A Homecoming

There would be no men standing at the gate, yet as Masaru drew closer to the gate it would open on it's own. This wasn't because of some ability the male had, but because of the guards high upon the top of the wall where the gate control was located. The Jinsoku-Shi that man the wall, like Masaru are capable of seeing to the horizon so they had their eyes on the pair for a while now. There would be no questions as to why there was someone with the Tsuchikage, after all it was his village he could bring whoever he wished inside. As they would pass through the gate they would be in a tunnel, not underground but considering the wall was half a kilometer thick they would have a little ways to walk. Masaru viewed this as his Grand entrance hall, the tunnel standing 15 meters tall like the Gate lit with various torches spread throughout it's length. The Gates would begin to close shortly after Masaru and Diana would pass through them, as they would begin down the tunnel Masaru would finally break his silence and speak. "This is the first line of defense, don't get to close to the walls. They are reinforced with Iwa special metal that drains chakra, much like my blade." Masaru would state as he tried to figure out how to explain what the woman would see at the end of this tunnel, finally he decided he would give her a history lesson. "I am sure you know of the history Iwagakure has had, after the previous Tsuchikage disappeared the country fell into disarray. Then Konoha came in claiming ownership of this land yet they did nothing to help, they were only here to steal the resources of our land. When I first arrives here this village was ran by criminals and the people lived in constant fear. So when I took the mantle as Tsuchikage, I vowed that I would change this land and make it better. There were those that opposed this change," Masaru would take a moment to breathe as he gauged her reaction thus far, "an example had to be made. There were too many people to imprison them all, so we began passing down harsher punishments the results of which you are about to see. However I ask that you not judge me or the village but this, but hold off your judgement until we reach the actual village and you see for yourself the results of such measures." As he finished the pair would reach what was known as Dead Man's Alley to the guards, it was named for two reasons the first reason being the fact that it was a three kilometer flat land with absolutely no coverage to protect intruders from the Archer's upon the walls. The second reason was because in the three kilometer distance that circled the village was scattered with crucified criminals, each one with their offense branded upon their flesh so that all would know why they ended up there. The offenses were wide in variety, along the path to the second wall at the end of this three kilometers would be posted Iwagakure Laws and Regulations which would give more reason to the degrees of the punishments.

Now that she was closer to the wall she was quite impressed with it's construction. It was way out of her skill range right now to fully understand, but all the same it was worthy of a village gate. Watching the gate open was also another thing to marvel at, as she wondered if he had guards placed above or had some fort of remote way to watch for people coming in. As they had began entering though, a feeling that wasn't quite a 'chill', but close enough that one who hadn't felt what it was like to run out of or hide one's chakra felt like, and thankfullt the Tsuchikage gave her an explanation as to why.

She didn't need her sensory abilities up to have felt the tug of her chakra to the wall. It was similar to when she used her Chakra Suppression, only more...unnatural. She was used to internalizing the pull of chakra, yet having it feel like it was trying to be pulled out...it was something she knew she needed to get used to. Maybe it was just the amount that was used though that was causing her to feel this way. Listening to Masaru in order to not think about the alien feeling the walls were giving her, it was nice to get a refresher course on Iwa's history. She'd make small nods as she listened, trying to parse out what sounded like propaganda and what didn't sound like it. She was a little worried about his words when he brought up the measures he had to take, but that worry was brought up to 12/10 when they reached the opposite side of the Outer Wall.

It was like she had stepped into a nightmare, only this time it wasn't an illusion or dream, and while her face didn't show her fear and shock, her eyes certainly did. While she hadn't practiced medicine, she knew a small amount of how the body worked through her skills as a chemist, and with that came the knowledge that . Slowly she'd reach into her bag, her eyes not breaking contact with what she was seeing before her. it would take a little bit, but she'd pull out a small porcelain bottle and twist the lid off, shook an antiemetic pill out, and downed it. She could barely make out the inner wall already, and if she was going to walk the entire time she was going to need something that would let her stomach the view, and it was better if she did it now before her body acted up.

