Dawn crested over the far mountains of the Land of Fire, casting a dim light and long shadows across the quiet village-turned-city. The sounds of a new day broke the early morning silence, and prompted him awake as the morning sun shone through his window. Dull grey eyes slowly opened, and despite the apparent state of sleep that he'd been in, the dark rings under his eyes suggested it hadn't been a particularly restful night. Was it his leg? No, perhaps not specifically. The pain had once given him trouble, but his body had since adapted, forcing itself to rest even when the pain was unbearable. Was it his nerves? ...Maybe. It wasn't an easy decision to willingly walk into what could very well be a person's own demise, yet he seldom strayed from what his gut instincts told him. Two options had presented themselves to him: He could sit around and wait on the chance that somebody might become and exceptionally skilled medical shinobi capable of repairing the damage of his leg... or he could take a risk and bet his life.

A low, guttural groan escaped from deep within his chest as he rose from the bed. Putting off the inevitable would do him no favours, and he had no intentions of delaying it any further. He had waited a week for travel approval, and after going through with his typical morning ritual, he had found out that his request had been approved. It brought him some peace of mind to know that he wouldn't have to defect from the village he had served loyally and without question just to get his leg back into working order. With his things having been packed the night before, Takao dressed himself in a set of sturdy travel-ready clothing that would survive the expedition between shinobi nations.

"Eri's probably in Iwagakure by now." He muttered to himself as he slung the pack over his shoulder and headed to his front door. He dropped down to sit and retrieved his boots which had been set aside upon coming home, and took his time in pulling them on. "I should get a move on and catch her on the way back." He rose to stand once the boots were laced up and threw the backpack over his shoulder once more. Upon stepping out onto the front patio, he turned and locked the door. His eyes lingered on the house, the largest and most expensive thing he'd ever bought purely with his own hard-earned money, and he sighed.

Takao turned and headed out onto the street. He walked westward, heading for the northwestern most gate. After last minute confirmation at the gates by the guards assigned to a very undesirable morning duty, Takao was on his way to Iwagakure. His plan was to take the road north-westward until it split off for the Tenchi Bridge, where he would then travel between the border of the Waterfall and Grass countries. While he didn't particularly care for arriving unannounced or taking a harder route with his damaged leg, he preferred to travel under the cover of the forest, where he was much more likely to have a fighting chance. The entire trip took a bit longer than he'd expected, and at some point before leaving the borders of Hi no Kuni, Takao was reunited with his avian companion. He traveled for the remainder of the distance with his bird providing an overhead view, though it had ended up being as uneventful a journey as Takao had been hoping. Before long, the borders of the Earth Country lay before him, and not far beyond said borders would he find the village hidden in the stones.

"Alright then. Let's see how this goes."

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Total Word Count:        [625]