Homeward Bound?

Shin stood at the edge of the forest, and peered in almost as if expecting his father to jump out at him and reprimand him from dropping out of the tournament, it wasnt as though he was scared of what his father might do or say it was just that he was in such a good mood thanks to the good weather that he didnt want a altercation to ruin it. "Hmm, looks like all is clear" Shin said to the thin air before leaping into a nearby tree and taking off at full speed in the direction of his home, The Mist.

"If i keep up this pace i can make it home in a day, day and a half if i stop to rest" Shin thought to himself as he landed on an unusually weak and scratched tree branch and began plummeting towards the ground as it snapped under his weight. "Shit!" Shin cried out just before smacking into a branch below ribs first and then continuing his descent.

As shin continued his descent he found that he was struggling to keep his mind focused, maybe it was the shooting pain in his abdomen or the fact that he was plummetting at high speed towards the ground and was on his way to meet the grim reaper unless he acted quickly. His mind raced as he tried to think of possible ways to slow his descent, his mind sometimes drifiting to how he had lived his life; he had no goals, no dreams, he had never experienced love, had never "earned his place" and had never had any friends.

Just when he was coming to the realisation that he had never had any friends something shiny caught Shin's eye; a lone kunai that had fallen from his holster was freefalling along side him. Almost as if his body was acting of its own free will Shins hand shot out gripping the kunai tightly in his hand before slamming the point of the kunai into the large tree trunk.

As the blade of the kunai dug deeper into the trunk of the tree Shin's descent began to slow down and eventually he stopped just a few metres from the ground. Shin breathed a pained sigh of relief; had it not been for that stroke of luck he wouldve had to worry about more than just a few broken ribs right about now. "That was a close call" Shin thought as he let go of the kunai and dropped softly to the ground grimacing as immense pain shot through his entire abdomen. "Damn it these broken ribs are gnna seriously slow me down." he said taking a seat on the tree trunk that almost caused his departure from the world of the living.

After resting for a few minutes Shin decided he'd better continue on his journey, he slowly rose from his makeshift seat and set off in the direction he was previously headed.

Shin yawned loudly as he walked the halls of the leaf village hospital. It had been a few days since the chuunin exams had officially finished and he had finally been discharged. The burns that had covered his back and part of his neck had all but healed up and he found that he no longer experienced excruciating pain when moving about. As he walked past the front desk of the hospital he smiled at the innocent looking nurse who sat behind it humming to herself. "Excuse me" she called standing up from behind her desk abruptly and startling Shin slightly. He turned slowly to look at the young nurse fixing her with as warm a smile as he possibly could. "What can i do for you?" he asked calmly his voice completely devoid of any kind of annoyance, something very uncharacteristic of Shin. "Erm, you need to pay the hospital fee's" she answered holding up a small sheet of paper, that appeared to be an itemised bill. Slapping himself lightly on the forhead Shin walked over to her before reaching over and removing the crisp sheet of paper from her hand/ For several seconds he stared at it his fce switching from confusion to enlightenement and back again multiple times before eventually he shrugged and handed the bill back to the nurse. "Unfortunately i didnt bring any money with me, but if you send the bill to my home in the Mist village i'll be sure to send the money to you" he said to her as nicely as he possibly could before flashing her a toothy smile.

~Six Days Later~

Shin leapt gracefully from branch to branch, droplets of sweat falling behind him as he streaked through the treetops at top speed. The afternoon sun shone brightly at the center of the sky, its heavy rays beating down on the young shinobi's back and head. He had been travelling this way for the past two days and had only ever stopped to eat and rest only when he felt it was absolutely neccesary, as such he had traveled a huge distance; he had already passed the village of the Oni and he was swiftly nearing his home. No sooner did the thought of home cross his mind did a dense fog appear seemingly out of nowhere.

Shin paused as he landed on a sturdy branch, even though he had lived with this fog for 15 years even he had to take time to adjust to it after having been outside it for a prolonged period of time. As his eyes finally adjusted to the sudden shift from midday sunlight to evening darkness, he could finally make out the large walls and gate that signified the entrance to the village of the mist. He was finally home.