"...I had heard some of the stories from a few people in several lands, but I was not aware things had gotten so bad as to cause Iwa to take such...such measures." She would hold her actual though back, trying her best to hold her opinion of such atrocities until the end of the walk. Her instincts told her to run. They wanted her to run as fast as she could and never come back, but like before, her desire to know why she had left would keep her moving forward. "I apologize Tsuchikage, I need a moment to process what's in front of me." She would take a solid half a minute before she was ready to continue walking, but walk she did.

The male would wait patiently for Diana to gain her bearings, he was in no real hurry and he could understand the sight of this all being overwhelming for someone like her. Even with the seals placed on the dead bodies to prevent the Decay of the body and the smell, seeing a sea of dead bodies bound to crosses was not something seen everyday. "Take your time, I understand how this may look. Please understand, when I took the reigns of Tsuchikage the village was over ran with criminal scum. Whenever we took one of them down three more would take their place, we tried imprisonment as a deterrent however it didn't stop them. I am not the purest of men however everything I have done since I became Kage has been for the good of the village and it's people. This serves as a reminder to criminals who come to my village the price of their offense to my people." When Diana was ready Masaru would move with her, if she wished to talk about something he would but otherwise he would remain silent allowing her to process it however she needed to. "Verneuli was the only one that did not like me taking over, the criminals that had been walking over this village for years stood against me as well. At first they were just a minor annoyance, but it would eventually reach the point to where I had no choice to take action. My advisors and I developed the Law and Regulations of the Land and began dealing with the offenders, however that did not stop them and soon death seemed to be the only detterent left. Then if came to the question of how to use this to send a message to other criminals, which is where the Dead Man's Alley between the twin walls came in. Originally it was meant for strategic defense leaving the enemy open with no place to hide in their approach to the village, but as the criminals kept coming in soon this place became what you see now. The dead serving as a warning for everyone that comes here."

Eventually the pair would arrive at the inner wall, almost an exact replica of the outer wall on a smaller scale. Passing through the gate would be like stepping into another world compared to the previous scenery, laughter, talking, smiles on every face, and  the smell of fresh flowers mixed with the sweet smell of tea. A complete one eighty from the Dead Man's Alley, which is why Masaru asked for her to hold off her judgment of him. Despite how bad the Alley was, he hoped the sight of a peaceful and prosperous village would show her that he was not all bad. He would remain silent simply gauging the woman's reaction to the change from the dead to the living, and would wait to answer her questions if she had any.

[2]

She'd stay silent throughout the walk, unsure of what to even talk about. The weather? What to expect in Iwa? While she wasn't unaccustomed to death, the fact that Masaru seemed to see this as okay and, perhaps even normal was unnerving. And that only accounted for Iwa's leader. What about those inside? Did they see this as normal? As okay? While she couldn't recall her early years, something had to of existed in her mind as one's skills and beliefs were built upon memories, and to her this felt wrong. But would a child born in this environment think the same? At least the Kage filled the void by explaining what he did. It helped a little and made the walk feel like it went a little faster.

Before she stepped through the gate she had glanced at the sign holding the Laws of Iwagakure, stopping as she finished reading the first law. She'd make her way through all ten laws and took them in, not sure how to respond after reading them all. Most of them made sense on the surface, but the first law concerned her after what they had talked about before entering the outer wall. Did he lie to get her inside the walls where she could be watched? She was a guest, so where was the line between asking a question and questioning in the eyes of the law? He himself had said that he worked on the laws, and while advisors were there as Kage he was the one who ultimately gave the final word. Perhaps it was just made in the heat of things and could be reworked, as how it currently stood the potential for abuse was high. She'd have to address him later, but the problem was how.

