![All That Glitters [IOOC Event Travel] Empty](https://2img.net/i/fa/empty.gif)
Urek Zahard is a patient man. He is quite content to sit somewhere for hours at a time, alone with his own thoughts, letting the hours pass him by like a train slipping along the terrain. Time was not something he felt the need to constantly hold onto the way most people did. One could not preserve time, it was going to pass as it came, and there was no use in being upset as it drifted by. But something about standing in a line got under his skin. Maybe it was the general attitude of not caring that the clerks gave around him. Maybe part of it was because he wasn't wearing his mask or blindfold to cover his face. Maybe it was just because lines were naturally infuriating and he wasn't immune to their effects. Regardless of it, Urek was no in a pleasant mood as he waited for the queue to slowly shuffle forward as each clerk became available once they'd finished their work with that particular citizen.
The office wasn't anything special really. It had eight clerks working there, each looking as bored as would be expected. It was entirely possible that at least one or two were a failed Genin, and working in this place had been the closest they would ever get to being able to assist the village. Crushed dreams were an awful thing to have to watch, especially while in a line. Urek was here to submit some paperwork, while he was in Kumogakure. He was filing for a passport as a ninja. Of course he wasn't filing as himself. That would be stupid. Instead he had filled out the forms with information that was largely false. He didn't actually need to even be here. He could get these documents forged at his own village. But the best fake was the genuine article. With that thought in mind, and armed with his paperwork, he finally went to one of the desks as his turn came up.
It was a frustrating process. He was asked questions that were already answered, they had to get other papers for him to sign, but finally they were done. His story was that he was a low ranking ninja who had originated from a village about forty miles from Kumogakure. The village did exist, though no one there could have known about Urek. As was not uncommon, the village sent many of their ninja to join Kumo's main force, and in return Kumo protected them and guaranteed they remained peaceful. In his paperwork, he was a ninja who had been sent over a year ago and was now a clerk at the Ninja Academy. He knew that the chances of anyone following up and verifyin the information was next to none. Once it left the desk of this clerk, it would be thrown into a pit of other papers and red tape. His passport would only allow him easier entry and exit of the village, it wasn't like he could not walk into the Kage's office.
Once he finally finished, he left. Stepping out of the building's artificial lighting into the bright outdoors, his eyes narrowed until his pupils adjusted to the new abundance of light. He wanted to put his headband on again, cover his eyes and act blind. But he had already decided to leave the village under the identity that he'd registered his new passport under. Wandering towards the pier, he intended to take a short visit there, map out the docks in his head. He hated going somewhere so crowded, especially without something covering his face. It only took one person who was paying too much attention and remembering the wrong things, and he risked his real face eventually getting out to the ninja world. Fortunately his bright blue eyes gave no indication of his heritage, the Byakugan. So he had that advantage.
His trip the the docks was cut short though when he noticed a messenger bird circling near him. He watched it, and realized it was meant for him or someone near him, and slipped into a dark alley. The birds were trained not to give their messages in a public location, smart creatures that they were. If this was a message from Iwagakure, it had to be important. As he expected, it came down and landed by him. He took the encrypted letter from its leg and released it back out. Quickly and stealthily, he went to another alley, a ways from his current one. No chance of him getting caught. Finally once he thought he was safe and alone, he let his Byakugan confirm it. Assuming no one was around, he would open the letter.
His face grew very serious as he read the letter. Apparently Iwagakure was mobilizing to assist the Land of Tea from a rather powerful bandit incursion. They'd sent out requests to all villages, so it was very likely that Iwa would not be the only ones represented... Which meant that one ill placed jutsu could begin a war. That and apparently the there was also something special about the meteor... It was gold. Believed to be SOLID gold. That would certainly be a boon to the village, if they could get their hands and secure it. Taking a deep breath and releasing it, Urek considered his situation. It was about the same distance from Kumo to the Land of Tea as it was from Iwa. But he was two days behind both villages at this point. However, he was a Taijutsu master, and his speed showed it... They would be only be as fast as their slowest member. So it was very likely he could pass them both and get there in time to observe and get a bearing of things while he waited for his village to meet up.
