The Village Gates

Shin left the village in order to meet the Tuchikage at the Land of Birds. His destination was known to the village elders. The guards let him pass through the gates unchallenged.

[Exit]

Nobunaga was waiting at the gates with the small caravan of merchants he was to be escorting. He had sent an invitation to join him on the mission to that Iro girl from a few days ago. He wanted to get to know her a bit better, and learning more about her while on a mission would also give him an idea of what her level of skill was at. He himself was about average when it came to Chuunin ranked shinobi, though he was noted to be an excellent fighter with fantastic coordination. Perhaps in a year or two he would be granted the rank of tokubetsu-jonin for his prowess in fighting. It was his goal, as after that rank came the much coveted promotion to a jonin ranked shinobi. The elite of the village, and Nobunaga's desire.

The caravan was a small one comprised of four camels and four merchants. The camels were loaded down with wares and coin, more of the former than the latter, comprised mostly of various rugs woven in the northern Land of Wind. These merchants needed passage to their next stop, hence Nobunaga's presence here. This was certainly something he could likely do alone, but his desire to get to know Iro better led him towards taking a partner should she show up. He would wait another fifteen minutes before setting out, all the while hoping Iro showed up.

Nobunaga had basic provisions, enough food to snack on during the mission as well as a canteen full of water. Another smaller canteen was in a small pack he had strapped over his shoulder which also contained his food. A Sunagakure flak jacket was worn over a mesh shirt, though both of these were covered by a black kimono made of a light material. It had a hood built into it in case Nobunaga wished to draw it up to protect him from the sun, and a scarf was wrapped around his neck to act as a windbreaker and as eye protection in case a storm brewed up along their journey. His nodachi was strung across his back with the hilt on his right shoulder, while his two less favored blades lay on his hips. The katana on his left, the wakizashi on his right. His hair was drawn into a ponytail as usual, and he waited with his arms crossed and facing the village in anticipation of his hopeful squad mate.

The merchants were dressed similarly, and one camel carried to small barrels of water to get the group through to the next stop. Another bag was full of food meant for traveling, meaning lots of hard tack and cheese along with dried fruits and a small amount of salted beef. Come now, don't disappoint me Iro, he thought with anticipation.





Mission:

Spoiler:

Iro planned accordingly, ready to show up to duty on time. She timed herself to show up five minutes early, which she felt was appropriate to not be too awkward while giving her enough time to get acquainted with the merchants. Like many Shinobi she wears the common black sandals which secure her feet and ankles. Iro wears a pair of loose fitting black pants which extend shortly above her ankles, which she has wrapped in a set of white bandage wrap. Her pants are paired with a black sleeveless, backless top with a white undershirt in the same design. A single, tan obi is worn around her waist. Lavender arm warmers are worn around her forearms which are additionally wrapped with a tan cloth. For the purpose of the mission she wore a beige Sunagakure flak jacket. It was standard in design, having elongated shoulder guards and thick neck padding with six scroll holsters, three on each side of her abdomen.

Around her forehead Iro sports her forehead protector. In a black cloth she has the forehead protector's steel plate facing the front with Sunagakure's emblem engraved on the plate. Iro has long, plum hair which is fastened in a long ponytail using a tan hair tie. She keeps the rest of her hair parted in the front with two long bangs reaching down to her chin. Iro herself stands 5'8 and weighs approximately 140 lbs. With deep tan skin she bares golden amber eyes. Iro has an impressive athletic figure including a toned abdomen with muscle work shown around her body. She would show up right on time after a moderately light breakfast of eggs and toast, with an apples she could be seen munching on as she neared the gates tossing the core away in a nearby trash bin. She would stand before Nobunaga with firm, perky body posture. She grinned sharply with her pearly white teeth and eyes closed as she bowed respectfully. "Namaste, Nobu-san."

Iro would glanced over at the merchants, passing a silent but greeting smile to them as they prepared their luggage. She would return her attention back to Nobunaga. "Is there anybody else we should wait for, or am I the only one? I should thank you for the drinks last night. I don't think I ever had the chance to formally be thankful for your generosity." Iro followed what she said up with a smaller, but equally grateful bow. It was perhaps one of the reasons she was in such a great mood today. Drinks tasted much better on someone else's tab. The booze helped her unwind and settle down for the night which led her to having a great rest for their mission.

