Courier assignment

"Next time I say yes to a job in the land of iron, kick me..." Hayden joked as he shoved his left hand under his armpit. His right remained comfortable thanks to Tenno but the rest of his exposed skin burned with the cold and wind. "It's no wonder they passed this off the a genin... no one wanted to walk all the way out here to deliver a scroll..." Hayden said as he closed in on the archaeological dig. How anyone could dig through this frozen ground was beyond him, but he trudged on anyway.

As he walked up on a dig an excited man rushed up to meet him. "You must be the ninja we sent for, please come this way, the scroll is over here." He said, beckoning Tenno over to a table. "You must deliver it before dark, it's important that we get to work on it immediately.

"And just where am i delivering it to?" Hayden asked the man as he stashed the scroll into his pack.

"Hoshigakure"

"HOSHIGAKURE! That's half a days travel and you want it there before dark?" Hayden asked, completely boggled at the man's statement.

"Well that's where it needs to be... you might want to get going." The archaeologist said.

Without a word Hayden turned and sprinted down the path back towards the crossroads leading to Hoshigakure. He legs carried him several meters at a time, a result of his recent training. He was faster and stronger then before.

He made it to the crossroad in good time and turned to make his way westward towards Hoshigakure. The road now wound through a forest for several miles before opening up into grasslands that surrounded the village. Deciding to take the high ground Hayden Climbed up one of the trees and jumped from branch to branch. He was glad now that he had trained. He would never have made it before.

Arriving at the grasslands as the sun drooped down towards the horizon, it was now a race. Who would reach their destination first? Putting in a final burst of speed Hayden struck off across the grasslands blowing past the inn where he had stopped several days before.

The sun had just touched the distant mountains when Hayden reached the village. A shinobi was waiting for him at the entrance."Thank you for delivering it so promptly." The ninja said as he took the scroll and handed Hayden his payment. While walking away from the village, Hayden's thoughts strayed to what would become of such places if war ever touched their borders. He shuddered and carried on.