His travels to Kaze no Kuni were rather uneventful, though dulled due to the lack of companionship that Suichi normally offered. Suichi, he had left back in Kirigakure no Sato, which wasn’t a difficult task to accomplish due to the distance Yuudai had placed between himself and the aquatic bird. While it was a bit difficult to leave him behind, Yuudai only knew it would be the only way to clear his head, to get rid of the constant negative thoughts that continually entered his brain. It’d take more time; he knew he couldn’t find his sense of peace right off the bat, but he did not know how long the journey would be, or how taxing it would be. Though he needed to find it one way or another. Shaking his head, he looked ahead, staring at the village of Sunagakure no Sato.

Ever since he had entered the Land of Wind, specifically upon trekking across the endless desert, Yuudai had to keep a small portion of his overall chakra circulating throughout his body, keeping his body temperature low enough for it to remain normal, for his bloodline’s standards at least. His journey here wasn’t for any specific reason, just mainly to find a place where he wouldn’t feel… confined. The open vastness of the endless sand dunes he had seen upon entering had given him such a sense. As far as people who inhabited Sunagakure that he had come across were limited. The one person he knew in Suna, who had given him an invitation to visit and act as a guide, was none other than the Kazekage herself, Kōga Suzume.

As the former Sannin of Kirigakure no Sato trekked along, towards the Village Hidden by Sand, he knew he needed to buy a cloak for the desert heat, to at least alleviate as much heat as possible, and perhaps purchase clothing more suitable towards this environment, rather than the clothing he wore normally within his home village. For now, he’d have to make the rest of the journey and reach the gates of the village. Perhaps afterwards, he’d find a way to cool off, for however long he could. Perhaps he’d be able to take a nice, long cold shower once he found a place to stay, for however long he’d be spending in the village known for its intense heat. Anything to give him a few moments of relieving his chakra from having to keep circulating within his system. Travelling for a few more minutes, Yuudai had reached the entrance to the village. He only wanted to do one thing before he attempted to do anything else in the village.

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Total Word Count: 455

Things felt familiar, yet completely foreign as the shinobi of Kirigakure no Sato ventured through the village of Sunagakure no Sato. This place felt desolate than his home, though the atmosphere was certainly similar, shinobi mixed in with the civilian population. Yuudai should’ve expected such a thing, seeing as how the atmosphere of Kumogakure no Sato was very familiar; perhaps it was a constant throughout the major shinobi villages. This place possessed its own unique qualities. Two things immediately stood out, things he was very aware as he was crossing the desert to come to this place, the sand and the heat. He didn’t mind the sand as much, mainly due to wearing closed toed boots, the high top working to his advantage. If he had opted for something such as shinobi sandals, or even low top boots, he knew the sand would be annoying him, if it were to enter his footwear. If he were at a beach, or not just fresh off a few days of journeying, he wouldn’t mind such a thing, but he was tired, still adjusting to having to keep chakra circulating through his body as he moved along the pathways of Sunagakure. Suichi would’ve hated this place; the heat especially.

His first order of business was to find an inn to stay at, for however long the Aisu swordsman felt necessary. Now that he was out of Kirigakure no Sato, the need to keep moving settled down some. However, the idea of just staying in one place just didn’t seem right to him. It would never be his home, as that recognition would always be given to the Village Hidden by Mist. There was still the opportunity to see the rest of the world, to see the three major shinobi villages he had never laid eyes upon. The one he was currently marked down the list to two, though he’d only been in the village for a maximum of twenty minutes so far. Somewhere along his journey, Yuudai knew wanted to visit Konohagakure no Sato and Iwagakure no Sato, the only other shinobi villages he hadn’t set a foot within. He knew his abrupt absence from Kiri would be noticed over some time, though he had given formal notice he was leaving quite some time ago, he had just taken a while to act upon it. Of course, he knew eventually someone would become curious as to his whereabouts, perhaps even labelling Yuudai as a deserter, though he would never divulge any information considered sensitive; about security, about his home to anyone else.

His steps became more adjusted to the change in environment, as there were only grains of sand to walk upon in the village as sandstone paved the pathways for the village. Ocean blue eyes continually scanned signs above buildings, searching for an inn of any sorts. Just someplace that had a cold shower. ‘The Sleeping Sand’. He found the name somewhat humorous, before the awareness of his despite of the heat came back in mind. Walking inside the front entrance, Yuudai found a middle-aged woman sweeping the front entrance. From that action alone, it was simple to deduce that she was an employee here. “I’d like to rent out a single room, for an indefinite period of time.” Noticing the curious expression on the older woman’s face, Yuudai knew that they’d expect payment upfront, just from the way most inns ran business.

