Dozens of miles of empty road left Tezuka's legs shaking from the effort, his pale skin already beginning to burn from the warmer climate, but it was all worth it to see the stone towers of Iwagakure in the distance. It held up to it's name: the mountain peaks nearly camouflaged the tall buildings of the village as they rose from the ground, a single spire with the 'Earth' kanji standing high above the surrounding buildings. It was almost enough to bring a smile onto the dour young man's face. Even with his great endurance, Tezuka couldn't ignore how tired he felt from simply walking.

Night was beginning to descend on the stone village as the sun crowned a distant mountain peak and bathed the sky in an orange hue. He would be forced to check in with the ruling body of Iwa as soon as it was discovered he was a shinobi. Tezuka still cringed at the thought; all his life he looked down on the ninja across the border, now he would have to count himself as one of them until he could return home. The thought of home fanned the flames of his determination. The ache in his calf muscles was immediately forgotten as the teen quickened his pace down the main road to Iwa.

Like all else in Tsuchi no Kuni, the massive gate was carved from the nearby mountains and quarried into place; despite the age of the stone it was solid and without cracks from anywhere Tezuka could see. 'Potent Doton jutsu', the foreigner speculated as he imagined what the Tsuchikage could do with the element. Scores of samurai besieged the village throughout it's long history and all had been repelled by Iwa-nin, and now the dwellers of Iron Country ignored the shinobi out of spite. He idly wondered if his Kōton would be stronger and denser than the massive construct, if one day Iwa's walls would fall to samurai Steel. Definitely not yet; he was, frankly, embarrassed by the quality of the Steel that drips from his pores. While the sun still shone the gates of Iwa remained open for travelers to come and go it would close as night arrived, making it much more of a hassle to get through. He was thankful to arrive just in time.

There were many merchants and travelers waiting to be processed, Iwa-nin with their shiny boulder headbands inspecting inventory and identifying travelers, and as the crimson-cloaked ronin joined the queue he thought of the things he would need to take care of when inside; identifying himself to the ones in charge, attend to the basic needs, and then begin training. The first would be done with hesitation, as Tezuka would much rather be under every village's radar and avoid attention, but it was dangerous to be mistaken as a bandit or missing-nin. As for food, water and shelter, that would be attended to when there was more information on how the village worked; there had to be plenty of caves and nooks around the mountains he could crawl into if need be. The last item on his to-do list required a bit more actual effort on his part. To learn more about his elements and ninjutsu, Tezuka would require tutors and associates to further his studies and the ryo to finance it all.

The line slowly grew smaller as each newcomer to Iwa was processed and either admitted or denied, sometimes forcefully, and finally the former samurai was waved to approach by a stern man in a flak jacket. The red haired Iwa-nin regarded the newcomer with an even gaze; Tezuka stood half a head above the shinobi and weighed considerably more, but the older man was a professional soldier and had seen worse than a well-built teenager. "I'll need your name and age, occupation, and the reason for your visit to Iwagakure no Sato," he stated as he held a logbook and inked pen in his hands.

"Tezuka of the Kongō, sixteen years old." The Iwa-nin nodded along as he scribbled down the information, motioning the boy to continue. "I am here to study Ninjutsu, specifically that of the Earth element." The older shinobi's pen bled ink into the page it was stopped on as he regarded Tezuka with a more critical eye. "Village-nin or rōnin?" the shinobi asked, though they both knew the answer. "Rōnin."

With a nod the Iwa-nin finished his log and nodded to a much larger comrade standing guard beside him, the approval Tezuka needed to enter. He was ordered to immediately report to the administrative building and log his identity with the record keepers, before being waved away to make room for the next incoming foreigner. A curt nod from Tezuka was returned from both guards, and the ebon-haired teen crossed beneath the stone gate.

The village interior was what he expected: stone roads and stone buildings, mountains on all sides. It was his first taste of what life was like in one of the five Hidden Villages; 'cozy' was how Tezuka would describe the rocky village. Civilians and shinobi alike hurried on their business before night arrived and he took a moment to watch the crowds of people. Civilians were alike no matter where you went, save for obvious cultural differences, but shinobi were much more numerous than samurai and were suited for more clandestine work. Many took to the rooftops in order to cut down on foot traffic and many of the shinobi were little more than a blur to Tezuka's eyes; their chakra-enhanced speed was a legendary trait of powerful shinobi, and they made their samurai counterparts look slow in comparison. He felt like standing before the gate all evening, just admiring the village itself.

Unfortunately he was sore from walking miles upon miles and still not finished with his trek. Tezuka decided to ask the very first Iwa-nin he laid eyes upon if they would show him to the admin building; he would definitely try to wriggle what information he could from them. The massive crimson-cloaked rōnin crossed his arms as he searched for someone to bother, ignoring the annoyed looks of those whose way he stood in.

