Iron Country ~ Hijana Arc [P]

Age : 31 Posts : 1118

Iron Country's Maiden Ninja

After approximately two days of gentle travel Kinu had finally arrived at the shores of Iron Country. Opening his beautifully slit cat eyes he took his first glimpse of sunlight on the boats dock. One by his he moved his paws, getting use to the feel of being a feline for over such a long period of time. He stroked the hard wooden floor of the boat and admired its clean shine. It took great effort to stand on his four legs, especially after just waking up. But Kinu managed to do so with the help of the yelling shipper who seemed more excited then the passengers were. Kinu watched with his dark green eyes as the man ran across the boat waking everyone up, making a fool out of himself. The shipper was about to walk over to Kinu to share his enthusiasm but with a evil stare Kinu successfully warded him off. "Well... finally here." Kinu thought while checking the bag that hung around his neck. Lifting his left paw he patted the back to make sure that the skull was still in it. Feeling the bouncy 'thump' which it made, he was assured that the monkey skull was fine. This was the first time that Kinu had ever traveled by boat and so far he loved it. Although he slept most of the time he loved the feeling of being floated by the ocean. Gracefully running down the dock and near the ridge Kinu leaned up against the rail to take a look outside the boat. His eyes widened as he witnessed a valley of absolute snow and white. It was breathtaking by the least, pure white snow and tall snow-covered trees that looked like cotton balls. Kinu did research on Iron Country in the academy and it was notorious for its snow and endless winter, but this is his first time witnessing it. In his peripheral vision Kinu saw the passengers in the boat making their way down the wooden plan and into the snow. Kinu instantly plopped down from the ledge and casually followed the ground into the snow, and official, he was in Iron Country.

The travel to the main village was quite peaceful and tranquil despite the large party that Kinu traveled with. Everyone seemed more occupied by the snow then each other which lessened the amount of talking in the journey. There was also a tour guide which made sure everyone stayed together and didn't get lost, but in some occasions even he forgot where he was due to the snow. Threw the whole journey so far Kinu remained in his cat transformation, which oddly enough people were starting to get suspicious of it then before. Maybe because they got the impression that Kinu was a stray cat, but they are surely fooled. With every dirty look Kinu received he stuck his tongue out at the person, which caused them to either look away or give him a weird look. With twenty minutes of walking everyone made it to the front gates of Iron Countries small village, although it didn't have a specific name many of the party members referred to it as Hidden Iron. The front gate was very immense and fairly designed. They were pure metal and spiraling patterns around the top area. The tour guide stepped ahead in-front of everyone else and formed a seal with his fat fingers. Instantly two samurais appeared by each corner of the gate and walked towards Kinu's group. For a few minutes the tour guide and the Samurais exchanged a few words, and in a swift finger motion the Samurai's opened the gates with chakra alone.

The crowd quickly moved threw the gates and into the village. Kinu was once again the last to enter due to his fear of being stepped on in his weaker transformation. While walking he made eye contact with one of the Samurai's, the kind of eye contact that a bandit exchanges with a merchant. Stone cold gray eyes and a face covered in black fabric is all Kinu could see when looking, and moments the image of a stone gate covered Kinu's vision enterley as he passed the gate. Shaking the creepy stare off, Kinu looked at the marvelous village of Iron for the first time. It was rather big and homely despite its isolated location. Tall three story wooden row houses and a giant stone tower in the center that could be seen across the entire village. Probably where village leaders came to visit before leaving to the "Three Wolves". In moments the group Kinu traveled with slowly separated into their own paths, leaving Kinu alone with still a black bag around his neck. In minutes Kinu was finally alone, with no one outside or in vision but himself. He was slightly scared, being eleven years old and alone in a unknown village. Izaku said that a man would meet Kinu in the village entrance but Kinu questioned that statement seeing as how no one was outside. Wrapping his white tail around his body Kinu waited patiently for something to happen. Until, he heard the tears of a crying girl from the distance.