Nobunaga saw Iro approaching before she got close to him, having been keeping watch on the street. He waited for her to get near and greet him before doing anything himself. "Namaste, Iro-san," he replied in kind, mimicking her bow. She chose an interesting garb for the mission, but Nobunaga could not complain. He appreciated women just as any other man did, but his honor and self-discipline would not allow him to express those desires to people he did not know very well. She asked him if there was anybody else coming before thanking him for the drinks from their initial acquaintance.

"No, we should be the only ones," he said before tilting his head down in the place of a bow. "And it was my pleasure to make a beautiful woman's night. I would not mind doing it again, perhaps after we're done with this mission, if you're up for it," he finished. The slight uptick of one corner of his mouth indicated the beginning of a sly grin at the end of this last sentence. One of the camels began to impatiently paw the ground, one of the merchants whispering something to it to calm the beast down. Nobunaga turned his attention to the uppity camel before returning his attention to Iro. "I believe it's telling us we should go." Assuming everything was good, Nobunaga would follow the merchants out of the village alongside Iro. Once they were further out, he would move into the point position to be the first  response to any threats on the caravan. The Land of Wind was still somewhat unruly, even within fifty kilometers of the capitol. Outside of that safety zone was where Nobunaga enjoyed his job, and even thrived while doing it.




[exit]

Iro was delighted by Nobunaga's response. He was a well-mannered, traditional man. Tradition: something Iro and her family stuck to. It was not out of ignorance or conservatism. It help kept life simple and wholesome. "Of course! I would love to go out with you tonight." Iro responded with a gentle grin. She was unsure what he had planned in mind. She was not a heavy drinker, though she would not be against the plan for drinks again. It was his invitation, of course. She would be out of place to be picky and choosy on what he had planned for their evening. Their meet and greet would be interrupted by a scampering camel. It was a beast of burden that has traveled its route for years, and was impatient as to why they had no departed. It seemed to have grown accustomed to the location and time of day. Something that meant it was time to get a move of. Iro nodded to Nobunaga's suggestion, edging that they should head out on their mission by now. Parting from the village gates Nobunaga would take point in the front of the convoy as Iro would take the very back as the caboose. Her expertise as a medium to long range fighter would benefit her the most from here.

[Exit]

Raijin arrived to the village gates, the village guards greeted their new Kazekage. He now had the means to grow the village. He was sure more powerful shinobi would gather to the village. But he wasn't focused on being the leader of this village. They were a means to an end. Though he was not heartless, he would make sure the village was well off. As it was also to his benefit that they thrive. He smiled as his ninja bowed when he passed them into the village.

[Enter Sunagakure]

Nozomi had left the Land of Fire, following Raijin back to Sunagakure, but taking her own time in doing so. She didn't have any pressing time concerns right now. Konoha would be on high alert from the seizing of its ryo and exclusives, so Nozomi knew that going back right now wouldn't matter all that much. Even if they weren't, she had some stuff to train up and logistical things to worry about.

Suna's lands were... something else. Nozomi didn't much like the place. Sand everywhere, no escape from the sun or heat without using a jutsu, and it wasn't all that great. Luckily for Nozomi, she was a Jinchuuriki, and had a ton of water jutsu. With Water Heaven's Convergence and her massive chakra reserves, keeping up a small stream of water to keep herself cool and hydrated was easy. Where she could find plants, she could get water from the ground.

Through that method, she made her way to Suna, passing through the gates and walls without so much as a word. If someone tried to halt her, she'd take them out with little issues, but Raijin had more than likely informed them not to bother her. If he hadn't, she'd have some words with him. Nozomi was the Leader of the Society, and the Society went where they pleased. Gates and protocol didn't matter to her. Never again would they matter to her.

-Enter Suna.