Not wanting to keep him waiting, she'd finally enter through the inner wall, and the shift in tone was disorientating. It was almost eldritch to her as some of her suspicions that she formed on the walk were correct, how all these people were acting as if nothing was wrong. They had to know, right? Looking from the crowd to Masaru, then back to the crowd, she'd give a noncommittal smile, as while she still didn't know what to make of it all, a part of her did find the scene refreshing compared to the walk.

"I have questions, but not here. I do not desire to ruin the peace before us, and I am sure some of them may cause unwanted distress for them." She'd return her look to Masaru. "Shall we continue on to the Korikane District? While we are going there I would also like to know if anything major has occurred with the Kotoshura, as you had not mentioned them when it came to either the crime or the restoration. I presume that their clan head is more level-headed?"

Masaru would smile and motion down one of the roads leading from the gate when Diana made mention of the Korikane compound, he could tell that something was bothering her though that was to be expected considering it was her first time seeing Dead Man's Alley. "There is no need to worry about upsetting the people, you can speak freely here. You are my guest, and no one will harm you here." Masaru would state in reference to here earlier comment of not wanting to distress the villagers, "As for the Kotoshura, unfortunately the clan leader has been working for Konoha, the last I heard anyways. I have sent messages to Konoha yet have not received any response from them as of yet, though I hope she will one day return to her true home here in Iwagakure. Though it would seem the Hokage that I had spoken with in the past not only did not tell me of Yui working for her, it also appears she left office shortly after I departed from the village. Since then I have had no word from Konoha, I can only assume that the Hokage that replaced the level-headed one I spoke with, to not want relations with Iwagakure. It is possible they don't like the fact that they do not own us anymore, or it could be that the village has no real leadership. Either way, I can only hope Yui is alive and well and will find her way home as you have. The clan members themselves have been some of my biggest supporters, since my coming to become Tsuchikage they have stood by me. They helped me clean up the disease that ran this village and restore it's balance, they are also what I call my Blast Corp. They are effective with keeping the peace, but they are also effective assault teams when the need arises."

Going down the path the Tsuchikage had motioned to, she'd listen and try to recall who the previous Hokage were, but none came to mind. She hadn't payed attention to the Chunnin Exams, and by proxy wasn't that knowledgeable on who was currently in charge of what, though once she had a name or face she'd probably recall who did what in a similar manner to when she saw Masaru. What was more troubling though was hearing that the clan leader was missing, and that if the kage was correct there was a good chance about the previous hokage being replaces bad blood may possibly spark a hunt for Kotoshura due to many blaming a clan for the fault of one leader. It was refreshing to hear though that her more explosive lineage was doing well and good though. She had heard of the Blast Corps of old from neighboring city-states, and to know they still existed was...well it was something; not bad, not good, just something.

After Masaru had finished up, she'd take a couple of seconds before speaking about what wa on her mind. "I am more worried about you upsetting them due to the nature of the question, hence me wanting to go to the compound first as to reduce the amount of people watching, but very well." Making eye contact with the man of steel, she'd take a deep breath to calm her nerves. She had to trust in him, but the contradiction was too big to not be left alone. "Will you please explain Rule One for me in more detail? You said earlier that you do not wish of me to see you as a leader who demands to be followed blindly and unquestioned, yet the very first rule states the opposite. While I do not doubt that you and your advisors have the best interests in mind, I would like to have this rule cleared up as you asked me to trust you."

