Village Tour:

It was so incredibly and utterly foreign. To Chigetsu, who had never left the Land of Water in his life, Kumogakure felt like an entirely different planet. The moment he got off the boat that ferried him from Kirigakure to the Land of Lighting it was something he could notice. Every aspect of the country had a way of jumping out and declaring itself loudly, in a way that bolded and punctuated how different it was from home. This was noticeable immediately in the way people behaved. Chigetsu's first footsteps into the Land of Lightning were met with glares, his Kirigakure Forehead Protector immediately catching the attention of the civilians in the dock town he had arrived at. After the journey across the sea, this nameless port would be his only stop before the ascent to Kumogakure. He had been determined to use it as an opportunity to restock on some of the essentials that had been used on the boat, but the special 'foreigner mark up' that found its way onto every good of value quickly discouraged him. Money had to be rationed while away from home, and he just could not justify spending twice as much as what it would cost him in Kirigakure for a surplus field ration. This was to be expected though. He had prepared for it.

The caution that his Kirigakure Forehead Protector got him at the dock town would be repeated once he got to Kumogakure itself, although for different reasons. A foreign shinobi entering your capital was something completely reasonable to be worked up about though, and all the extra precautions that the Cloud Shinobi had taken wasn't something that Chigetsu could blame them for. He was sure that in their position he would have taken the exact same care. Not only did they have to worry about whether or not entering shinobi has ill intentions, there was also the looming possibility of there being some sort of an intervillage incident between shinobi. At an event like the Chunin Exams, where there would be gambling and alcohol heavily intertwined with the events, that was always a possibility. To keep things as smooth as possible Chigetsu had organized two sets of all necessary paperwork in advance, organized neatly into piles. He would be patient as the gate guards read each line of his Kirigakure shinobi registration, travel consent form, foreign mission permit, and Kirigakure passport. He did not mind as they patted him down and performed searches. Not even when he had gotten a bit uncomfortable with how 'invasive' their searching was did he complain. The slight anxiety at his kunai being temporarily separated from him went unmentioned as well. This was to be expected. He had prepared for it.

Everything from the architecture to the people themselves was different. Although it may have seemed obvious, that there was no mist in Kumogakure was by itself slightly discomforting. It had always been like a comforting blanket to him, and a protection from how the sun might have ravaged his incredibly pale skin otherwise. He had made sure to compensate by rubbing himself down with sunscreen before entering the city, but it wasn't the same. Even through it, he could still feel the slight sting of the sun. He just hoped it wouldn't result in any sort of sunburn. Still, this was the least of Chigetsu's worries. It was to be expected. He had prepared for it.

What he hadn't prepared for was the altitude. Kirigakure was located on a highland in the main island of the Land of Water, but it was all relatively flat compared to the extensive mountain ranges that ran throughout the Land of Lightning. Chigetsu had spent the entirety of his life up until this point in the Land of Water, close to sea level. He had traveled so quickly to the top of the mountain that Kumogakure was located in that it was something that only hit him after he had already arrived in the city. Kumogakure was truly the Village Hidden in the Clouds, but Chigetsu's stomach felt as if it were still stuck down in Kirigakure. It wasn't exactly something he could just so easily adjust to, even after desperately purchasing whatever medication he could find at a premium.

None of it worked. That was why he was currently stuck in one of the small, one room public bathrooms that lined Kumogakure, stuck on his knees while violently wretching into the toilet. The noise of spectators cheering and the idle bustle of the busy marketplace around him was deafening, to the extent that it made his throbbing headache even worse. Losing the contents of his stomach didn't exactly help with that either. Even when he had lost everything he had eaten into the pot he would still be left with that lingering nausea. It just left him rather dehydrated, and to a Hōzuki that was a bit of a big deal. Chigetsu would stumble out of the bathroom once the wretching had finally stopped, dizzily wobbling onto the busy streets. Being dehydrated left the little Hōzuki much paler than normal, and the way he wobbled had a bit of a jelly-like jiggle to it. It was an unfortunate weakness that his clan had while dehydrated, but there wasn't much he could do about it currently. Chigetsu wouldn't dare introduce any new fluids to his stomach anytime soon. As long as he didn't lose control of himself and collapse into a pile of jelly, everything would be fine.

"Don't you have any control over yourself? Grow a spine. What would you do if this happened to you while you were on a mission, deep in enemy territory? Would you just vomit and vomit and vomit until they found you and killed you? Keep your constitution and man up-" Chigetsu would smash his palm into his belt, targeting the kunai that was rumbling angrily in its carrying case. "Shut up. Shut up. I don't care right now, just shut up." He would grumble angrily in response, half yelling at the weapon. Normally he would try to at least hide that he spoke to his weapons, but right now he wasn't in the mood to care. Hopefully, nobody would care on the streets that this sweaty, somewhat gross smelling foreigner was yelling to himself while smacking his belt. Even if somebody did, what was the worst that could really happen? Reputation wasn't something he had in the forefront of his mind here.

Maybe it should have been though. With his much vomiting he had done Chigetsu would be reeking of the stuff, and he looked almost as bad as he smelled. The people in the designated visitor introduction area smelled him before they saw him. Given how late he was, Chigetsu was sure that they would be rather crossed with his entrance. Walking in, he was sure that was what he saw at first. Those expressions of anger quickly turned into something between pity and disgust though. "Oh... You're Hozuki, Chigetsu?" There would be that twinge, and he could recognize it easily. The only way he could respond would be with a small shake of his head. The two women who were manning the station would both shoot a quick look at each other. If Chigetsu was perhaps a bit more aware he would have noticed the intense game of politics being played with their facial expressions and body language, but at the moment it just passed right over his head. It took only a few seconds for their little battle of facial expression to be over, but for Chigetsu standing there it felt like it was forever. "R-Right! Well, you're a later late, but we'd-" She would be shot a glance from her coworker. "I mean, I'd love to give you your honorary tour! You've already signed all the necessary paperwork," Chigetsu remembered signing no such paperwork, "so, we can begin right now!" She would stand up from her seat, the fake cheery smile she had plastered across her face nearly flawless. If it weren't for that initial crack in the facade when he walked in, Chigetsu would have had no idea of the disgust she was presumably feeling. Looks can be so incredibly deceiving at times. Chigetsu thought for a moment that perhaps he should take that to heart as a life lesson, but he was completely unable to focus on much more than keeping himself standing at the moment. Seeing that he wasn't going to respond, the tour guide simply took him by the hand (while wearing gloves, thank goodness), and led him out of the building. He got three steps out the building before another wave of nausea hit him. Chigetsu collapsed, letting out another wave of water out from his mouth. All over the woman who was supposed to be showing him around...

Chigetsu felt like it would be a long day.

[WC: 1515]
[Mission: 1515/750]
[765/225 - Perception E-2 -> E-3]
[540/300 - Perception E-3 -> D-0]
[240/150 - Reaction Time E-1 -> E-2]
[90 Words Wasted]