“Of course dear. Though we require you to pay for however long you are staying before giving you out a room. If you’re going to be here for a while, you can pay by the week.”

Knowing that he’d have an ample amount of ryo, both to pay for their services and for his future expenses, Yuudai nodded and withdrew a small sack, filled with ryo. It would be more than enough to cover a week for the time being. “There should be more than enough ryo in there.” He slid the bag across the table gently, towards the innkeeper, whom promptly opened it and closed it.

“That’s more than enough. Thank you sir.” The lady turned and walked behind a counter, opening a drawer and taking an object out of it. As she slid the drawer shut, she held the keys in her palm for Yuudai to take them. “Your room is on the second floor. The third door on the right.” With a nod, Yuudai gracefully retrieved the keys and walked towards the stairs, ready for a cold shower.

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The room he had entered wasn’t something he completely expected for the price he paid; well he paid for the room for an entire seven days, though he supposed it with the ryo he had put down it could easily cover his stay here for nine days. The money wasn’t an issue with Yuudai as over the years he rarely spent a coin on luxuries, as his money normally went towards food and clothing. Missions and his mother’s funds which she had given to him upon his promotion to jounin would be enough to allow Yuudai to survive without having any source of income for a while. Adding to that the life of a shinobi, he’d have advantages that civilians would not, and if the need arise, he could find work in another village, just for the sake of helping them and his wallet out, but that would not be needed for quite some time. Besides, his want to stay hidden, not really known would have to be taken in to account when doing an odd job or two. Perhaps he’d need to invest in something to mask his identity, a simple cloak and mask could easily accomplish such a thing.

Letting his eyes continue scanning the room, the first thing that he noticed was the colouring of the walls, nothing too garish; a greenish-blue colour, eton blue to exact. The room didn’t look too drab, with the wall colouring livening up the room quite a bit. There was a sliding glass door on the left side of the room; from where the entrance was located, leading out towards a small patio in which one could see the civilians of Sunagakure no Sato bustling about. Directly ahead was the bed, nothing too extravagant, just a simple double bed with the sheet set being a plain Egyptian blue colour. Two dark mahogany night stands were on either side of the bed, each with a table lamp. In the far left corner of the room; just next to the sliding glass door, was a sliding white door, easily being deduced as the closet. On the right side of the room was another door and a wooden desk with a matching chair just a bit further off. That specific door likely led to the bathroom, the exact location which Yuudai had been seeking for the past while. Depositing the bag he had brought for his journey by the foot of the bed, Yuudai eagerly turned and walked towards the bathroom door.

As the door silently opened, only the minuscule of sounds heard from the hinges, Yuudai scanned the bathroom. Simple, small, and efficient was the only way to describe the room.  The walls were a pale blue. The floor was simply white tiles. Nothing that stood out to the eye, yet it would do the task it was set out to do. Once one opened the door, a couple of steps forward and one would be the sink. Directly to the left of it was the toilet. And to the left of that was the shower. Shedding off his clothing, Yuudai turned on the water to the coldest temperature, turning on the shower head and stepping in.

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Total Word Count: 1762

This wasn't how he thought this would come about. He had always assumed that she would have more time, that she would at least be able to see him once he truly settled down, perhaps even retired. Yet, things weren't meant to be. The stark white walls radiated off a sense of suffocating, of a knowledge that the news he had received not even ten minutes ago was not in fact a dream, but reality. She had always been healthy, from the earliest of memories, yet when the doctor had informed him of the terminal illness that was diagnosed, Yuudai couldn’t help but stand there in disbelief for a few minutes, his gaze lost in the endless expanse of the walls, something so plain, yet it could be stared upon for ages. There were hints of tear drops, watery eyes, yet he refused to shed a single tear out here, in a place where anyone could easily spot him. Blinking away the tears that were to come, Yuudai ran a hand through his long hair that had become unruly due to being stuck in the hospital for hours, just trying to figure out exactly what was going on.

His feet carried him, not sure exactly where he was going, just away from here. He would go visit her, his mother, but not while he still felt like a mess on the inside and out. She would be resting for the next few hours, the doctors having stated she needed all the rest she could manage at the moment. Yuudai had managed to make his way through the hospital, back to the main entrance. With a quick glance across the room, just taking in all the faces within the area, Yuudai decisively made his way to the doors that would lead him outside. The closer he got to being outside, the more he felt the ability to breathe easily. Without another thought, he went directly to the doors, the doors already opened due to other passer-by’s walking in to the hospital as he himself was leaving.

