It took days to travel without a horse or wagon, unless of course one just so happened to be a professionally trained shinobi. Those people could seemingly teleport to and fro, across the lands with almost no preparation. Mu was not one of them though. He was a self-taught magician, utilizing chakra since he was only a boy to perform neat illusions for common folk, if only do he could be showered in their hard earned riches. He grew up poor, and now he was simply loaded. He had deposits of ryo in every major village, as it was too much to be kept all in one location. No financial institution was willing to accept the risk of having it with them, as they could never insure it. It was funny to Mu, seeing the bank teller's face when he attempted to stash that ludicrous amount of money with them. They always had to fetch the manager. Then the manager always had to scratch his head, and break a sweat before bullshitting Mu in a patronizing tone about finances and how the bank wasn't able to hold that sort of content.  

A smirk spread across the lavish man's face, as he has just celebrated his 20th birthday only a day earlier than today. He did so at a small roadside pub. He could hardly remember how much he drank there. He also had no idea how he left the place with double the money he had arrived with, the entirety of that night was a blur. Just like his life up to this point seemed to be. An exciting, fun-filled blur. Life on the edge.

Up ahead, as he approached the crossroads which would likely have lead him to the village of Kirigakute, Mu noticed a group of not so friendly looking men standing in relatively close quarters to one another, one slumped lazily against the sign post in the center, the rest standing around chatting. All of them were dressed like mongrels. They were dirty and sweaty. The stench of the bandits hit Mu before they cast a first glance in his direction, all of them stirring and directing their gazes toward him. Mu made a face of disgust, then forced a charming smile as he became close enough to his soon to be friendly acquaintances.

"Well, hello gentlemen. I know I am quite a charming man, but what's with the welcome committee? I'm sure Kiri has plenty of lovely individuals who deserve such a thing more than me."

Mu pulled a full bouquet of flowers from his sleeve very quickly and suddenly, as if out of thin air, and bowed lightly. The bandits found this hilarious, as the uglier of the three stepped face to face with  Mu, in an attempt to intimidate the charming gentleman.

"You look like you got yourself lots of money. You see, we collect a toll from all who pass through. It's just how things work. You hand over half of the cash you have on you right now and you walk without a problem. You refuse, we gut you and take all of it."

It was a situation, for sure. Mu took great pride in being a master swindler. A king of thieves. The most free man in all of the lands. And yet here he was, his freedom threatened by what could just as easily have been piles of shit. It was a situation, for sure.

"Before we continue any further into this settling of scores, allow me to show you a very special part of my personal magic act. You see, lads, I am a traveling entrepreneur. I am an entertainer of the people. I bet each and every one of you has missed the opportunity at some point in your hardworking lives to be truly entertained by a real master."

He didn't give them any time to respond before he reached into his pocket, quickly signing the transformation technique on his kunai, turning it into a beautiful rose before he pulled it from his pocket. "Now, you see this lovely rose here? This rose can be made to completely vanish right before your eyes, sir. This is not a jutsu or any form of that trickery, if you're disappointed with the illusion I'll give you all of the money I have rather than double. Now watch the Rose very intently, please. Presto!"

Mu took the kunai, still in the form of a rose, and violently lunged, jabbing it into the badits left eye while he took his index and middle fingers on his right hand and shoved them brutally into the man's right eye, laughing in a twisted delight as he did. The other two were slow to react, mostly in terror and awe. The man who had apparently been their "leader" was on his knees screaming like a bumbling fool, blood leaking from his eye sockets.

"Aha! I kept my end of the bargain did I not? I think your friend no longer is able to see a rose. In that case, I require payment for my services. I'll need all of the ryo you've earned in this little skirmish today, and then I'll need you all to fuck off. If that can't be done, then I want the next volunteer for my next demonstration to step forward."

The men picked up the bleeding, nearly fainted leader of the pack and dragged him away, throwing down a neatly bound burlap sack, jingling with ill-gotten riches. Today was a lovely day. A magician's job was ever filled with wonder and beauty.

Total WC: 950

Lightning forked through the sky, lighting up the clouds and making for quite the light show against the clouds and the pouring rain. Kiyoko Takahashi loved the rain, it was where she thrived and it was something that she was more comfortable in than anything else. She was a ninja who was proficient with the suiton element and it was her forte to use with her unique brand of fuuinjutsu. She smiled and skipped through the rain, her hair soaked in the rain and her mask not covering her eyes, as it was instead on her belt so that it didn't blind her with the rain. She could feel the familiar feeling of her sword on her back, the feeling always comforting to her as she truly felt naked without the weapon close at hand. Her coat and the rest of her clothes were soaked and heavy, weighing her down as she moved, though her steps were slow and purposeful. She was determined to reach her potential through any type of training or personal betterment that she could.

