We're off to see the Wiz-...Wait...

Jo:

There time in the port town on the outer edge of Lightning Country had been short-lived as it was simple to find a Helmsman willing to ferry the Raikage herself to Fire Country; what a claim it would be to boost business and increase advertisement. This particular Captain had proven more of a lady's man than a mariner, but his overly grand compliments didn't wash away the obvious grandeur of his vessel. It wasn't that the ship was large or heavily armed, quite the contrary. It was a medium-sized ship, about one-hundred and twenty feet in length, had two decks, and a full crew able to man it, but the quality in the materials was what made it obvious that the ship was an able vessel in itself. As the shinobi boarded, it was almost hard not to notice the sailors take notice of them, the beauty of either maiden traveling along with either of the two males of the group, Joji being of more notice due to his obvious carrying of a weapon. When all the inflated gestures of false chivalry faded and the Captain gave proper introductions, dubbing himself the greatest of all Sea Captains, one to survive the demon attacks, "Oni-Slayer Brigadier Takara Bazu." Had been the overly dramatic title that he had slung at them in his heavily accented voice, an obvious sign he wasn't native to Lightning Country.

"Aye, shove off lads. We not be wastin' any of this 'ere pretty lady's time, ya hear?"

The whole crew gave a loud affirming, "Hoo!" as they worked aboard the ship. Joji was enjoying himself, being near the ocean and on a boat reminded him of when he used to go on fishing expeditions with the fishers of his village. There was nothing like the smell of salty air and the mist of ocean waves on one's face. At least two of the group seemed comfortable with their new surroundings, those being Ming and Joji. Kiyo seemed out of her element, and as he had promised her assistant, four shadow clones popped into existence at Joji's whim and each took up a position on the boat, out of the way of the crewmen, but within view of their own personal charge.

It wasn't before long they were out to sea, the churning of the great blue mass of water almost as hypnotizing as an uchiha's gaze. Joji was at the head of the ship at a kneel, hanging onto the side of the ship as he looked forward onto the horizon. Simply put, it was beautiful and it invoked such emotions deep within the Onsenkage that he couldn't even begin to understand where they were coming from or why. In the back of his mind, he felt a tingle, his instincts telling him something was not as it should be. Erecting himself, he swept the ship, paying special attention to the crew. At first glance, nothing seemed wrong, and that was when his mind filtered through all the crew again, and his mind gave him the face of a pink-haired man, sporting an eye-patch and a bandanna atop his head. The white-haired teen vanished from view, and reappeared atop the central mast, eyes frantically looking around for the person who he thought he knew.

That looked like the same ninja from outside the Tower...

Shaking his head, unsure he was still fully recovered from his wounds gained from his travel to Cloud, he made his way back down to the deck, and took up a spot on the side of the ship, choosing to dangle his legs off of the side like a child, using chakra to make sure he stuck in place.

Bazu noticed the strange actions, noted the use of the clones, and he eyed Joji as he sat on the port-side.

"Daft one, he be. Impulsive yungan, that lad." Walking, if it could be called that with his waddle from the poorly made prosthetic leg, out onto the deck next to the Raikage, he had to ask, "The pretty boy only fer show, Miss?" That was when the Captain took note of the Kage and her own displeasure, probably from being out on the high seas. Gesturing with one of his wrinkled, sunspot-covered hands, he directed Kiyo to the private quarters on the ship where she would be staying for duration of the journey, "Settle yerself duwn, and I'll 'ave one of me lads bring you some tea to settle yerself."

The ship's quality carried out throughout its design and subsequent guest rooms on the first deck. Unfortunately, there were only three, but Joji had relinquished his to Shiro and said he would be fine with whatever else the Captain decided would work. Each cabin was composed of the same fine, cherry mahogany as the detailing on the ship had been, each with a single bed with a modest comforter on it, wardrobe against one wall and a truck at the foot of the bed for someone's belongings.

The first day seemed uneventful, save for when one of the sailors almost tumbled off the starboard side only to be caught by one of the shadow clones lurking about the boat. Dinner had been interesting, the Captain regaling them with tales of his many adventures when he was younger, mostly trying to impress the two woman at his table while Shiro and Joji both just got to listen on. Regardless of his initial comments, the Captain seemed to get along with Joji well enough, so much so that he allowed Joji to take up a spot on the crew when they changed shifts that night while the others slept. Quick to learn, and always willing to help, Joji ended up staying awake that whole night helping man the ship.

