On My Way Home [Travel Thread leaving for Konoha]

Posts : 118

Sitting day in, day out in her little but cozy hotel room was starting to wear Uzumaki Tachimitsu's patience thin. She had never been able to find some clear area of land in Getsugakure that was sufficient to host her trainings. Okay, okay, that was a little biased in judgment. Getsugakure did have some nice training grounds, with large spaces and all the paraphernalia that the average Shinobi would require for a day's training; she had used them once or twice, but the truth was, Mitsu was starting to feel homesick. She was glad she didn't have to stay in the hospital, because she knew that the medics of Getsu wouldn't want her to leave until her arm was fully recovered. While she appreciated their care and effort, Mitsu felt it was time to continue life as a relentless kunoichi. Besides, she was one who rarely ever used hand seals in combat, and thus, even if she ever found herself in a tight situation, she still had what it took to get through.

On a bright cheery day such as this one, Mitsu had all her belongings packed neatly into a knapsack (wasn't she glad she had traveled light?) just as the day was beginning to break. She had reported in previously at the hospital yesterday, to thank them for their help and inform them that (like it or not) she was returning to Konoha. After many an attempt at making her postpone the journey, which all proved abortive, they had reluctantly consented. Her arm had healed nicely (according to her, it really had!), didn't hurt as much as before, and had stopped bleeding, even when she clenched her fists or punched walls. The skin was still tender, though, so she still had it bandaged up to her shoulder.

First things first. Mitsu went to the reception room of the hotel in which she had stayed and checked out. It was a thankfully straightforward process, which did not take much time, and since Mitsu had not destroyed anything in the room (though she was very close to, once or twice), she was allowed to go after returning the keys to the door.

Mitsu strolled down the streets of the village towards the gates, taking in the scenery one last time (at this moment, because unless she was killed on the journey, which was not likely, there was a possibility that she might return here one day). Before long, she found herself checking out with the gate guards, a process that lasted longer than the hotel's checking out, but thankfully, was also short. As she left the village, the next pace was to head to the docks. Getsugakure was a small island, small of course, compared to the Great Nations. She held a postcard thing in her hand (other than pinning it up somewhere or framing it, she wasn't sure of its use... if postcards were meant to be pinned up, anyway) as she walked, and decided to go through it, since the outside of the village was not as spectacular as within it. She look a look at the 'postcard' and frowned.

Something was wrong with her eyesight. She squinted at the card again, trying to read the writings that appeared blurred. Only when she brought the card close to her face was the writing legible.

"What's this? I'm getting short-sighted now?" she wondered aloud, as she folded the postcard and stuffed it away. Her eyesight had been better when she had gone for the tournament; at least she was sure of that. What could be the cause of this? Certainly not a disease... that was so unlikely. Mitsu didn't have to think very long before she identified a culprit.

"Could it be back at the tournament, when I was..." Her musings ended abruptly as she narrowly dodged walking face-first into a pole. She looked up at the sign it held, and smiled wryly. The sea port. "Nice wake-up call..." she muttered, as she made her way to wherever it was they were selling tickets to the Fire Country. Seeing that the Fire Country was a place that thrived with activity, Mitsu wasn't afraid that there would be a dearth of ships with which to travel in. She located a counter.

"Ohayo gozaimasu! Ticket to the Fire Country, please," she said politely.

Posts : 118

Mitsu wondered why the boat (this thing was actually a ship) rides had to take up the most time of the journeys across bodies of water. This was her second time of actually traveling in this sort of fashion, and already she was convinced that she just wasn’t made for these kinds of trips. Left to her, if it were possible, she would have opted to travel across the sea on foot. Now, while that was not pushing the imagination, she knew for certain that her charka supply would not be sufficient to get her across to the other side. Somewhere in the dead center of the ocean, her ‘walking on water’ technique would give way due to exhaustion, and she would be faced with the choice of attempting to swim for the nearest shore, or sink and drown. Both options actually would yield the same result, though: she would be fish food by the day’s end.

