"I see it! I see it!" Shiro exclaimed as he squinted into the distance, a hand cupped above his eyes to shield it from the afternoon sun. He leapt down from the marker stone he had been standing on and turned to Hanabi-sensei. "That's it, right, sensei?"
With Hanabi-sensei's eyes it was always hard to tell, but Akira knew Hanabi-sensei was rolling her eyes. "Yes, Shiro, that's Hoshuto," she sighed, pointing at the weathered marker stone. It said HOSHUTO 10 KM.
That meant they were still a couple of hours from the capital of the Land of Fire, but the perpetual fumes that hung over Hoshuto was already visible, a vague, vast column of dirty smoke that merged seamlessly into yellowish clouds above like the trunk of a monstrous tree. From Konoha, it had taken Team Six only a day and a half to reach the marker stone. On the way they had encountered a few caravans, and even another genin team returning to Konoha, but by and large the journey had been uneventful.
After perhaps another hour and a half, the dense forest that had flanked them all the way from Konoha gave way quite abruptly to a gentle slope dotted with suburban abodes. Akira had never been to Hoshuto, but he could see that the various books he had read about and set in the capital city did not exaggerate its scale. The city sprawled ahead of them, surrounded on three sides by distant hill slopes that were currently obscured by haze.
"Oh," Haru said softly as she took in the vista. Though she did not say anything, her eyes were wide and Akira could tell that she was impressed, even intimidated by the sheer size of Hoshuto. The Land of Waves was more densely populated than the Land of Fire, but none of its dozen port cities held a candle to Hoshuto in size.
Shiro was less restrained, flailing his arms in excitement. "I've heard sooo many stories about Hoshuto! We'll be staying here a while, won't we, sensei?"
"Only until we find our clients," Hanabi-sensei said evenly. "Which shouldn't take long since we know exactly where they are."
The style of the buildings began to change as they moved further into Hoshuto, becoming more archaic and weathered. They passed a busy market organized around a number of huge stone slabs jutting prominently out of the ground like blunted daggers. They were, Akira knew, remnants of a great curtain wall that had long fallen into disuse as the city burst at its seams and expanded beyond its old boundaries.
"How many people are there in this city?" Haru asked quietly. She had looked unnerved ever since they first entered the city.
Hanabi-sensei didn't seem to have heard, so Akira spoke up. "About million and a half," he said, trying to remember, "I think."
Haru felt unwell. As Team Six made their way across the vast urban sprawl that was Hoshuto, there were countless workshops and manufactories on either side of the winding main road, belching out continuous streams of smoke from tall chimneys. A faint but unmistakable smell of rotten eggs permeated the air, though the people around them hardly seemed to notice.
More than a few of the workshops, Haru noted with growing unease, were making shinobi tools like kunai and shuriken. The neat rows of newly-forged weapons glinted darkly in the diffused sunlight as they were hung out to cool. Haru had never seen so many shinobi tools as she had seen today in all her years of living in Kiri. If it came to war… Haru shuddered at the thought, despite the torrid heat.
"The smell…" Akira said queasily. Akira did not seem to possess the razor-sharp sense of smell that the rest of his clan was famous for, but according to Shiro all Inuzuka had slightly enhanced smell perception from birth. For once Haru did not envy Akira his bloodline.
Hanabi-sensei exhaled slowly as the shifting wind blew a cloud of dark smoke down from a chimney to buffet the street with the overwhelming stench of rotten eggs. Haru instantly buried her face into her sleeve. How does anybody live in this shithole? She glanced at her teammates to see if it was just her, but Akira too looked like he was barely holding his lunch in, and even Shiro coughed at the stench.
Hanabi-sensei on the other hand seemed unfazed by it. She exhaled slowly, smirking at the way the three of them reacted to the stench. "Don't worry, it gets better. Just keep walking."
True to her word, in another fifteen minutes of the endless manufactories began to thin out, just as the ground began to slope upwards again. The abodes, which in the center of the city had been packed, squalid apartment blocks, became steadily more affluent as they ascended.
