Sand...here....there...everyone. All along the horizon was sand. The tiny grains that cut like razor sharp pieces of glass and managed to get into every crevice of her body. A smoldering heat was something she never felt before. Sun rays which once felt like gentle blankets of warmth and shelter felt like hell fire and brimstone upon her delicate flesh. She knew they were going to the desert yes for some of her uncle's business but she had not anticipated this level of heat. Sure they studied about it briefly but kinda of put maps on the back of her mind a bit along with geography.

She only been studying shinobi and the world for the past year, having just 'graduated' in her uncle's sense from a student to a functioning genin somewhat. She aced mostly everything but her world views and experience outside of her tribe were still lacking, quite severely might I add. Heck, she was not even considered as part of the Ustar Tribe till she won the Proving even though it became a massacre shortly after and will be remembered as such. Her heart aches, remembering that terrible day. On the day of the Proving, she set out to Mother's Heart to finally enter the settlement but Drac...unnerved her. He promised to always love and watch over her, even when she won. She was the daughter that he never had. Yet he had this look about this. Like something was wrong. When they parted ways, she turned her head back just this once and felt like this was not a simple see you later but a goodbye.

She steeled her heart however and walked past those gate. And what splendor it was, to finally be inside mother's heart. She had never seen so many people together at once, laughing, drinking, feasting, singing. She was an outcast still but had a chance to prove herself as one of the tribe. Of course not everyone was happy to see her, in fact most actually detested her existence. Rok even gave her trouble when she tried to entered the cabin set aside for the contestants. He spat at her feet and told her she didn't belong here. When she pushed him aside and told him she had as much of a right to be here as anyone else, he raised his arm in order to strike her when a young woman roughly her age with ebony skin came and dragged her inside, giving him a menacing glare for his intolerance. Her name turned out to be Ava and they hit it off pretty quickly. If....if only she lived.

Perhaps she too would have liked to see the world, past All Mother's Embrace. There is so much to see and learn, so much that the tribe did not know, that they kept from us. If only the tribe were not so set in their ways. If they got over their arrogance and actually tried to see the world for what is it instead of shunning it. Her people are still back on that damn island hunting game and were little in the way of farming and agriculture. She has been on wooden beasts that swam across the ocean called ships. Seen more food than she ever saw in one place. People of every shape, size and color. Languages, art, technology. The art of chakra, the magic that was so heavily banned did wondrous things.

Maybe...maybe they could have fended off the killers...and Drac would have lived...

"Oi, kid! You done spacing out there?"

"Heh, look at you. Sweating bullets and face as red as a cherry. Not quite what you expected right. Told you not to dress like that. C'mon, we are here already. I got us through the gates when you were off daydreaming somewhere. Let's go find an inn, change and get you some proper clothes. Sound good to ya my little savage?" At this point she did even care that Shiro was poking fun at her, she just wanted to get out of this damn heat. So she followed him through the hustle and bustle of Suna. My goodness it was so loud. This is the first time she ever been to a place this big. It was easily dozens of times larger than Mother's Heart. So many smells, people and noises. It was making her a bit light headed. Eventually they found the inn and as soon as they were in their room with a fan blasting, no ac because it was not in the budget her cheapskate of an uncle, she immediately stripped down ignoring her Uncle's incredulous gaps of surprise, and took a shower, washing all the grime and dirt and sand, oh all mother there was so much sand everywhere, how did it even get there. It should be no surprise that she took awhile in the shower...

Now that she has changed into some desert appropriate clothing and refreshed, Eisen and her Uncle Shiro were rummaging through the streets after meeting a contact of his. She was looking through some of the wares and was pointy ignoring her Uncle who has been trying to get her attention for 10 minutes now. "Oh c'mon I already said I'm sorry for not telling you sooner. At least you know now to use a minisclue amount of suiton chakra to regulate your body temperature. Seriously, it was not like I was trying to hide it from you. I just wanted you to figure it out honestly." Eisen was looking at some beaded jewelry and still ignoring him, upset and not budging. Shiro could help but face palmed thinking she was as stubborn as her father.