With his plan in mind, he swallowed the message, to guarantee that no one else could read it, and made haste to the gates. His new passport served its purpose and the guards casually waved him through. Once he was about a mile away, he walked into the forest surrounding the road, spending another fifteen minutes to make sure he was plenty far from the road, and alone. Then he swapped into his ANBU gear to hide his identity, and raced as fast as he could towards the location of the meteor. It was time to test himself.
The office wasn't anything special really. It had eight clerks working there, each looking as bored as would be expected. It was entirely possible that at least one or two were a failed Genin, and working in this place had been the closest they would ever get to being able to assist the village. Crushed dreams were an awful thing to have to watch, especially while in a line. Urek was here to submit some paperwork, while he was in Kumogakure. He was filing for a passport as a ninja. Of course he wasn't filing as himself. That would be stupid. Instead he had filled out the forms with information that was largely false. He didn't actually need to even be here. He could get these documents forged at his own village. But the best fake was the genuine article. With that thought in mind, and armed with his paperwork, he finally went to one of the desks as his turn came up.
It was a frustrating process. He was asked questions that were already answered, they had to get other papers for him to sign, but finally they were done. His story was that he was a low ranking ninja who had originated from a village about forty miles from Kumogakure. The village did exist, though no one there could have known about Urek. As was not uncommon, the village sent many of their ninja to join Kumo's main force, and in return Kumo protected them and guaranteed they remained peaceful. In his paperwork, he was a ninja who had been sent over a year ago and was now a clerk at the Ninja Academy. He knew that the chances of anyone following up and verifyin the information was next to none. Once it left the desk of this clerk, it would be thrown into a pit of other papers and red tape. His passport would only allow him easier entry and exit of the village, it wasn't like he could not walk into the Kage's office.
Once he finally finished, he left. Stepping out of the building's artificial lighting into the bright outdoors, his eyes narrowed until his pupils adjusted to the new abundance of light. He wanted to put his headband on again, cover his eyes and act blind. But he had already decided to leave the village under the identity that he'd registered his new passport under. Wandering towards the pier, he intended to take a short visit there, map out the docks in his head. He hated going somewhere so crowded, especially without something covering his face. It only took one person who was paying too much attention and remembering the wrong things, and he risked his real face eventually getting out to the ninja world. Fortunately his bright blue eyes gave no indication of his heritage, the Byakugan. So he had that advantage.
His trip the the docks was cut short though when he noticed a messenger bird circling near him. He watched it, and realized it was meant for him or someone near him, and slipped into a dark alley. The birds were trained not to give their messages in a public location, smart creatures that they were. If this was a message from Iwagakure, it had to be important. As he expected, it came down and landed by him. He took the encrypted letter from its leg and released it back out. Quickly and stealthily, he went to another alley, a ways from his current one. No chance of him getting caught. Finally once he thought he was safe and alone, he let his Byakugan confirm it. Assuming no one was around, he would open the letter.
His face grew very serious as he read the letter. Apparently Iwagakure was mobilizing to assist the Land of Tea from a rather powerful bandit incursion. They'd sent out requests to all villages, so it was very likely that Iwa would not be the only ones represented... Which meant that one ill placed jutsu could begin a war. That and apparently the there was also something special about the meteor... It was gold. Believed to be SOLID gold. That would certainly be a boon to the village, if they could get their hands and secure it. Taking a deep breath and releasing it, Urek considered his situation. It was about the same distance from Kumo to the Land of Tea as it was from Iwa. But he was two days behind both villages at this point. However, he was a Taijutsu master, and his speed showed it... They would be only be as fast as their slowest member. So it was very likely he could pass them both and get there in time to observe and get a bearing of things while he waited for his village to meet up.
With his plan in mind, he swallowed the message, to guarantee that no one else could read it, and made haste to the gates. His new passport served its purpose and the guards casually waved him through. Once he was about a mile away, he walked into the forest surrounding the road, spending another fifteen minutes to make sure he was plenty far from the road, and alone. Then he swapped into his ANBU gear to hide his identity, and raced as fast as he could towards the location of the meteor. It was time to test himself.