It was early in the morning when Takeshi Gouka, otherwise known as Jestre, finished packing his meager belongings and a full travel kit of supplies. It was a cool, misty morning, just late enough for their to be a glimmer of a glow of light diffused through the air, but with the sun not yet high enough to begin burning off the morning mist. As he made his preparations and exited the small apartment that had served as his... lodgings, for the several months he had been effectively stranded by orders in the Leaf Village, he could sense the presence of no less than three ANBU watching over him from the shadows. He had not doubt there were twice as many that he could not detect.

His stay in Konoha had gone... Not well. Truth be told, he was a terrible candidate for a diplomatic liaison, and had only been assigned the duty out of convenience; he was there, in the right place at the wrong time, and the Raikage had needed eyes and ears within Konoha ASAP. That said, he could not have done a whole lot worse than the emotionless, curt and blunt Takeshi Gouka. True though, the renowned Sennin turned Hokage, Katsumi Kimiko, had been polite and cordial for the duration of his stay. Recent events coming to light, however, had put a frosty strain on relations.

He shook his head, grimacing under his mask at his luck as he began making a quick, brisk pace towards the village gate. In all his missions, he had encountered Konoha shinobi only once. Out of the hundreds, thousands, of active duty shinobi Konoha had in its roster, it was astronomically bad luck that the one, singular, only Konoha nin that Takeshi Gouka had ever turned his blades on and crippled, would be one of the students of the one and only Katsumi Kimiko. Needless to say, it was met with general agreement that the KYOBU should make himself scarce from the village as soon as diplomatically feasible.

He made his way quickly through the village, followed steadily by his ANBU entourage, as it were. There was no hostility yet, and the Hokage had kept her word so far... But, best not to press his luck. The black-clad KYOBU made quickly for the gates, the massive wooden structure looming up before him, rising out of the morning mist. Even as early as it was, there was still some light foot-traffic, and the gates were open just far enough to let those few early risers trickle out. For the most part, those leaving the gates of Konoha were not nearly as interesting as those heading in.

All the same, he could feel the gaze of the gate guards as he passed, a wary gaze not entirely unjustified; he was a KYOBU, a Black Ops elite. Around those of Gouka's lot and skills, the unwary and ill-cautious shinobi was little different from a dead shinobi. Even as he made his way into the forests, heading down the path through the thick trees, he could still sense one or two ANBU tailing him, making well and certain he went on his way and stayed on his way. One by one however, they dropped off his internal radar. Barring the more stealth adept individuals, he was finally alone.

He stopped briefly, taking a long look around, detecting nothing but the movement of the wind through the trees. His stay in Konoha hadn't been precisely enjoyable, but it had been... Different, going for so long without having need to use his blades. All the same, it had been a long several months, and it was now time to head ho...... Back, to Kumo.

He hefted his pack, picking up his pace through the trees, trying not to think on his inability to refer to the village of his birth as "home" anymore.

[Exit to Lightning Country]