The Docks

After traveling about the lands of the fire country for around an hour, Kojin had finally managed to locate the great docks that he had been in search for some time. Maybe if he had swallowed his pride and asked someone for directions then he may have found it sooner, but being the tough, macho man that he was he did not wish to ask another for directions. Instead he would use his superior mind to try and find it himself, even if it meant wasting time that did not need to be wasted. Making his way over to the very small village that controlled the docks, he was able to discover the amount of people that actually use the boats on a daily basis. The place was truly packed with the members from different villages and countries, he was able to identify headbands that he has only read about in class. The genin was truly astonished by the traffic the place received.

Making his way over to the docking station, he approached a small cue of people who seemed to be lining up for the ticket office as well. The clothing these people wore was most bizarre, not one person was even carrying a ninja utensil pouch! Instead they were holding briefcases and umbrellas, what kind of shinobi were these people. It was apparent that the developing Uchiha had never before seen the other side to life, such as those who were only interested in business. He thought much less of these people as more and more strange items of clothing were being revealed to him, one by one. Trying to break free from the area that he was within, he attempted to use his ninja - like moves to push his way through the line. Which worked successfully of course, for none of the others were even trained in the arts of the ninja. He now stood at the front of the line, waiting to be served by whoever was behind the counter, he had never been to the docks before so he had no idea what to say to the person at the counter he'd simply have to improvise.

Peering over the counter, his vision was suddenly met with an aged woman. Many ash - grey shaded hair strands covered the old woman's many wrinkles, it also appeared as if she had some whiskers growing around her chin and upper lip, Kojin was beginning to regret joining this line. Trying to make it seem as if he wasn't repulsed by the ancient woman's appearance, he pulled quite a cheesy smile that seemed to span from ear to ear. It was seen that the old lady did not share the same smile as the modest teenager, for only a frown was visible. With an awkward moment of silence being kept in between their unfriendly exchange of emotions, the old lady finally managed to start the conversation off for the two. Her deep, croaky voice which resembled that of a frog, spat out a sentence which asked what boat the boy actually desired. Shyly he tried to respond as professional as possible, making it seem that he had done this small exchange before.

"Uhm... yeah... I'd like to go to the Moon Country please."

The grouchy old woman seemed to just snarl at the young teenager, putting him off slightly. She began rummaging through a box full of what seemed like tickets, huffing and puffing as her energy most likely isn't what it used to be. After some time, Kojin started tapping away at the wooden counter growing bored of waiting for a flimsy piece of paper. Eventually the server slapped a silver - shaded ticket on the table, releasing a strange sound while doing so. She pointed over to a port number that was also written on the ticket, telling him to head over to there in about thirty minutes. It seemed to go off without a hitch when suddenly he was called a 'kid' by the woman. He looked back at her with a concerned expression, did she actually just call the magnificent ninja a word that describes a baby goat? She had a nothing thing coming if she believed she was getting away with that. Pulling a gleaming smile across his face, he swiped the ticket away from the woman's fingers and stuffed it within his pocket before thanking her.

"Thanks you old hag!

Striding over to port number seven, he awaited at the assigned pole. As it was midday the sun was staring down at the Uchiha, it was apparent that he was the only person around to go to the moon country, but after all who else would be going to the moon country. He awaited in the heat, all by himself as he would be forced to wait for another thirty minutes before his boat would arrive at the docks. He hoped that someone would accompany, for he wasn't even able to bring his trusted bird due to the restrictions of the tournament. It was quite a depressing moment for Kojin.

Tapping the toes of his sandels against the cobblestone - made floor, he was trying to kill some of the time that was taking almost forever to go by, at times it felt that a snail would be faster then the speed of time. Well that was if time could be measured in speed. Never the less, it was still a long, boring and dull time for the young and energetic ninja. He hoped all of this waiting would finally pay off, being forced to venture off to another land that he had never gone to before, not to mention having to fight those who were his friends and worst of all having to leave behind his most loyal companion. At least the ticket to the tournament was free, the two countries were so far apart oversea that the normal asking prices must be ridiculous and a price which the shinobi wouldn't be able to afford at all. The solitude that he once felt some mere minutes ago has now returned, as he watched the other docks keeping themselves busy with customer after customer, Kojin was stood alone by the end of the dock no one to talk to, no one to stand by and no one to even look at. Alone.

