Konoha to Whirlpool [P]

Spoiler:

Konoha's familiar forests had yet to truly fade while the two ninja, Nasa and Mitsu, progressed forward. The Whirlpool village was in the sights for today they had taken on a mission to go about collecting various beasts. These would be captured within a scroll and eventually all would be returned to Konoha to be placed in the Frest of Death. Nasa could only imagine what these beasts may do to the other Genin had they entered the exams. Then again, seeing as how her dedication managed to get her a rank up without participating in the exams, she would never really know. Imagination provided visions but it was experience which makes them real.

Nasamea and Mitsu would continue moving for as long as they could until dark. Nasa knew already that due to this being their first time truly outside of the village they may move slower then some of their various ninja counterparts. A Jounin may have the ability to arrive at Whirlpool by dusk but due to lack of outside experience, it may have taken them until Dawn. As long as they finished and returned before a week, with all the bests and their own body parts, Nasa didn't care to much if they had to even crawl back. She hoped Mitsu would feel the same.

On and on they would go with very few breaks to catch their breaths, possibly snack, and refuel with a nice cool canteen of fresh water. They would do this until dark; or until one of them truly needed to stop for any reasons beyond her thoughts at this point. While they traveled they would move in silence as they listened and watched for any signs of ambush or enemy ninja as well with the roaches keeping their distance as originally stated; all of them cautious and ready for anything.

Nasa and Mitsu chatted for a short time until the conversation died down to silence. They would make it to the Waterfall village by the morning, even if they rested at night. Mitsu was paying attention to his surroundings but felt a bit relaxed knowing Nasa's roaches were out there looking as well. Mitsu was enjoying his book that he found in the archives about his clan. He was reading through the styles of dances he had previously mentioned to see memorize them and to see if they could possibily integrate into his own styles.

He read through several times until he was board, then he took out a book about swords and sword fighting techniques. There was nearly a completely different style for every sword in the book. He took his time reading through the book, and was still reading as nightfall approached. He was actually looking forward at gazing into the stars without anything being blocked out by the lights of a city. The sun was no longer visible on the horizon, just the slightest hint of orange still tainted the sky as the darkness was quickly driving it out. He was fine with walking through the night if Nasa wanted, but he honestly didn't care.

Night seemed to come swiftly as the young ninja kept their pace. They began to slow down now as directed by Nasa and would take another small break. Nasamea would send out messages to the roaches through Morse Code as well to inform them Mitsu and her were slowing down. Soon enough they would glide into a walk and it would be then Nasa would finally speak.

The familiar forests of their home village had faded but they were still following a trail through the wilderness. Not necessarily man made trails but the trees they had traveled through before weren't that dense. In fact they were starting to dwindle. In Nasamea's perspective these few trees would surely fade from view and open up into a clearing or ocean roughly 300 meters or so from here. Truth was she was just guessing and had no idea though. The distance couldn't have been that much though. In fact she could even slightly smell faint traces of salt from the sea in the direction they were heading.

"I think we are nearing the border of the fire country" she whispered to him, her eyes gazing elsewhere. It was dark in the forest. There was barely a silver light from the moon due to the thick canopy of leaves above them but Nasa was granted decent senses and eye sight. This allowed her to still see around. Better yet roaches were naturally nocturnal so their eye sight was at peak condition right now. She didn't think anyone could easily ambush them at this point.

"May I see the map?"

There had been a long pause between her first sentence and that question and she was still whispering. She hoped Mitsu would catch the drift as her eyes gazed all around. She was listening to every little detail that she could manage to hear. All seemed safe though for the beasts of the night could still be heard. The soft chirp of the crickets, the occasional squeak of a bat; it was all natural.

This, however, still didn't give her a reason to let her guard down though.

The small sliver of silver light the moon had been casting down was all Mitsu needed to be able to see. He was saddened by the thickness of the foliage was preventing him from seeing the stars at this point. He hoped they were out far enough to view them tonight. It was one of the reasons he even came to this mission with Nasa. He loved the stars, they were his escape from the world and he was able to think and wonder for as long as he pleased.

It was actually through stargazing where he got most of his ideas for jutsus. He was hoping to get the final details of the style of movements would be like tonight. The stars just let him focus without worry. The sounds of the forest were as normal until they were slightly interrupted by Nasa's whispering. He nodded to her and paid more attention to their surroundings. Now was a time to be serious. After their break earlier, Mitsu became serious. He was just as serious as when he took the role of leader during that failed B rank mission they all went on. But this time, Nasa was the leader, and Mitsu would follow her orders. She was more experienced, but hopefully not for long. Mitsu made it a goal to become stronger than all his teammates, and one day even be stronger than Shi. He had encountered him only twice, and both were losses. He was like a rival, but only one sided. Someone like Yoshimaru or Kuroda were more like rivals.