That following morning had a well prepared breakfast of sauteed halibut, toast with honey butter and raspberry jam, wine, ale, rum, and tea all at the Captain's insistence.

Smooth sailing was a term often used, and this case wasn't any different. It was until the fading late of the evening that something went awry.

"Off za bow, incoming ship." Bazu alerted his crew as he peered through his looking glass to try and see the colors the ship was flying. All ships flew certain flags in order to be identifiable to other ships, and those that often tried to hide their allegiances were what any Ship Captain feared.

Pirates.

"Captain, Sir, they're moving at an intercept course. It looks like they mean to board!"

"Aye, lad. Stop yellin' in me ear." The Captain cringed, but spun on his bad leg, wobbling a bit as he stopped, "Prepare yerselves fer trouble. We must protect our Ladies' virtue."

The crew continued to work, trying to see if they could manage to outrun the pursuing ship, but it seemed futile as it closed in. Bazu had already drawn his worn and chipped cutlass from its sheath, he stood at the helm, ready to cut down the first fool to swing over. Emerging from the mess where the rest of the shinobi had been still eating, Joji looked at the incoming vessel, eyes narrowed as he made out what exactly he was looking at.

"They're armed and outnumber the crew 4:1"

"No matter za odds, we must stave off this attack!"

The others exited the mess, finally realizing what the situation was, and it was almost hard to believe they were being targeted by pirates. However, it was obvious that Shinobi would come out on top in a fight with a bunch of drunk, sword-swinging imbeciles.

"Continue the normal heading, Captain. Tell your men to stand down. I made a promise, and I intend on keeping it." A simple enough comment, but only one Ming, and Kiyo if she had overheard it, would understand.

"Laddy, you dun know what you'r-" He stopped mid-sentence as he watched Joji.

A shadow clone appeared next to the young kage, and it crossed its arms, remaining completely still. This time, it was the real Joji who would do the dirty work, and he ran off the deck, taking a great leap into the air, and landed on the water as if it were solid ground. As he took long strides, covering an insane distance in almost no time, he was soon a small figure in the distance.

"Ye heard za lad. Continue as normal..."

As that sentence ended, something outrageous happened. The pursuing ship engulfed in a twister, its strength so immense it carried it into the sky a hundred feet. Bits of debris rained down, small pieces of wood, nothing dangerous, and suddenly, in a split second, the pirate's ship was slammed into the ocean below with such force the ship itself splintered into pieces. As if angered by the intent of the marauders, a large wave rose up and swallowed all who remained, the remains and every crew mate had been dragged down into the dark depths of the sea.

Watching the sight, most of Bazu's crew were stunned, Bazu himself swearing under his breath to some unnameable god.

As soon as it had started, it ended, and with a shift of air, Joji reappeared on the deck next to his clone. The level of technique he had just displayed was absolutely insane, even for being a Kage. The usage of such techniques was mostly taboo, but there hadn't been any pause, just precise, calculated attacks. Smiling, hiding the true ninja underneath, Joji gave a snap of his fingers and his clone poofed into white smoke.

"No delays~ No one got hurt~ All is good~"

At his own comment, he flinched as he brushed a hand over a large splinter protruding from his bicep.

"Nearly no one. Hahaha." He laughed at his own stupidity and made his way off to the front of the boat where he seemed to find himself almost the entire time, watching as the craft cut through the waves like a knife. Tending to his wound was a leisurely thing, something he didn't rush, the entire time thinking to himself that he had probably scared off any chance of someone talking to him with his "display" having been too much.

"I was right. That one'z daft, daft as zey come." He repeated, knowing that his initial judgment had been correct and that he would want to keep an eye on Joji even if he knew he wouldn't do anything.

And so they sailed peacefully...each moment bringing them closer to Fire Country.

Ming/Kiyo:

Kiyo had gotten to work immediately after the arrived at the port though she hardly showed it. She led the mismatched group through the village filled with a lively and colourful people. The villagers were easy to pick out from those who worked along the docks, on ships or not and mixed amongst them all were the occasional flashes of gold jewellery and fabulously bright clothing of the travelling street performers. Ming would twist her head back and forth to catch a glimpse of these people, her eyes calculating as she looked at their dress.

