A Village Under a Rock

The brisk mountain air kicked up as a caravan rumbled its way through the mountain passes. Masami himself was riding on a cart near the front, holding his jacket together as the air was a drastic difference from the dry desert winds. The caravan would approach a crossroads where one man would signal with a raised hand to bring the caravan to slowing halt. Once the group was at a stop, Masami would jump off and nod to the man. "Thank you very much for the ride as close as you could get me." The man would nod and reply. "Don't thank me yet. You still have a long road ahead. I have never been to the village but other merchants tell us it should be somewhere in that direction. Try not to get to lost out here in the mountains. The bandits might be a bit more brash here." Masami would nod and wave off the caravan as they started back up on their way. He looked down the path at the seemingly endless path and winding mountains with a sigh. "Well I got this far and damned be any bandits I am going to finish this" Masami grabbed hold of his coat and tried to clamp it shut with his fists as he started to march his way down the path towards where people only heard the village of Iwagakure might be, if it exists.

Masami had marched a good while as the wind seemed to pick up in the mountains. The cold air seemed like razors against his chest through every opening in his tattered jacket. Growing up in the deserts of the Land of Wind was a drastic extreme that he was now appreciating compared to this. But he could not turn back and be left to his own. He had his mind set on finding this place and this would not be the first task that he quit out on. Masami would keep on his march until he saw a small indent in the rock wall that seemed to serve some purpose as a rest point for travelers. He was more then happy to sit and take advantage of the break in the wind. He would sit and bring his knees to his chest as he rest against the rock wall and looked out at the area. The mountains did seem quite an awesome sight compared to the rolling dunes of sand that just moved with the wind. He could feel within his own chakra a sense of being and normalcy as if the mountains were rich with metal that was communing with him, telling him he belonged. Masami would let himself relax as he set down the pack the caravan had gave him. He took out a small bag of trail mix and started to snack away at his rations.

Mitsu had heard news that there was another lone person in the Great Chang mountains. She was not a suspicious person thankfully, but if she were she might start to believe that there was a sudden influx of people in response to the recent war. Blissfully ignorant of the far reaching potential consequences of political upheaval she would chalk it up to another day in being able to help the Universe turn as it should and headed out of the village to question the waylaid traveller. As with the last one she would wear her warm travelling clothes; red leather pants and a long flowing red shirt held tight by a gold and emerald encrusted vest. A long fur cloak adorned with matching gold and emerald designs kept the cold wind at bay as she picked her way through the mountain paths.

Activating her sensory ability it didn’t take long to locate the single source of chakra in what looked like a travellers alcove. She made a concerted effort to have her footsteps make noise so as not to appear to be sneaking up on the person, calling out to them in her melodic voice. “Totally not sneaking up on you, just came to say hello!” Content that she had successfully avoided causing any distress, though she had no way of jumping to that conclusion, she would round the corner and offer a wave to the man she saw there. Looking at his clothes and pack, her reddish pink eyes would light up as she would recognize the wear of travelling through the sands anywhere. “Did you come from the Land of Wind?!” she spoke excitedly, her paper white skin and hair momentarily offset by the flush of excitement on her cheeks. “I’m Mitsukira Tatsudashi, but you can call me Mitsu if you like. I used to live there! In the desert I mean. You must be freezing, if that’s where you came from. What are you doing here in the mountains?”

Ryuichi had been moving though the Great Chang Mountains for some time now. The only indication he had for how much time has passed was the fast that when he had left his small camp in the morning, the sun had just barely begun to creep above the horizon. By now it had crept closer to its apex. If it had been a cloudy day, Ryuichi would have no way of knowing considering how chilly the air still was. The Land of Wind had been his home for so many years that, despite living in the area for some time now, he still had not grown accustomed to the weather around here. He had woken early that day in order to hunt himself some food and maybe pick up an odd job helping a nearby farmer or something similar with a bit of hard labour. So far, his efforts at hunting had proved fruitless, and he had not come across anyone that could use a hand. He knew that he could have stayed in the village with his mother and simply gotten a small job in town, but the principle of the issue kept him from giving in. He was a strong, independent Your who did not need to lean on the village for his safety or comfort. And yet, even as he thought that, his stomach began to growl. With a groan and an eye roll, Ryuichi push ed though the mountains a little father from where he had camped the night earlier. It was shaping up to be a bit of a waste of a day.

It was a little more than an hour of more wasted time when Ryuichi emerged onto the road that headed toward Iwagakure no Sato. He was hungry and disappointed in himself which made for a foul combination as he started swallowing his pride and heading along the road. After a short walk in the cool mountain air, the young Yoru noticed a small traveler’s alcove of sorts. Occupying it were a young man with a shaved head and a handful of trail mix along with a small, beautiful white-haired woman who seemed to be talking excitedly about something. From the distance he was at, Ryuichi could not make out a word. At the sight of the trail mix, the young man’s stomach growled again. Suppressing the urge to run over and beg for food, Ryuichi approached with a smile and headed toward a stone while giving a small wave.