WC: 1061

"You know, if you just stand there not saying a word and people watching when you just came through the gate you'll look suspicous right?" The Jester giggled softly, the perfect picture of a simple woman. As per recent, she was not in her actual attire, having not done so in many months but had a disguise instead. As a top spy, she did not need henge so much as others as her makeup skills far exceeded the rest. Instead of short silver hair and electric blue eyes, the bulky foreginer met a tanned woman with deep burgundy eyes and long dark green hair. Her voice held a slight accent, almost country like with just tid bits of city. Her eyes held a warmth to them like the sun and her smile was coy, teasing yes but not sarcastic and rather harmless. She was dressed in a simple blue kimono with buttlerflies dancing across them and had a slight bulk in the back that really made the Yōsei clan symbol stand out. She also had a large wooden smoking pipe in her left hand that she took a few puffs out of.

As she walked towards him, the sound of her wooden sandals clacked inaudibly against the ground before she just seemily appeared in front of him to pull him out of the middle of the street where a cabbage man and his cart just rushed through, almost running him over and not feeling the slightest concern about it. "Move out of the way"

Once he was out of harms ways, she took a long puff of her pipe, blowing halos from her plump pink lips before chuckling. "Not the most socialily adept are you. Next time, when you enter a ninja village the first time, don't go and make yourself stick out. First impressions are important you know" It would be better for him to learn now rather than later how to better conduct himself. If he bothered to look around him, he would noticed more than the annoyed persons whom he had previousy block but hushed whispers, harsh glares, and fake smiles. Of course there was the occasional glance or three at the woman whose hair was an odd color and beared a peculiar symbol that has just a bit of notiery in the village, not the poor kind mind you. She did not seem to mind them at all and ignored it.

In fact, it would appear they would just stand in silence until she suddenly turned sharply on her heel and began to walk forward. After a few paces she would turn her head ever so slightly, a smile on her lips and beckoned him towards her. "Well? What are you waiting for? An invitation? Come on and follow me to Administration since it seems like no one else will."


477~

Standing there in the street, scanning faces in the crowd for shiny boulder hitai-ate's, was not yielding the results Tezuka was exactly hoping for. Yes, there were shinobi bounding from one rooftop to the next, but those individuals were likely on-duty and would not appreciate being bothered by an inquisitive foreigner. Civilians gave the teen annoyed looks when forced to move around him, and everyone who bumped into Tezuka was bumped back with twice as much force. It was really counter-productive to irritate the local population so quickly, but a small part of the boy enjoyed the hostility that seemed to cloud around him. Rivers yielded to mountains and went around, eroding away what little they could in spite; in this case Tezuka was the mountain and the fragile little civilians were the rivers. A woman several feet away poked fun at the tall teen standing in the way, her unnoticed approach startling him into focus until her simple appearance marked her as harmless; clouds of smoke left the small green-haired woman's lips as she stared at Tezuka with a strange smile, butterflies adorning the blue kimono she wore, but no Iwa headband could be seen. Not even five minutes in the village and he was already being set upon by ladies-of-the-night. "Begone, tart," Tezuka muttered before adding in a dismissive hand wave. Ignoring the local, he continued looking for a shinobi.

The crowd parted to allow a merchant selling cabbage to hurry through, but Tezuka would not do the same. The heavy wooden cart was coming his way quickly and the former samurai set himself into a stance ready to stop the cart, but was pulled off balance by the woman who spoke to him before, her deceptively strong hand forcing him out of the way. Tezuka hadn't even heard her move from her previous position; one second she was suddenly in front of him, and she was strong enough to manhandle the much larger man with a single hand. The cabbage man hustled past the two without a glance, ignorant of the situation he was rescued from.

The woman pulled Tezuka off to the side of the street before the boy managed to find his balance again, fixing the smoke-breather with a stern glare and ignored the strange looks the pair received from those passing by. She chided the taller boy for drawing attention to himself and making a bad first impression on the populace, making Tezuka scoff in dismissal. What did he care if he drew attention to himself? He was no deceitful shinobi, clinging to the shadows like a dark specter. He did notice a few stares directed at the butterfly pattern on the woman's kimono, drawing the eye of several who passed by.

He had nothing to say to this peculiar woman, knowing he should probably thank her for stopping his collision with the cabbage merchant, but his time was best saved for an actual ninja. Tezuka continued peering over the crowd for a headband until the woman's voice called out to him; he turned to see she had silently stalked away from him without the lad noticing, and she beckoned him to follow her to the Admin building. His eyebrows nearly touched as his confusion reached a peak, but quickly followed after her anyway. How did she know he was trying to find an escort there? Sure, streetwalkers were known to consort with foreigners and would know what a rōnin looked like, but would they even let her into the building?

It was only as he studied the woman more closely did he realize her footsteps were completely silent despite being clad in wooden sandals. This, coupled with the strength she showed by pulling the boy out of the street, forced a conclusion into his head that made Tezuka seem foolish. She was a shinobi, a kunoichi if he remembered the term correctly, and probably just wasn't wearing her headband. He assumed village ninja were required to wear the headbands as part of a uniform, but apparantly that was not the case.

Feeling appropriately foolish about mistaking the woman's profession for something else, Tezuka ignored the warmth in his red face as he fell into step close behind her. "You are the first shinobi I've ever encountered, if I'm right to assume that you are." Giving her another appraising look, he did not feel too guilty for assuming her sort of work was on the lurid side. "I hope your comrades cut a more imposing image than you do."

WC: 1061+772=1833