Nori had just left Konoha proper that morning, waving a cheeky goodbye to the guards at the gate as he sailed through the doors and into the great, vast world outside those walls. Village visits were a nice bit of downtime, but Nori could never stand it for longer than a week or two without starting to get twitchy. No, he belonged on the road, feet carrying him wherever he so chose.

At the moment, that direction was a small town in the northwest corner of the country, where wind of a unique job had reached him. A day and a half's travel at a leisurely pace. For all his wanderings, he rarely expected to happen across acquaintances unless he had reason to seek them out or vice-versa, and wasn't particularly fond of the latter.

He didn't really believe in coincidence, but the sight of that obnoxious form wasn't an unwelcome one. Nori greeted him with his trademark sharp smile.

"Lookin' like ya might be lost there." If only because Houou was alone, and maybe it wasn't a coincidence.