I'm On A Boat [Travel To Mizu no Kuni]

Age : 31 Posts : 1836

Traveling was something that Masquerade was quite used to by now. He had been moving from place to place for many years, even before he became a shinobi. Back during his days as a beggar (one without ninja skills), he was unlikely to remain at any location. Well, not permanently. Granted, when he was younger he only changed the location of his “home” (which, on the luckiest days, consisted of a cardboard box and a ragged blanket that had been discarded because of their uselessness by their owners) when he was either chased out of the area, or decided on his own to move. As both situations occurred much more rarely than one might expect, Masquerade had often settled down in one place for months at a time; the longest being a year. After beginning his training as a shinobi, settlement was not as frequent. His tutor would often take him on long trips to various locations to train. Afterwards, when the aforementioned tutor passed away and Masquerade began his life as a wandering ninja, staying in one place for even a few weeks was unlikely. Masquerade would just wander aimlessly at times, going wherever the path led him, not particularly interested in where he was headed. The only times he actually did travel with purpose were when he had an objective to direct him, which usually came in the form of a mission request, or a personal agenda. The decent collection of missions and requests he had performed thus far, as well as his own goalless roaming, meant that he had seen quite a bit of the world already. The Nukenin had been to a several parts of the world, and had seen and experienced just as many things during those times.

However, there were a few places he had yet to visit, but he would soon be able to cross one of those locations off his list. Mizu no Kuni was a country that the male had never set foot in, mostly because he had never needed a reason to go there. That, and boat rides cost money, and Masquerade tended be a little stingy with his funds. Really, he preferred to limit his journeying to landlocked areas, as walking was cheaper than transportation. Fortunately, this time he would not have to worry about spending money on a boat ride, for he had gotten someone else to pay the fee in his stead. That someone was also the reason why the Nukenin was headed to Mizu no Kuni: the Jinchuuriki had been asked to perform a task on the island country.

Normally, Masquerade would have just accepted the request as a mission and nothing more, but in this case it was different. The request had come from Yuuji Subaru, a recently-made acquaintance of the Nukenin’s. Masquerade had taken up the man’s request partly because he wanted the pay, but primarily because he wanted to repay the man for his assistance. It had been a few weeks since Subaru had helped Masquerade learn to communicate with the Shichibi, and for that the Nukenin was grateful. Masquerade was willing to aid those who helped him, this being one of the lessons he had been taught by his deceased mentor/tutor. At the very least, he could pay Subaru back by doing this favor for him. The boy had even been nice enough to ask for a lower price than Subaru had suggested, though the effect of that generosity may have been lessened by the fact that Subaru was paying for Masquerade’s trip. To be fair, though, the blue-haired man had insisted to cover the travel expenses.

Such was how Masquerade could be found at one of the docks in the western region of Hi no Kuni. He had already found a ship that would take him to Mizu no Kuni, the kind where the captain and crew did not ask any awkward questions. At the moment, Masquerade stood in front of the ramp that led up to the wooden boat, examining the transport in mild interest (he did not know or care much for boats or their engineering), before slinging the small leather sack he was carrying over his shoulder and stepping up the wooden ramp and onto the boat. He was neither dreading nor anticipating the trip ahead. Sure, it may be the first time he was ever going to be traveling across the sea (journeying by boat was an experience he had already undergone), but he was not very interested in the trip. He had an objective in mind, and as he was inclined to do when such was the case, he was only focusing on the task that awaited him at Mizu no Kuni. Besides, it would be a long journey to the island nation. He would have plenty of time to enjoy the ride, or despise it.

[Exit to Mizu no Kuni]