting this creature itself might have some ability to use water jutsu, unless it was just the pure size of the thing. It was intimidating either way. It opened its maw past a ninety degree angle and let out a fearsome roar, spraying Kannagi and Kenji both in water. The kunoichi turned with her blue eyes as big as saucers, staring up at the clam. It was the size of a single story cafe! It's mouth was enormous and pink, its shell grey with dark red stains around the edges, alluding to a violent history with beach goers. "I think we found our culprit," Kannagi shouted, taking a few steps back and away from the clam. She remembered seeing somewhere in a tapestry or painted vase the design of a monstrous sized clam in the ocean known as Clamu. Her family had even described it as mythos, using it to scare children into obeying parents while visiting the dangerous coast. Kannagi couldn't believe her own eyes that Clamu the great was a real creature.

"Right, right..." Kenji would simply mutter as he kept looking around for any clue of what could be doing this and still seeing nothing. At least he didn't have to worry about making her uncomfortable or upset, otherwise this would've been a very long and awkward mission as they look for the animal that was probably better at hiding it's tracks than even regular shinobi were honestly. Although that when he heard it, what sounded to be a rather large wave but as he looked toward the source, he was surprised to see some sort of figure emerging from the sea, slowly but surely it was taking a larger and larger shape and pushing more water away from the huge figure.

"Is... Is tha-" Kenji tried to question what he was seeing when the creature suddenly opened it's mouth and let out a loud roar that splashed water into the mouth of the puppeteer, causing him to stop and shield his mouth as he coughed out the disgusting water that was forced into his mouth. "I'm going to eat that stupid thing out of spite." Kenji muttered to himself as he wiped his face clean from the water dripping from him as he jumped back to stay with his partner. "Hope you aren't one for area attacks cause I'm sending in Lingchi and last thing I need is a fireball hitting him from behind." Kenji told the blue beauty as he dug into his pocket and retrieved the paper containing the seal for Lingchi and flicked it out in front of the duo before performing the hand seals to unleash his puppet once more.

With a puff of smoke, Lingchi appeared before the duo in a sitting position and in his usual clothing of a torn up cloak, black pants, shinobi sandals and of course it's face mask up, only revealing the puppet's eyes to the world. "Lingchi, you remember the blue beauty Kannagi?" Kenji asked his puppet companion with a small smirk as he connected his strings to the puppet and made it nod it's head. "Good, because we're going to show her the power of a puppet!" Kenji told his companion with his smirk growing into a grin before he picked his puppet and immediately sent the puppet rushing forward toward the clam.

Who promptly shot out a stream of water right at the puppet and puppeteer, sending the duo flying back at the sheer force of the water and knocking them into the ground, Lingchi's cloak covering the creation and creator in a soggy blanket and making Kenji question his life choices leading to this point as he refused to get up for a few seconds out of shame. Hopefully Kannagi had a better plan than theirs.

The water that came down from behind her soaked her entire body until what little she was wearing clung to her, the shorts and top unaffected but her long flowing skirt sopping and sticking to her legs. She wasn't going to be weighed down or tripped up by her clothing so she removed the skirt and tossed it backward to the sand on the beach. "You won't have to worry about fireballs, Lingchi," Kannagi confirmed quickly, taking the fight all too seriously. His declaration of consuming the large clam when they were done made her laugh heartily though and the kunoichi allowed Kenji to make the first strike while she prepared for the second.

She kicked off her sandals while she was at it. She quickly made for herself large wings out of paper upon her back and drew her body up five meters into the air above the beach. She breathed hard and wiped the water upon her face, seeing the puppet and her partner drenched and toppled over. She shook her head at them and called down, "You're okay aren't you? Need my help?" She chuckled after and drew her arms back, completing another jutsu while in the air. Three blades of wind were launched down at the clam. The first hit the clam's soft pink mouth. Instantly, the shell closed and the other two hit the outer shell. They left thin deep cuts but the shell was so strong it would need a solid hit now to break it. Her two strikes of wind landed like a 'V' patter in the front center of the clam. A good enough hit there would give the clam a great weakness to further attacks. "Get up already! Show me your puppet power, Kenji!"

Left in the darkness with nothing but his shame and Lingchi, Kenji could only wonder how clam would taste like or how one would even go about cooking one, he never thought he'd eat clam but he never thought he'd have to taste clammy sea water shot into his mouth so looks like he'd be trying two new things today. His thought process was interrupted from the sounds of an oddly far away Kannagi calling for him to get up and show off his "puppet power" whatever that was. Sighing, Kenji unwrapped himself from the wet cocoon and brought Lingchi up once more, looking toward where he last seen Kannagi who probably had done something as he questioned life.

