Kinaga sat by the edge of a river, his twin blades laying next to him. Looking up at the sky, Kinaga laid back and crossed his arms behind his head. It was actually a pretty nice day out. Closing his eyes, he dozed off for about twenty minutes before waking up to the sound of someone's voice.

Rumiko walked through the open only stopping every now and then to check his surroundings. These past few days had been weird. Orochi and Lucky had come into the village and requested that during a war that everyne but themselves evacuated. Then some guy had been sighted around the vallies. "Man, I hate politics," he said. Then he saw Kinaga. "Hey sensei," he said.

Kinaga blinked a couple times to wake himself up, trying to figure out who's voice it was that he heard. Sitting up, Kinaga stretched and looked behind him. "Rumiko?" he said, blinking a few times in shock. He hadn't really expected to see Rumiko around. "Uh, hey, what's up?" He was surprised that Rumiko didn't hate him after what happened in the war. Kinaga remembered when Rumiko first became his student, he used to say that he hated Kinaga quite often. Things've really changed, he thought a little sadly.

Rumiko hadn't forgotten the war, but he didn't like remembering that. He'd lost quite a few friends in that war. "Nothing's up, just taking a break," he said. "How've you been sensei?" He asked. He hadn't seen Kinaga since that day and didn't expect for him to be around the valleys. Guessed he was wrong.

Kinaga smiled as Rumi said he was just taking a break. "Gets tiring being high up, doesn't it?" he asked with a smile. He shrugged when Rumiko asked how he was. "I've been worse," he said, turning back to look at the river, and then to his violin case, which was sitting opposite his swords on his other side. He blinked when he realized something. Ever since the war, he'd been planning on avoiding villages and just living on his own. But the moment he looked back at his violin, he realized that there was one place he'd always be welcome, outcast or not. "How've things been in the vallies since the war?" Kinaga asked, not taking his eyes off his violin case.

Rumiko looked at Kinaga and smiled. "Very," he said. He then looked at Kinaga's violin. He hadn't heard him play in years. "The villages have had worse as well," he said. "Right now everyone is keeping to themselves. We won't really know until the Kage's Meeting," Rumiko said.

Kinaga looked over his shoulder at Rumiko as he said everyone was keeping to themselves for the moment, then looked down. When the vallies didn't communicate correctly, things tended to go very wrong (epic foreshadowing). "I see," he said, his eyes downcast. He wondered if Rumiko suspected the same thing. Regardless, Kinaga looked back at Rumi with a smile. "You have anywhere to be? Cuz you know, you can sit down. I'm not gonna bite," he said with a small laugh.

Rumiko looked at Kinaga as he said that he could sit. "Thanks," he said as took a seat. "So, what do you plan to do now," he asked. Rumiko was feeling useless, like everything was slowly but surely falling apart. He wondered if Kinaga had ever been in one of those situations.

Kinaga gave Rumiko a small smile as he finally sat down. Looking back at the river as the water flowed quickly and splashed against the rocks every now and then. "Well, up until a little while ago I wasn't sure. But I've just decided I might return to the Crested Valley. I lived there a little while before I became a sensei, if you remember. It's one of the few places I might still be welcomed," he said with a small smile.

Rumiko wasn't that happy with Kinaga's answer, but he had no say. And he knew just how much Kinaga liked the Crested Village. And Rumiko wasn't worried about his old sensei not being able to take care of himself because Serenity was there to take care of him. "Sounds like a good idea," he said.

Kinaga looked at Rumiko with a small grin as he said that it sounded like a good idea. He never was very good at saying what he was thinking. Looking back at the river again, Kinaga couldn't help but give a small laugh at a memory that'd just come to him. "Hey Rumi, do you remember our mission to the Crested? That was so long ago, wasn't it?" he said with a glance to Rumiko. He was sure that Rumiko didn't like that Kinaga was moving to the Crested, since it was so far away. "It was when we both still lived in the Stealth Valley."

Rumiko smiled. "I was like twelve then," he said. He remembered alot of what happened back then. He remember most of everything when he was a genin. Those days were crazy, but fun. Rumiko kind of missed those days.

Kinaga laughed. "Yeah, that was back when you were just a little shrimp," he said with a smile. "But now you're even older than I am," he said with a grin. "Well, as far as your body goes anyways," he added with a shrug, then sighed. "Those days were so much more simple." Even with the Mizuraki clan hanging around, he thought silently.