Nasa later asked so see the map, and Mitsu obliged. He reached into his bag and pulled out the map and handed it to her.

When he handed her the map she found a spot beneath the moon's light and unfolded it. She studied it for a moment as her face took on an expression of thought and soon enough had a plan. Thing was, she wasn't sure if she liked it. She turned the map around and held it up for Mitsu to look now.

"We have a bit of a problem," she began before she pointed at the map. Her finger tip was directed to a waterway which separated the fire country from an island in the ocean.

"In order to get to the Whirlpool country we have to cross by boat, swim, or well, fly. Swimming ourselves would take to much energy. Someone from my clan in Kiri could help us but it would take to long to contact them. I could fly us over but I haven't had much practice and don't wish to get caught. Plus it drains energy as well. Then there's the boat which probably isn't running until morning."

She folded the map back up as she let out a small sigh. The thoughtful expression was still there but by then it had mostly faded to a look of partial disappointment.

"What do you think we should do? Head to the docks and camp out near there or camp here and head out in the morning. If we wake up soon enough we could probably make it before the boats arrive. I've heard numerous stories of people taking the boats so I am not just making this up either."

She grinned a bit as she raised the map for him to take it in one and grasped the strap of the tent in her other, "people like to talk in the Tea shop. It's almost like a bar it seems."

Had he agreed to moving forward then that was what they would do. If he agreed to staying here then then she would take the tent out of the bag and together they could set it up for the night. Maybe they needed to stop. It had been a while since Mitsu had probably ate last. Nasa was a decent animal hunter too. She could go without blood for about 2 more days. After that she may need to hunt herself. Anyway, she left the final decision to him.

"Well, that does seem to be a predicament. The boat does seem to be our only option then....wait a minute, did you say you could fly? You never mentioned that before. I'm getting off track. I'd personally prefer we camp here for the night. I want to be able to stargaze before I sleep. I may have my jutsus figured out, but I want to see if there are any final improvements I could make. The stars just help me think is all, and I would love to be able to see them without Konoha's light pollution. You would be amazed at how beautiful the night sky is when you really take it in...It's wonderful." Mitsu tried to brighten her mood a little. He was very curious about her flying ability she possessed. Flight was something he could only dream about, yet here Nasa could do it for real. Mitsu took the map after he spoke and put it back in his bag. He had a look of wonder and amazement while he went on about the sky. His gaze was focused upon it. Nasa should have been able to tell just from the look on his face that this was something he really cared about. It was actually more important to him than she knew, or anyone else for that matter. He had enough care for it that he showed while he spoke that Nasa may even ask about it.

A grin crossed her face a bit. Typical Mitsu. She didn't blame him for wanting to stargaze so bad. In fact she was starting to take a higher interest in it herself. She wondered what he would do if he had a telescope. She figured he would probably stay up all night long staring at the different constellations. Heck, he may even find a new one from looking so much. She didn't think he was THAT obsessed though.

"Sounds like a plan to me. It would be best to rest up for tomorrow anyway. After all, we are fighting a giant crocodile tomorrow. But before anything, let's set this up."

With that said she slipped the tent bag off of her shoulder and set it on the ground. The sound of the zipper seemed a bit loud to her in this forest, minus nature's sounds, but all seemed well. No enemies spotted yet. Hopefully it would stick that way. Considering the were between Nasa and the ally Kisaki's territories she didn't think there would be any threats just yet either. Or so she hoped.

Nasamea removed the tent from the bag and scattered it across a flat surface beneath a tree. She then pulled out the stakes and the rods to support the fairly medium sized tent before peered over at Mitsu.

"Help me with the rods. Once we put them in we can just stab the stakes into the ground since its moist and set the divider up. Then I can sleep and you can stargaze all you want. I call dibs on the right side," she teased before holding the long rod out to him and beginning to put it into a prepared shoot. There were only two rods so it would be easy to slide them through and prop the tent up.

