Border Patrol! [TMM Tatsuo and Hoshi]

[Shouyu Hoshi]

Hoshi arrived at dragon tooth pass, speaking with a guard. He exchanged the necessary documents for release to complete his duties for the day. He received a letter for a need of extra hands at the gates. It was not problem for him, nothing more than exercising. He shrugged off the mission, he figured and right start to his day. The sun was shining behind silver clouds, the cold breeze taking away from the fiery orb's warmth.

Hoshi began down the trail to his post. He had to walk down the pathway some lengths before reaching a large tower. It held a ladder plastered into the building on the side for one to climb. Hoshi wasn't for any conventional method of traveling since he was a Shinobi, with a grunt and leap he scaled the top of the tower. From here, he peered over and saw his great vantage point, the kid smirked. He was dressed in the usual, kimoni top, training pants, apron, and two item pouches.

Hoshi took a seat and from his pouch took out a sack of assorted tree nuts. One after the other he'd pop in different nuts such as almonds, walnuts, cashews, peanuts, and more. He leaned back into his chair and reviewed his mission duties on the paper. He realized his team mate for the day was none other than Tatsuo. Hoshi smirked once more and nodded, he'd await the arrival of his friend casually. As time would pass, Hoshi would reach into his pouch again pulling out a gold wrapped bag. He tore off the top revealing a bland stench of tobacco fronta leaf.

Also inside were some skuny tree that looked like a dense nugget of leaves. Hoshi began twisting and pulling apart the nugs until it broke down to crumbs. He then cut out a decent piece of the fronta leaf, using it as a crutch for the crumbled herbs. Once the leaf was filled, Hoshi began to tuck and roll from left to right while licking a slight bit of the leaf, and sealing it closed with a twist. Hoshi went back to eating tree nuts as he tucked the cigar above his right ear.

 

[Tatsuo]

Tastuo climbed up the ladder traditionally, as he poked his head over the threshold a huge smile appeared on his face as he noticed Hoshi. "What's up, pal!" Jumping up and over the rest of the ladder he landed on the small platform. Instantly he noticed the cigar tucked behind Hoshi's ear, "You smoke already?" he smirked before looking out at the rolling hills surrounding the Cloud Village. Tatsuo was dressed in his basic gear, his leaf headband proudly displayed on his head, a dark blue black pants and shirt with a scarf around his neck. As a gust of cold wind hit the tower, Tatsuo cringed a bit. He still was getting used to the cold, something he realized he probably would never get accustomed to considering the climate of Leaf.

"So what's the mission today? Watching the clouds?" he said as he pointed to the air, "That one kind of looks like a rabbit." The cloud sort of looked like one, but it was at least missing an ear. Tatsuo smirked again before taking a seat on the other side of the watchtower. He took a handful of nuts and decided to get comfortable in the chair. "Do this a lot?" Honestly while Tatsuo wasn't looking forward to this, the addition of Hoshi to such a simple mission made a world of difference, they'd probably find some way to make simple guard duty a little bit more interesting. Let's just hope they can stay out of trouble.

 

[Shouyu Hoshi]

Shouyu tossed up three cashews that landed in his mouth, same time a voice rang out. Hoshi looked over and grinned, Tatsuo had finnaly made his appearance climbing up into the booth. He greeted with a gesture to his seat, and nodded when asked about smoking.

"Eh, every now and then, especially on slow missions like these.

Hoshi dug into the bowl of nuts and consumed more. His view shifted to the overcast and his surroundings. Everything seemed rather normal, nothing out of the ordinary, he began to wonder how Tatsuo could help here. He laughed when the leaf Shinobi made a joke of the work. It was more than funny, cause most of the time that's what it felt like. He looked to the guy when Tatsuo pointed out a rabbit, Hoshi tilted his head. Squinting his eyes he finally agreed with a chuckle.

"Oh yeah, kinda does haha, but no. Essentially, we are to lookout for anything... strange. Most commoners know the ways of getting in and out Kumogakure. There's one way in, one way out. I usually help here because of my doujutsu. And honestly, there's been some weird things going on. Did I tell you about my discovery in fire country?"

Hoshi stood up after proposing his question. His eyes began flexing showing veins pumping chakra around his pale hues. His view of distance grew and the chakra of everyone in sight would be outlined in colors. He'd begin to note out things to Tatsuo.

"About 600 meters out, there is group approaching. Seven. Our job is to approach any people of suspicion, and that falls under any newcomer. I've personally never seen this group."