Mission Name: Herb Harvesting
Mission Type: Gathering
Mission Rank: C
Mission Goal: Gather a rare crimson orchid
Description: Venture out to the local oasis and, in the dead of night, harvest one of the rare crimson orchids to be used in the village's medicines and other chemical compounds. There are no dangers expected but one should always keep their wits about them as the desert is unforgiving after dark.
Payment: 15,000
Requirements: Any

It was ten o'clock in the morning a day following her interesting training exercise. She was already short on money forcing her to take even more missions. A higher paying one at that. She opted for some help on this one as leaving the village walls was generally risky for someone as vulnurable as she. Inari wore a pair of geta on both feet, the thick wood block sandals adding two inches to the girl's overall height. These were paired with fashionable, loose red pants, a cerise pink Obi sash bowed at the front, and a white haori yukata. She chose a pair of beige arm warmers to accompany her outfit, the flesh-like color blending well with her outfit overall and not being too noticeable. These were fingerless and extended far up past her elbow. Inari's fingertips were different than that of an ordinary human, more importantly her nails were thicker and half an inch long painted black.

Inari stands at 5'2 naturally from her head, however due to her geta sandals she gains a height boost putting her at 5'4. Her hair is long, both light pink and very silky showing her degree of care to her appearance. Her skin is fair and smooth, free from sun marks, scars, or blemishes. She shared the traits of a red fox, having red and white ears extending from the top of her head through her hair and a bushy tail from her lower back. From the top of her head she wears her forehead protector like a headband just before her fox ears. The cloth is red in color and the steel plate facing the top. She had nothing significant in terms of gear bit a single Shamisen made of wood strung on her back using a thin lanyard.

She awaited her partner's presence, if one was sent. Given a few more minutes she figured she would just head on out without her. She had to travel to the far oasis, which alone was a two hour travel. After extracting the herb and making her way back the whole bout would last around five hours before she had free time again.

The dull impact of wooden geta against the path would signal the approach of another. She would likely be seen far before she was heard though. The kimoni that she wore was an ornate, as if she was wearing a piece of art. Black, red, and white, with depictions of birds flying across the length of her silk robes gave the woman the appearance of someone who would be traveling to a formal dance of nobility rather than approaching the village’s gate, but this would be none other than Ei Kanagawa. She stood naturally at 5’3”, however the wooden blocks she wore as sandals gave her an extra two inches of height. Her skin was almost of an unearthly pale white, contrasting heavily with the glossy black hair she sported. Besides the variety of flowery hair ornaments she wore the woman appeared not to be armed, or carrying any other items of note. Not even a headband would mark her appearance, making her status as a shinobi difficult to confirm for any who weren’t aware of her by appearance alone.

Ei Kanawaga. A woman who had been a Jounin before the fall of Sunagakure, years ago. Now that the village has risen up again, there was a reason for her to begin taking on missions once again. Missions and students. An unfortunate distraction from her art, but a necessary one.

Inari would be analyzed as Ei approached. Psychical cues would be looked at based on just the way she would idly move. The way she breathed. The heaving of her chest with each breath, and the manner in which her throat moved ever so lightly as the air passed through it. The girl’s skin. The way she blinked. Her eyelashes. Her hair. Her ears. Her tail.

A smile would curve across Ei’s lips.

"A beautiful flower, aren’t you?"

She would approach the girl. Her partner. Ei would press her hands to her face, across her cheeks. It was an invasion of personal space. She would stroke across the skin, back into the girl’s hair. Ei’s hands would rest there for a moment, before moving to Inari’s wrists. They would be pulled up, and the girl before her would be arranged into a pose. Her arms would be stretched out. Her elbows bent. Her fingers would be examined. Each knuckle looked at. How the skin felt. It was akin to some sort of sudden, invasive medical exam. She would soon be finished, and then Ei would move on to the gates.

"You’ll do."

The gate guards, recognizing Ei on sight, would stand aside to allow her passage. They would look expectantly at Inari after that, wondering if she would follow.

[Analyzing Inari]

[Exit -> Miracle Oasis]

Inari stood idol gazing at the skies and whatever she could entertain herself with in the meantime. A rollie pollie marching across the streets, a bird flying above, a- oh thank God. The vixen turned to the inside of the village to see the only other eccentric looking personal from the village. Her dress choice and comically large paintbrush suggested she was a trained ninja of some form. But that was the least of what caught her attention. The distinctive clicking on the stone path she walked on sounded very familiar. Inari's eyes lowered to her feet seeing the cause of that distinctive clicking. She wore geta just like herself. Her tail wagged back and forth very subtly as if she was trying to contain her excitement. I can tell we are going to be great friends...