Mitsu took the long rod and helped her slide it through the metal was cold from the environment and atmosphere around them cooling as well. Then they moved on to the second, which slid through with ease. The cloth of the tent was almost silky smooth and was all black, with a bit of grey mixed in here and there. Then the set up the divider and pushed the steaks through. They were missing a steak, but Mitsu solved that problem by making one from bone. "There, all finished." Mitsu took his backpack and pulled out his sleeping bag and laid it out on the ground and put his backpack inside the tent. Mitsu then laid down on the ground and peered up at the sky. He was glad they hit a clearing so he could see the stars. The thought of what his response might be if she asked him why he liked stargazing so much. Mitsu thought about it for awhile as to what his response might be. It was actually a heartfelt reason once he really thought about it. He had a smile on his face as he looked up. The sky was absolutely beautiful that evening.

After the tent was finished for the night and Mitsu set his stuff inside, Nasa also placed her supplies in as well. She brought the tent bag in and set the divider between them to where they would both have some privacy. Nasamea claimed the space on the right side that she had mostly joked about taking. Truth was it didn't matter what side she got as long as she got some sleep. She unrolled her sleeping bag from its own individual bag and revealed her own flat pillow rolled up within it as well. She then heard Mitsu slip outside again as she prepared to lay down and get some shut eye for the night. First things first though, she took off her ninja pouch and shoes; setting the pouch underneath her pillow and the later beside the tents opening. She wanted to be ready for anything yet comfortable as she slept. The tent bag and her sleeping bag's individual one were then placed near the opening but more towards the wall to her left; opposite of the divider.

For a while, after laying down, she tossed and turned a bit. She wasn't feeling comfortable with knowing he was outside and possibly in the open. It was best that someone took guard anyway but maybe she was nervous of being out anyway. She was their protection in her opinion and because of that she didn't feel safe just yet. She may have been a B rank Special Jounin but any good S rank could come along and wipe them both out.

"Hey Mitsu," she started to say, her head peeking out through the tent opening, "why do you love Star gazing so much anyway? I enjoy it because the stars make interesting constellations and such but what's your reason?"

She had unzippsd the tent before speaking so maybe it would've caught his attention. Now she rested with her head on her crossed arms and a small pillow beneath to prop her up. Her amber hues just slightly glowed in the dim moonlight but it was mostly her whole face which shown through. It almost made her seem like a ghost figure. Not that the light hit her directly, since they set up in a dark spot, but any light was still light.

Mitsu paused before answering, as if he was actually hesitant to answer. He was confused as to why there was suddenly something stopping him from answering her. Mitsu took a deep breath and sighed before finally answering her.

"Normally, I'd be hesitant to answer that question and probably give a partial answer, leaving out the true reason. But you...you are my closest friend. So I will have no problem telling you the true reason as to why I hold such a simple thing so dear to me. As you know, I was born in a village where I was ridiculed by everyone. I was often forced to flee into the nearby woods to escape the harm others tried to cause me. I often was forced to spend days at a time in hiding in those woods. The night sky was my only friend to keep me company. Once my aunt and uncle took me to Konoha, I was still in a depression. I was on the brink of losing all hope for anything, even once I was taken in. I was often by myself, hiding in the forests still. It worried my aunt and uncle so much, but they understood that I would want to be alone and let me be."

"Still, the night sky was my only companion. In Konoha, I was able to learn more about the stars, which filled me with wonder. I think that was what brought me out of my depression. I wanted to become so great, that I would be known by all, as one of the greatest shinobi ever. I gained a newfound hope of reviving the kaguya clan, making them the protectors of peace, instead of it's destroyer. The stars helped me carry on, always reminding me of my dream. Just because of that, I kept going on with my life. Now I have friends, and I've never been depressed since. Well, that is my true reason I suppose. Sorry that I rambled on a bit."

Nasamea listened intently to what all Mitsu had to say. He seemed extremely passionate about stargazing where as for her it was just a simple pass time. A sky truly was one’s companion though. It was always there and rarely changed aside from a star or two appearing or disappearing. But these changes were so faint that one would probably never notice no matter how many times they watched the sky. She could be wrong though.

Once Mitsu was finished she was unable t really generate anything to say. Part of it was that she was tired and the other half being she never heard anyone really tell her their life story. Even Shi didn’t really aside from his father he murdered and such. But forget Shi. Focus was Mitsu and the mission.

”I’ll be honest; I am at a lost when it comes to what to say. I never really thought of the sky as my companion but it actually is… It never leaves you. Never judges. Sure it may get angry when it casts down the elements but everyone gets emotional sometimes right? Interesting….”

She was silent for a few minutes as she peered up at the sky as well. She was mostly soaking it all in and preparing for what she was about to say next. She was started to feel tired too so this may be her last comment before bed.

