Peregrination [ Travel ]

[The Heron]

I left Tsuki no Kuni with a better understanding of myself - of where I stood in the world and my inherent weaknesses. I wasn't arrogant enough to believe myself above improvement, but to have them so blatantly displayed... The anger I'd known had receded, but it didn't venture far, boiling beneath the depths of my psyche. I would never forget my anger, nor would I abandon it, and that, was my nindo.

Never forget.

My thoughts carried me, and by extension the entirety of my makeshift 'crew', to the coast of Tsuki no Kuni. The island had been beautiful, but it paled in comparison to the lush, humid jungles of Mizu no Kuni. Kanikei stepped into the water, and just like that, we were off. Though she'd learned to walk frontward, she still swam sideways, using one half of her thick-limbed legs to shot herself through the water. The other half served as steers, angling her body correctly as she shot across the waves. The journey was all but perilous - the water was relatively calm and the sky was equally relaxed. The blue was endless, however, broken sporadically by islands.

I didn't do much speaking, content to sit and watch the horizon. No matter how much ground we covered, it never grew closer...

It was forever out of reach.

[ Move to Mizu no Kuni ]

[/blockquote]

[¤ Lady Raиu ¤]

{Moved to Water}

[The Heron]

Ah... it was just as I'd remembered: perpetually wet and muggy. The environmental conditions served me well, providing the soil needed for my 'plant' to grow - as Kanikei carried us through the undergrowth towards my home, a single Deido Bunshin climbed from the mire behind us, his task simple -

To handle my affairs.

SPOILER: Click to show

Deido Bunshin no Jutsu

[/blockquote]

[The Heron]

The thick, humid conditions only grew the further we went into the heart of Mizu no Kuni. The mushy earth gradually morphed into swampland, and then reverted right back into moderately solid ground. The jungle was loud and repetitive, and that was it's haunting allure - that that was the fiber of the the human fear of the wild.

Without warning, I jumped down from Kanikei's back - she came to a halt in unison, angling herself to better allow Daisuke and Myriam to hear my words.

"I will go to my home and collect the materials needed - Kanikei will take you to Souta in Mashimizu. Tell them that Kawashima Hiromasa has need of the basement and all its facilities. They will admit you."

And with that, I was gone, dipping into the ground at untraceable speeds.

• Iwagakure no Jutsu

[ Exit to Thread ]

[/blockquote]

[¤ Lady Raиu ¤]

{Moved to Mashimizu}

[Captain M]

Myriam would remain sitted upon the large back of Hanikei, her legs crossed as her eyes scanned the horizon. She had wanted to speak with Hiromasa to learn more about the ritual, and to learn more about her new friend, yet Daisuke had been there, and she felt somewhat at odds with him. There had been a few reasons why she had decided to invite him along. She wanted to learn why he had left Iwagakure, and as a Missing-Nin why was he so proud of being a rogue shinobi? Why did he wear his headband without hiding it, was he not afraid to be attacked by other Iwa shinobi? All these questions puzzled the kunoichi. A variety of other questions also made her silent as she wondered about the answers. That awkward feeling that she had felt fighting against Bachiatari, it was as if someone had died. She had no actual real ability to tell her if it was true, but her gut feeling rarely betrayed her. She also wondered about her village. She had never been outside of the village for this long, she was scared that she would love travelling too much, she felt homesick for a second before getting up to her feet as the jungle foliage appeared around her.

With amazed, green optics the kunoichi looked around, she had never seen such vegetation, such fauna. It was beautiful. The kunoichi crossed her arms over her chest and looked into the distance.

''Daisuke, I would rather you not wear your headband, it would attract unwanted attention. We may settle the score between the both of us, if there is a score to settle, after I have aided Hiromasa-kun.'' The kunoichi explained to her masked companion. They were only the two of them by now. And they were approaching the Capital City, Mashimizu. The kunoichi would await a response from the nuke-nin.