What he wasn't expecting to see was her skirt laying there now abandoned and an oddly Kannagi shaped shadow with wings on the ground where the blue beauty once stood, so Kenji quickly looked up to the skies and saw Kannagi appearing to have sprouted wings. "Huh." Kenji simply said out loud in surprised at that ability. Flying would be pretty cool... Wonder if she would give him a piggy back ride? Questions for later, right now he needed to secure his lunch, so the puppeteer quickly once again sent Lingchi out, running side by side with the puppet as he took out a kunai, planning on trying to use Lingchi's tail blade and fingers to pry the mouth open while he jumps in and goes wild inside it's mouth but he noticed a rather odd shaped V that wasn't there before. That would work too.

"Good work Kannagi!" Kenji called out to his apparently flying companion as moved Lingchi in front of himself and made the puppet crouch low and come closer to the puppeteer, who immediately used the puppet's back a boost to increase his height as he jumped high into the air with his puppet. The wind rushing pass Lingchi would push the cloak up and reveal Kenji's plan, the once hidden tail blade now out in the open and ready to be impaled directly into the clam's weak spot. Kenji could only grin as he readied himself to land on top of Lingchi, hoping the extra weight will allow the puppet's tail blade to not only break the top of the shell but the bottom as well.

The sound of the clam's shell breaking rang out for just a few seconds before it was replaced by the pained roar of the clam as it immediately opened it's mouth once again and sent the puppet and puppeteer flying away once again, this time however Kenji sent his puppet away from himself in fear of the not-so-hidden tail blade was flying behind the puppet. Landing into the shallow waters, Kenji sat up and let out a small weak stream of water pour out of his mouth as he moved his wet hair out of his eye. "I really fucking hate this clam." Kenji said to no one in particular as he frowned.

Kannagi remained up in the air as Kenji and his puppet took the lead in the next round of attacks. His moves were well aimed and well done. The clam's shell definitely broke, judging by the loud cracking sound. It burst its shell open wide and roared. Kannagi got out of the way of the water spray this time but Kenji had not been so fortunate. Kannagi had a few options to play with but with the clam's mouth so wide and the creature being in such obvious pain, there was really only one thing she could do to make this quick for the clam. "Sorry about this, I never... well. May the spirits bring you to rest, Clamu." Kannagi spoke loud enough for the clam to hear. It felt right that she give him some sort of name. Names helped tie identities to bodies to spirits. If she was about to end this, she had to do what she could for the clam, as silly as it sounded.

It wasn't that Kannagi had felt guilty over it, just that based on how she was raised when it came to death, it was the proper thing to do. As soon as she finished speaking, she let the papers of her wings become rigid as blades. The wings released all of the papers, formed as small shikigami, and they soared down in a swirling swarm into the mouth of the clam. Each tiny paper shikigami sliced and diced, cutting through the soft tissue inside of the clam until it was a shredded shell filled with dead clam meat. With her wings gone, Kannagi fell from the air fast. She braced herself and landed on her feet in a crouch and one hand. She got back up to her feet and pointed at the clam. "You said you wanted to eat it? Mind if we cook it first?"

Kenji watched as the the blue beauty spoke some final words to the clam known as Clamu before she sent all the paper that was used for her wings right into the clam, presumably cutting it apart quickly as it barely had time to react before it stopped moving and Kenji had no real emotion on his face as the clam died. He still didn't like killing animals, even ones that deserved it but at least it was fairly quick and relatively painless for the creature, meaning the job was officially and done and Kenji could go home. After drying his clothing that was now soaking wet thanks to clam that not only spit all over him but threw him into the ocean. At least the ocean probably cleaned him a bit.

Sighing, Kenji stood back up and brought Lingchi close to him as the duo begun to approach the blue beauty waiting for them at the shore, having gotten away from this entire ordeal a lot drier than Kenji had but considering she could apparently fly, it was to be expected. "Nothing like a nice barbecue at a sunny beach..." Kenji simply shrugged out an answer to Kannagi's question about cooking the clam, but then he had to wonder two important things. "Wait... How do you even cook clam and do we even have the supplies to cook it here?" Kenji would question as he looked toward the fairly large creature, a single look and Kenji knew he wasn't about to be hauling that thing back to the sun village any time soon.