Masaru would chuckle slightly at Diana's question, not because of what she asked but because she had been afraid to ask it. "Do not fear, Diana. What I said to you before still holds true, Rule one was the first decree of the land when I took office. I knew that in order to rid the village of crime I would need to institute a force with dealing with said criminals. That rule was instated for the sole purposes of judgment upon the guilty, Myself and only my few hand picked Subordinates are capable of passing judgment upon an individual who has allegedly Committed a crime. When needed we listen to the details from both sides and then pass judgment, the rule was to ensure that no one tried to fight those judgments. Whether the suspect is found guilty or innocent, once a judgment has been given it is not to be questioned by those below such station. I can understand how that might be misconstrued given the context of our conversation earlier, but rest assure you need not worry so long as you do not commit a crime within these walls you are safe. If I told you to kill yourself or do something that you do not believe to be right, you are more than welcome to refuse or question me. But when it comes to the judgment of crime, my word is law and it will be carried out." Masaru's voice was calm as he tried to soothe the woman's concerns, he could understand how from an outsiders view it could be seen rather menacing.

"I see." So it was a lack of context she was missing. A part of her was disappointed in herself for not trusting him, but he was still a shinobi, and shinobi were tricky people. Attempting to find the village was proof enough of that.

"In that case the rules, while stricter then many places I have visited, do not bother me that much. Given the history of the land and what you have told me it has gone through, I can see why the rules are the way they are."

She'd continue to look around at the village, admiring it's architecture. It certainly was different from many of the other places she had visited, really encompassing the name of Hidden Stone Village. And yet it was a little dull, seeing rocks upon rocks. there was no color, no life. If it weren't for the rule of no vandalization (and also the secutity risk) she would've gone and painted over most of the places there. Still, the more she thought about it the more it came to her that she could just spruce up the Korikane district with her own flair once she fixed the rift within the clan. Her semi-sightseeing would also help pass the time it took to get to the Clan district, and they'd arrive at the gates to the crystal clan in a decent amount of time.

"Well, I guess it is time to see if I exist in their documents then.

The remainder of walk through the village to the Korikane district would be silent, Masaru would allow Diana to continue to process it all in peace. As they arrived at the gates to the compound Diana would comment about seeing if she existed in their documents, Masaru would simply smile as he was sure such a thing was highly probable considering what good record keepers the Korikane were. Masaru would look and see Itsuki Korikane and wave him over, it would take the old man several minutes to reach them but when he did Masaru would introduce them. "Diana this is Itsuki Korikane, an elder of the clan and also the senior record keeper. Itsuki this is Diana Korikane she has come to us to find her origins and I hope you can help her find them." Itsuki would nod and motion for Diana to follow him as he began to shuffle his way towards the main building of the compound, before Diana left him Masaru would add. "You will be in good hands with Itsuki, and if you need anything from me. You can find me in my office of the administration building over there." Masaru would point to the tall building in the center of the village that was visible from where they stood at the entrance to the compound, "I hope you find what you are looking for, and feel free to stop by anytime." With that Masaru would bow and take his leave from Diana, there was still much to get done today.

{Exit}

"Thank you once again Tsuchikage. I hope the rest of your day goes well." Parting ways, she'd take a look back at the man, but turned back as she was staring to fall behind the elderly man.

~~

After several hours of acclimating herself to the district, Diana was with Itsuki as they entered a chamber filled with hundreds of Korikane crystals, each it's own unique color. "This chamber is the best way to find out if you were born within Iwa. While out documentation is great, when a Korikane first shows their element, we store a sample of it within a room such as this, and thanks to the Kage's grace we now have this one to store them all. Now please, stand in the middle of the chamber, hold a hand up towards the light, and apply a very small amount of Shōton chakra to the tips of your fingers. The light shall do the rest." Diana would do just that, and after a small crystal had formed on her fingertips, the light would dance around the room until it stopped, landing on a lone crystal held in a metal chalice, though said chalice looked like it had seen better days.

Hey crystal was here it seemed, a lovely briolette with shades of emerald and sapphire coloring, layering like petals of a flower bud. The crystal was also cracked, the lone impurity looking like it had been there for years. "Well, that proves you were born here, but I don't understand why it's damaged. I'll have someone look through the documents for more information as well as contact the kotoshura clan to see if they have anything else."

She'd nod, glad to have an answer. "Thank you again. I will take my leave then."

{Exit}