As she made her way along the road she saw a group of men hassling a well dressed person who Kiyoko didn't recognize as being from her village. She hated seeing people like this pick on travelers coming through the village and it truly infuriated her. She was ready to step in and confront them when she heard the man speaking, telling them that he would show them a magic trick and if he was able to trick them they would have to give him all of the money they had stolen. Kiyoko was intrigued by this and watched as he pulled out a "rose" and showed it to the leader of them. She watched as he changed the rose into a kunai and put it in the man's face, cleanly burying it between his eyes in a way that would certainly kill him in a matter of minutes were he not to receive immediate medical attention from a powerful medical ninja. Kiyoko watched him fall to the ground, his lackeys coming to scoop him up as they retreated towards the village, conveniently where Kiyoko was standing. She looked at them and smirked before speaking.

"Well now, picking on poor travelers didn't go so well for you idiots did it?" She chuckled, her hands preparing to draw the sword from her back as they spat at her and drew their own weapons, clearly intending on taking out their frustration on someone else.

"Who do you think you are, bitch? You can't stand up to us, you're a girl, what the hell are you going to do?" Their words instantly got under Kiyoko's skin and she clinched her teeth, hands moving to her back as she lunged towards them. The sword quickly snapped into her hands, the bastard sword coming down in a straight arc from a high guard to a low guard, slicing one of the men's ears off and digging deep into his right shoulder, causing the man to drop the weapon that he was picking up. As she did this she snapped her forward hand (her right hand) back and pushed her left hand forward, causing a fulcrum effect and snapping the blade back over her own shoulder as she spun on her heel, kicking out the legs of the man she had just attacked and putting her blade into the skull of the man who had been stabbed in the face, quickly ending his life. The third man dropped his weapon, quickly running past the young girl as she dispatched his friends. She looked towards the man who was still alive, his wound deep in the shoulder, and she spat on him.

"You think a woman is beneath you? Look where you are now; on your knees in front of the little bitch girl. You should really watch what you say, it can land you in a lot of trouble." She looked towards the young well dressed man, leaving the man to bleed out behind her as she approached him, her sword instantly being returned to its resting position on her back. "I'm sorry about the welcoming committee, I'm Kiyoko. Welcome to Kirigakure no Kato." She smiled at him, her bloodstained hand extended in front of her to shake the man's hand. It was unfortunate that he had to deal with such morons as his first impression of the village, but she was hoping that she could rectify that situation.

(762)

There was a tinge of pride in Mu, the magnificent magician's eyes as he held the bag of coins. What a fantastic spoil of the day. The scum were trying to drag their friend away from Mu before a woman appeared. Her countenance was not quite to the same effect as the dapper magician, but she was well dressed for what her purpose likely was, being a shinobi and all. The colorful combination of midnight blue, gold, and red velvet gave off some symbolism of majesty, but the mask attached to her belt gave off the impression of more serious affairs. The weapon at her back was no laughing matter either, it's large steel blade glimmering in the rain. Had he not seen her face and hair, Mu wouldn't have necessarily been able to identify that she was of the female persuasion, as the garb she wore wasn't exactly form hugging. Her hair, dark blue, and ruffled like the ocean, was long.

Mu wasn't so much worried about her, as he was obviously acting in preemptive defense against the fellow who had approached him. He was prepared with a silver tongue to explain his gory attack on the bandits, but it was soon revealed he had no need for his excuses. She was met face to face by the retreating mongrels and she had much to say in regards to the way they had greeted Mu. He chuckled heartily watching them get bad mouthed. This day was certainly not their day. As things go, however, they wouldn't change their ways. They proceeded to underestimate this young woman, and before they could even level to get a hit in, she began to tear through them with seemingly no effort with that big sword of hers. She lopped off an ear, outright killed the now blind one with a skull crushing slice, then she left the injured one to bleed with a few choice words.

Mu smiled with delight and clapped a genuinely entertained round of applause as she approached, her hand outstretched and bloody whilst offering an apology on behalf of the fallen bonobos.

"Oh, come now darling. Apologizing on behalf of those flea ridden wastes of skin? You're not on the same grounds as them, don't speak on their behalf. I robbed them blind before you arrived. I wonder how many they successfully extorted for all of this loot."

He peaked into the burlap sack before remembering the extended hand. In what would have been the more novel, classy way to have greeted a woman offering a hand, he flamboyantly offered the bloody hand a gentle grasp followed by a quick peck on the top, and took a bow.

"I am Mu, the traveling magician. At your service."

