The Arrival. [Requesting Entry]

[Keigo Oen]

Thinking it would be such a better idea for the frontal to be led by himself, in case of an ambush, Zo would take the approach firstly. His life was meaningless in respects to the Raikage's anyways so why not? His mind was wary, but his emotions were clear to the point he was ready for the trial ahead of him. He knew his mission and with every step through the cliffside he'd push forward with his shoulder bag and smiled as he made hsi way to the clear opening that he presumed to be the gate. Standing there for a moment he would find himself just silently awaiting the next.

"Yo. Anyone here?"

[Topic Entered w/ Saito, Shashu, Kouin, Junko]

 

[Okada Kaji]

By the time the band of Cloud ninja arrived at the face of the Hidden Stone, Titan’s Keep was already busy with fishing vessels returning to the harbour from an early-morning haul, and mining barges taking on their weight in coal, iron, and lumber. The sea rushed into the port with the high tide, and humid air tasting of salt water and engine oil washed over the visitors. Where they stood was the foot of a metropolis where a hidden village lay in waiting within, underneath the appearance of the Capital City. The village gates stood as high as the eye could see, and were crafted from the steel of Mount Mariushi, and the ivory bones of the Queen Basilisk, but remained open, and welcoming to the life that flowed through its entrance in a steady stream.

As the sturdy man in front of the traveling band called out to the people of the Stone, they would be met by a peculiar figure who casually jogged towards them from beyond the entrance. A young man donned in standard stone regalia made his way to greet the visitors, and arrived short of breath, huffing and puffing until his flushed cheeks became as red as his uniform. “Welcome... umm” Jomei struggled nervously, realizing whom this company was once he got a good look at them. “to the Village Hidden in the Stones.” While the word had spread through Aegis that special visitors would be coming today, Jomei simply didn’t hear about it. “Okay uh, I guess...” he suddenly stalled as the last gust of wind left his sail, and he became clueless. “Wait-- who are you guys?” The young ninja began to walk around this foreign group, and faintly recognized the symbolism of their village crest as it appeared on their garments and armor, but visitors were so rare from them these days, he just couldn’t place it.


- Topic Entered
- Welcome to the Hidden Stone, Cloud Peeps

 

[Seijin]

</B>

#KyoubakuLivesMatter#AllLivesMatter#PyroLivesMatter​

The sad part about living in the modern world that they lived in was that discrimination was everywhere. It was utterly ridiculous at its core but if there was a line to draw in the sand then people would draw it. The current issue of Pyros and Kyoubaku had come to a most recent head when a Pyromanic ANBU officer killed violated the rights of a certain Kyoubaku teen. Why the two groups hated each other probably had more to do with the indiscriminate burning down of rainforest around the world more than a century ago but Umashi was quite frankly tired of the old world bickering and wanted it nipped in the bud. Coincidently enough the Kyoubaku themselves were a mixed breed that had simply become the norm unto themselves, hence the recent introduction of "Kyoubaku History Month" to the monthly calender.

Born from the union of a rather powerful earthborn shinobi and her water adaptable lover, the match had created one of the most prolific clans on Konoha where they flourished. Unfortunately however the mantra “Will of Fire” wasn’t just for show as the Pyro’s held something of a monopoly over the country’s socioeconomic infrastructure. For far too long the two battle neck and neck, the Kyoubaku for equality and the Pyro’s for dominance. What was once Konoha’s issue now threatened Iwa but Umashi was having none of that on his watch. Whether it was the occasional slur of Pyrobaku (for those Pyro’s that enjoyed the company of Kyoubaku), “Cousin Ash” (for those Kyoubaku who were enamored with being a Pyro to the point of self hate) or an undeniable cases of inequality (in either direction), Umashi had championed himself among those that simply valued a man based upon his earned merits, not his birthright. To put it simply, Umashi had a zero tolerance policy.

Going over another annoying report, Umashi sighed as he checked off list after list of things that needed to be done to keep the peace and keep people out of the hospitals versus filling every bed available. Couldn’t they all just get along? Handing the stack of papers to one of his up and coming medics, a Kyoubaku kid who was adopted by Pyrobaku parents, Umashi smiled and allowed him to continue onward with his other duties as he was left with a brief moment to himself before his name was called over the radio. Apparently his guest from Kumogakure had been spotted by the gatekeepers . . . finally . . . after what seemed like weeks of waiting. It was probably better that they be confirmed as Kumo born versus assuming such, so Umashi rushed to meet them as they approached the gates. Standing up and straightening out his clothes he radioed to Hissori and made his way towards the gates.