Age : 31 Posts : 1118

The noise surprised Kinu, the sound of the young girls sniffing immediately alerted him from the great distance. Maybe it was his heightened cat senses that picked up the noise so accurately, or it was due to the quiet atmosphere of the Iron Village this time of night. Either way, Kinu pranced down the stone road and turnned the corner. He gracefully leaped over trash cans and stray litter, and kept his focus on finding the young girl. As he turned the dark corner he he saw a giant white fountain that sparked so much beauty it illuminated the whole area. It was intense, clear crystal water squiring out of the mouths of rock statues that twinkled down the base. The fountain was pure white, almost as white as the snow which covered the entire village. The water shined with blue light due to the reflection of the moonlight. Kinu was surprised that this area was empty of villagers, if such a thing was in Kumogakure Kinu would constantly be around it. The row houses all faced the fountain and revolved around in a sort of way. Creating a perfect circle of houses around the fountain area. Kinu observed the scene before proceeding around the fountain to investigate the crying girl. Using his feline grace Kinu jumped on the ledge of the fountain and cat-walked around it. With the crystal water to his right and the road to his left Kinu walked dead center of the fountain rail as he made his way around it. Finally around the fountain he saw the young girl whose cries allured him. She was very young, possibly the same age as Kinu himself. She wore a tight white shirt and a brown skirt. She also wore a interesting cap on her head that looked similar to a dog. She sat on the edge of the fountain looking at the ground.

Kinu steadily approached the girl in hopes of finding out what was wrong with her. As she turned her head her flowing red hair flipped across her shoulder, revealing her young and innocent face. As she saw Kinu, who was transformed into a small cat, her eyes lit up with enthusiasm. "Kitty!" She screamed while quickly picking up Kinu. Her quickness and strength intimidated Kinu instantly, she literally snapped Kinu from the ledge as if it where a flicker of her arms. She hovered Kinu over her lap and moved him to eye level. Kinu's body hung like a ventriloquist doll during the process, which revealed his clan's seal on his stomach. Before the young girl opened her mouth, her eyes flickered to Kinu's animal seal on his stomach. Her once sorrowful facial expression turned into a bright warm smile instantly as she realized something. "Oh, your the Yamazaru that was suppose to come! I've been waiting for you for hours, where have you been? I thought you'd got lost and got scared..." She said while placing Kinu back down on the ground. Kinu was quite dumbfounded by the experience. This was the ninja that he was searching for? Quite odd. "Oh... well hi I guess." Kinu responded while rolling the black bag from his shoulder. "So... am I suppose to give this to you?" He asked taking the skull out of the bag with his teeth. The girl smiled and hopped down from the ledge. With a quick hand motion she signaled someone from the shadows behind them, and instantly the figure of a man became present within the darkness.

The man walked out of the dark ally way and into the moonlight, revealing his tall and masculine appearance. He stood at a measure of 6ft 5, possibly the tallest person Kinu has ever seen. He had a jet black beard that covered his entire lower jaw and most of his neck. But most unusually he wore silver plated Samurai armor that was slightly more unique from the rest of the villages Samurai. "Hello Kinu, I've been expecting you. Aw... your brought the bag?" Said the man in a memorizing tone. Despite Kinu's blinding fear he approached the man with the bag, and placed it at his feet. The man picked up the bag and removed the skull from it, holding it up into the fountain. "Thank you Kinu, your mission is done, your Grandfather will be proud. Oh... and this is Renjira, your cousin." He said while pointing to the young girl. Renjira smiled when Kinu exchanged her a confused look, and moments later she came up to Kinu and patted him on the back. "But you can call me Iron Countries Maiden!" She shouted while running beside the man. In a instant, both of them vanished as the moon disappeared behind the clouds and enveloped the village in shadow. Kinu had finished his journey and delivered the skull successfully, and learned some interesting things on his way. But for now, he will return to Kumogakure and rest.