”I’m glad I was able to meet you Mitsu and well, as corny as it may sound, share some memories. You’ve turned out to be a really close friend… and that’s a lot to say coming from me…. I hope you’ll achieve your goals and become great one day. Then one day I can point at you and say “Hey! I knew that guy!” she said before chuckling. She moved her arms out from below her and pushed herself up. Next she threw the pillow to the other side of the tent and sat up. Her hand grasped her tent zipper for her side as she looked at Mitsu.

”Sorry I have to cut the conversation short but it’s best we get some shut eye. We have a mission to complete after all. I’ll probably be the first awake but who knows. Be prepared to start the day off at 5am and head out by 5:30. The sooner we get this done the better…”

With that said she closed the tent and crawled around the tent. Little noise was made as she snuggled back into her sleeping bag and actually felt tired. She said what she needed to for the night and now she would get some shut eye. She hoped he did to. If he fell asleep out in the open who know what could happen. They didn’t have time for accidents after all.

It did sound a bit corny, but Mitsu smiled all the same and even chuckled a bit. He was fine with the conversation being cut off, he wanted to get some star gazing in as much as he could. The early wake up call was like nothing to him because he woke up early every day himself, unless he stayed up decently late the night before.

He laid back and looked up at the beautiful sky. He did notice some stars that weren't visible from the night sky back in Konoha, and he made note of them in his head. He wasn't going to spend much more time though. It was starting to get late and he needed to get some shuteye. He noticed the new stars immediately but grew tired of them quickly and looked at his chart to see if they completed or even made constellations. Some of them did complete a few and it solved a few puzzles in his head and he was able to imagine the objects and creatures and beings they symbolized. He animated them interacting with one another and then soon silently crawled into bed inside the tent and almost immediately fell asleep.

The time they had to sleep seemed short and yet Nasamea could already feel the difference in her body. She felt more relieved and less tired now and was definitely ready to go. She just hoped Mitsu was as well. She rose out of her cocoon like a butterfly would have for its stage of evolution and she quickly felt the chill of the night air pierce her skin. It felt like knives and immediately woke her up. It was then she noticed the nightly sounds had faded into silence; a persistent emptiness that would probably bring chills to the average human. Nasamea knew what this soundless noise meant though. Dawn would approach within the next three hours and it was that time where the animals were changing shifts like human workers. The birds, like clockwork, were about to come in sometime soon. It appeared hunting paid off in more ways than one.

Nasamea listened intently as she moved about in the plastic tent. She first made the daring move of waking Mitsu up, unsure of what his reaction may be. Some people simply woke up and were ready to go where as others were groggy or even temperamental. She hoped he was more of the first and not a wild bear in disguise. With a mark of embarrassment across her cheeks she thought of what could happen had she lifted the divider and quickly shook her head. There had to be a different way to wake him without looking. So first she wrapped up her blue heavy duty sleeping bag into a small bundle, flat pillow inside, and quickly put it inside its appropriate bag. The zipper caused little noise in the tent as she gave back the carriers organs and set the happy bag aside. With a sigh she then turned towards the door and unzipped this as well.

The night time frigid air stabbed needles into each of her individual pours the moment she unzipped the door. It was as though someone had been waiting outside just to turn on a fan and blow it all in her face. This sent a shiver down her spine and caused the tiny hairs on her neck to stand up. Now she really was awake.

Nasamea crawled out of the tent and immersed herself in not only the chilliness of the air but the near open area they had camped in. She grew a quick sense of familiarity of the area due to them tenting here and was quick to survey the land for any signs of change. Nothing.

When her eyes finally adjusted to the silver light, provided from Tsuki-yomi himself, she then searched for her weapon she planned to use to wake Mitsu up. It was the first thing which came to mind that allowed her to hopefully step out of his peaceful slumber while giving him some privacy. For all she knew he slept naked. She wanted to keep her eyes pure had that been the case.

With ginger footsteps that barely created even the tiniest bit of noise she entered the tent once more and crawled back to her side; which was now empty from her already packing up. Her plan immediately went to action as she slid the partially sharp stick beneath the veil and began to poke him. Her only fear now was him freaking out and disrupting the peaceful night. That would call for desperate measures she didn't wish to use.

Mitsu awoke early that morning, even earlier than Nasa. He had a strange dream that night. It was not completely clear to him, as it was all a bit foggy. He could never remember dreams well anyway. The fact that he was magically a female, and a bride's maid at that made it very strange. Him and the other bride's maids were to do some sort of cheer leading type routine thing. Then the dream went into a flashback as if it had taken place differently, like a year before. In the flashback, it felt like it was an actual memory. He, or rather in these dream terms, she remembered having trouble getting the yellow silk dress on, then finally getting it to fit. He even felt uncomfortable in the tight dress while dreaming. His mind was controlling all of his senses well enough for him to even remember the feeling in the dreams. The dream world then moved on to him having a brother or something, but that dream was foggy and he couldn't remember it.