He took a glance around, noticing the one man who escaped unscathed just exiting the line of sight into the village of Kirigakure no sato. Mu ventured to wonder what a man outside of the law would do when someone did something horrible to his outlaw friends. Would he run away to simply cower and change his direction in life? Would he turn himself in with the hopes justice would be served after he reported the incident to authorities? Perhaps he would go on to tell tales of Mu the magician and the blue haired woman with the massive steel blade.

Mu's stomach grumbled slightly as he realized how long it had been since he had eaten. He looked to the girl and asked "I have not much memory of where things are in this wonderful village, would you be so kind as to show me where I can fill an empty stomach?"

WC: 620
TWC: 1570

Entering to a round of applause was something that Kiyoko was somewhat used to, having competed in swordplay competitions and fencing since she was a small girl with her mother. Though out in the wild it was another matter, and while she found it flattering she was a little bit put off by it. She chuckled at the interesting man who stood before her, hearing his silver words before watching him kiss her hand. She could still see the blood from the people she had dispatched on her hand and grimaced a little bit at the gesture, though she also enjoyed the fact that this man was actually a gentleman, or at least that was how he presented himself. He introduced himself as a traveling magician and his flamboyant personality seemed to make a little more sense. She was no magician by any means, but card tricks were something that she absolutely loved doing, and she knew that they were always better if you added in a little bit of flair. She pulled out a deck of cards instinctively and started shuffling them, the different seals drawn on the back of each card making this deck absolutely useless for tricks, but it was an action that always calmed her.

"It's a pleasure to meet you Mu, and I hope that I may see more of your tricks, though perhaps not as close as those men did." When he asked where they could find food in the village she smirked slightly. She assumed he was just hungry but his question could possibly be taken as something more. While he had said show me a place and not that he wanted to eat with her, however, she would still go with him as it was around lunch time anyway and she could use a bite to eat herself. "I can think of a place, yes. I am also a tad peckish and wouldn't mind grabbing a bite to eat." She looked back towards the village, saying "Follow me," and she began to walk through the gates, waving to different people who she recognized as she made her approach. She assumed that he would follow her, and therefore would make her way towards one of her favorite places, which was particularly famous for doing sushi but also known for having other foods available if that wasn't something that you enjoyed. "So what brings you to the village of Kirigakure no Kato? Are you in town to perform a show? Or perhaps just to see the sights? Watch for that cart." She seamlessly sidestepped a cart that was barreling towards her, a common sight in the busy village of Kiri. Her steps were all well thought out and she was now determined to grab a bite to eat.

She would listen to whatever he said before leading him to her favorite shop, 'Satoshi's Sushi Shop', stopping in front of the door and looking back at him. "I don't know if you like sushi, but Kiri is somewhat famous for it. If not though, there's something here for everyone."

(1282)

As the blood from the kissing of the woman's hand rested upon Mu's lips, he calmly wiped it away with his sleeve when the woman's attentions were pointed away from him. She was fumbling with a deck of cards in a nervous fashion, a peculiar action which brought memories of Mu's past to the forefront of his mind. Card tricks were the first type of magic act Mu had taken up during his homeless youth. The stepping stone which had wrought him out of poverty. They made him smile, as the woman then explained she knew of a place which they could eat.

They began the trek through the bustling streets of Kiri, as they did a certain thought came into Mu's mind, causing him to space out a bit. Kiyoko asked him what his purpose was here, and no matter how deeply he pondered, he didn't really know why he had made his way out toward Kirigakure no sato of all the places. After retiring from his troupe of traveling carnies, he had yet to find himself a goal worth sticking too. So maybe the answer to her question was that he was soul searching. Finding himself.

"Well, Kiyoko, I'm sure you've heard it said before, but a wanderer isn't always lost. I recently came about the realization that the banks could not take any more of my hard earned ryo, as they reasonably could not insure it would return safely to me in the event of a robbery. Therefore, I retired from my traveling act in order to find new purpose in the world. The world is an oyster, is it not? We need only crack it."

As he finished that last sentence the barreling cart which had been so easily sidestepped by Kiyoko presented itself at a rather quick pace, which Mu chose to front flip on top of, throw up his arms in triumph, then roll gracefully off of it back to his feet. It was all very smooth, and almost choreographed. The two approached what appeared to be a sushi restaraunt. Sushi wasn't something Mu disliked, in fact he was in the mood for something along the lines of sushi at this time, so it was perfect.

Mu made his way to the counter and took his seat at a stool, and ordered with a bit of haste, as he was starved.

"If you don't mind, I'd like to start my meal off with your Miso soup, then once I have finished that I'd like a dish of Ebi to cool down the pallete for a finisher. Add whatever my blue haired friend here orders to the same bill, even if she protests."