Or so he thought, for over in the near distance a small charcoal - grey cloud was being formed. This could mean only one thing, the boat has arrived. In excitement he quickly jumped up into the air with a burst of joy as he discovered the arrival of the vessel, he quickly grew self conscience though as he was beginning to panic what everyone around him was thinking. Then he remembered that no one was around him and simply laughed it off aloud, not having a care for the world. He then reminded himself that being alone wasn't exactly the greatest feeling in the world either and suddenly became depressed once more. Maybe he could have made friends with the old hag, he could have taken her out to dinner and a show, the world would have been their oyster! But alas, there was no going back on what he had said to her. He didn't care though, soon he would be able to leave this nuisance of a place and take sail to the moon country, at least there he'll be surrounded by his fellow ninja and not be stuck on a port that has a minority of shinobi. The vessel was now growing in size as it approached it's destination soon the eager genin would be able to join the crew onboard and at last journey to his destination.

When the miniature coal - powered ship had docked onto the port, he was able to take full sight of the boat. It was quite a large structure, it seemed to span across by a good ten metres then there was the height of it all, reaching to over three metres. Kojin had only imagined it to be a small ship for transportation as few tend to travel to the isolated island, yet he didn't imagine it would be a ship as large as this. The decoration of the ship was of a isabelline colour white, a jet black strip seemed to border itself across the entire top of the ship, while an arranged colour of blues would pattern the ship. Many swirls and other odd shapes had planted themselves upon the vessel, with the symbol of the moon country also being glued onto the ship. His eagle eyes were able to notice some barnacle attaching themselves at the bottom of the ship, he simply ignored this though as it was something that all boats would eventually suffer to. With the anchor being lowered, Kojin quickly climbed the ladders that had been lowered as he now made his way onto the ship. The crew seemed to be made up of both men and women, all in white uniforms with the moon country logo on their pocket.

Handing over the scrunched up ticket that he had previously been given by the old hag, a now much younger woman accepted the ticket and clapped her hands twice. The men on board seemed to quickly scramble about the ship, one recoiling back the anchor, while another was scrubbing the deck at a rapid paste and a third seemed to be drying the areas that were wet. It seemed that the ship was all ready to leave the port and soon Kojin was knocked back off of his feet as the ship immediately pulled out to sea. With the help of the commanding officer on the ship, her soft moisturized hands lifted the ninja back to his feet in order for a tour to take place. He couldn't help but feel safer with this new woman he had met, she seemed to have everything in order and couldn't seem to find any error within her. Her long, gold - silken hair seemed to fall perfectly in line with her shoulders, while her hypnotic blue eyes would make any man fall to their knees. She was truly a sight to behold. Pulling himself back to reality, the woman who was now known as Tetsu began to take Kojin on a tour of the boat while sailing over to the moon country.

Being taken below deck while the rest of the crew would manage the ship, a private tour was being offered to the Uchiha who was also single. Tetsu talked of how the crew would be out at sea for two days, fortunately for him though the ship was built with small cabins that guests would be able to stay within for the days. The ship also featured a kitchen and toilets to satisfy all of the guests needs. The tour was short but sweet, the shinobi didn't pay too much attention as to what the woman was saying, he was simply lost with her eyes most of the times and lost all care for the world yet again. When the tour had ended, he had been told to make himself accustomed to his room while the chef prepares dinner for the rest of the crew. It seemed that Kojin was going to enjoy this journey.