The women worked alongside men in equal numbers with fish covered aprons and scarves tied around their heads. Their clothing was a blooming flower of colour amongst the dark clothes of the men, Although, the observant  or skilled eye could see that the geometric patterns sewn into their yukata, both men and women, were simple and often no more then three colours. More often then not portions of the cloth would be stained or worn away but the thicker fabrics never seemed to tear.

And all the while Kiyo listened. Sometimes she would make them back track or take sudden turns down a smaller street with her head tilted up curiously towards an upstairs window or a door left half women to let in the fish and sea salt breeze. She would mumble under her breath sometimes and twice Ming had to steer her around small obstacles with a tug on her elbow. At last she grinned, satisfied with herself, “I’ve done some name dropping.”

Finally she lead them to a small teahouse, the establishment nothing like the ancient place Ming had lead Joji to days before. This one seemed to have been thrown up over night, the screen door papers, tables and even tatami being mismatched and of various age. From the patronage, this place served as a place to have an afternoon meal but who knew what it evolved to later in the evening. They only offered three types of tea, one of which Kiyo ordered for them all but never touched herself. Ming seemed curious to try it but ended up regretting her attempt at a sip, “It’s burnt.”

And fifteen minutes later their destined captain came thumping into the teahouse, took a quick look around then made a straight line for their table. He had heard she was here he slipped out amongst the charming, though he couldn’t say from who. Kiyo seemed rather charmed by the man, but she seemed that way with anyone trying to be charming, and their choice was made.

When they arrived at the dock, Kiyo’s good humour seemed to melt away just as Ming Yue lit up with pure joy. It wasn’t Kiyo, but Ming who complimented the captains ship as they drew near, her expert eye picking over ever little detail. Even more she was entranced and enamoured with the ocean. She ran ahead to it like she might an old friend and was up to her waist in water before anyone could tell her no.

Surprisingly, the captain was ready with a damp towel when she finally came out to board the ship, a broad knowing grin on his old face. Ming blushed with pleasure, the water was gone from her clothes and skin but the salt from the water had left a filmy layer in its place; obviously he had come in contact with her type before. Where Joji was daft, she was special treat and not just for her pretty face.

Kiyo took to the offered quarters and while she tried to be thankful, she was already feeling a little green. To Kiyo, her connection to the earth was like Ming’s to water and eat once they lost sight of the land she would be far away from any sort of soil. There would only be water and that there was ground beneath that water was little to no consolation. Childishly she refused to come up on deck for any reason, she did not want the reminder. Instead she would call for Ming, her voice could reach anywhere on the ship. Once in awhile she would sing songs that held more happiness then she felt being here but the least she could do was add a bit of music. Overall though she slept, giving them a rest from her presence and her ability to hear all.

Which left Ming with a lot of free time. Mostly she wandered around the ship or took up staring over the water with a lost look to her face. She never seemed unhappy, just a little haunted by memories of that last time she had been out to sea. The smells and sights of sunlight glinting off the water brought her back to a simpler time. She could almost smell the odd assortment of tropical plants her mother had kept and tar they tar used between the boards of their home to keep that water out was not so far from that they used on this ship. Sometimes, when the waves settled and along with it the ship she would almost pretend she sat on her home dock and stared out at the same familiar waters. The fish would be there, drawn by their scraps and the shelter of the dock. They had been the closest thing to a pet she had while a child. But then the ship would lurch and Ming would blink back into the current world.

And while Joji worked with the crew, Ming would tail after the captain, listening to his stories when she grew bored of her silent watching. He had wonderful stories, had travelled to her homeland and spoke fondly of the waters around Kiri. Her eyes would mist over during the surprisingly eloquent descriptions of the ocean and its beauty. He spoke of women with fish tails for legs, an old story her mother had told her, and of men who claimed to have been saved by sea gods. His rough seaman’s voice only gave a charm to his stories and made them real.

At dinner, Kiyo showed up for only a short time and ate very little. It was apparent to everyone that that she wasn’t feeling well at all and after a short bit Ming offered to take her back. In the room she pulled riffled through their bags and pulled out a small pan flute and played for Kiyo until the older woman drifted to sleep. Satisfied she went up on deck and continued to play soft tunes until she fell asleep tucked into a safe corner of the ship. She woke with a blanket on her, though she couldn’t have said where it came from.

