Today was the day. It was finally, happening after weeks of plotting and planning. The male had scrimped and went without, murdered, scammed and saved all the money he could to make it happen. He'd even 'convinced' someone to leave with him -- extra money in his pocket as well. That Haruka kid knew his way out of the desert, something that was extremely valuable to Dakuman. While he had no idea where he would go once he was out of Sunagakure no Sato and Kaze no Kuni, it did not matter to him in the slightest; all the mattered to him was that he was finally fucking leaving this god forsaken village and country of burning sand, heat, scum, and bullshit.

The thought of it alone was damn near orgasmic.

He was posted up at the gates of the village of Sunagakure no Sato, waiting patiently. He had sent that Haruka kid off on an errand to fetch them fresh water for thier journey. There was no use in aqcuiring the water before this point; the fresher, the better. If they'd gotten it before then, it might have gone 'stale' before they reached the halfway point. They'd already secured thier food for the trip; dried fruits, cheeses and meats; all they needed was the water, and they would be set to go. Dakuman had not been waiting long, but it was long enough for the heat of the day to start kicking in; even with the sun barely over the horizon the male was starting to sweat. He would definately have to look into some better clothing once he left this place. His body suit as sticking to him in the worst places, and the sweat he was producing was pooling in even worse places. It did not help that he was carrying his full arsenal of weapons; Strange Tune was strapped diagonally across his back, with the hilt protruding above his right shoulder and the bell attached to it chiming softly, held in place by a make shift harness Dakuman created. Fallen's Retribution was strapped horizontally across the small of his back, with the hilt protruding from his right side, also with a bell attached. The hidden blade was attached to his left wrist and hidden beneath his clothing. The flute tanto was strapped to his chest to allow easy access should he need to grab it. He took time to make sure that each weapon was secured in its location, patiently waiting for Haruka.

Swear to all the deities, if this kid left me here in this goddamn village, I will hunt him down and kill him...

But alas, he it was still early. He himself was early to thier meeting location; Haruka still had a chance to be on time. Dakuman was merely anxious to get the hell out of the village of Sunagakure no Sato, and Kaze no Kuni. He had no idea where he would go, but frick it, anywhere was better than here.

499 WC

Well, this was just turning into the funnest of days, really. First he ended up being robbed by some asshole with an attitude issue, then turned into his little slave because fuc trying to fight out of that in this heat. frick all, the heat made it impossible for him to do anything; it was going to kill him pretty soon if he didn't get out of it, so this travel... well, might as well keep playing along with the sociopath. They were both itching to get the frick out of the desert, and that's what mattered. It was safer to travel in pairs, even with a dude that was basically threatening to kill him if he tried to get away.

Meh.

He wasn't going to make it out of this place without his camel, and the larger male had said camel, which had all of his food and a full half of his supplies; including some of his weapons and very important tools, so he couldn't risk vanishing. He really couldn't. There were items that couldn't be replaced, not without some serious coin that he didn't have; the special creams and such that allowed him to do his cover job as a geisha without being discovered... those tiny vials cost more than he'd make in a decade, and his clan wouldn't replace them unless there was a reason.

This wasn't a good enough reason.

frick all.

Well, at least he'd been mostly ready to go before this shit had happened; all he'd needed was the water, and that's what he was getting now. The water skins were massively heavy, but he'd carried worse. For all his tiny frame, he was fairly strong; you had to be able to carry water and such to survive in the place he'd grown up in; no well, no plumbing.... if you couldn't carry water from the river, you didn't have water. These water skins were nothing, really. He had them balanced across a long pole, itself balanced across his shoulders so that his body was balanced and he could walk. Slowly, but still without too much issue. Once he got to the camel he'd attach them to the saddle packs, and they could move on.

Destination?

Out of the fucking desert.

He'd take the sociopath out of the desert, to the trading depot at the far edge of the village; it was situated on a trade road that he'd used often enough, it split into three separate routes at that point, one road to Kumo, one to Iwa, and one to Konoha. So long as he didn't get dragged into Iwa territory... well, happy isn't the right word. He'd be... okay, with the situation. Returning 'home' always made him angry and foul tempered, so he was hoping to avoid it if at all possible. The larger male hadn't said where he was going after the desert, and Haruka didn't much care.