968~

Stretching her arms and legs out, Midori allowed herself the joy and relief of a sigh and yawn as she embraced the feeling of freedom which currently embraced her. Specifically, in this instance, it was in relation to her position as Kazekage. It had only been a couple months of the position, yet already work felt like a hammer that had been pounding against the back of her head, a never ending pile of tasks from sheer back log that she was working on catching up with. When she was told that, aside from emergencies, and evenings, she had the week off, her mind went ecstatic with the possibilities, and more importantly, the instant weight off her shoulders, the instant relief to her psyche. Yet, now that she wasn’t spending all of her time working… The sudden change caused a shift in thought within the puppet loving shinobi, so used to being sat at a desk sorting through dusted files that there was little memory of what she could do for leisure.

So, Midori decided to prepare for her leisure by preparing herself for a new puppet idea. Perhaps over the week she could create a new tool, a new art piece. One to aid her in living up to the expectations that were looming over her, like a noose around her neck. Allowing that thought to go through her mind, the Kazekage rose from her chair, and with swift feet departed from the office. Donning a rather basic cloth shirt, with bandages that covered up her right arm, Midori kept her hair up neatly in a near sickle-like ponytail behind her, trailing down to the small of her back. Her legs were covered with basic training legwear, and across her forehead was the Sunagakure no sato forehead protector. All in all, her appearance was simply that of a generally normal shinobi, Midori making use of the fact that the position of Kazekage was rarely cared over due to the current situation of the village, bitter beliefs about those within the position still held close at heart.

As her feet touched the sands of the streets, Midori allowed herself to breathe in the air around her. The sense of commerce, the air that was untouched by the ink of the pot and quill. A faint smile traced her lips and she found her way to the main market, the bazaar of commerce where most people were. While she wasn’t sure what sort of puppet she wanted to make next, the first thing she wanted to do was scout resources and suppliers of resources. There was a puppet shop if nothing else, one that specialised in parts, yet that never held the sort of pride and sense of self achievement as simply using raw materials. Refining the logs herself, shaping the metal. It was all just, while a lot more work, so much more satisfying. So, that thought in her heart, Midori began to survey the surroundings and the various wares that were set out on stands and stalls, wooden constructs designed entirely for the purpose of commerce.

Perusing through the variety of goods was certainly interesting, and at one point Midori couldn’t help but tempt herself for an apple from a rather run down warehouse. Supposedly, the stall was not popular due to the apples tasting with a lack of freshness, but the stand owner seemed friendly enough, and Midori could not taste the fruit regardless, so to her, it was a good opportunity to encourage local business, and get one of her five a day – even if that was a rather childish and acidic approach to health. How was it the metaphor went. An apple a day? Something akin to those lines.

As the puppet obsessed shinobi now stood at a shop selling rather basic trinkets and items, a figure stood out and caught her attention within her peripheral vision. Spinning on her heel, Midori stopped paying attention to the nifty nick nacks, and instead turned her focus towards the person that seemed so familiar. After gazing at the somewhat aging man, a spark hit off in Midori’s mind as she recalled – when she was a chuunin, she had met that man. While the person with him was a mystery to her, there was no doubt this was the treasure hunter. A smile crossed her face as the reality of comradery returned to her mind – a rekindling of the flame that told her that it wasn’t an isolationistic world. A country of kindness, even within the rough.

Approaching him from the side, the Ningyou began to wave as a grin spread from cheek to cheek, fond recollection in her mind as she called out. “Hey! Hey! I’d recognise that glint of an eye anywhere! It’s been a while you big treasure hunting guy. I think you’ll find that this doesn’t count as treasure hunting if you just go out and buy it, although I suppose you’re the professional. How’ve you been?” she declared, getting off a string of talking before giving space to breathe, excited at the prospect of having some familiarity after the past few months of non-stop work. Today was already looking like a good day, and that was always a pleasant thing.

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