She tried turning her mind to brighter thoughts, but that was almost impossible, seeing that the constant rocking of the ship left her in a rather dismal state. And yet some people enjoyed these kinds of journeys! With distaste, she recalled a fat businessman who proclaimed loudly “how he loved the sea”, when they were about boarding the ship. Mitsu scoffed and made a caricature of the man’s proclamation, as she swung her feet off the bunk on which she lay. Dropping lightly to the cabin floor, she wore her sandals, deciding that it was better for her to be outside when the final disasters of seasickness struck, than to remain boxed up in her cabin. If she spilled the contents of her stomach, well, that would be rather embarrassing, but it would be catastrophic if it happened here. Not to mention that the rocking of the ship could send the churl to areas that would prove impossible to reach…

”Ewwww!”

She left the cabin in which she had miraculously boxed up herself throughout yesterday, and found the steps that led up to the deck. By the time she stepped out into the sun, she was surprised that it was afternoon. Close to two days on a ship. The vessel was large, and as a result, was slow, but in order to make up for the speed which its newer, faster colleague possessed, its transport fare was relatively cheap. Everything came with a sacrifice.

Outside, she discovered that the atmosphere was more enjoyable and did dampen to a large extent, the seasickness that she felt. The sun was bright and warm, the breeze calming. If it was stormy, that would have certainly worsened the situation, but with the current weather, Mitsu felt she could still enjoy the rest of the journey. Not many people were on the deck, most of them having an afternoon siesta. She paced up and down the entire length of the deck, watching the ship’s crew perform their duties. Eventually, she went to the railing to look at the sea.

While she didn’t expect to see flying fish and dolphins, the effect of the sun on its rippling surface could boast a bit of having a mesmerizing effect. One of the crewmen unexpectedly yelled something about land from way up above, and she suddenly noticed the distant blue mountains in the horizon. Finally, the journey was coming to an end. Mitsu couldn’t have been more pleased with that situation.

As the mountains drew closer at a snail's pace, she suddenly noticed someone else standing at the railing. He wasn’t looking at the sea, but was staring fixedly into the distance. His looks and features told her instantly that he, like herself, was a Shinobi, but he was definitely not from Konoha. His outfit seemed different, a bit more protective, implying that the climate which presided over his village would be somewhat harsh. He looked to be in his early twenties, and his forehead protector was tied to his upper arm. Although it was facing her, and the Shinobi wasn’t far away, she could barely make out the insignia printed on it, though after focusing on it for a while, it became clear. Mist. Perhaps she really needed a pair of glasses…

The Shinobi turned, studied her for a second, then walked away from the railing to talk with one of the crewmen who had just approached him. They discussed for a short period, before the crew man bade him farewell. The Shinobi nodded, turned back to the railing, and with one fluid leap, had perched himself precariously on it. He was in a crouch, holding on to one hand, while wearing a pair of goggles over his eyes with the other. Then he looked at Mitsu again, gave her a wide grin, and jumped into the sea.

Mitsu instinctively shuddered slightly, because that grin had been rather unsettling. Not because the young man wasn’t handsome or anything, but his teeth had been filed to razor sharp points, like a shark. She tried to see if she could locate him beneath the waves, but he was gone.

”Creeeeeeeeeeeeeeeepy.”

The reaction of the crew to Shark boy’s exit was casual; they probably were used to him doing that all the time. She wondered why she would want to file her teeth. Manly show of strength? Psychological warfare perhaps? Mitsu hoped the women of Kirigakure didn’t make a habit of also filing their teeth. A harsh cry from a seabird overhead brought her to look up. The kunoichi noticed that the mountains had drawn much closer, and more people were coming out onto the deck at this time. Some blurred contraption in the far distance was likely the seaport. By evening, they would land at the docks, and if it had been brighter, Mitsu would have continued her journey. But night was approaching, she was a Genin, she was a girl, and it wouldn’t be too safe to wander through the Fire Country during the dark hours.

