Fishing was not the for the faint of heart. Certainly not when the intended prize was as large as this, heavy but slow moving, like a massive seafaring dinner plate with fins. It had swum close enough to shore for Hattori to take a chunk out of one of its fins, but that's just about all he'd managed to do, doing his best to keep it contained to the shallows. Before it struggled back into the deep, where he would be a fool to follow it. He surfaced with a grimace, ears flicking to the sides, he did not like swimming very much, but an opportunity like this was not to be wasted. It wasn't every day such a large fish came this close to the shore and its meat would be a welcome addition to Tojo's stores, if only he could bring it in.

Exploring Auster had proved, so far, to be quite interesting. Nami had spent long enough sulking around and now that she'd decided she needed to find something to do with herself, she felt like she was seeing the world through a new set of eyes. And what a world it was! She'd never seen anything quite like some of these territories she'd been passing through, and for a water-loving soul like her Auster turning out to be an interesting place to spend… well, however long she ended up here. She hadn't figured that part out yet. If she found more places like this, she'd definitely stay even longer. There was more water than land here, she noted as she moved along the little land bridge. The land seemed to sweep out in a wide circle, capturing water in the middle, though the tide was enough to just barely creep over in some spots. Not enough to make it difficult to traverse though! Hopping over one of the little shallow spots, she paused when she saw something she hadn't expected. An intricately colored wolf was swimming out in the water, looking like he was chasing after something. A meal, she hoped? It'd be easy enough to find out. Without hesitation she waded out after him, letting out a little bark to alert him of her presence. "Need some help?" Whatever he was doing, she was more than willing to tag along, hunt or otherwise. He just had to say the word!

Hattori glanced away from the dark shadow in the water, still treading water as he regarded the newcomer. Her offer of help was a welcome one indeed, he'd been struggling to do this alone and judging from the shark teeth decorating her scarf he imagined she knew a thing or two about fishing such large prey. His pride was not so fragile that he couldn't admit he needed some help, that someone might be better at this than him.

"If you would not mind." He said, raising his head a little, so the waves did not spill over his lips. "I have wounded one of it's fins…but it is harder to bring in than I had anticipated." His frown was a deep one, all furrowed with a slight wrinkle to his muzzle.

He pushed further into the water as the newcomer joined him, cutting the sunfish off as it tried to use the lull of movement to escape deeper into the sea. Dipping beneath the waves once more, he grabbed a hold of its upper dorsal fin once more and attempted to drag it closer to shore. He'd ripped up its caudal fins (aka its hind fins) in order to slow it down but he'd seen them use both of its big fins in tandem to basically fly through the water. This wasn't going to be easy either way.

Nami practically bounced on the pads of her paws as she stood there, her toes sinking into the waterlogged sand as she waited for the stranger to answer her. Of course he was quite preoccupied by the looks of it, but fortunately, he seemed receptive to some help. It was like someone had lit a fire under her, that was how quickly she jumped to action as soon as he showed signs he wanted her help. It didn't matter to her if he needed it or not, she was more than willing to lend a paw, especially when it came to fishing. "Not at all!" She called out, swiftly diving in as quickly as possible. So the sunfish was wounded, which was a start! Paddling out after him, she hardly hesitated to dive into the action. The male wolf was at the rear of the fish so she kicked off beneath it, aiming to grab hold of its lower fin, quite a bit farther beneath the water. It was easy enough to sink her fangs down into it but hard to hold on, and before long her lungs were aching for air. It wasn't like she'd had much practice holding her breath these days. Gasping for air as she surfaced, she noted that her bite had made the fish begin to bleed even more heavily, the blood spreading quickly in the water. Taking in a full breath of air, she dove back down to grab hold of the same fin once again, giving it a firm tug as she tried to backpedal and pull it back closer to shore.

The fish was heavy and with the salt water stinging his eyes, this hunt was not nearly as easy as he had anticipated it to be. He huffed a little as he surfaced, took a moment to watch the blood seep into the water, it would no doubt attract sharks if they took too long. The shore wasn't so far away, but lugging in such an ungainly fish made it feel as though every inch was a mile. He ducked beneath the water again, not wanting for the stranger to do all the heavy lifting but they had seemed to get into a seamless rhythm of one surfacing for air whilst the other remained below, ensuring the fish couldn't swim away. Not that it would get anywhere fast, considering all the damage they had done to it so far.

But with teamwork and persistence they managed to haul it in, just a little further. The water was shallow enough to stand in and Hattori flicked his ears, shaking away the water as he grabbed at the fishes face and with a curve of his spine he dragged it in a little more.

Maybe this is exactly what Nami needed. Something to make her feel alive, like she was really thriving like she always aspired to do, not just getting by and taking things day by day. The thrill of a good hunt on the water had her blood pumping hard. She too knew they'd have to move fast now that blood was spreading throughout the water around them like wildfire, tendrils of color spread around them quickly. The rhythm of them pulling the fish toward the surface, diving beneath the water and resurfacing for air came so naturally to her she hardly had to think about what she was doing. After awhile they finally seemed to be dragging it ashore, a slow but steady process that left her chest heaving hard for air by the time it was safely ashore. They still had awhile to go, especially if he planned to drag it somewhere to feed more than just the two of them, but she wasn't worried about it flopping back into the water now. Not that it had much life left in it, but occasionally it gave a feeble jerk. "Nice... job," Nami finally managed to say, trying to catch her breath. "Going for a fish.... like this, was a bold choice on your own," Nami expressed, sounding impressed rather than chiding. She wondered if he had a family or a pack of his own to feed. Giving him some space, she gave her coat a good hard shake, ridding it of water.

