Mizuto stopped into the building, a run down little place harbored in the seediest place of Iwagakure, the Hidden Stone Village. Mizuto had arrived just earlier in the day, after a rather arduous trek from the sandy desert of Kaze no Kuni to the mountainous region of Tsuchi no Kuni. Mizuto was tired from the walk, having stopped very little along the way in fear he would be tracked by Sunagakure ANBU. He had not likely been noticed on his way out of the village, but surely absence will be noticed soon. At least, he hoped so.

Mizuto walked through the creaky door of the building, hoping he had stumbled upon a motel that was cheap enough for him to afford. The interior had a very dark atmosphere, the layout of the floor arranged much like a nightclub would be. The lights hanging from the rafters were dim, and blinking, and the smell of smoke followed the clouds formed by the cigarettes. There was a lounge directly to his left, separated from the hallway he stood in by thin dark curtains. Directly ahead of him, there was another room with more curtains. Unsure that this place was a motel, he followed the hallway to the room ahead of him.

Pushing his way through the curtains, Mizuto was greeted with a sight much more pleasant. The room was much more brightly lit, and a wooden desk sat in the middle of the room. Behind the desk, there was a staircase leading somewhere Mizuto could not see. Standing at the desk, a tall, skinny middle aged man was scribbling something into a ledger, which reaffirmed Mizuto's hopes he could find lodging here.

Walking to the desk, Mizuto stood for a second before the man turned his head towards him. Putting down his pencil, the man looked Mizuto over. "We don't serve minors, kid. You better walk right out that door, and forget you saw this place." Mizuto was confused, and spoke back to the man. "Why wouldn't you serve minors here? I'm just looking to get a room...", but the man cut him off.

"Fine, whatever, but only this once. Now, it'll be 800 ryo a night, plus a 30% tip for the woman." Mizuto rose his brows in surprise, and looked at the man critically. "Look, all I need is a place to stay for a while, but I don't have that kind of money. I never knew how expensive motels were here in Iwa!"

The man looked at Mizuto blankly, until realization came over him. Rubbing his forehead, he spoke again to Mizuto. "Alright, look. What are you, 15? If you can't pay, and all you want is somewhere to stay, I can cut you a deal. If you do some jobs for me, I'll let ya have one of the rooms in the back. Sound like a deal?" He crossed his arms, and awaited an answer.

Mizuto was pleasantly surprised. His first day in Iwa, and he already had a job at a motel! Granted, it was a seedy little place, and the counter he rested his arms on was sticky, but that mattered not. Nodding vigorously, Mizuto saw the man smile. "Good. Now, first thing I want you to do is take one of the girls to a clients house. She is a veteran here, but she always needs protection." Smiling at the double meaning, he patted Mizuto on the shoulder. "Take her there, make sure she stays safe, and bring her back. That'll do for tonight, so see me afterwards. We'll get you set up with a bed, as long as you don't mind stains."


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Mizuto looked at the woman as they walked to the home, an apartment in a relatively nicer part of town. He still had no bearing of where in the world he was, so he mainly just followed the woman, a girl in her early 30's the man called 'Cinnamon'. Cinnamon was a good looking woman, as Mizuto's teenage hormones could clearly tell, and she was nice to Mizuto. "Miss? Why do we gotta go to this guys house? This really doesn't make much sense. If he has a home already, why does he need us to go over there?" He really did not understand at all.

The woman smiled at Mizuto, and brushed off his question. "Oh, it's nothing, just have a little withdraw to make. Look, we are already here." They had come upon the apartment, a large building sculpted from stone just like the rest of the village. The place they needed to go to was on the second floor, so Mizuto followed Cinnamon up the creaky steps. Knocking on the door, they were greeted by the client. He was a middle aged man, likely in his 30's himself, and had an Iwagakure Hitai-ate strapped to his forehead. The sight of the headband drained the color from Mizuto's face, and the sight of Mizuto did the same to the man. "Look," the man said, " I already said I don't lean that way, Cinnamon. Plus, he can't be a day over 12, just look at him!"

Cinnamon laughed, and pushed her way into the room. "He's just here to make sure I am kept safe, Kao, nothing more." The man nodded, still wary of having the boy around, but let Mizuto in regardless.

Mizuto took a seat on the wooden chair, and was handed a cup of coffee by the man, despite the moon already cresting over a cloud. "So, uh, just stay here while she and I, uh, 'discuss' a few things." Watching the two walk into a room towards the back of the apartment, Mizuto sighed. Sipping his coffee, he picked up a book left on the coffee table nearby. Picking it up, he read the cover. 'The Quintessential Kama-Sutra?' Shrugging, Mizuto sipped the drink and opened the book.

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