"I didn't really think we'd be eating what we killed out here so didn't bring much but my usual gear." Kenji further clarified as he sat down on the sand of the beach, letting Lingchi fall to his side as he let the puppet lean on him. "And if we're taking some meat back, Lingchi can probably carry a fair chunk but not exactly keen on stuffing clam meat into him." Kenji told Kannagi as he looked up at her, a bit tired and feeling lazier than usual.

Kannagi looked at the tired and wet man and his puppet for a moment. The afternoon was slowly starting to fade, she could see the dip in the arc of the sun, suggesting in a few hours it would be time for dusk. The blue haired woman considered her skills from her family and all that she learned with the Irezumi to survive as a nomad. She still kept plenty of their traditions and ideals but she never really outed herself as a former Irezumi to those around her. Explaining the secret details of her history and her family were likely to be too emotionally painful for her. Still, as she looked upon the drenched Kenji and Lingchi, seeing tiredness upon his face, a sigh left her. She would risk him finding out but a decent meal before journeying back to Nikkousato was a genuinely good idea. She patted her hands together, wiping off invisible dirt and asked, "Can you start us a fire? I shall need little help but I can prepare us a meal out of this right here on the beach."

He would have to hunt for firewood, sticks, maybe some grasses first. Digging a little pit to keep the fire sheltered from wind was also wise, but Kannagi  had no intention of telling Kenji how to do what she had asked him to do. For all she knew, he could use katon and it would be a waste of breath to suggest otherwise. Kannagi looked the giant broken clam up and down and pursed her lips, exhaling through her nose. Cleaning it up was going to be the worst part. Perhaps another job for Kenji, then. Yet, there were no pots in her arsenal large enough to fully complete the job either way. Because Cirilla had decided to not go with her this morning, she lacked plenty of her usual supplies, things a nomadic woman wouldn't ever go without, but that only made the meal a challenge. Kannagi was up for a challenge.

She pulled out several small scrolls and unsealed from them an array of items: a pair of stone bowls, a large pot and pan, and a bottle of oil. She didn't like the look of how boring her mental recipe might turn out and so she approached the clam warily and looked it over, side to side first. It had been a very active clam, and such powerful water jutsu likely rid it of sand and grit in the first place. She decided right then that she would skip the hardest part of preparing the clam. Kannagi turned to look at the dunes, clumps of greenery between the rocks called out to her herb-senses and the knowledge her mother bestowed upon her was put to good use. While Kenji hopefully sorted out a fire for them, Kannagi set off on foot to the dunes to collect any herbs or plants she might find useful. When she returned to the beach with a big smile on her face, it would be evident that within the pot in her hands she had found green onions, parsley, and several large tomatoes. It was not by far enough to cook the massive Clamu, but it would be enough to serve them up a decent meal at the least. The woman brushed sweat from her brow and addressed Kenji, "If you're done with that fire, I'd like for you and Lingchi to go collect the meat from Clamu. You can use my pot if you need to, but try not to get any sandy pieces, or anything with shell directly attached. Can you do that?"

The woman would lay out her items upon the beach sand and pass him the pot if he wanted to use it, her mind already working to the next step.

Kenji could only raise his eye in slight surprise as the blue beauty sighed and asked if he can build them a fire, something he had some experience in thanks to his time travelling in the mountains with Sojiro and the others. "Not a problem." Kenji simply said as he let Lingchi fall to the sand and he got up, stretching slightly as he let out a yawn, a day of travelling just to be thrown around by a clam for a few minutes could really make a man tired apparently. He'd chose to leave the puppet laying there and instead walk inward to land, hoping to find some decent branches and dry grass to get the fire started.

Walking around in the more drier areas of land, Kenji would begin to cut some branches off some nearby bushes, awfully familiar looking bushes at that... Wasn't this where he changed into his beach attire? Speaking of which, he wished he had other clothes, his was currently sticking to him uncomfortable and still dripping wet, rather uncomfortable for the man. Unlike Kannagi however, he couldn't exactly just throw the more clingy part of his clothing away and could only wish for death to have claimed him as he slowly sawed off branches with a kunai. After a few minutes of cutting some branches and picking some dry grass, Kenji returned and was surprised to see a small dining set up was already prepared. Didn't think she would be carrying so much stuff with her, he rarely packed this much stuff even while travelling.

Regardless, he went to work on the fire, digging a small pit into the sand and gathering some rocks, this was probably his first time building a fire in sand but he figured some stones around the fire would probably still be a good idea. With his circle complete and materials set up, Kenji would begin retrieve a single flint piece from Lingchi's interior and get to work on striking his kunai against the mineral, creating sparks and getting a small fire going that would grow in time.