Mitsu returned to her cabin to retrieve her knapsack. She almost couldn’t wait to get off the ship. Once through the port, she would lodge herself in one of the numerous hotels that offered accommodation to the traveler who came in at an odd hour from the sea. Early tomorrow, she would continue on the final phase of the journey. By noon, all other factors being equal, she would be in Konohagakure.

Posts : 118

An hour after sunrise saw Mitsu on the road again. She was obviously happy to make this journey on foot, though she wasn't daft enough to ignore the fact that if she continued at this rate, she would tire long before she even got to Konoha's surrounding forests. Besides, from the ports of Fire Country to the village itself was a good ways off. But she wasn't dissuaded. There were other means of travel, and she intended to utilize them... but not yet.

Mitsu had noticed that the wagons and other means of transport that waited at the docks tended to be rather expensive, as most people who made such journeys were business folk and Chuunin ranked Shinobi and above. Such characters certainly had more money than the average Genin, and if she wanted to be able to stay well fed till the month's end, Mitsu had to cut her costs. So she walked until she had left the buildings behind and was closer to a forest. The Country of Fire had quite many a forest, and a forest was a Shinobi's terrain for quick travel. Other than the problem of fatigue, whoever needed carts and wagons, anyway?

Mitsu jumped into a tree, landing deftly on a thick bough. Then she took another jump. Descending swiftly on another branch, she moved again, this time enhancing her jump with chakra. She covered distance very rapidly in this manner, her hair billowing out behind her like a bloody mist. This style of transport was not only fast, but constant use of this was a sure means to boost one's stamina, as well as improve evasion skills. One had to keep both eyes open to avoid smacking face first into a tree limb, which at that speed, could prove fatal.

She kept this up for a while, and was starting to lose her breath, when she noticed that the lighting in the forest was beginning to improve and the trees were starting to thin out. This was some good news, because that meant she was approaching civilization... or a wasteland. However, she had followed her map judiciously, and thus she wasn't supposed to be lost. Jumping onto the last branch, she put quite an amount of chakra into the next jump, splintering the bark of the tree on which her foot had rested. She broke through the foliage and sailed a good distance through the air, before landing spryly on her feet. She was standing on a road, and a bustling town lay up ahead. Hopefully, she could get herself some food, and a carriage with a less exorbitant price...

Her assumptions paid off, and about an hour and a half later, Mitsu sat amid mostly civilians in a wagon that trundled along with a surprising speed for its shape, age and size. She had eaten breakfast in the town, and was very comfortable where she sat, even though the wagon rocked every now and then. The bobbing of a wagon can never be compared to that of a ship, well, unless in very 'dire' situations. And thankfully, situations were normal here. She would travel with the wagon until she got to the edge of the forest that protected Konoha. While the wagon would continue on to the Roiyaru Road, she would continue the journey through the forest on foot.

Mitsu fought off the tendency to doze of occasionally, and was almost totally in the world of dreams when the driver of the wagon announced their closeness to the Village Hidden in Leaves. Glad for the 'wake-up call', Mitsu got down, and the wagon continued on its way. It was back to tree jumping again, but by this time, her stamina and chakra were restored enough for her to go the rest of the way without having any problems. She walked up to the edge of the forest and jumped into the nearest tree. As expected, she moved through the forest quickly, occasionally sighting a Shinobi with Konoha's tactical jacket on patrol. She smiled and kept on going.

Once again, the forest came to an end, although it was much larger than the first one she had passed through. Through the breaking foliage, she could see the gates of her beloved village. She jumped onto the last branch, then dropped off it and walked towards the gates, and the guards who were always there watching to see who or what moved in and out. Mitsu smiled again.

"Didn't spend much time away, but I sure missed this place."

Finally. She was home.

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END

Boring, eh? Razz