Back on Familiar Ground [Entering Country]

[Nakano Karasu]

Karasu has now been further than any point she ever has since she arrived in the Leaf Village. Part of her was really nervous. She has never been on a mission alone. She felt confident enough in her presentation but traveling seemed so weird to her. The nervousness really had to do with meeting up with anyone that was suspicious and wanted to fight. She could hold her own but she really preferred not to fight if she didn’t have to. She just remembered all the times as a young child when she and her father were trying to find a place they could call their own. They have been attacked several times and those terrible memories do stick with her.

She knows she can handle herself but at times the small girl inside comes through thinking she will be attacked anytime. That is of course all in her mind and she took a deep breath to get rid of the negative feelings. “I’m not little anymore, get over it” she said to herself. Finally getting her composure back she enjoyed the view that she was seeing as she traveled. She was out of the Fire Country and now in the Bear Country. It was pretty here and she knew she was close to the borders of the Lightning Country. She stopped by a shop to get some food and added some souvenirs. After a while she finally got to the border where the Lightning Country started.

“Well welcome home” she said to herself. She couldn’t believe this is where she came from. She wondered how much has changed. One thing she was not attacked for was a first for her since she was little and it eased her mind. She was still cautious and didn’t want to take things for granted. “Ok I need to get things for Kashikoi and Jirou and my dad.” She said thinking about all the promises she made to get stuff for them once she entered the Lightning Country. She also had to look to see if she could find Jirou’s mother’s wolf and the pups who would no longer be pups by now if they are the same litter that Kashikoi was in.

Walking around she found some shops and decided to look for Kashikoi’s treats for him. As she looked around she saw a red and yellow bag with the name Tamago Boro on it. “This is it, Kashikoi is going to love me for getting these.” she said, making sure she got all the flavors, especially the blueberry ones. She also found some biscuits for him too. After she paid for it all she put them in her backpack and went on her way. She was still a great distance from the Cloud Village. She knew she should stop and rest. She found a small inn in a village to stay the night in. She was glad she saved up her money or she would have had to sleep outside. It was getting cold and she knew she wouldn't have gotten any sleep like that. She settled in for the night taking a nice hot shower before getting some shut eye. Tomorrow she will be back on the road again.


[WC: 539]
[MFT]
[Post 5 of Creating Bridges Mission]
[Topic Entered]

 

[Nakano Karasu]

Karasu woke up in the morning in a strange place. It took her a moment to realize that she was in the Lightning Country. She still had a ways to go before she reached the Cloud Village. After getting breakfast from the Inn she was staying at she gathered her stuff to leave thanking the old lady who was the owner of the Inn. Now was probably the hardest part of the trip for her. It was time to go to her village that she grew up in when she was younger. Going back there knowing that the villagers turned on Karasu and her family which resulted in the death of her mother. She walked with a somber feeling deep in her gut. She didn’t think anyone would recognize her now that she is older.

It didn’t take too long to get there. She walked through the gates of the village. Some things looked familiar like the shops that were around and some of the homes that were easily recognizable to her. Of course she kept a low profile acting more like a tourist or someone just passing through. She hid her headband that showed she was a Shinobi of the Leaf. She didn’t want the villagers to get suspicious of her. She walked around just taking everything in. There were so many emotions that she was feeling. From sadness to anger and just about everything in between. She knew she could never get her mother back but to know that the villagers were the cause of her death just pained Karasu so much. Forgiveness was hard and she didn’t think she could do that.

As she walked along a path in the village she saw something that was unfamiliar in what should have been a familiar place. It was a home that she didn’t recognize. It just so happened that it was in the exact same spot that her childhood home was. Yet it was not the home she grew up in. She remembered because the home she grew up in had plants and flowers all around the home and the house was smaller than the house that was there. She figured this was the house that replaced her own because her home was burned down to the ground with her mother inside. She wished she could have buried her mother at least that would have given her a chance to say goodbye to her. Instead Karasu and her father had to run for their lives from the villagers.

A tear could be seen running down her face. She didn’t think she would be so emotional but seeing the spot where her house used to be had an effect on her. She wiped away her tears and just reflected on her past, especially her mother. Some of the villagers were looking at her a bit funny and that made Karasu turn away from the house and start to walk away from the village. She knew that there was nothing she could do but it was good to come back here for closure. Now she had to go to the village that Jirou and Kashikoi were from. That may be harder to do but not for emotional reasons. More that the task that Jirou had asked of her may be impossible to do. She had to look for Jirou’s mother’s wolf named Yuna. Maybe even the pups that she had that were part of the litter that Kashikoi had been part of. It would seem that the village that Jirou was from was not far from the village she was from. It was a quaint village as she looked around. She saw an old man sweeping around his front door. She walked up to him and asked “Excuse me sir, Do you know of any large wolves that may have been in this area within the last fifteen years?” The old man was a bit taken back at the thought of someone asking about wolves. He spoke in a gravel voice. “Eh wolves you say? We had many wolves although not too many around as much now. I remember back in the day there were a few up that hill over there.” he pointed, then Karasu turned around to see where he was pointing to. She nodded and smiled toward him. “Thank you sir.” she said then walked off up toward the hill.

She saw a waterfall nearby and a home that was near the top of the hill. She wondered if this was Jirou’s home. She looked around but no one seemed to live there anymore. She looked down on the ground and saw what seemed to be huge paw prints. Her heart skipped a beat as she thought this could be one of the wolves she was looking for. She tried to track the paw prints which were various paw prints around the house. She didn’t see any wolves and they probably wouldn’t come unless she left. She most likely understood that she would have to tell Jirou about the paw prints and that she may not be able to track them the way he could. “Well at least there is a sign that wolves have been here. Jirou will need to do this with Kashikoi but this is a start.” She left some treats by a tree thinking the wolves would want to eat it once she left. There was so much she wanted to do for Jirou but this may be his journey that he would have to make. She turned around to head to her final destination on the mission the Village Hidden in the Clouds.


[WC: 941]
[MFT]
[Post 6 of Creating Bridges Mission]
[Topic Left]