It was early morning when she crossed Iwa's border. She had been to the hospital only a few hours ago and had asked for some bandages and a medicament that would stop or at least hinder the clotting of blood. Her left leg was nothing but a nuisance to her, she once again realized: Not only did it hurt with every step she took, but she also had to check for the bandage wrapped around it. Needless to say, she didn't want to lose it.
Apart from that, she could still feel a faint pain in her head, making her wish she would have never gone to the Waterfall Point in the first place. Or way before that, to Iwa.

The hours went by too slowly and despite her ability to withstand pain for a long time, she couldn't help but take a break every now and then. Her thoughts hovered around the questions about her father and friends in Suna and the ones about the men who had sworn to find and capture her.
Had life ever been this hard? At the same time, her self-pity felt disgusting. She would just have to keep moving forward and not slow down. Someday, things would look up again.

The way she had chosen now would lead her to Kumogakure. Another village she had never been to before. It was like a big trip around the world with the mere difference that she wasn't enjoying herself at all.

After three days of walking, resting and walking, she had to start worrying about her supplies. Granted, she had taken the time to do a bit of shopping at the Iwa market, but it wasn't a lot. Plus, she wasn't sure how long it would take to get to Kumo.
Late in the evening, she sat down under a big tree and chose to stay here for the night. So she set up a bonfire, changed the bandages carefully and leaned against the trunk. Tomorrow would be a day like any other. Walking, eating, sleeping, walking.
This was the life of a fugitive. This was her life.
I hope I'll reach Kumo soon. I'm running short of supplies...
She didn't know how much time had passed, but at some moment, her eyes closed and her mind drifted into the calming state of sleep.

The next morning, she packed her stuff again, dowsed the fire and moved on. She didn't run into anyone and if it wasn't for the lively sounds of animals in the forest, she would have felt all alone.
Nothing special happened that day, just as she had thought. The only thing that occurred, but wasn't at all surprising to her, was that her leg started hurting more and more. However, she couldn't afford taking too many breaks; wounded or not, she had to keep moving.
Day turned into night and night turned into day.

The time passed ever so slowly and she had to remind herself of when she had started her walk from Iwa to Kumo. Five days ago. Meaning, it was almost a week now.
Hopefully, she would get there soon.

One day, in the late afternoon, she finally reached the borders of Kumogakure. Relief washed over her and she stopped for a moment to admire the village. I'm here... Now I have to take care of my supplies and find a place to stay at.
With new faith welling up, Misoka entered the village and looked around. There had to be a market somewhere, right?

[Exit Thread]