Aimless Wandering [Rice -> Hotsprings]

Its color was a bright yellow; its texture, rubbery. The scent of the object was acrid yet refreshing. There were many health benefits in consuming it such as reducing inflammation, soothing the throat if mixed with honey, aided in digestion, and is packed with much needed nutrients. Saya narrowed her violet eyes on the fruit.

She never did quite like lemons.

However, with her lack of funds and how sympathetic the people at the beverage stand were, Saya held her breath and chugged at the free lemonade. Her face pinched together from the sour taste. Well, at least that quenched her thirst after being on the road for so long. The young woman could not stop thinking about the manner in which she simply walked away. She had been determined to settle down in that village of rice, but it seemed as if all of that conviction amounted to nothing.

Once more, the civilian woman was left to drift the lands of shinobi. A wanderer. Nomad.

Saya smiled and nodded her thanks at the roadside vendors before moving along.

The woman did not bother to use any hidden routes or shortcuts, only sticking to the main road and making sure that she was not the only one traveling that path. As luck would have it, it was a pretty busy road with merchants, other walking wayfarers, and carriages. She was but a normal person now. Stronger than the average human, but definitely weaker than even the weakest of ninja. It was unfortunate for the girl to have had her skills deteriorate drastically in the past years. But that was was then. She was no longer a shinobi, nor a weapon to be used.

Rolling her shoulders and exaggeratedly shaking off her legs, Saya found herself at the borders between Rice and Hot Springs countries. Leaving Tanbogakure had been unnecessarily stressful, to the point that there was a tingle at her fingertips and a radio static buzz in her head every time she thought of the village. Saya did not think that it should upset her to this extent as she had only spent a week or so in the village before departing. However, her time spent there had been impactful by how simply the lived their lives. Her friend, Komori, being a prime example.

While she had been shocked at his change and more than angry about it, Saya couldn't blame him for his livelihood. She, herself, was trudging along through life with no purpose. Perhaps Komori had unknowingly planted a seed in her, one that would have drawn her to the farming crossroads regardless of how long she had been away and how far she traveled. It was the expectation, she supposed. An endgame type of deal if she were to return.

Komori was the primary reason for her to go back to Tanbogakure.

Though being absent for more than year, perhaps he would have gone elsewhere. Or maybe he had perished. She could never tell with him. Saya did not get the chance to find out, and she doubted she ever will.

Finally stepping over the threshold to the Hot Springs country, the purple-haired woman didn't know what awaited her in the following days or even months, but she was sure to adapt.


WORD COUNT (WC):  558
CLAIMING: Stat Points (SP) 500/100 = 5SP to Chakra

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