He took his seat again, the veins retreating into his skin as they returned a normal placid bored look. Again Hoshi went back to the nuts fulfilling his insatiable hunger.

 

[Tatsuo]

"Bad for your lungs, ya' know?" Tatsuo said as he rested on the rails, his face turning beet red from the frigid cold of Lightning Country. He tensed up just a bit at the use of Hoshi's doujutsu, it wasn't that he'd never seen one in use. The veins, the intense look, it just felt like something Tatsuo would never get 100% comfortable around. As Hoshi began to identify the numbers in the party, he squinted trying to look for who he was talking about. He saw a few black dots off in the distance of the hills, pointing finger towards the party, "You mean them?"

Tatsuo had never done gate duty back in Leaf so this was a first for him, but he understood the most of it. As he'd entered and left the gates multiple times. He stood back, grabbed a few cashews and plopped them into his mouth enjoying the oily taste. "Ya think they might be bad guys? I wouldn't mind a fight." he said throwing a few punches into the air, finishing with an upper cut and a smirk. "I can't see 'em, are they wearing weapons or anything or is it just some traders?" Tatsuo looked back at the black dots which began to get closer on the gates. He was now able to tell they were humans, but other than that he couldn't tell you much. The fine mist of the morning made details much harder to see. He rested a hand on the hilt of his sword and looked to Hoshi, "'Bout time to go down is it?" he said awaiting the more experienced Hoshi's instruction.

 

[Shouyu Hoshi]

Hoshi snorted a chuckle at Tatsuo. He then nodded already knowing the risks of smoking, luckily for him it wasn't a consistent habit. As he pointed out the men Tatsuo attempted to visualize them. Hoshi would nod once he did. He kept staring down the group for a few more moments, and shifting his gaze to the other surroundings.

Tatsuo inquired if they were trouble, Hoshi would shrug. He even looked his way when he mentioned being okay for a fight. He turned his eyes back to the oncoming people. A crowd had arrived looking for a guide through the mountain, Hoshi would signal for Tatsuo.

"It's sometimes difficult to gauge if they are good or bad. From here I can't see any weapons. When we greet the others seeking to enter Kumogakure, just keep an eye out for them. Do you by any chance know any basic anbu jutsu?"

He'd beckon Tatsuo to follow him, Hoshi would leap off the tower after and land easily with a crouch and assistance of chakra in his feet to cushion the pressure. He landed among the crowd of people, some turning with a gasp and others cheering for a capable guide. When he rose to a stand his Kumo headband glinted in the shaded sun.

"Hoshi Shouyu and my comrade Ranna Tatsuo will be your guides for the day. Please, documents everyone. Entry into Kumo prohibits any weapons unless those are Shinobi, in which case you will be asked to provide the necessary identification. Tatsuo will overlook your documents, while I gather the rest of the crowd."

Hoshi would then begin to round up the stragglers who were in the distance by waving them down. Upon that straggling group was the six they were to have eyes on. Hoshi greeted the elders and children, looking as if a child himself. Once Tatsuo would overlook the documents the rest would show up and Hoshi would repeat his previous statement, the chosen group freezing and almost hesitant. The others gladly obliged and Hoshi took their documents, looking over to Tatsuo. It seemed the group was uneasy being Leaf by Shinobi, they were would exchange words before complying.

Hoshi overlooked the documents, which at first glance seemed okay, but Hoshi nodded it off for the moment and allowed them to join the convoy. When Tatsuo was ready they would proceed the pathway to Kumo with the Shinobi leading the way. Hoshi would say under his breath but loud enough for Tatsuo to hear.

"Back in fire country... in Crater city, I received a message of distress. A kidnapping of a hyuuga, he was found some days later with his eyes removed, and deceased. I investigated to discover a underground crime ring of doujutsu theft. Whatever was happening there is only a sister project to what's really going down in Lightning country. They're documents check out, but... I believe they are posing."

Hoshi would continue the path up, occasionally looking back to make sure the group was okay. Hoshi would pause, the group was too large for two keep up with, especially both being ag the front. The crowd stopped and began mumbling, that's when Hoshi rose his hand to silence them. That same hand came down below his chin, a one handed seal which in three jolts of lightning formed three more Hoshi. The three then circled around the group and behind. Now that the group was secure, Hoshi lead the way again, looking over to Tatsuo.

"What do you suggest we do? It would be crude to single them out with solid probable cause. We have ensure security while being mindful of others to not think of us as a tyrant dictatorship... Tch... But I know I'm not wrong."

