The Motions

Taking a moment to relax from his observations and interferences, Paul decided that it was time to actually get to know people, the nostalgia of being a tree finally wore off and he began to miss having a human body. Manipulating a leaf from his branches he sculpted a body for himself, standing at 6'3" moulded into a swimmers physique, healthy tan skin with silver hair.

Feeling a bit playful he gave himself eyes with Iris in shades of vibrant silver, Pupils in the shape of a boldly written 'I' of the English Alphabet, lips slightly full and eyebrows slightly thick but sharp. His gaze piercing and he was happy, a sliver of his mind was all he needed to control this body.

Stretching imaginary kinks in his joints he couldn't help but exclaim "God I miss have a body!", a child like smile on his lips as if he received a new toy to play with, rubbing his chin he noticed a distinct lack of a stubble "let's change that" his voice deep as a clean cut goatee matching with his hair appeared on his chin "much better".

"Hmm not really interested in joining any village, but I also want to see what they have to offer", contemplating on his options he finally decided "Merchant it is!".

With the snap of a finger a typical merchants caravan appeared before him, two strong bulls yolked together and harnessed to the caravan ready to set off. Another snap of his fingers and he was clothed in garbs consisting of an all black silky

Hakama, black Haori and white Nagagi.

Content with his outfit another snap and his caravan was filled with the finest fabrics anyone in the Elemental Nations have ever seen, with a final snap he appeared in the middle of a dirt road, one leading to the Land of Hot Water.

Already aware of his destination he directed the bulls forward, the sun was blaring down and while it caused no discomfort getting into the swing of things he conjured a straw hat, he would have gone for a bucket hat like a certain shop keeper but it wouldn't have gone with the theme but that didn't stop him from creating a paper fan.

A smile plastered on his face as he sat back to enjoy the scenery, while he is aware of everything around him for miles there was a certain pleasure to the journey.

The trip took roughly three hours before he arrived at the first settlement, the population of the Land of Hot Water live in remote locations mostly centred around naturally formed hot springs and their economy being so reliant on tourism they were a peaceful country.

Their hot springs had medicinal properties so people from all over the Elemental Nations flocked there to have a taste of it. The first village he stopped at was one such place, hot springs lined the hills as children and adults marched across the roads, organised chaos that brought memories of flea markets from back home came to the forefront of his mind.

Nostalgia came crashing as he tipped his straw hat blocking the sight of his eyes as he let a small smile appear on his face.

"Identification please" came the voice of a guard as he came to the side of Pauls caravan, reaching into a bag he had to his side he pulled out documents he prepared during his time on the road. As he focused his attention on the guard, the guard became startled by Paul's gaze and took a hasty step back, the other guards quickly reaching for their weapons while Paul chuckled at their reactions.

Taking a deep breath the guard signalled to the others telling them to lower their weapons, "sorry about that, was just a bit startled", Paul chuckled some more "it's ok, I get that a lot".

The guard focused on the document, "everything checks out Itsuki-san, if you want to set up a stall you'll have to go to the village centre to receive a permit", nodding Paul took back the documents and did as directed.

It didn't take long to reach the village centre as it wasn't that big of a village, about nine thousand people populated this village. All he needed to set up a stall was to provide his proof of identity, list of items being sold and duration of time he will remain in the village. The location of his stall would affect the price he had to pay for the space used, the areas with heavier traffic costing more.

Having everything settled he moved his caravan towards his spot, it wasn't the most heavily trafficked area but it did have its share of tourist and civilians passing through. Upon setting up he simply watched and waited.

It wasn't long before he was approached by a young lady roughly in her late teens to early twenties "hello merchant-san, you have some pretty nice things here", Paul's clothes had a high quality feel to them that wasn't seen on the average merchant and the colourful assortment of expensive looking fabrics drew her in.

There were others that passed by that took glances at his stall but hesitated, seeing someone approach they watched to see what happens.

Paul shifting his gaze towards her and her eyes widened as she met his gaze "your eyes are amazing!", her excited voice rang through the street. Paul laughed at this "thank you, I get it a lot". To her credit she focused on the fabrics after a moment of admiring his looks, a slight blush painted her cheeks.

"They all look amazing, I've never seen anything like this before" she exclaimed as she felt the fabrics, "of course, you'll only be able to get them from me, I did create them after all" his voice thick with pride. "Amazing! How much for three yards?", she couldn't help but think of the outfits she could make with the fabrics.

Rubbing his beard Paul held out three fingers, "30,000 Ryo", as soon as he said his price he could almost see her soul leave her body. "You can't be serious! 30,000 for this?!", as soon as those around heard the price they felt something grip their heart, a shinobi in the crowd couldn't help but mutter "that's 6 D-Rank missions right there, is this merchant ok?".

"You'll never find a fabric like this anywhere else in the world than here" he said with a nonchalant smile, the crowd dispersed quickly while the woman remained, "can't you reduce it a bit, with that price you'll never get any customers" she complained while trying for a discount.

Paul shook his head as he remained firm, "30,000 for three yards, either you take it or leave it". With a resigned sigh she left.

This continued with the next couple of people that came by, the amount no normal civilian could casually dish out.

Soon enough night came and the city became even more bustling, stall owners shouting out prices, the smell of open grill food lingered in the air as couples and friends enjoyed the nightlife, it was a pleasant scene. Paul remained open for an extra hour before he locked up.

Exploring the town he tried the local delicacies, the charm of street food grabbing his attention, local drinks with unique tastes he'd never had before, some made with the very waters of the hot springs delegated for drink production, he could see how they were beneficial for the health.

Continuously creating Ryo he was able to explore more of what the city had to offer, the freedom to relax without a worry was something most people in his previous life would never experience.

Eventually, he found an inn to rest for the night, even though he didn't need to he hadn't been in a proper room for a while and he wasn't about to miss it. Looking out of his window towards the city, he couldn't help but smile.