The moment he stepped outside, one thing was easily recognizable about the weather this evening, it was raining, heavily. Yet the rain felt welcoming with the coldness associated with it. Within mere moments of stepping out the doors, Yuudai tussled hair became drenched, being pushed straight down by the rain, sticking to his skin and down his back. Taking his left hand to push the hair away from his eyes, Yuudai felt he could shed a tear if need be, though being able to tell the difference between the rain and a tear was near impossible. Letting his feet carry him once more, Yuudai made his way to the closest location of the wall of Kirigakure no Sato.
Shaking himself out his stupor, Yuudai opened his eyes only to have to blink the water away so he could open them fully. With both hands pressed against the wall underneath the shower head, Yuudai stood there without any motion as the cold water rained down upon him, the ends of his hair hanging loosely within his line of sight. Heaving out heavy breaths, Yuudai shook his head once more, trying to get a better sense of his bearings. As another second passed by, Yuudai reached down for the shower faucet, turning it off without another thought. He had been absorbed in that particular memory for far too long. The cascading water had stopped completely, only single droplets left to fall from the shower head. Pushing his hands against the wall, Yuudai stood up straight and slid the shower curtain open. There wasn’t much one could say about the object except that it was a basic striped pattern of white and pale green. Reaching for the plain white towel he had placed upon the towel rack earlier, Yuudai began to dry himself off.

Walking out of the bathroom, with the towel wrapped around his waist, the first thing Yuudai immediately was aware of, once again, was the heat. His reaction was practically immediate as he pushed more chakra actively through his system to keep himself warm. The chakra would keep him cold while the actual temperature common to Sunagakure no Sato would heat him up. In result, he pretty much felt like he was still in Kirigakure no Sato, normal, just with a completely different environment and atmosphere. The first place Yuudai headed immediately towards was the foot of the bed, where a small backpack was located. Quickly zipping the bag open, Yuudai shuffled through its contents, drawing out three items immediately. A pair of boxers, pants, and a light shirt that wouldn’t feel stifling in the climate of Suna, were pulled out of the bag and immediately put on by Yuudai. Taking the towel in hand, Yuudai walked back towards the bathroom, discarding the towel upon the towel rack before leaving the bathroom as quickly as he entered it this time around. With his hair slightly wet, Yuudai found an extra hair tie in a smaller compartment in his bag. He took the tie and tied his hair in a loose ponytail at the nape of his neck.

There wasn’t much he had planned when he originally came to the Village Hidden by Sand, yet he knew only one person here, the Kazekage, Kōga Suzume. The meeting had been some time ago, back when he had been visiting his ancestral temple, the Aisu Temple ruins. She had extended an invitation to him and here he was now. Perhaps he could see if he could get an appointment with the Kazekage today, just for a brief meeting. Though he knew he would have to disappear sooner or later, and meeting with a Kage would only draw attention. Thinking about it some more, perhaps he could stay here for a few days, until his stay at the inn would expire, he had seven days. After that, it was more than likely he wished to disappear. To disappear without a trace would be easier here than compared to Kirigakure no Sato. Lying low for a week and then immediately heading to another village would make things simple. Added to that, buying a simple cloak and mask, or just a hooded cloak alone, would provide for enough disguise that he wouldn’t be able to be identified. Then again, not many in the shinobi world knew of him. Sure he was an important figure in the Village Hidden by Mist at one point – likely still is – but his interactions with people from other villages outside his own were limited to a select few.

Thinking about it even more really didn’t help Yuudai reach a conclusion as what to do exactly. Perhaps it would be best for him to decide when the end of the week began to close in on him. Staying in Suna definitely wasn’t planned to be a long stay, considering how the climate affected his body. Considering he was a shinobi of Kiri, it just didn’t feel right for him to stay in one place for too long, unless it was home.

Deciding to get something to eat and take his mind off anything and everything, Yuudai quickly moved to the door, opening and closing it behind him. He locked the door, though it wouldn’t be difficult for a shinobi to break into and he hadn’t brought anything of much value, his valuables would always be on hand, his necklace that his mother had given him and his two katanas. The necklace he would never leave out of his sight, unless he knew it would be kept safely elsewhere. But his katanas, those would stay with him for as long as he breathed. He was trained in the art of kenjutsu since he became interested in becoming a ninja and the two katanas were thing he wouldn’t give up for anything. He had already lost a weapon due to his negligence, he wouldn’t do it again. With a sigh, Yuudai turned to walk down the stairs, out the door and find a place to eat.

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