She brought breakfast for Kiyo then gave her something to put her back to sleep them emerged back on deck. She searched about for the leaf boy, having not paid much attention to him and once she found him only paused long enough to frown at him before ghosting off to find the captain again. She spent the rest of the afternoon telling him about the dangers of the first surrounding Kirigakure. There was a queen spider lurking in those trees whom protected a large hoard of her young that all were the size of a small dog the last time she had made the mistake of going near. She had been on a mission to recover a plant for her mother, one that was known to reverse most poisons and was very rare, when the behemoth had tried to drop right on top of her. She expressed her disgust and terror for the huge creature, how it had felt like a fuzzy puss filled balloon and snapped at her viciously. She had been young at that time, hardly very good with chakra and it had been only by sheer luck that she was able to wiggle between two roots into a tiny cavelett. She had to wait an entire day until it rained and the spider had finally gone away. Her story earned her a slap on the shoulder and Ming couldn’t stop smiling… until the pirates arrived.

Pirates were as real a thing to her as the giant spiders; though few rarely came across them. She didn’t rush to help but the petit retired Jounin knew what she would do if they came near enough. Her command of water was great, better then anything else, and they would have a hell of a time getting near. She wasn’t sure how she felt about being called a woman of virtue though and was just glad Kiyo wasn’t awake to hear it.

And then Joji’s words reached her over nervous chatter of the sailors and a blush rose up over her face. He was taking his job too seriously, he couldn’t possibly expect to…

Oh, he did. There he went over the water as she herself had planned to do and into the ship. But those Jutsu, they were nothing as she had planned to do. With an endless supply of water and her greater command of chakra she would only have broken holes in their ship then sent it off in another direction. Something like excitement crawled up Ming’s spine even as her face pulled into a look of surprise and slight fear. Suddenly Kiyo’s matter of fact explanation at the gates made more sense. Silently she moved away from Joji, even as she wished to thank him.

That night she didn’t sleep much and she couldn’t shake the feeing that the water was soiled though eventually her feelings faded. Around Midnight Kiyo came out on the deck and Ming Yue relayed the day’s events in a whispered voice while they both laid on the cool wood planks in a quiet corner. So it was that Kiyo got up an hour later to find Joji and thank him for what he had done, assuring him also, if there was any worry, that he’d done exactly what was right. Kiyo stayed up until dawn, singing softly with Ming curled against her.

On the third day the wind stopped and with them so should have the ship but by Ming‘s good graces they continued. Ming had taken up hanging over the ship’s stern and peering at the water below. It seemed like a harmless fascination, though every once in awhile drops of water would fly a little higher then normal and hover in the air long enough for her to grab or the water would calm a little too soon behind the ship. Sometimes one could see the fins of dolphins or whales come up from the water and once something more resembling a water version of Suna’s sandworms.

Ming didn’t tell them about the wind of course, she merely silently went about pushing the boat onwards while delving deep into her own chakra reserves. Even the captain decided at one point they must have come onto a lucky water current that even he had never discovered. Ming only nodded her agreement and continued to stare outwards. Later that afternoon she finally moved away from the stern side and searched out Joji. Her face was the same stony neutrality when she found him but her eyes had become dilated and her hands a bit shaky

“I wasn’t certain but with some thought I think the captain knew my mother when she was younger. Before the demon wars or the building animosity between Mist and Cloud,” It was an admittance to where she had come from but Ming broke into a smile she had reserved only for their first sight of the ocean, “So I wanted to help and…” all at once her eyes rolled up into the back of her head and she slumped forward and with that the ship stopped.

Ming spoke to him, Joji had trouble keeping his eyes on her, keeping them averted like he had somehow betrayed her, even with Kiyo's reassurance that he had proceeded correctly. When he was home, he never allowed anyone to take any more than a single hostile action before putting them to rest, as anything further may bring harm to those he was protecting. It seemed they both were nervous when facing each other, for different reasons without a doubt. Her comment left Joji with another tidbit of information about Ming, and he did catch the upturned corners of her lips as he glanced up, but only in time to witness her collapse. Reaction times of greater shinobi measured in fractions of a second; Joji's in that instant seemed so quick it had been instantaneous, and Ming was in his arms.