What he found when he got there was not quite the fully party but clearly the advance party if anything. Wearing a relaxed shinobi garb, the black scrubs that he wore were accompanied by a white cloak. Adjusting his stethoscope he made his appearance and laid a reassuring hand on the shoulder of the seemingly nervous Stone operative. <B> “I do believe that he is but the first of many expected guest, no?” He paused as he asked the question and looked at the forerunner. His eyes a piercing green color, he looked for any indication that there might be an issue to resolve but he didn’t and so with a smile he gave a further greeting and held out an earthy toned hand. “The name is Umashi, a pleasure to meet you good sir!” It was a good thing that he had had advanced warning but hopefully it would pan out be the real deal and not a farce. He was entirely over and done with waiting for his personal international plot to continue.

OOC: Topic entered

 

[Junan]

Akira moved forward, he didn't like the whole hanging back thing but had agreed to it to keep Hyazo happy, after all, Zo was the captain of his guard, and in the end that meant Akira had to do as he was told from time to time. He also hoped that by doing this the shinobi of Stone wouldn't feel like they were being invaded.

Wearing his robes he was very formally dressed, he was normally far more comfortable in his soot covered shirt and a pair of baggy pants. But he wasn't in the smithy anymore, he was the Raikage, and he had to look the part.

Two men had approached Hyazo, and though he'd not heard the words of the first man he'd arrived to hear the words of the second.

Ah yes, the man from our gates. he said as he approached.

I apologise for the very short meeting last time. There are a few more of us coming, but Kumogakure shinobi are an individual lot and so I can't promise that they'll all turn up immediately. He often wondered if Cloud shinobi would be on a mission to assassinate some beaurocrat, and then see something shiny and suddenly veer off to check out what it was risking the mission and their lives, kinda like a cat might. It simply was what it was, and he had no intentions of even attempting to change it.

I guess I should officially introduce myself. I am Akira Saito, ninth Raikage of Kumogakure of this age.

 

[Tsuirakuya Shashu]

Shashu finally arrived at the gate, showing up a few minutes after Saito and Hyazo. She'd been trailing somewhat behind the group for most of the trip from camp, thinking through possible ways this could go. First among her thoughts had been her original entry plan; back when this whole thing had originally been slated as a solo mission her intention had been to enter incognito, using the guise of a medical student to enter Iwa and try to find traces of the body she was looking for among the medical records or, barring that, find someone who knew about it. However, now that she was entering as a group it changed a few things. It would be suspicious to go with her original disguise so close to the main party entering, not to mention that if she was found out she ran the risk of sending the wrong message about the intent of the diplomatic visit. Saito's intentions were genuine of course, he wanted to make sure there was no bad blood between the two nations, but he also had a responsibility to the Cloud shinobi who had been slain here. To be able to balance both of those needs...well, this was the only real option.

With that all in mind, Shashu had approached Saito with her change of plans. In her view, the best course of action would be to just enter normally and slip away when she had the chance. It made things a bit more difficult, as they would almost certainly be watched, but there were few indeed who could keep an eye on her forever. The Raikage had agreed for much the same reasons she had, namely that if someone raised a fuss over her investigation it wouldn't seem like the whole diplomatic visit was a cover for something shady. She'd let Hyazo and Saito do the talking, follow what procedure was required, and wait for an opportunity. She not only had a body to find, which would be hard enough given the time that had passed since the shinobi's death, but quite possibly a killer as well. Best to start as soon as possible, and hope that there wasn't some sort of trap waiting for them beyond these gates.

[Topic Entered]

 

[Tsuyoshi Junko]

Coming behind Shashu, Junko and his brother walked quite slowly. No rush was needed. The day was good and the air was quite cool, possibly the coolest since they entered earth country. Unless the duo was simply use to the heat and were mistaken.

Approaching the gates, stone guards was already there communicating, carrying on their duties, and hopefully not freaking out that a group of cloud shinobi were at their front door. Come to think of it, they were probably much faster than Kumogakure on gate duty. Unfortunately, Kouin and Junko had to let themselves in and cause some fuss in order to get the gate guards gears moving.

It was definitely good that they did do their job, or the group probably would've had to let themselves in. Well, that's the logic of Junko and kouin after all. Anyways, standing in the back, The brothers would wait until they were acknowledged or allowed entry before speaking.