Which seemed to be the perfect time as Kannagi returned with some vegetables of sorts, Kenji being surprised she would find some so quickly in a desert of all places. "Well aren't you a natural at harvesting." Kenji would comment with a grin as he sat back at his little fire, enjoying the heat and getting his clothes dry. Which he wouldn't be able to for very long as she requested for him to begin gathering some clam meat, which Kenji only sighed at. "This clam better be worth it." Kenji muttered as he got up once more and brought Lingchi with him. "Thank you for this by the way Kannagi, didn't think you'd take me serious about eating it honestly..." Kenji would thank the blue beauty as he walked by her, his chakra strings making Lingchi follow along who would gracefully reach out for the pot and take it gently from the woman.

He'd climb up onto the edge of the clam's mouth and simply let Lingchi do the hard work as he sat down and ensured Lingchi was grabbing the right pieces, it's finger knives letting it simply grab and cut away at the parts that looked clean. "Say, how much am I grabbing here? Fill the pot or half way or what's the deal?" Kenji would question as he kept making Lingchi put some clumps of clam meat into the pot. Upon getting his answer, he'd simply get Lingchi to fill the amount before stepping down and making Lingchi carry the pot back, offering it to the blue beauty as Kenji returned once more to the fire. "Anything else I should do?" Kenji questioned as he sat back once more and enjoyed the fire for however long he could.

Kannagi gave Kenji a shrug, "Thanks. I've spent a lot of time out here so I think I just have the eye for it, you know?" She started looking over the various plants she had collected as Kenji and his puppet began to make their move. The fire looked good, the stones around it a nice homey touch. If she didn't know better, Kannagi might have thought he had some Irezumi skills as well. "Half a pot should be enough for us. I don't think we have enough material to make the rest taste half as good," she answered as she passed the pot up to him. He took it gently and then went out to the clam to get the meat. Kannagi meanwhile, would take the plants to the sea and rinse them, making sure the sand was gone. In the flat pan, she poured some oil and rotated it around with slow tilts of her wrists until the entire thing glistened in the sun. She used a kunai to slice up the green onions and tomatoes, tossing the stems and roots into the fire as fuel. Her hands weren't resistant to fire but she put the pan upon the rocks beside the flames. It was enough to heat the pan and get the oil bubbling. With her addition of onions, tomatoes, and parsley, a fresh vegetable aroma wafted over the beach and blended with the salty smell of the water.

As her partner returned with the pot of meat, Kannagi looked it over. She lifted a couple of pieces and rubbed them between her fingers and then gave it a nod that would otherwise be all too serious for just cooking a meal on the beach. Her guess was right; the clam's own water attacks had thoroughly rinsed itself of sand and grit and she wouldn't need to spend time soaking the meat in salt water or boiling the meat up. It was perfectly primed for what she had planned. "Smell good?" She asked Kenji, "I don't think you need to do anything else but enjoy the wait here by the fire. Which, by the way, you have done an exceptional job preparing." Kannagi's hands moved in a practiced manner, placing the pieces of clam between the vegetables and using the tip of a kunai to stir them about. The clam would soak up the fatty oil and flavors and emit a powerful scent even before she started cooking. Still, her hands would be too tender to cook for a long period of time without protection. Kannagi got up to reclaim her skirt from the sand, still a little damp, and wrap it around one hand before lifting up the pan and placing it back over the fire. The bubbling little clams wouldn't take more than a few minutes to cook and she wore a proud smirk. She hadn't actually thought the meal would turn out this well but luck and a partner to share the work with had given the food a life of its own. "I never would have thought of cooking it on my own. My mother always said not to waste good meat though and now we won't need to worry about feeling hungry on our way back to Nikkousato."

As Kenji relaxed by the fire, he laid back and looked at the sunset, watching the waves gently crash against the shore and he let out a small sigh of content. He missed days like these, just sitting back and relaxing but lately he had been so busy he didn't even find time to do this anymore, almost every day was a mission to go out and hunt an animal, head home to the barracks and then repeat. If not that, some puppetry work or rarely some swordsmanship but never just time off for himself as of late, he was having more trouble just finding the time to unwind.

The addition of someone cooking for him was something strangely new for the one eyed man, he never got the chance to just sit back to himself and know food would be waiting for him. Of all things, the blue beauty even thanked him for the little amount of work he done compared to her, Kenji only shook his head as he looked toward her. "You're the one doing the cooking, all I did was grab some sticks and some meat. Hell, you're the one to even kill the clam too." Kenji simply responded with a shrug as he watched her cook for a bit, wondering just what exactly some of those things were. He knew how to harvest some food of course, but the leek looking plant and bushy plant weren't exactly something he dealt with on a regular basis.