 

[Tatsuo]

“Nah, can’t say I know anything.” he furrowed his brows looking out into the crowd. “If they’re trouble, I don’t think i’ll need Anbu jutsu though. I can probably figure something out.” he laughed before following him after being instructed to.

Tatsuo wasn’t far behind jumping down behind Hoshi. However he could feel everyone tense up as they noticed he wasn’t a native Cloud Ninja but a Leaf one. His headband and apparel in general was quite contrasting to Hoshi’s gear.

All was going good until Tatsuo was told he’d need to look over the documents, immediately his face went pale and he rubbed the back of his neck. “Hey buddy, maybe you should look over these.. I uhh, ya know I don’t really know the Cloud documentation too well since i’m from Konoha and all.” It wasn’t the real reason of course, but Tatsuo wasn’t going to say anything. He would try to usher the documents back into Hoshi’s hands.

“How about I just check them for contraband, I could do that pretty well.” he said quite awkwardly, trying to move the subject away from him not checking the documents. He moved over closer to the group as Hoshi flagged the stragglers down. But when he noticed Hoshi had something to say he moved in closer and listened to the tale of the story of Crater City.

“Yeah, Crater City is filled with things like that. I’d say it's one of it’s more tame businesses too. My mom used to tell me they’d capture ninjas at birth and train them to be mindless mercenaries for hire. Then kill them when they were old enough to fight the ones who captured them. Real sick folk who live there.” He looked back at to the crowd in question and shrugged his shoulders. “You think they have something to do with that? You recognize them or something? I can’t tell if they’re from Fire Country or anything, I haven’t heard ‘em speak either so I don’t know if they’ve got the Crater City accent or anything.”

Tatsuo listened to Hoshi as he explained the predicament of trying to look fair in the situation, he continued to glance over to them accompanied by a Hoshi clone. Biting the inside of his cheek he nodded and an idea came to him. “Ya’ know, you could always just use your Byakugan, say you see something in their packs. I’ll take them into the watch tower and we can investigate further there. None of these guys have those eyes so it’s not like they can say you’re wrong and if they fight back they’ll seem like the bad guys. Plus I can handle a few punks if i’ve really got to.” Tatsuo seemed especially confident about the last bit, while he wasn’t trying to pick a fight here. He wasn’t looking to avoid one either.

 

[Shouyu Hoshi]

Hoshi sighed at Tatsuo's lack of knowdlege on the basic anbu jutsu. That would call for him to remove one of the snapshot he had recorded in order to take one of the new group. Tatsuo followed and as Hoshi passed him the papers he was rather reluctant. Hoshi even chuckled at his comment and spoke to reassure him.

"I'm sure it is somewhat the same in fire country. You'll need to look for your country's seal, and the basic info: Name, birthday, birth place, citizenship and occupation."

Hoshi overlooked the papers for a bit and showed him by pointing all the information as he spoke its name. Hoshi smirked and looked and Tatsuo rolling his eyes about contraband. As they lead the group and Hoshi spoke Tatsuo leaned over and gave his reply. He was right about crater city, it was a strange one to behold. Hoshi gave him a serious look at the horrid tales of he underground city. Hoshi shook his head just being reminded of the terrors from his missions there. Hoshi looked back at the crowd once more, and then back at Tatsuo.

"I don't think they are from the fire country per se, but, they could be. We would have to get them to talk. Maybe it's best we search them at the gates."

As Hoshi proposed the dilemma he gave a sigh. The convoy had well over reached the half way point and were closing in on the gates passing one of the last few watchtowers before the dragon tooth pass. Tatsuo gave a rather valid response of which lit up Hoshi's face. He nodded approving of the idea and gave thumbs up.

"Great idea. We will make a move at the gates. We are almost there anyway. This should go smooth, but, be ready just in case, ya know."

 

[Tatsuo]

"Alright, on you." Tatsuo said as he scanned the group, he lacked the all-seeing powers of the Byukugan that Hoshi had but Tatsuo was looking for anything that might require him to take action. He hadn't really expected that this group could actually contain criminals but he couldn't act like he was surprised, it was his job after all. As the group finally arrived at the gates, Tatsuo raised an arm as he made quick eye contact with all in the group. "Everyone, continue into the gate for further processing. Except you guys." he said lowering his arm to point at the group Hoshi had singled out as potential lawbreakers. "My companion here saw something in your packs with his Doujutsu, you're going to require another round of individual processing. Sorry, rules are rules. The rest of you, other Shinobi will take care of you farther in." Tatsuo said as professionally as he could, a small smile began to pull at his lips as he realized just how silly he felt. Tatsuo wasn't really one to act all professional but perhaps this was just him growing up a bit, at times you needed to act like you knew what you were doing. Even if you had no idea.