Rumiko grinned. "What do you mean Shrimp?" He asked. He then sighed as Kinaga said those days were even more simplier. "Yeah, they were simplier, but the more complicated it gets, that doesn't make life better though," he said quietly. "Sometimes it takes complex to help us distinguish the difference between reality and nonreality." Because the real life is never simple, we just think it is.

Kinaga grinned as Rumiko asked what did he mean shrimp. "Oh come on, at that age, you were barely up to my chest!" he laughed. Of course he was exagerating, but regardless, it was kinda funny to get Rumiko riled every once in a while. Kinaga shrugged at what Rumiko said next. "True enough. But isn't it okay to sometimes relax in nonreality than to be tense and sad in the real world?" he asked with a smile.

Rumiko smiled. "Was not," he said like a little kid. He then started to laugh and stopped at Kinny's question. "You got that right," he said. "Fantasy is great," he said. "I can't wait until Taco Night," he said. But he doubted it'd happen soon. Not with the war and all.

Kinaga laughed at Rumiko's retaliation. "Whatever you say Rumi," he said with a smile. His smile faded slightly as Rumiko said he couldn't wait til Taco Night. He'd only been to one before, but he wasn't sure he'd be going to this one. "I'm sure the next one'd be fun," he said with a small smile, looking back at the river.

Rumiko smiled. "Sure will be," Rumiko said. "Because I'm coming to get you the moment I get word from Tenkuu," he said with a grin. "I may not remember the way to the Crested, but I know Isaac remembers," he said. Isaac was the pup Rumiko had saved from the streets. But Jaymaru wouldn've approved of him so Kinaga had taken care of the pup for Rumiko. Rumiko sighed. He missed both his brother and sister. One he'd lost to death and the other to a group worse than death.

Kinaga sighed and looked at Rumiko with a smile. "Even if I said I wasn't planning on going to this one, you'd drag me along wouldn't you?" Kinaga looked at Rumiko as he mentioned Isaac and grinned. "You still have him? Huh, I haven't seen him in ages, I wonder how much he's grown," he said, looking up thoughtfully. "I wonder if he remembers this," he said, opening his violin case and taking out the violin and the bow. Standing up, Kinaga started playing the violin, in the hopes that, wherever Isaac was, he'd hear it and come running.

This is the song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Caj4rHkie8

Rumiko shrugged. "Of course," he siad. "Its not a party without you there," he said. He then smiiled. "Yeah, Isaac is still around, he comes around ever now and then." When Kinaga got his violin out Rumiko grinned. All the time he'd been there he was hoping that Kinaga would play. As the music started Rumiko just sat there like a little kid until a bark sounded across the lake and a white dog came running out and hopped on Kinaga.

Kinaga played for a couple minutes, unaware of his surroundings, at least until he heard a loud bark and his concentration was broken as a white dog came and pounced on him, knocking him backwards. Putting his violin down next to him, Kinaga petted Isaac, laughing as the dog kept trying to lick his face. "Hey boy, long time no see," he said, sitting up and petting Isaac. "Man, you've gotten big," he said with a grin.

Rumiko grinned as Kinaga was knocked over. "Guess you don't need a dog whistle," he said laughing. Rumiko then stood up and looked to the lake. This was just like the old days. "Kinaga likes dog drool," Rumiko teased.

Kinaga smiled as Rumiko said that he didn't need a dog whistle. "Nah, he remembers my violin from when he used to live with me," he said with a grin, petting Isaac, who was now sitting on his lap. "Hey, I think you're a little too big for that," he said to Isaac. "You too," he said to Rumiko with a laugh as Rumiko started teasing him.

Rumiko remembered those days. It gave him an excuse to go see Kinaga. Rumiko had always looked up to Kinaga, though he'd never told anyone that. Looking at Isaac he grinned and then shook his head at Kinaga's comment. "Everyone has to have a little fun," he said. "Even if the fun is teasing you."

Kinaga grinned as Rumiko said that everyone had to have a little fun. "Oh really now? Is that so?" he asked with a mischeivious grin. "Well in that case," he said, then petted Isaac. "Get 'em boy," he said, then Isaac jumped off Kinaga's lap to go jump on Rumiko. With a laugh, Kinaga quickly put his violin away so that the dog didn't end up stepping on it, then looked back to Rumiko.