Topic Entered

 

[Kouin]

A light crackle of lightning would be seen in the distance, followed by a boom of thunder. The tell tale signs of the oncoming storm quickly approaching, but would the village hidden in the stone be prepared for the magnitude of this visit? This would be his first time coming to the village that was created to help house the Mist and Leaf shinobi that had lost there homes due to tragic weather conditions; though unlike Mist, Leaf had somewhat recovered from there state of despair. He had finally caught up the the rest of the group, though they hadn't seen him quite yet, but the Stone Shinobi could easily see him walking up.

He took another step forward and another crackle of lightning razed the sky. Now his comrades would definitely know of his appearance. He scanned the group of Stone shinobi, and the only familiar one was the one he met at the gate and enjoyed a nice manga with; pleasant guy, should totally take him to lunch. Kouin's mask sat firmly on his face disguising his appearance even from the man. He made the choice to speak very little; deciding to take a more over looking role, and simply responding to negative stimuli, he would let Akira handle the simple formalities of the group.

[Topic finally Entered]

 

[Seijin]

Umashi was quite pressed to get the show on the road so he quickly cut to the chase. Clapping his hands together he welcomed the Raikage and his party. "The pleasure is all ours honorable Raikage." He gave a courteous bow before beckoning one of the gate guardians to further assist him and the young shinobi with providing for their guest. The first matter of business though was getting them noted in the system as VIPs from Kumogakure. The last thing that they needed was another international incident. "Before I can let you in however, we'll need some identification so that we can put you into our visitor logbooks. Is this all of your party? If so, then please simply present your papers to the gate guardian and follow after me."

Speaking to the younger shinobi who originally spotted the party, Umashi advised him on a different path. "If your schedule is open and you have no other duties, follow me, you're officially hanging out with "The Bigs" today." Getting back to speaking to the Raikage's party as they were being checked in, Umashi updated them on the nonliterary. "In order to keep away any possible mishaps, you'll all be staying in our Kage tower, the Spire. It's where all of the high ranking officials stay so security is especially tight there and you'll be well taken care of. I'll arrange for a meeting with the Tsuchikage later this evening so that you all can get some rest for now. Let me know if there's anything else that you require and I'll do my best to procure it for you." There was a lot to talk about and seemingly too little time to say it. Fortunately though, this story was finally getting this ship moving. By the time they were all checked in, they'd be walking through the gates on the way to the Spire.

OOC: Topic Left unless stopped, Kumo Party allowed to enter provided they give ID information to the faceless NPC gate guardian.

OOC 2: Edited to not recognize Kouin

 

[Tsuyoshi Junko]

With a few claps, the humongous gates were opening. Reaching into his jacket pocket, Junko showed his passport to the stone guard and continued behind the others. Each step across the cabled bridge was interesting and astonishing as the brothers entered the colorful village. Viewing and touring the magnificent masterpiece would be quite entertaining.

The goal was to create a partnership. A bond between two villages to become comrades. Thinking of the idea, Junko smirked. The Raikage was truly pushing the village in the right direction and the Prodigy brothers had a front row seat. "It's beautiful here. It would be nice to see stones medical corps and how they do things." Junko said as his eyes wandered the terrain as he walked at the Raikages side on the way to the Kage tower.

Apparently, they held tight security there, but that didn't matter. Surely, Junko and Akira-sama would have their free time to train. Meanwhile, the gentle Aiko could go taste some stone tea and please his taste buds as he relaxed in the new environment. First thing first though, a cat nap or simple massage was needed.

Topic Left
Village entered!

 

[Keigo Oen]

Hospitality be damned, Zo smiled as the people rushed in along with his dragging team that were all seemingly dragging along the entire trip. It seemed unsafe though, so many of them that met late at the gates, Zo would be uneasy if the shoes were on the other foot. Either way, Zo would nod listening to the masked man as well as the younger fellow. Zo was wearing his side satchel and other such things as well as being armed with his swords but he was very docile at the moment, within him pumping hearts seemed to lead him with both levels of added adrenaline and more other things. So, the moment in time was not something that he cared too much about. Simply put he would choose to live with alittle more focus on the positive than the negative thoughts that seemed to get him in a bad way...

"Right. Lets go...", Zo would look to Saito first then Kouin, before flashing his passport and such to the necessary persons. He'd figure that this was going to be a stretched trip. Things were going to get edgy at times but all in all. No one would get hurt right? He was ready to fight his way out of a situation. And would definitely go about the things of this day to day, who knew... Maybe he'd get some booty here just to knock off the edge alittle. Who knew... Then again. Looking back to Shashu, thinking about someone back home would be nice as well... Decisions.