Seconds after waking up, where his eyes simply flitted open, he felt liquid in his nose. Knowing what it was, he snorted, and the mixture of snot and blood, mostly blood, filled a small portion of his mouth. He calmly reached into his nearby bag and pulled out a paper napkin. He tore off a portion, and rolled it up and folded it length-wise, then twisted it. He then pushed it gently into his nose where the bleeding was taking place, his left nostril, and twisted while doing so. This created a stopper for the blood so it wouldn't get everywhere, it let it heal faster. He got the nosebleed because of the change of temperature. the humidity and temperature had changed over the night to the morn, which caused the bleeding. He anticipated this, thus the napkin in his bag. He quietly got his things together, not making a single sound. He left his pillow there and rested his head on it, waiting for Nasa to get up.

He soon heard her rustling about, but laid still and unmoving. He wanted to know how she would wake him up. There were a number of ways she could do so, but at first it didn't seem like she was going to at all. She even left the tent. Mitsu was just about to get up until Nasa re-entered the tent. He could barely see her silhouette on the divider, but couldn't make out what she was doing. He didn't notice the stick and then felt a poking sensation. "You know, most people would just say; 'Hey Mitsu, are you awake?' or 'Mitsu, its time to get up.'. You don't have to poke me. I actually woke up a bit before you, I was just waiting to see how you were going to try to awaken me. My things are packed and ready to go, all we need to do is pack up this tent and we can head for the docks."

Mitsu got up and they packed up the tent and Mitsu latched his sleeping bag back onto his backpack. They then walked to the docks to get a ride to Whirlpool. He reached into his bag and pulled out an apple, his breakfast. He knew that had to get moving, so he was fine with a small breakfast. By the time they had reached the docks, Mitsu had eaten through two apples and half of a third.

No sooner had she started to poke him that he responded back. It turned out that he had actually woke up before she had and was playing sleep; something she normally did to her parents when she used to sleep in. Hearing him, the stick retreated to her side of the tent and then flew out the tent's opening like a useless tool.

Suddenly her hand reached up and grasped the top clip of the tent. She undid them and yanked the divider down, peering directly at Mitsu with dull colored amber hues, "Good, then you should be decent". It was that moment the smell raced up her nose and partially caused her pupils to narrow. She immediately took notice of the rolled up towel shoved up his nose. There was one thing she paid more attention to though. The red stains his nostril had happened to emit. At that moment, it was a clear sign from her staring that she needed to evacuate the vicinity; which is what she had done. Now wasn't the time to hunt. Now was the time to focus on the mission.

She simply held the same thought in her mind since then as though she had hit a repeat button, 'Wait till you get home... Wait till you get home... Wait till you get home...' The mission was far more important in her eyes at the moment and soon she regained control. The thought of turning Mitsu into a meal was to sickening to her; the curse of friendship.

No soon had they both got up the tent was taken down and returned to its proper bag within minutes. It was a simple task to do after all. Now Nasamea was running with both this tent and her sleeping bag strapped to her back as it had when they left. The moon still held its place in the sky. The stars still formed vivid images of hunters, bears, and whatever the mind could thing of. It was all simply a glorious image encouraging a starving artist to imprint it on a canvas. Well, a shame for them though. Neither of them were probably that good of artists considering Nasa gave up the skill years ago and Mitsu, well, she wasn't sure.

Anyway, the two continued to progress through the unfamiliar forests of the fire country until eventually they reached the docks. It was apparent that the ferry to take them across had not left yet and that the place wasn't even open due to the lack of people around and lights on inside. Nasamea glanced at Mitsu and sighed, "appears our mission will be delayed a bit longer. From the looks of things though.. the sun may rise soon. So hopefully they will open around then."

It wasn't to long of a wait either. As Nasamea found a comfortable bench near the place she took a seat until about a good half hour passed. At that point the two could talk freely up until they reached a body of water within the Whirlpool country. The plan she had in mind was to go there, catch the beast, and take the ferry back as soon as possible. To make things better, she hoped they could reach their next destination before night fall too. This was all a matter of how they caught the beast though. Until then though they could simply enjoy the light cool breeze and the warm sun against their skin. Today surely looked like it would turn out to be a good day; or at least this was what Nasa hoped.