Ei was likely having the same analytical moment watching Inari just as intently. I know that's what she's thinking! When the two finally met face to face the Gothic looking girl spoke. Confusion succumbed her. "Wait, no. I'm actually a fox. See?" Inari said maneuvering her tail from behind to show Ei she was clearly a fox. The girl would start to get physical with her. Touching of the face and arm causing Inari's tail to stop moving and slowly drop. "Wrong tree, sis." Inari whispered under her breath.

Weird greetings aside, Ei was at least eager to get the mission started. Inari's ears perked up again and tail straightened as she trotted behind Ei. She was pretty forgiving to not dwell over an awkward first impression. Besides, Inari knew very little about this girl and her background. Only time will tell how well those two would get along.

[Exit w/Ei]

Ei would return from the Oasis, but now she had an additional piece of cargo with her. Rather than just the easels and paints that she had sealed away when going off on a journey to paint, Ei had now a small child along with her. Son’Rei. A little orphan of some sorts she had found off in the desert. Of course, she was using a rather generous definition when she thought of him as an orphan. Son’Rei did have a family, presumably. The Fujio Clan. They were looking for him now, but… If he was willing to do so much to run away from them, coming all this way out into the desert just to become a ninja so he could become free… Were they really family then? No. Ei had made the conclusion that Son’Rei’s biological family had abandoned him. It would be fine then if she took him all this way to Sunagakure, and took care of him. She would travel with him through the gates, the small boy held carefully in her arms. Ei would take him to his new home.

[Exit to Sunagakure w/ Son'Rei]

Son'Rei would enter into the village hidden in the Sand within the arms of his guardian angel, asleep in the arms of a woman that he did not even know. He did not see the splendour of the village, nor it's people it had been a long time since the boy had slept and this woman's arms were like sleeping on clouds.

{Entering Sunagakure}

Ei would return from her mission outside the village, carrying the unconscious and heavily intoxicate fox girl in tow. Poor Inari would be held in a variety of octopus tentacles that slid out from Ei's sleeve, a sight that would cause the gate guards to give her a bit of a strange look. It would take a bit of explaining until Ei was able to convince them to let the both of them through, which was more difficult than it should have been in her slurred sate. Eventually the two guards manning the entrance would allow her through, although with dirty looks.

[Enter Sunagakure]

Mission, with Azuma:

Her first mission as a shinobi. She had no idea what to expect, but the prospect of travelling and picking up more about humans sounded like a fun enough adventure to the spider. She wasn't unfamiliar with traders and their need for guards. She simply hadn't been one herself up until now. Believing herself more than capable of survival, she was nonetheless not allowed to go by herself. Something to do with her being a 'genin' among these shinobi ranks. And thus her sensei would have to join along the road. It'd be up to him to instruct her in what exactly he expected of her - other than taking down bandits (and eating them?). So with certain impatience and curiosity, she now waited at the gates for clearing with the caravan in question regulating its own paperwork.

[Exit Suna]

Spoiler:

---

The Desert Rogue and Suna's Blackberry had a Mission set for them, an important A-Rank Mission, that'd see the duo leaving the village and even country for some time. After meeting up at the village gates, the two would set off towards their first destination, a village situated along the southern coast of Kaze no Kuni. From there, the two had a boat to catch...destination; Kirigakure no Sato, Mizu no Kuni. Surely, this was gonna be quite the adventure...

[Travel time: 96 Hours, 4 days.]

Ei would follow along with Azuma, on the same mission as him. It was an important A-Rank mission, and the two of them were trusted with it and some important information regarding both the village's goals and the identity of the Kazekage. They would be forced to travel by boat, another first for Ei, but it would be something that she would quickly get used to. Her destination would be Kirigakure no Sato, which would come after several days of travel across the seas.

[Travel time: 96 Hours, 4 days.]
[Exit]

Crossing through the sunrise desert, a figure appeared in the distance, returning home after his journey to Kirigakure. Azuma was quick to go through the gates, greeted by a number of the older guards upon his return. He'd enter the village, making his way towards The Wind Dome.