“Hey there,” he said with a smile. “Do you mind if I join you? I’ve been out here for a while and could use a break.”


WC: 444

Masami sat there and ate until he heard the footsteps of someone coming the opposite direction of the path. He looked up to see a rather pale and white haired young lady approach him without a second thought and joined him in the cove. She introduced herself and could tell he was a traveler from the deserts before asking his business. "I am coming from the deserts in search of the Land of Stone and maybe find the village within. Obviously I wasn't told how drastic of a change the lands would be. These thin cloths are doing me no good out in the wind. If you have any idea of where that village might be, that would be appreciated." As he spoke he saw another poor soul coming from the direction he had. The man seemed to have been just as rough off as he was. He has asked to join them in the cove as Masami shrugged. I guess. But as soon as this lady... Mitsu, takes off to show me the way to some civilization, we are gone." Masami would tug as his jacket sides to try and wrap himself up more and protect his core from the winds that could reach them.

Mitsu listened to the man talk about where he was from and how his travels had gone so far. There was clear excitement on her face as she considered that he might have word from her homeland. She wasn’t often homesick, but looking at the sand weathered clothing of the man made her heart ache for her parents and for the seemingly endless dune sea. She was not surprised to hear that he was looking for Iwagakure, that would make him the second person in as many days and frankly after the war many people had been displaced and were seeking shelter. Though why they all thought that travelling to the village that had just been attacked was a good idea she’d never know. Perhaps because if it had already been attacked then there seemed a better than good chance that no one would come back to try to raze it.

“The weather here does take some getting used to, and much warmer clothing I’ll admit. But you do, eventually, get used to it. I promise. As for the location of the village, I need to ask you a couple questions first. Why are you look-?” Her words were cut off as she noticed a second chakra signature approaching, it seemed that there had been some sort of event that caused an influx of newcomers to the Land of Earth, and here she was the lucky woman to greet them. Turning so that she could see both men as she spoke she would offer the newcomer a smile. “I don’t mind at all. I’m Mitsukira Tatsudashi, or Mitsu as my new friend here mentioned. And you are?” She would wait to see if the new man answered before giving Masami a curious look. “Actually I don’t think I caught your name.” She had been aware of reports of the first traveler, but this new one was unexpected and a more suspicious person would have questioned the coincidence. Mitsu was as far away from suspicious as the sea was from Sunagakure. “I guess everyone is just traveling through the mountains nowadays. So what are you doing in the mountains?” Her question was directed at Ryuichi and she would stare curiously into his yellow eyes waiting for a response.

With the apathetic greeting from the young man and the cheerful approval of the woman, Ryuichi shuffled up to a nearby bench and took a seat, smiling with his answer to the woman, Mitsu’s, question. “I’m Ryuichi. You can call my Ryu if you’d like to though.” He caught a glimpse of the unnamed companion pulling his jacket closed and noted that he most likely was not from the Land of Stone either. His eyebrow raised slightly with this mental note but the grumbling of his stomach quickly turned his attention away from the curiosity. He looked down, hoping that the noise would not interrupt the introduction of the young man and tried his best to push past the potentially awkward moment by responding to Mitsu. “Ya, I’ve seen a lot more activity out here myself. I haven’t been around here long but even in the last couple of months I’ve seen more and more people along the roads.” He leaned back with a sigh, maintaining eye contact with Mitsu as he continued. “I’m just out here to hunt a bit and pick up odd jobs. Nothing too exciting. I technically live in the Iwagakure no Sato with my mother but…I don’t really spend much time in the walls. Civilization isn’t really my cup of tea.”

It was in that moment that Ryu’s mind began to wander. There was something about this woman that seemed familiar. For some reason eh knew her face, her hair…something about her rang as familiar. The context was hazy though. For some reason he thought he had seen her in the village before, but he could not figure out why. Maybe she had come into his mother’s shop at some point? Or maybe they had simply passed by in the streets before. Regardless, something rang clear in his mind about her. Part of him wanted to ignore it, but he was a sucker for a mystery, and not knowing who this woman was would drive him wild. With a tilt of his head, he decided to ask. “I really hope I’m not interrupting you two but…I gotta ask. Mitsu, do I know you? I feel like I recognize you from the village, but I can’t quite place where or why. Have you been to a small shop in the market? A pottery shop with items in the style of the Land of Wind?”

