Nayoko was tired of travelling. It had been quite a journey from the Land of Fire, especially considering that he was not getting much sleep anymore. He found himself exhausted almost all of the time, excluding the days after the nights that were few and far between when his inner demon would give him a break. He knew that it was all psychological; that it was waiting for him to let his guard down to give him a false sense of hope. He had fallen for it once or twice, but not since the first few weeks of his…experience with Ayakashi. For that one day he thought that his living nightmare was over, but sur enough that very night it returned and ravaged his mind. He was fairly certain that he was growing more and more capable when it came to pushing it back into the recesses of the Dream, but that work did not come without a cost. Last night had been one of the peaceful night, which meant that Nayoko was actually a little more wake than usual. His arrival in the Land of Water had been nostalgic, despite the fact that he had only been gone for a little over a year. So much had changed, and yet it was still the same Village Hidden in the Mists. The any shinobi he had come across seemed ready and able to fight at a moment’s notice. The Hattori excepted nothing less from the Mizukage who had trained him. She was powerful, and she demanded that the ranks follower her be powerful too. But aspirations meant nothing if she could not lead. To her credit however, she was an amazing leader, and Nayoko held a great deal of respect for her because of that.

These thoughts and more were running through Nayoko’s mind as he found himself wandering though the Village Hidden in the Mists heading nowhere in particular. He had nowhere to go if he was honest with himself. He wanted to go to the Mizukage and beg her for help. He wanted to collapse before her and ask her to fight this demon she had shown him. He wanted to scream out for her aid until he couldn’t scream anymore. But he could not. Not with the threat of Tano Koyanagi still looming large in his life. He needed to become more powerful if he was ever going to fight him and stop him from hurting anyone ever again. If he went to Ayakashi and got her help, then he would plateau. He would not able to grow to the point where he could kill the man that had been plotting against him for so many years. As he turned down a familiar street that he knew headed toward the docks, Nayoko silently cursed his own weakness for not being able to kill his uncle when he had the chance. It was his own fault that he had almost died, and now that monster of a man was out in the world doing whatever he wanted. But Nayoko would get him one day; of that he was certain.

Eventually, the Hattori man found himself at the docks as he had expected, looking over the ships that had come in to stop on their voyages for rest, trade, and any other manner of pastime that sailors took part in. He would not be surprised if many of them headed to the Siren’s Den to blow off some steam. Nayoko made a mental note to head in that direction at some point over the course of his stay in the Land of Water. But he did not think on it too long, stead focusing his attention on the ships that were docked near him. Nayoko had always been fascinated by ships and the intricacies of how they worked. He had taken one across from the Land of Fire to the Land of Water a couple of times now, and each time he enjoyed his ride across the open water, the salty spray of sea water in his face and the smell of the ocean all around him. It was something he wished he got to experience more back home, so he was not surprised that he had subconsciously found his way to the shore.

Glancing about, Nayoko found a spot not far off form the actual docks where a large boulder sat on the shore, halfway in the water and halfway on the beach proper. He decided then that he would spend a little bit more time relaxing there before getting back to figuring out exactly what he was meant to do in the Land of Water in order to further hone his body and mind to where they needed to be. After all, it was one of the few days where he would actually feel relaxed for a short time. With grace that was only afforded to him thanks to him many years of training, the Hattori jumped swiftly over to the boulder before sitting down on it and looking out over the water. Listening to the lapping of the water on the shoe, Nayoko wondered for a moment what life would be like if it could always be so peaceful.

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