<strong>The South Gate</strong><br/><br/>Tēru glared at Yoshi condescendingly as he spoke, while Hara Setsuko (reluctantly) allowed him to disentangle himself from her arm. Mirai laughed uncomfortably, "Alright, guys. That's enough for now..."<br/><br/>She closed her eyes and smiled, "We'd best be reserving ourselves a room, don't you think? It's going to get pretty busy here once all the other shinobi arrive. All five hidden villages will be sending genin to participate- and many of the minor villages as well."<br/><br/>The village lived up to its name, with stone cylindrical structures and a light coating of mist that obscured distant figures. It was somewhat humid, though not uncomfortable. Tēru had to put some effort into keeping her companion from wandering off too far in pursuit of tempting smells, but they soon found themselves at a hotel where Mirai had quickly reserved a two bedroom suite. She held out four cards in her hands, "There's only two beds-"<br/><br/>"I'll sleep with Yoshi!" Setsuko said, grabbing a room key and holding it close to her chest. She adjusted her glasses. The Jounin nervously laughed and said, "I was going to say I could sleep on the couch..."<br/><br/>"We have all day to figure that out." Tēru said, waving her hand dismissively, "Do you think Kirigakure has hot springs or something? Or- ooh, a massage parlor? I was getting absolutely<em>stiff </em>cooped up in that ship this whole time. I'm sure Nōtōmaru would appreciate it, too."<br/><br/><hr/><br/><strong>The North Gate</strong><br/><br/>"Oh, you're much too modest." Seiji said, "Our village can't afford to send out every team of genin they have and hope they pass. The village head wouldn't have sent you if he didn't think you had potential. We Taki shinobi might not be the biggest village out there, but our ninja are elite."<br/><br/>"What he means is..." Ichimaru said, turning his head to better speak to her, "-is that Kita-sensei wouldn't have recommended us, all of us, if he didn't think we'd succeed."<br/><br/>Even so far ahead, his hearing was exceptional. No one could whisper any secrets around him... Tomo smiled, "That's right! Hey, Uncle Seiji! You've been here before, right?" The Jounin looked on ahead and smiled, "Yeah, when your mom and dad got married. Speaking of, we should pay a visit to your grandparents!"<br/><br/>She pouted, giving him a sour look, "I was going to ask where the shopping center was..."<br/><br/>"We have all week." The Jounin said, "The least we can do is see if they're around- maybe they'll offer us a place to stay in that mansion of theirs..."<br/><br/>The girl groaned again, tossing her head back dramatically. Tomo's mother was from a prominent clan in the mist, though Shiori couldn't remember which one... The iryou-nin knew she was looking forward to escaping the prying eyes of her uncle and the collective judgement of her extended family, and that Tomo was hoping being this far from the village would permit her more freedom.<br/><br/>"Well, Shiori." The jounin said, "If you'd like to spend some time on your own exploring, Tomo and I will be trying to arrange some accommodations."