WC: 398
TWC: 444+398=842

It finally dawned on Masami that he was getting into his focused state again when he took a breath to ground himself as the two spoke and Mitsu had asked him for more reason on who he was and why he was here. He thought it couldn't hurt if she was going to be able to lead him in. " Oh I'm sorry the name is Masami Tetsuda. I am seeking estranged family that was supposed to be calling the village home. Atleast that was what my father told me before I had left." Masami would look about as the other young man, Ryuchi, spoke with Mitsu, seeming to have some clue of who she might be. It seemed interesting to Masami that he had a hoem within the walls of this elusive village but chose to willingly live outside in this kind of weather and conditions just to live away from the hustle and bustle. Masami would trade anything in his pack to be within the walls and close to a fire. He clutched at his coat and ate at the rest of the trail mix in his hand as the two spoke. He would wait patiently for any other questions the two might have or until they would start to walk.

Mitsu had been mentally preparing herself for an intense question and answer session to determine if the two men she was currently speaking to were able to be let into the village. But as luck would have it, they both provided the answers she was seeking without her needing to ask. Because sometimes the Universe just handed you the answers, and that was good enough for Mitsukira. As Mitsu had very little else to do in the village besides decorating it, she had taken the time to visit the many people within the village, and while she didn’t necessarily recognize the man in front of her, she did remember a pottery shop in the marketplace run by one Himitsu Yora. Not that she was in the business of looking too closely at people’s stories, her trusting nature caused her to take most people at their word.

With a bright smile she would turn to Masami, “Very nice to meet you Masami Tetsuda. You are the second person I’ve found looking for family within the village in as many days. I can show you the way there, well I suppose we both can.” She would glance at Ryuichi as she spoke, still trying to place him in her memories, he did look somewhat familiar. “And I am familiar with the pottery shop you mentioned, the shop stood out to me since that’s where I’m from originally, the Land of Wind that is. I’m Mitsukira Tatsudashi, wife of Masaru Tatsudashi, the Tsuchikage.” Noticing the way Masami tugged his thin coat around himself she would unclasp her fur cloak and hold it out for him to take, assuming he did she would smile and nod in approval otherwise she would just shrug and reclasp it. “Here, I remember how cold it was when I first arrived here. We can get you some warmer clothing once we reach the village. Which, perhaps we can all head there now?  It isn’t terribly far, but the sooner we get there the sooner we can get out of the wind and eat some breakfast. Or lunch. Whatever you’d both prefer. The least I can do is offer a warm meal to two of the Land of Earth’s estranged children. And maybe we could reminisce about the Land of Wind, I do miss my homeland.” She was occasionally homesick for the deserts, and most especially for her parents.

With a warm laugh she would push herself away from the rocks and gesture for the two men to follow her. Assuming they did, she would make her way towards Iwagakure, excitedly talking about her various activities in the Land of Wind and of her adventures since she’d been in the Land of Earth. Most of her tales involved dancing or the eloquent description of the various shades of colours that made up a sunrise. She would listen with equal excitement to anything Masami and Ryuichi had to say, keeping her sensory active as they walked. Once the looming stone gate way came into view she would pause and gesture to Dead Man’s Alley. The last person she had brought in through here had been at night, and so the testaments to the zero tolerance policy for crime in the shape of people were barely visible, unlike now. “We take crime very seriously here, but don’t worry we’re also very just. Welcome to Iwagakure no Sato. Once we’re in you can join me for a meal or we can go about setting you up in the village. Either way, I’m pleased to be able to welcome you both.” She would smile and walk towards the gate, nodding to the guards as she went. As much as she missed the desert, this was her home now. She felt it in her heart every time she came back.

{Exit}

Masami would give Mitsu a nod as she spoke, seeming more the willing to show him the way into the village. The other man seemed to know his way around this village as well, Masami counted himself as double lucky with this encounter. He saw as Mistu held out her smaller fur coat to him as a sort of gesture, he would take it and throw it over himself in reverse to cover up his torso from the wind or how much it could cover. As soon as she finished speaking and started to move away, Masami was able to make his legs march on with a renewed sense of purpose. The cold no longer stinging him as bad as it was when they walked. Now that he was being led to the village, his mind could wander to new things like what his first warm meal in days was going to be. Maybe as big of a steak as he could afford or even some thin soup would warm his bones and the coldest metal that dwelled inside of him.

They walked for a bit until they came to what he would assume were the village walls. Mitsu would stop and point out a wall corpses and other assorted messes. She talked as if it wasn't a big deal to her to have a wall of criminals adorning the village. It made Masami happy though that this village wasn't about to let people get away with crimes without some sort of recourse. Masami would nod as she spoke and follow her into the village gates.

[Exit]