[taisuke]

“Settle a score, Godaime?” Naoshin Daisuke laughed quietly, letting it ripple out of him. It had been the right decision to come here; the conversation was endlessly amusing. “That requires that I have some sort of attachment to that village.” He shrugged. “A nice enough place, I suppose, but stagnant.” He shrugged. “No, you might have been the only person there that didn’t bore me, Godaime.” He looked at her for a level moment. It was a question he had to make clear; did she think she could still command him?

Nonetheless, he sighed, undoing the tie of his headband and slipping it quietly into his pouch. He yawned underneath his mask, glancing at her again. It was interesting; what exactly was the ex-Tsuchikage doing? She had earned the position of Chuunin, for sure, but that wasn’t quite all, it seemed. Her skills as a medic were being taken advantage of, as was her kind and compassionate demeanor. No wonder she hadn’t attacked him. He found himself wondering why she wasn’t trying to exterminate him.

“Still… What are you doing here, Godaime?” He grinned slightly, his words light. It was never easy to tell where he was coming from. Was he simply curious, or were his motives deeper? “The Chuunin Exams, perhaps, are understandable. But now you stand on the back of a crab in the capital of Mizu no Kuni, about to assist… Who? Do we know? Do you? Do you know why?” He hoped his questioning would open up her thoughts to him, as well as to herself. “It’s quite an effort to make for this shinobi of whom so little is known…”

[Captain M]

An answer would come from the masked nuke-nin. The kunoichi crossed her arms over her chest, her eyes scanning the features of the other, there were several questions asked about Hiromasa and herself. Was Daisuke worried about her? She doubted that, he had left the village afterall. ''Had you stayed within Iwagakure, maybe you would have been part of what is to come, I doubt it would have bored you.'' The medic whispered with a wink directed towards her interlocutor. With that the kunoichi would jump from the crab's back and would land gracefully upon her feet. Her grace had nothing cat-like, that was reserved to almost every other kunoichi. No, her elegance was similar to a swan, straightening her body, she turned once more towards Daisuke.

''Do we truly need a reason to help people?'' She asked as she grabbed her long, silken curtain of fiery hair and tied it up in a ponytail, only her bangs were left loose, covering her forehead and falling to the side of her face, her green eyes still on Daisuke. ''Maybe I trust too easily. Maybe that is why my stay as Tsuchikage was not as memorable as I would have hoped.'' The kunoichi smiled before softly patting the large crab upon her pincer, thanking her. With that the kunoichi would turn around and run towards Mashimizu's hospital, hopefully Hiromasa would be there soon.

(M Exeunt)

[taisuke]

“Ah, Godaime-sama…” Daisuke sighed, shaking his head at her. “If only you knew.” He shrugged, letting himself dissolve into the essence of pure wind without the slightest effort. A moment later he formed back together, standing beside the Godaime again. “If only you knew. There’s a reason for everything, even selfless compassion.” He let his words drop off, but then his thoughts continued. I’ll find those reasons. He grinned under his mask. Who knows what he would find…

[Exit]

[The Heron]

[ Enter ]

And there she stood in all her maroon glory, staring down at me with her endlessly black, stalked eyes.

"They spoke of you in your absence." She intoned as I approached. I gave a noncommittal grunt in return, nodding my thanks for the information. I couldn't really garner the emotion to care, for today was the dawn of a new age.

"The nukenin does not trust you," Kanikei continued.

"Good." I muttered. "It means he isn't stupid."

"And yet you trust this 'Godaime'... how can you justify that?"

"..." I had no reply. Why did I trust Myriam? I knew as little about her as she did of me. I gave no value to words - not between shinobi, for we could spew lies without regret or remorse. So what was my motivation for such extreme trust? "You." I said shortly. "You, and my gut. You've seen the horrors of man; you know the rigors of shinobihood. If I cannot trust your judgment, then..." I trailed off with a shrug. Kanikei made a noise, like the sound women make when they see young children, or anything cuddly an diminutive;

Quickly, without looking back, I ran into the hospital.

[ Exit ]

[/blockquote]