After a couple of days out at sea, Kojin was beginning to wish that the journey was longer, for he had grown a strong bond with the ship and it's crew. He has had some of the best couple of days in his life on the boat, from having a fun - pact game of bingo, to playing a risk game of limbo on a plank of wood hanging over the sea, it had been an experience that was most enjoyable. Unfortunately though, all good things must come to an end and soon the ship would be docking at the moon country. He seemed to have grown a special bonding with the officer of the ship though, they would always laugh with one another and even managed to snuggle up to each other on a cold night. But he thought nothing of it, he was still young and unexperienced in love so he simply treated her as a friend. He was unaware as to how she felt about him though, she had shared stories with him but she never seemed to him obviously different from the rest, if anything it was just pure confusion between the two.

All other emotions had died over the past couple of days, at first he viewed her as some sort of angel, yet as he spent more and more time with her she seemed to almost normalize herself. Plus she didn't seem to have very well kept hygiene as every time she lifted her arms, the distinct smell of bad odor would emit from her pits. It was always a chore for Kojin to have to come into physical contact with Tetsu, he simply couldn't stand the smell but he was far too polite to mention it to her, he would always pull a smile to hide the pain being felt by his nose. At least he had someone to socialize with though, if it wasn't for her then he would have been stuck with a group of men for two days. A group of strong, muscly men. Yes the very thought would simply make Kojin lose his concentration and wonder off somewhere else. Either way he was finally at the point of arrival now, reaching the docks of the moon country.

From afar the Konoha shinobi was able to identify the island purely because of it's unique crescent shaped island in which the villages rested on. It was quite a mystery how an island this shape came to be but in the world of ninja, nothing was ever truly considered strange or normal. In fact more and more mysteries were being discovered each and every day, soon Kojin would identify and possibly even make a mystery himself. As the boat finally ported, he gave off his goodbyes with a final hug being given by Tetsu, he couldn't help but blush at that moment, for he was meant to give that strong - man appearance yet he was receiving tender hugs from women. As he left the boat and entered the port, he would look back on the journey and hope that he would be accompanied by the same crew on his way back home. The traveling shinobi would now try to find his way through the busy village so he could find where he would have to register his name down for the tournament, he hoped he wasn't too late to sign up.

Taking in the magical scenes that the Moon Country had to offer, only one structure that stood out from the rest. A colossal rounded building built itself above the rest of the nearby buildings, it seemed almost as ancient as the woman who had served him the ticket here. Understanding that this would be where the tournament was being held, he hoped that by going over to the location someone may locate him further to the registration office. Journeying onwards, he would try to maneuver himself through the streets of the village, all of this was quite hard to do though as the entire area was foreign to him. None the less, he was determined to register by the end of the day, he had no time to waste! If only he had his feathered friend at his side, he would be able to find the entrance far more easier but of course those annoying regulations applied within the tournament. He could only hope his mother was keeping up with the routine he had made for Haruka, which was to always to let him out of his cage at least three times a day for an hour each, then to feed him if he hasn't brought back any kill and then to finally always clean his feathers at night.

With only one last street to pass, he was soon being covered by the shadows of the stadium, it was gigantic. Taking a final right turn, he was met with a temple like building built in front of the monstrous stadium. Taking common sense into perspective, he believed this must be where the registration area is kept, where else could it be after all. As he entered the unknown stone - slabbed building, he was cautious as to where he was walking for many people seemed to be starring over to his location. Perhaps he was the first to arrive or perhaps he was the last to arrive and was too late to register. He quickly ran over to the registration lobby. As he ran closer and closer, a woman had suddenly arrived dressed in casual - smart attire. Catching his breathe back, he halted himself at the desk so that he could at last register.


Retrieving the golden key from the woman, he thanked her and went on his way. He was finally able to release sigh of relief as he had managed to make it to the moon country without fail. While traveling down the long halls that made up the temples interior, his eyes scanned the label doors available, none had shown up as numbers yet instead they were given names. After venturing down for a few seconds he was finally met with room one. Poking the key within the keyhole, his hand was fiddling about within the lock before it was finally unlocked, opening the door with great ease, he was at last able to release all stress from his body as he threw himself onto the bed offered to him.