His own interest broken once the blue beauty admitted she probably wouldn't have tried to eat the clam despite her mother telling her not to waste good meat and Kenji could only laugh slightly at that. "I hear ya, my dad would've smacked me if he found out I let this giant clam go to waste..." Kenji would say with some fondness in his voice that slightly dipped at the end as he looked back out into the sea, a soft smile on his face. "Man, I love sunsets..." Kenji would state a bit half mindlessly as he recalled the times he spent with his father just watching the sunset after a hard day of training.

Kannagi served the clams into the two bowls pausing once she heard him address his father's proclivities. "I can set some aside for you to bring home to your father, if you like. The clam was certainly large enough for their to be extra," She gave him a grin and passed to him a warm bowl and a spoon. She took her own bowl in her hands and sat up straight, admiring the beach and the sunset's orange reflection on the water. The fire beside her kept the chilly breeze off the water and the local insects at bay without marring the magnificent sight. It was true, this sunset was a lovely one.

She consumed some of the clams, preferring to drink from the bowl like it was a soup. Kannagi didn't actually enjoy eating clams, but protein and energy were important and she wasn't going to fuss in front of Kenji. Drinking the clams down was easier than needing to chew each individual piece and the expected grit of a clam was replaced with the delicious flavor of the plants she had gathered. It made the meal slightly more than bearable to the kunoichi. She glanced over at Kenji, hoping he was enjoying it at the least. "Sunsets are quite beautiful," She agreed with a nod, "I prefer sunrises. It's like the same thing, but after a long dark night, a sunrise is the promise of a new day and an end to that darkness."

As Kannagi handed Kenji his bowl of the clam, she asked a rather particular question that he probably should've seen coming truth be told but the peace he had felt let him lower his guard ever so slightly. His own mistake but it wasn't too big of a deal, his parents were dead for a long time and not like every mention of them was going to get the man down, still he didn't want to ruin the atmosphere just yet so he followed the blue beauty's lead and begun to eat the clam as well.

Almost immediately he knew he wasn't going to enjoy this meal, almost as if the clam was spiting him one last time by having the audacity to taste this bad. Which only fueled his own spite further as he begun to eat more of the funky tasting clam, thankfully the other flavors that Kannagi had went out made it more tolerable, he was going to eat this clam just to spite it even if it wasn't particularly good. He only stopped eating once Kannagi agreed with him about sunsets, before throwing in her two cents about sun rises and truthfully Kenji never quite thought about it that way before. "Huh... That's actually quite comforting to think of it like that..." Kenji muttered mostly to himself before realizing he had yet to even answer the blue beauty's earlier question.

"Oh and about packing some extra food for my father.... Uh, he's not around anymore..." Kenji would awkwardly inform her, uncertain how to go about it since he never really had to tell anyone his parents were dead before. A bit of a surprise now that he thought about it, he couldn't even recall the last time he told someone his parents were dead. "And before you ask, same for my mother." Kenji could only add in with a slight laugh to himself as he tried to maintain the light atmosphere yet he couldn't quite figure out a way to make a joke about it. Instead, he only felt more awkward about this.

Kannagi drank more of the clammy soup down and closed her eyes to hide her thoughts of the meal. Food is food, energy is energy. She would not waste that. She exhaled deeply and then found herself in the middle of a yawn. Quickly, she covered her mouth and then set her empty bowl to the side. The sun sank down ever lower and she was quiet for a bit, thinking over what Kenji had said. If his parents weren't around, that could mean he was similar to her. Maybe he left them or maybe they were on some extended trip or mission. The more she considered it, watching the sun setting over the waves the more sure she became in her understanding. They had passed on to the land of the dead, and when the blue haired woman stole a glance at the man and perceived his awkward expression he only confirmed what she believed. People were always so uncomfortable about death. She rubbed her arms as a breeze brought chilly wind to them.

Not desiring to say or do the wrong thing, but comprehending that silence would give the impression that she either hadn't heard or hadn't cared, Kannagi cleared her throat. She spoke without looking at him, nervous that what she might say would cross cultural lines in an inappropriate way. "I wouldn't have wished that clam on your family regardless. I hear in the land of spirits, they can recall the senses of any memory that they choose. I am willing to bet your father would not wish to remember the taste of a meal like this." She smiled gently and rubbed her arms a bit more. "Maybe we should set up a brief camp and rest before traveling back. What do you think?"