Soaked and needing a moment to regain his strength, Hattori glanced over at the stronger as she spoke. They would need to move it again soon, make work of splitting it evenly since they had both put effort in but for now he was content to leave things as they were, even if for a little while. Hattori sensed no judgment in her tone, nothing that rubbed him the wrong way at least. He had bitten off more than he could chew and was fortunate she had come to assist.

"Perhaps even foolish." He admitted, his ears twitching a little at the thought. "I am not the most proficient at fishing." Kuroo could no doubt out fish him on any day. "But I did not want to let the chance pass me by, better to fail than not try at all."

Regardless of the outcome of their hunt, Nami would be happy even if she got nothing. Some wolves were the type to always weigh what they might get out of a situation, but Nami truly wasn't; she was just happy for a little time spent in the water no matter what came of it. As she caught her breath her smile slowly returned, a goofy sort of grin that seemed like it made a permanent home on her face, even in the worst of times. "Maybe, but that's okay," she assured him with a soft laugh. "Biting off more than I can chew is something I'm very, very familiar with." Her bobbed tail gave a little wiggle, but she decided against sharing her story with him, figuring he probably had better things to do than listen to her ramble on about sharks. He admitted he wasn't the best at fishing and she nodded, understanding. Truthfully most wolves weren't, it seemed, at least not wolves around these parts. "That's okay, there's always room to get better. You're right, it's always better to try and fail," Nami agreed readily, deciding she quite liked this guy. He seemed wise and serious in a comforting way rather than an intimidating one. "I'm Nami, by the way!"

She seemed like a friendly, if not free spirit, nothing like himself but welcome company all the same. He always had an appreciation for those who had specialities that he lacked and from this short hunt alone he could see she was a talented fisherwoman. Perhaps she and Kuroo would be able to bring in a large haul if they worked together.

"Hattori of Tojo-kai." He offered his name and title in return, formality a habit more than anything else. "If I do fish, I tend to use Tojo's fishing grounds." Hence his lack of skill, he supposed. It was all netted off, safe and secure with a rich stock of fish. The waters tended to be calmer there too, struggling against both fish and current had been harder than he had first predicted. "Is this what you do then? Travel the shores in search of chances to learn and improve?" It seemed like a reasonable life, he supposed.

Neither his name nor his pack were familiar to her, but she grinned and nodded just the same at his introduction. She understood his apparent interest in keeping to his pack's claimed lands when it came to fishing, even if that wasn't necessarily her style. "I don't blame you," she said with a nod. Especially if the fish were in good supply, she didn't blame him at all. His question earned a wider grin and a soft laugh. "Yeah, I guess you can look at it like that! I don't really have anywhere that I call home. At least not yet. So I go wherever I feel like," Nami admitted. Settling down wasn't really something she'd found herself interested in yet here, not when she'd originally come here for the sole purpose of running away from her obligations. "But I tend to stay near the water. Fishing kinda feels like what I was born to do, y'know?" Maybe he had something like that in his life, even if he couldn't relate to her specific passion.

Everyone had their calling and it seemed as though Nami had found hers. He was impressed with her work ethic and talent, making him regard this meeting in a way he usually would not: he considered making an offer. Just that, an open invitation she was free to decline or accept, no offence taken either way.

"Tojo could be your home then, or at the very least your base of operations." Right to the point with little fanfare. He had nothing to lose really, but it was worth making an effort to ask, to see where things may go. "We could use someone of your talents."

Nami decided she quite liked this Hattori, though his demeanor seemed considerably different than hers. It wasn't often she met wolves she didn't like though. She was the type to find the good in everyone she met, even if she really had to dig to find it - everyone had good in them, that was something she lived by. The next thing he said when he opened his mouth to speak surprised her. An invitation to his pack. Based on how he'd spoken, it sounded like they lacked good fishers... or at least were in need of more. Tilting her head, she considered his offer for a long moment, furrowed brows proof of just how seriously she was thinking it over. "Would your offer still stand if you knew my intent was not to stay forever?" Nami asked seriously. "In the meantime I'd gladly pull my own weight - tenfold, even," she stressed. If she was anything, it was a hard worker when she set her mind to it, and a damn good fisher. "I have intentions on embarking on an adventure with a friend of mine once we get a group together, but I don't know how long it'll be until then. Could be a week, could be a year!" If he was still interested she'd strongly consider it, but she wanted to be straightforward about her intentions.

Despite its looming bamboo walls, Tojo was no prison. Admittedly, her request seemed a little strange to the Kaicho, but the more he dwelled on it, the more it made sense when looking at things from a perspective closer to Nami's, he imagined. She came and went like the tides, like migratory whales her calling was out there, not rooted so firmly to one spot. She did not seek out stability, a place to call her own like so many of her kin did, she wanted something different and Hattori could respect it, even if he didn't quite agree with her point of view.

"It still stands. My only request is that you keep our secrets." He was not questioning Nami's character. rather he simply felt like this needed to be said, his expectations laid out on the sand.