Travel To Kumo

Posts : 288

The rain beaded against the top of the wagon, the horses were not as energetic as they were when the animals had left Kumo. Akiko felt there pain, being tired as well. The trip was a pretty long one and it was not going to be an easy thing. Bandits always waited for unsuspecting travelers and merchants to ambush. Bandits were a murderous lot and would not hesitate to end her trip and her life if need be. There numbers are great and in the smaller nations, such as the rain country that she was leaving, had less patrols on the road to keep travel safe. It was up to the people moving about to protect themselves.

Akiko did not worry too much about bandit attacks or shady tolls. She was a ninja and these were petty bandits. Not only was she a Kunoichi but she originated from arguably the strongest ninja village in the known world and came from a rich ninja and merchant clan. Not only was she from Kyokkou but she may end up leading her people so no, bandits were a minor annoyance if anything. She did know that other villages ninja could also attack her but such an act would not only prompt her clan to act violently but may also start a ninja war. She knew that and so would they.Unlike bandits, these village-less ninja had a variety of powers and strengths. It was the missing ninja that worried her. A weak ninja could come to hurt her but they would most likely end up horribly dead like some of the bandits Akiko had faced before. The strong ninja was what concerned her most. She had seen how the Raikage, Kagetora, easily disarmed and defeated Inzei and herself as he protected Gouzen. The kunoichi could not do anything to protect herself against him. Even someone with half of Kagetora's strength could easily destroy Akiko without even breaking a sweat. Her weakness in the face of such power disgusted her. With all these thoughts running through her head, Akiko made sure to travel over populated roads with lots of traffic as to make sure that she wouldn't be caught in some attack without access to help.

Her trip would take her through many countries. Her route was to travel to Lake Country by crossing through Grass Country. Once at the edge of the sea, she would take a boat and travel to the shores of Lightning Country. Hitching a ride to Kumo via the sea would not be a problem for her. Money spoke to many peoples hearts, especially to those who made a living off of transport. First thing was first though, it was time to cross through the Grass Country.

It was obvious that the end of Rain Country was nearing. The constant rainfall that let Akiko know that she was in the Rain Country slowly became less intense until the sky was clear. The Grass country also received a lot of rain during the year but at least the weather had more variety then it's neighbor country. Another noticeable feature was that the endless forests of the Rain Country was no where to be seen in the Grass Country, the abundant trees of the rain forest gave way to grassy plains with interesting fauna. Most of the lush grass were at least waist high in length. Akiko would have been frustrated with the environment if there wasn't a road to travel upon. Without this road, Akiko would have to find some other way to Lake Country and most likely have to sell her horses to someone local. If not sell her equine, she would have to set them free. It was a nice though but the kunoichi did not think they would survive long on their own.

Regardless, these thoughts were just that. Thoughts and nothing more. There was a long road that winded through the country and kept most of the plants at bay. Grass Country was small even by minor nations standards and as such there roads were not as maintained as Rain Country's roads. It also appeared that the only way to head into the villages at all was to leave the trail and hack through the grass and the forests in the distance. None of these things seemed pleasant to the Kyokkou and the only purpose she would have to visit a village would be to take in the sights. Her wagon had enough food and water for a whole trip to Lightening Country, being able to keep horses and herself hydrated and fed even if she had planned to travel only by road.

After what seemed like an eternity of riding through grassy fields, the border of the Lake Country approached.

[EXIT]