Get out of the heat. Survive. That's all that mattered.

He was making his way across the market; no one would bat an eye over a 'wife' carrying water; which is what he for all the world looked like. Lots of people had seen him and Darkuman at the stall, heard the little performance he'd put on... so frick. Stuck playing dutiful wife until they cleared the village. Whatever, he'd done better for worse people. They had a meeting spot at the edge of the village, right inside the gates that cut off the pass through walls that protected the area from the worst of the desert's fury; well, outside of the sun anyway. Not many ways to protect from that, outside building underground; which they did, but that wasn't good enough for him. Spotting the male he didn't want to deal with was simple enough, he was dressed outlandishly for the region, so he stood out, even in the piles of merchants and travelers in the middle of checking into the village or checking their gear as they left. He merely walked up and reached for the camel's lead; holding him steady as he checked for damage for signs of stress. He highly doubted that Dakuman knew how to take care of a camel, or any animal really; so making sure the camel was in good shape was paramount to Haruka's priorities. Finding the beast to be in roughly the same shape as when he left, he knelt down until the water skins rested on the floor, ducking out from under the yolk of the pole and moving to untie the skins one at a time, in order to attach them to the packs as needed.

"So. I can get us as far as the trading post. We turn in the camel there, trade for a horse. Or for coin. Either way, I don't care."


WC: 838
600/600 Travel
238/500 E-Rank Jutsu Visions of the Wise Old Owl

It wasnt much longer until the kid showed up, bearing the load of fresh water they would need for the journey. For a bit, Dakuman was not sure the kid would even come; he had thought he would be stuck waiting for the kid all day with this damn camel; but no. Dakuman, he would be okay, would he not be? He had the majority of thier supplies for the trip, the meats, the cheeses, the weapons. Dakuman only lacked the water, and that was easy enough to purchase with the funds he had. Still, he did not want to chance it. His attention turned to Haruka as the kid set down the water and began to pack it onto the camel.

"So. I can get us as far as the trading post. We turn in the camel there, trade for a horse. Or for coin. Either way, I don't care."

Dakuman merely grunted in response. He did not care, not right at that moment. He just wanted out of that fucking village and country. "Zero fucks given. Lets just get the hell out of here before I melt in this god damn suit.." Without another word, the male turned and began to walk out of the village. If Haruka wanted to ride the camel, let him. Dakuman was not going to waste another second.


225 | 724 WC

724/600 Travel completed.

"Zero fucks given. Lets just get the hell out of here before I melt in this god damn suit.."

If not for the wrapping covering most of his face by this time, the tightening of his jaw and a twitching tick at his eyebrow would betray his feelings of this situation. Ungrateful ass, whining over a free ride out if this hellhole just because he was to stupid or too apathetic to dress properly for the high desert. The male had a brain, but it was like he had no idea how to use it, nor how to function in a place like this.

Whatever.

Riding the camel was not his first idea, the beast could handle his negligible weight overall, but it would be safer to walk most I'd the time. However, it wouldn't be 'proper' for a wife to walk when the beast of burden wad able to safely carry; they weren't merchants, nor where there children, so Haruka would be expected to ride the camel, at least for now. He'd get down when they cleared the bulk of the travelers and merchants sulking about outside the village.

"Keep the sun to your back, head directly for the outcropings in the distance. That's the only landmark, if you miss it you're dead before nightfall. We navigate via stars at night, use the position of the sun to make sure we're going straight." Even as he spoke, he was settling into the back of the beast, pulling his head coverings down over his face and closing his eyes; he wasn't going to rely on Dakuman to navigate or anything like that, he was going to cover up and use a little trick of a jutsu head been working on recently, a construct of chakra that took the form of an owl that he could use to see through. Using it would save his eyes from the dry heat and bright reflections of the sand and sky; and he could have the owl fly upward and glide around for a better vantage point. Useful. Very useful.

Time to settle in for the long haul.

-Exit-

WC: 364

364 + 838 = 1202

600/600 Travel
500/500 E- Rank Jutsu 'Visions of a Wise Old Owl'

102 leftover