As promised the air did improve the further up they went, though the occasional breeze still brought with it the odors of the city center. Presently they came upon a wall that snaked away in both directions. Haru supposed they encircled the top of the hill. As they neared she saw an ornate gate, guarded by two guards with spears and elaborate shields. The guards nodded at Hanabi-sensei when they saw that they were from Konoha.
Inside the walls, the civilians were markedly more affluent than they had seen down below, many of them sporting elaborate hairstyles and elegant garb. There were also more than a handful of covered manses bobbing up and down as they were carried by teams of silent servants. A huge palace loomed over it all, casting a fat shadow on the streets.
Hanabi-sensei led them through the labyrinthine streets with ease, turning left here and right there without hesitation. After a few such turns she turned abruptly into a long narrow alley, with high walls hemming them in on both sides. Without warning she stopped, causing Haru to bump into her.
"Who the hell are you?" Hanabi-sensei said.
Haru was suddenly acutely aware of a sharply-dressed man at the start of the alley behind them. He was standing stiffly still, as if afraid to move. Then Haru saw the glint of a kunai at his throat, as Hanabi-sensei stepped out behind him. The Hanabi-sensei in front of them disappeared in a cloud of smoke.
The man did not tremble, but the bead of sweat that rolled down between his eyes betrayed his nervousness. "You, ah, must be the shinobi we hired to take us to Kawarashi. My companion and I, I mean."
Hanabi-sensei relaxed and withdrew her kunai. "You really shouldn't try sneaking up on shinobi, sir. It's bad for your health."
"Y-yes. Of course. I am Satoshi, of House Kaneda. You must be Hyuuga-san?" he said, pushing his wire-frame glasses up his nose with a supercilious finger. His glance shifted from Hanabi-sensei's pale eyes to the three genin, and scowled. "Who-"
"Hanabi. These are my genin. They will not get in the way."
"We were not aware there would be children tagging along, Hyuuga-san."
"Call me Hanabi," she insisted, shooting Shiro a warning glare as the latter opened his mouth to protest. "And these brats are shinobi, sir."
"Right." Satoshi looked unhappy, but seemed to decide not to push the matter. "Daisuke-sama is waiting at the Imperial Inn. Please follow me."
The Imperial Inn was a small but luxurious establishment in the shadow of the palace. They found Satoshi's companion in one of the partitioned dining rooms. Satoshi rapped lightly on the frame of the door. "Daisuke-sama-"
The nobleman called Daisuke held up a finger, signaling them to wait. There was an awkward moment as he proceeded to vomit into a tall vase. After he was done, he wiped his mouth with a napkin and finally acknowledged their presence. "I –hic- apologise. You must be shinobi-Hyuuga-san! T'is good that you're here. I can't wait –hic- to go home. I hate this blasted city. " He poured himself a cup of wine and drained it in one gulp.
Satoshi coughed politely. "It is almost night time outside, Daisuke-sama."
"Is it?" He shrugged and waved dismissively. "Well first thing tomorrow then!"
Hanabi-sensei nodded. "Fine with me."
"Satoshi-sama."
Satoshi stopped and looked over his shoulder to Hanabi. "Yes?" Outside the dining rooms, the hallways were almost dark, illuminated only by the light that suffused through the rice paper windows. The shadows made his face appear even gaunter than in daylight.
"Our contract lasts for two weeks. I'm sure you know that it doesn't take that long to reach Kawarashi."
"Daisuke-sama took out the contract, Hanabi-san. I suggest you take this up with him."
"Something tells me you're the decision-making one of the pair."
A small smile made the side of Satoshi's mouth twitch. "I should like to think so, despite my… inferior social position." He pushed his glasses up his nose again. "I would be much obliged if you do not bring up this particular observation in Daisuke-sama's presence. His Lordship is a prickly man."
"Sure, it's nothing to me." Hanabi shrugged. "You haven't answered my question."
Satoshi's dark eyes bore into Hanabi's pale ones for a few heartbeats before he grimaced. "Assassins," he conceded, licking his lips. "We fear there may be assassins in Kawarashi, shinobi-san."
A/N: Sorry, I know that it's dull, but it's necessary set-up to the rest of the story, which I'm (slowly) working towards. Stay tuned, and, as always, reviews and criticism are much appreciated. :]