OH well, as he would leave, he'd await Saito to at least join him before finishing the leave of the area towards the tower to place their things down, then he'd get busy with the area.

[Topic Left when at least Saito Leaves.]

 

[Kouin]

Stretching his back until he heard a tell tale crack. He slapped Zo on the back and threw him a smile through his mask, We may be on a mission, but don't forget to take some time to yourself, ok? He had to make sure his shinobi were in top condition; his group was suppose to be the elite of the elite, but that doesn't mean they can forgo simple R&R, even if it was going to be the death of him, he would get Zo and Shashu to chill in some way or another. Thinking about it he would actually probably die before he got Shashu to listen to him, but he cared very little for that.

He nodded at Umashi, completely understanding the simplicity of the gate procedures. He pulled out his passport, and flipped to the anbu page revealing his tattoo; he quickly proceeded to roll his sleeve up, and began to send chakra into the area. A simple ouroboros began to reveal itself on his arm; a symbol of his rebirth and his vow. After confirmation, he put his passport away, and rolled his sleeve down. He noticed Zo was staying until Akira chose to leave, much like the head guard should, but he wasn't going to wait around, I'm going to explore a little bit, I'll catch up with you guys later. With that said he set off to find the first thing that piqued his interest.

[Village entered/Topic left]

 

[Okada Kaji]

Jomei was taken aback by the group of traveling emissaries as they continued to gather. He found awe in the dissimilarities between them; oh how confident they were to travel so carelessly. Or perhaps they couldn’t stand one-another long enough to arrive together as a group… Either way, these people knew they weren’t marching into danger’s way, or so Jomei figured as he continued to survey the cloud ninja, and approach them individually to process their passports.

And while these cloud ninja seemed intriguing, the antics of his own brethren never ceased to amaze him. Master Umashi always had an impeccable sense of timing, and his presence was often mesmerizing- or at least enough to hold a crowd. Just as the presence of the dusty travelers seemed a tad overwhelming, someone worthy of their prestige had come to whisk them away to their destination; a place Jomei didn’t dare to visit unless he wanted to trouble himself with the problems of crusting generals and sleepless diplomats like his father. When his elder extended Jomei an invitation to join in their proceedings, a hesitating grin quivered from cheek to cheek, and he rallied the nerve to tag along with a meagerly chirped “Sure, I think I can tag along”, knowing he’d most-likely be put back to work the moment he entered the Spire behind the arriving party. “Anything beats wasting another afternoon on guard duty... Thanks for looking out for ya' boy.”

Topic Left Unless Stopped

 

[Tsuirakuya Shashu]

There was nothing to say on Shashu's part while the rest of their party exchanged pleasantries and set about deciding where they would go from here. Her course was set for now, and that left little time for fooling around until her job was done. Although...Kouin did have a point, not that she would admit it. It would be a waste to come all this way and not experience something new.

Curious, she looked to Hyazo to gauge his reaction. She half expected him to scoff at the suggestion, citing something about needing to focus on protecting Saito or letting his dislike for the ANBU sennin speak for itself. Instead she found his eyes on her, and a familiar look on his face that distinctly reminded her of how he'd acted during that little accident at the Sileo. Fortunately the gate guards chose that moment to ask for her passport, giving Shashu an excuse to avert her gaze and hide the flush of heat creeping into her face. She'd been trying not to think about that during this trip. It would be a distraction, and distractions were not what she needed right now. There would be time to jump down that rabbit hole later. For now she'd focus, taking back her passport and heading through the gate. There was work to be done.

[Topic Left, Village Entered]

 

[Junan]

[OOC sorry for the delay, moved house and no net]

Akira handed over the passport, was checked and then entered the village.

It seemed as though everyone had something on their mind, Kouin disappearing pretty much instantly, Zo keeping to Akira like a bear on honey. Being a guard was after all his job, and Akira was thankful for the protection.

He pretended to not see the looks between Zo and Shashu, after all, it was none of his business, and he would only be happy if they enjoyed each others company.

Entering the village he would follow and take residence where shown. There was nothing to be afraid of. This village had just let in five of Kumogakure's strongest. If a fight was started, they would end it.

Still, he looked forward to getting to meet the members of this village.

[topic left - village entered]