Nodding to a pair of his shadow clones hanging from one of the spreaders on the main mast, they both balanced themselves on the pole and, in movements similar to that of tai-chi, they took turns moving back and forth, hands together, moving out in front of them only to draw back and push forward again, each movement generating a gust of wind that filled the empty sails. They continued their work while Joji picked up Ming, like a hero rescuing a damsel in so many tales, and carried her to her cabin, setting her down on her bed. As if on queue, a clone entered with a bowl of cold water and a wash cloth and handed it off to its master before exiting. Soaking the cloth, he folded it and placed it upon Ming's forehead. As he glanced around, he pulled up a small wooden step stool and sat at her bed's side, leaving his clones to do his job until he was certain Ming was fine.

The entire time he sang quietly, a song only his mother had ever sang in a voice that could lull even the greatest of beasts, and he continued it as he remained

Later, when Ming did not come with lunch or something more to put her to sleep, Kiyo stirred and ventured from her quarters. Her long hair was tangled from sleep and her sleeping robes wrinkled but she stumbled only from her mind being hazy, not from the sickness that had dogged her on this trip. She searched the deck at first but found instead Joji’s clones hard at work and no Ming at all. She searched out Shiro, whom she guessed was probably a bit lonely considering Ming’s dislike of him and Joji’s infatuation with life. They might have been travelling together but the group all went about their won thing and while that had it’s charm; they were hardly all companions.

She stopped to ask him if he was feeling alright. The travel had obviously gotten to her but she had not thought to check on him. Ming had remedies for sea sickness, though they didn’t work so well for Kiyo, but the brunette would never have offered them away to someone she disliked. Kiyo also asked Shiro if he was excited to be so close to home. They could still only see ocean but soon enough that would melt into the green lands of Fire country. She had been there a few times, fire countries central position made it hard to miss, and had loved it for it’s greenery almost as much as she loved Kumo for it’s mountains. “This travel is the beginning to a new world.” With that she left him and went to find the captain who told her roughly exactly what had befallen her assistant. Kiyo could hear the singing below, always could, but hadn’t linked it to Joji.

She thanked the captain, promising to let him know if MingYue, whom has apparently made good friends with him, was alright. Humming to herself and feeling a bit green Kiyo backtracked past her quarters to Ming’s and knocked gently on the door before entering. Her face softened to see Joji sitting there so diligently and she had to wonder what sour face Ming would pull at being told. Or, who knew, maybe she would smile. For now the girl was still passed out and Kiyo moved into the small living quarters to perch on the end of the bed, “Chakra exhaustion? Silly girl, she’ll be out for the night.” The elder woman reached across the bed and smoothed the hair from Ming’s tanned face then sighed, “I’m sorry I have not been up to much. I just don’t feel right without land under my feet.” That said Kiyo moved and retrieved two of the carefully marked bottles from Ming’s bag then waved a hand in goodbye as she retreated to her own room.

And as Kiyo had predicted, Ming’s eyes fluttered open early the next morning, which was fallowed by a bright blush the took over her entire face. Joji was still there and she rolled over quickly to hide her face in her arms. It was the worst possible out come the brunette could have expected next to falling off the boat unconscious and for a moment she thought she might die from the shame of it. What sort of ninja over used their chakra like that. “You, ah… thank you,” she mumbled into her pillow, unwilling to turn over and thank him properly. For one fleeting moment Ming thought of the romantic novels her mother had read by the bay window, the ones with the silly stories that she had scoffed over. Real women didn’t melt over men, they had goals and strengths and the best of them would never put themselves in a damsel situation. Certainly love wasn’t the ultimate goal of a ninja. What did that make her then; some frilly girl out of one of those trashy novels? She tried to tell herself no, she’d denied all of that years before.

Eventually the motion of the ship put her back to sleep and Ming had little trouble sleeping away the rest of the day. Nothing of note happened above deck and eventually the wind picked up again and there was no need for Joji’s clones. Kiyo only woke once more, long enough to get a bit of food for herself and Ming. The pair curled up together in Ming’s room in silence, neither in much of a mood for conversation and eventually drifted off again. So ended the fourth day.

Shiro:

Shiro
was
quiet
for
the
ride,
meditating.
The
ocean
and
impressive
displays
of
Joji
and
Ming
made
the
trip
quick.
He
thanked
Joji
for
his
help
and
answered
Kiyo
thoughtfully.
When
they
reached
ground,
Shiro
proceeded
to
guide
them
to
the
gates
of
the
only
place
he
truly
called
home.