TWC: 2031

His explanation as to why he was visiting the village was curious. She had quickly decided that she enjoyed talking to this guy, he seemed like quite a charming and nice individual and Kiyoko could see herself becoming friends with him. She chuckled softly at his words, happy to be having a nice chat with someone, as she did spend the majority of her time training with her blade. She was somewhat impressed with his jump over the cart, though she didn't say anything or particularly show on her face that she was impressed, deciding instead to mostly ignore it as she continued on her way. When he began to order she was glad that he seemed to be a fan of sushi himself, Miso soup being one of her favorites as well. She heard him say that she was planning on paying for it no matter her protest, and she wasn't going to deny him the chance to do so, taking a brief look at what they had to offer and asking for the same thing she always got.

"I would like a green tea, a bowl of Miso soup to start, and a plate of salmon rose please. And I would protest him paying, but there is clearly no point in doing so." She chuckled softly as the server made his way to the back to tell the chef what they wanted. The tea and soup were up fairly quickly, something that made Kiyoko quite happy as she was rather hungry. She took a sip of her tea, watching to see what the man that she was enjoying the meal with would do. "I'm glad you like sushi, because it's very common here, like the most common thing you'll come across in this village, and even though I eat it all the time it is still my favorite." She smiled and had some of her soup, a little put off still by the killing of the man that she had taken out earlier but trying not to think of it while she sat with Mu. It wasn't the first time she had killed someone but it wasn't something you ever really got used too. She hated the thought of taking a life and the feeling of it was absolutely awful. She had no interest in being a killer, though unfortunately it was a part of what they did every day as shinobi.

"So how many places have you visited? Have you been to the other hidden villages? Met any interesting people? I'm sure you have tons of stories..." She rapid fired off her questions before stopping and realizing she wasn't giving him a chance to answer before the next one came out. "I'm sorry, I don't meet travelers very often, and I am painfully inexperienced with the rest of the world. I've only ever been in this village, and I love hearing about other people's experiences. It's one of the reasons I like to travel near the village gates." The sushi was brought out and Kiyoko thanked the server, taking her chopsticks and picking up one of the little salmon roses. It was perfectly crafted as always, looking quite beautiful and smelling delicious at the same time. "Ah, nothing better than a little piece of perfection for lunch..."

(1846)

The girl certainly had a good sense of taste, as her order held back nothing in terms of quality and the essence of what a sushi shop had to offer. They enjoyed Miso and each an individual, different sushi dish. Admittedly, Mu ended up slightly jealous of her salmon rose, as it came out with stellar presentation. His Ebi was scrumptious though, he savored every bite. The rice was well done, and the seasoning and flavor of each piece of shrimp atop the rice bed put Mu's tastebuds into a world of pleasure.

Through the course of the meal, Kiyoko excitedly made a reach for more information out of Mu in regards to his travels, highlighting the fact that she must have been a very sheltered individual within the confines of Kirigakure. She was all too curious, and the magnificent Mu was all for telling stories of glory on the road.

"Oh, well imagine you're standing on a stage with a crowd expanding only as far as the red and yellow tents interior can stretch. The crowd has all eyes on you as you greet them to the splendid occasion when a rather unscrupulous man decides to get handy and lobs a tomato onto the stage before you can even begin the opening act. Outrageous right?!"

Mu was being passionate with his speech, using hand gestures and looking directly at Kiyoko as he spoke. It was an event in his mind that filled him with visions of red.

"Naturally, I invited the middle-aged grunge-basket onto the stage, one should always be the bigger man in these cases. He clearly wanted attention, so I offered it to him. The show continued as I prepared my new rendition of my opening act, now with a volunteer. You see, I don't own a proper box for the "saw in half" magic trick. But with such a wonderful volunteer, I just knew I had to give him the perfect spotlight. I had him climb into the box, and I grabbed the large hacksaw, said the magic words and cut away. The crowd went wild. Now you will never BELIEVE how much is charged for intestinal clean up. My god, they acted like they've never seen a real magician at work. You see, the real magic that day was making that wretched man disappear."

He finished his impassioned tale standing over a nearby table in the room miming the sawing motion of his performance. It was plain to see that Mu had no feelings that any of this was wrong at all, and that he was in fact proud of it. To him, this was a tame story compared to many of the other horrendous things he had done on his adventures. Those sorts of things just seemed to come to his mind with such effortlessness. He realized at that moment he didn't include the fantastic redeeming quality of the entire event.

"Don't worry though, we did bandage him back together and send him home with the family. I even included the tomato he had thrown, though I did confiscate his wallet. He had no further need for that."

WC: 2563