Once again, Nayoko could taste the salt of the sea water on his lips. He could feel the spray of the ocean lightly touch his skin, which let him with a slight chill thanks to the breeze that morning. But despite the nip in the air, Nayoko felt like he was on top of the world; at least for the time being. You see, Nayoko was heading home, and he was doing it happier than he had been in months. His trip had not turned out exactly like he had imagined, but in the end things had worked out mostly for the better. His plan had started as more of an adventurous story like the ones he loved to read in his spare time. He had planned to swoop into the Land of Water and seek out the mysterious man who had confronted him in the woods near his home, battling him and finding out what he knew about Nayoko’s mother. But things had not exactly gone as planned.

When he had first arrived, instead of launching into action Nayoko had decided to get the lay of the land so that he could better understand what exactly he might be dealing with, and that decision changed the course of everything. Though his investigating Nayoko had managed to make friends that he had both grown closer to and who had turned their back on him in the short time that they had known each other. The betrayal, on top of the bonds that he had formed had changed how he perceived the ninja around him. He had begun to realize that his actions affected others much more deeply than he could have ever believed before experiencing it himself. That revelation had brought him to the next leg of his journey. Which would no doubt continue for quite some time if not for the rest of his life.

He had encountered the Mizukage personally during a mission that had gone wrong, and from that meeting he had realized how powerful he wanted to be. Gaining that power would allow him to affect the people around him positively, and to protect those that would try to break down the people that he cared about. By working with her, Nayoko had managed to awaken a beast within him. It was one that he did not fully understand, but with each night that he entered into the Dream, the young Hattori could feel himself growing. As he took a seat on a bench near the bow of the ship, Nayoko could not help but shudder at the thought of the first time he had seen the beast in the Dream. It had taken the guise of his mother and had left him nearly helpless. He hated the fact that he had been so weak in the moment, but not as much as he hated his fear regarding that beast.

It was that fear that had prevented him from using the techniques he had learned from Ayakashi in his final confrontation with Tano Koyanagi. Fighting alongside Shimada, the pair had tried to stand up against the man who turned out to be Nayoko’s uncle, but they were not successful. At least, not in the traditional sense. He had left Nayoko for dead, and Shimada had rescued him, bringing him out of the Swamp of Sorrow all the way to the hospital, where they were both healed over time. At that memory, Nayoko glanced over to where Shimada was on the boat nearby. He could not help but smile as she stood there, wobbly thanks to her seasickness, but still standing for the time being. She had done so much for him, and could not thank her enough. With his smile still on his face, Nayoko stood up and walked over to her, leaning up against a nearby railing. “Looks like we’ll be home soon eh? I can’t wait to see my family again.” He turned his head and looked to the approaching shore of the Land of Fire. “What do you say I buy you that dinner I owe you when we make port?”

He would continue to smile as he listened to her reply, ready to be o the shore and return to the Village that he loved. The mystery of Tano Koyanagi now behind him, he could push forward into the new adventures of the future. But what would the future hold?

[Exit Thread]

WC:742/600

Travel Complete!