A New Dawn || Kisame

Epilogue

"Miss Uchiumi! What's the catch of the day?"

Saburo Island's seaport was busy as usual as the locals made their rounds and continued their daily routines. Pretty soon, commercial ships would start to roll in and business would boom. It had been a year since the disappearances stopped and all the women had been returned to their homes. In a publicly announced freak accident, the Uchiumi clan's head manor had burned to the ground, claiming the lives of the elders and clan leader.

"Miss Uchi- oh you're not..."

There was a small laugh followed by a response. "You can call me Mizuko if it's easier."

The violette smiled brightly as she manned her family's fish stall. She'd only been there a couple of times, which made sense if the villagers mistook her for her sister. After all, this was Nagisa's usual post, but the younger female had gotten a lot better at making sales and easing the burden off her sister's shoulders.

"It's hard to believe you two aren't twins." The customer chuckled softly to themself. As they waited for their order to be wrapped, they looked around before asking. "Is Miss Uchiumi not feeling well today?"

"Quite the contrary." Mizuko laughed. "Everyone needs a small break from work, right? She'll be back in a couple of days."

"Ah, I'm not complaining. Two Saburo jewels are better than one."

Once the customer left, Mizuko cleaned up before wiping her brow. The sun hadn't reached its highest point yet, however it felt like she was sweltering. The stall had plenty of shade so she didn't need to worry about her condition, but getting used to a new schedule was a bit hard for her. How did her sister make working long hours look so easy?

"Need some help, my love?"

"Fuyu!" Mizuko grinned as she noticed her fiance heading towards her. "Are you done with work already?"

Fuyu nodded, having just returned from the morning catch. He knew Mizuko started working more to help her sister since she'd been feeling better, but he didn't want her to overdo it. Heading into the stall, he immediately started assisting her with anything she needed.

"Nagisa went out to sea today." Mizuko smiled as she moved another cooler out of the way. "She seemed like she was in good spirits. Personally, I'm just glad that she's taking a break since she's been working so hard lately."

"Ah, that's right." Fuyu nodded. "We should go ahead and close the shop now. Everything's pretty much sold."

News of Fuyu and Mizuko's engagement came out about half a year ago. The male had returned to Saburo Island upon hearing reports of the devastation and did his best to assist with anything he could. Nagisa invited him to stay on the clan grounds to thank him and the two had a long talk about what went on. It was then that he met Mizuko and the two quickly hit it off. It was Mizuko who had told Nagisa that she loved Fuyu and wanted to marry him. As the clan head, Nagisa agreed, wanting nothing more but her sister's happiness.

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In the middle of the sea, a violette heaved a small net on board that was full of shellfish. Pretty soon, she was going to start cooking a meal as she enjoyed a leisurely day out to sea. Lana had finally finished being repaired so she wanted to sail out as soon as possible. Her sail had been dismantled, however the upgrades outweighed what had been lost and a fresh coat of paint did wonders. Lana was bigger and better than she had ever been.

When her father and the elders passed away in an 'unfortunate accident', Nagisa was immediately thrust into the role of clan head. She'd spent the past year leading, delegating, inspecting, and taking care of her sister. In the beginning, it was hard to keep her clan's morale up while they were mourning as no one was aware of the true dealings behind the leadership of their family. It was a pleasant feeling when the villagers and townspeople expressed their gratitude and offered their help as well. Finally, everyone was starting to move on and get back into the flow of things.