[Enter Sunagakure]

[Enter Sunagakure, having returned from Kirigakure]

”I’m not afraid.” She whispered to herself. Nobody was around to hear other than herself. The village had turned into a ghost town. Again. All those comforting fantasies that she had about a revival of her home had once again fallen into dust.

With haste she would make her exit. There was no longer any reason to remain here.

[Exit -> Land of Birds (24 Hours)]

[Hunting -Ei]
Nozomi had been checking in on Sunagakure, to see how Raijin had been dealing with the place, but she hadn't expected to find the entire place virtually empty. No guards anywhere, and completely deserted. There were mostly fresh tracks from Ei, which could be traced back to the administration office and vault. It was quite obvious that someone had robbed the village, attempting to take advantage of everyone's absence.

Nozomi normally wouldn't care that much, but she didn't mind checking out this person. Someone with that sort of panache and the courage to steal from a Major Nation, empty or not, might make a half decent recruit for the Society if directed and trained properly. The other half of her interest was to do something for Raijin. This was his problem technically, but she was his boss, so she was going to see what she could do for him.

Leaving behind Isobu Himitsu, Iseri Tanaki, and Mako Fujihara, she gave them orders to take up guard duty and patrol. Mako made a fuss about being left behind, but Nozomi reminded him that she was faster than he was, and didn't want to be slowed down. Besides, she wouldn't need any help.

Nozomi was light on gear, wearing her X rank Battle Kimono and her Ebony Tanto, but otherwise had left a lot of her usual battle gear at the Emporium.
---
-Fast Traveling at A tier speed to Land of Birds, following Ei's trail. (8 Hours.)

"Well well. We got ourselves a runaway. " Raijin appeared at the gates draped in a black ninja outfit, and an ANBU mask he borrowed. Apparently they had been robbed and the culprit seemed to be one of the Suna ninja. Usually Raijin would condone this type of behavior as he had done it before. But it was he whom she was stealing from. He saw Nozomi at the gates and could see she was already hot on their trail. But she was too fast for him to keep up with.

He was armed with the Kusanagi blade and all of his ninja tools. The Totsuka Blade and Yata Mirror was of course equipped in his person as well. He was planning on causing some chaos. He would follow Nozomi out of the gates.

---------
(Exit)
Fast Traveling at B tier speed to Land of Birds,  tracking Ei's trail. 12 Hours

Azuma had been rather preoccupied with other things during this time, the village had slowed to a crawl despite his attempts to reinvigorate the land, and he'd been off dealing with other matters. But upon his return to the Wind Dome and his office, he'd find the place robbed of all valuables, and even Suna's coffers empty. The man was quick to follow the trail, wasting no time getting from the inner sanctum of Sunagakure to its gates, leaving the best guards he could muster in a short time behind to guard what was left...which was nothing really. His sensory skills active, he'd recognize a familiar Chakra signature on his way out, he wasn't too far behind that of Raijin, the former Kazekage Azuma was the successor of. Using his rather impressive speed, Azuma followed the trail, after Raijin, who was after Nozomi, who was after the actual target in this, Ei. It wouldn't be to long and Raijin would have Azuma blazing past him through the desert, heading towards the Land of Birds. The man had left with his equipment on hand, as he always did.

[Exit Sunagakure. Traveling to Land of Birds with A Rank Speed--8 hour travel time. 25 CP spent in Land of Wind.]

Raijin made his way back to the Gates. He figured with that many ninja on the thiefs trail, they wouldn't need him. Plus they were faster than he was at the moment. Raijin had bigger plans anyways. After conversing with the Dragons of Watashi Island. It was time to bring their plan to fruition. With the war, it would be much easier to do what was needed. The first would be the victims. Zero Tails demanded a massive amount of victims to stay afloat. With all of his possessions already on him. His skin changed into a dark pale grey. The Second State Sage Transformation taking over, he began to take flight into the air. A village was about to be very unlucky. He flew off reaching high altitudes in the air, making sure to keep into the clouds.


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Sage Kata
[Exit Gates > Open Sea> Land of Tea > Chagakure (12hrs)]