Nothingness
Two Thousand Club
✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧
Shin Kisaragi
Although the sun had only risen about an hour or so ago, the temperature had already risen dramatically, each heavy step he took in the scolding hot sand felt as though he was getting absolutely nowhere. Even with it being early morning, there seemed to had been no mercy from mother nature as the high gusts of wind blew sand in his face, threatening to knock him off his feet and bury him underneath the layers of sand. Luckily for Shin though, he had acquired a cowl and with it draped over him along with the collar being pulled up to cover his lower half of his face, he was able to continue marching forward. He had been walking through these deserts for the past two days, his destination had been the city of Vacuo, if there was anywhere he was going to find safety and even the slightest bit of acceptance, that was going to be the place. The people of Vacuo honored those who could survive the harsh weathers of their Kingdom, if you could survive out there then you were welcomed.
This wouldn't have been Shin's first time coming to the Kingdom of Vacuo nor would it be his first time arriving at their Capital City either. During his time working for the White Fang, it wasn't uncommon that he was sent here, normally his missions here was to investigate and spy on specific people and rely the information back to his higher ups regarding what the target had been doing, who they spoke to and what they talked about. Though, back then, he was given access to taking an airship to avoid having to march through the desert so the traverse here was never anything to complain about other than the unimaginable heat during the day and bitter cold at night.
The trek continued on for nearly another half an hour. As he climbed the next large sand dune, his destination finally came into view. Overlooking the Capital city from where he stood, Shin exhaled a sigh of relief. "My god, what I wouldn't give for a tall glass of water right now..." Mumbling under his breath, he proceeded to slowly slide his way down the opposite side of the dune and continued to head closer toward the city. Unlike the other cities he had visited on his travels up till this point, Vacuo and its academy seemed mostly intact, while there were no doubt signs of fighting due to the damage to several buildings and the clear damage done to the academy, unlike the other Kingdoms, the academy appeared as though it was not overly swarming with Grimm, though that could simply have been the fact that they most likely were hiding deep within Shade Academy's walls to hide from the heat and the smoldering sun's rays; whatever the case was, that was an issue that could be addressed later after he had gotten something to eat and drink.
As Shin approached the city, the wild gusts of wind finally began to die down, allowing him to eventually pull the collar from his cowl down to reveal his face. At the entrance to the city stood two individuals, one male and the other female, neither looked to be any older than their late 30s or early 40s. When they had seen Shin approach, rather than question him, they simply gave a nod just as Shin returned the friendly gesture. With the size of the cowl, he was able to both conceal his weapon as well as his right bandaged arm. Knowing that if anyone with an odd-looking weapon could possibly gain some unwanted attention, Shin made it his priority to head for the nearest tavern that he knew about. Since it had been early morning the place surely would be mostly empty aside from the few drunkards that passed out the night before drinking their worries away.
Finding himself at a local tavern, the moment Shin stepped inside, the cool breeze from the air conditioning had him respond yet again with another deep sigh of relief. The dim lighting of the atmosphere also gave the place a relaxing feel as Shin made his way directly for the bar counter where he had taken himself a seat on one of the stools. "Can I...just get a glass of water and whatever your cheapest meal is?" Speaking under his breath to the woman behind the bar counter who had been polishing a cup with a rag in hand, the woman would raise a brow at the stranger who sat before her but simply nodded before proceeding to write down an order of a plate of flatbread before tossing the small piece of paper to the back where the kitchen had been. From there, she placed down a glass cup before tossing in a few ice cubes and pouring the clear water in. Placing it in front of the stranger, the woman would cross her arms in front of her before replying regarding the price. "That'll be 20 Lien."
After hearing the price of what he ordered, the thought of just a glass of water and whatever the tavern's cheapest meal came out to be 20 Lien almost felt like highway robbery, though, Shin was in no place to argue nor was in any condition to be doing so either. So with that, he lowered his sheathed weapon down to the floor so that it could lean and rest against the counter while being out of sight of the barkeep, reaching under his top with his left hand, he pulled out a small stack of neatly tucked Lien, placing down two cards of ten before returning what little he had left into his hiding spot once more.
"Can I ask you something..?" Speaking up after paying the woman his fee, the barkeep wasted no time to take the money before raising a brow with the money in hand, her arms still crossed the entire time. "Information don't come free around here pal." The woman replied with a snarky attitude that Shin mostly ignored, it was to be expected from one of the toughest kingdoms throughout Remnant afterall. "Have you heard any news about the activity from the Grimm within the walls of the academy? I mean, as of recently." As Shin questioned the woman, silence fell onto the tavern, many of the drunkards who had their heads down on the tables within the room nearly snapped out of their drunkard state, turning their attention toward the stranger who would ask such a random question about the academy after no one had spoken about it ever since the attack.