"On you, Hoshi." Tatsuo would say before resting a hand on his sword as he scanned the remaining group from head to toe trying to judge the group of potential criminals. There were three men, two larger men who'd probably dwarf Hoshi and Tatsuo if they were standing on each others shoulders and a smaller man in a nice suit. The two larger men were carrying large gourds which had the symbol for "Sake" on them. The smaller man was quick to react as if Tatsuo and Hoshi were old friends he hadn't seen for years. "Oh, friends I understand completely. You know it's good to see two fine young men protecting the Village Hidden in the Clouds. It truly is a beauty, I don't think there's a place in the world that can so easily take your breath away. Except maybe Konoha." he said with a smirk, obviously directed at Tatsuo. "Here, let me show you my papers. I'm a licensed liquor distributor. I've got a Daiymo's seal." the man pulled a small book from his pocket and flashed it at the two youths. There was indeed a seal from the Daiymo. "I'd give you a taste, but this stuff is go good that if you even smelled it you'd be drunk for days." the man laughed heartily for a few moments before bringing the papers back into his pockets. "Now, what do you say guys? Anything else I need to show you?" he said before patting his coin purse and raising his eyebrows.

Tatsuo hadn't expected the man to be so convincing. He felt inclined to trust him and doubt began to fill his mind as he glanced back and forth to Hoshi for further guidance.

 

[Shouyu Hoshi]

Hoshi turned and faced the group with his hands intertwined, behind his back. Tatsuo allowed the civilians to enter while asserting the suspect group to remain. Hoshi examined the stature of the larger two. They were most definitely the muscle behind the small, well dressed, and well-mannered man. Hoshi kept his chin high as the man spoke highly of his liquor. The larger men seemed like statues, solid and unwavering as if a towering mountain. He looked over to Tatsuo, and examined the document, the writing and nature of document, as well as the seal.

“We don’t accept coin for anything here, first and foremost. Your documents are fine. Although if you don’t mind, we are a hospitable village, we will personally escort you to your quarters.”

Hoshi didn’t believe a word, no liquor salesman should need two guard this size. Hoshi turned away from them about forty five degrees waving a sign to the door man to creak open the massive gate to accommodate his enormous entourage. Everything checked off, he couldn’t feed into his suspicion for the chance to be wrong would diminish the reputation of his village.

One guard took the lead to enter first, as he passed by Hoshi he’d receive a stern leer, Hoshi examining the group a final time. He paid no mind, the salesman laughed while the final walked right in front of Hoshi and stopped. Shouyu’s pale eyes widened in response. The guard rotated very sluggish with a thump of thundering feet. The guard intently stared back at Hoshi with menacingly large eyes. Hoshi grew agitated, clenching his fist and taking a step forward.

“Proceed! ... Citizen! …”

Hoshi would watch as the guard would finally relent and continue through to the gate where Hoshi would look to Tatsuo, nod and follow behind the group. He shrugged his shoulders, attempting to shake off his distress. He sighed deeply and straightened himself.

Wc 318

 

[Tatsuo]

"You think they're saying the truth?" Tatsuo asked as he watched them walk away through the gates. "I really couldn't tell, the guy seemed very convincing though, I hope we didn't make a big mistake." Tatsuo rubbed the back of his neck as he looked around at the front the light mist of the morning was finally fading as the sun began to peek overhead into Dragontooth Pass. "If something goes wrong i'll be in some deep shit, ya know, you're a shinobi here so you've got some leeway. I'm a foreigner." he'd laugh before shaking his head and resting on the large stone pillars on the side of the gates.

"You know something i've always wondered, Hoshi?" Tatsuo said looking over at him, "With your Byakugan. Can you see.." Tatsuo rubbed his chin, looking over his shoulder to see if anyone was there. "Ladies.. ya know.." he took his hands and waved over his chest in a breast like fashion. Tatsuo was now at the age where he began to wonder about things like that, and pretty much every boy in existence would've loved X-ray vision at that age. He looked over to Hoshi with brows furrowed as if it was the most important question in the world.

 

[Shouyu Hoshi]

"Of course not. They're seal is legit, but, there's only one way to see if they came with alternate motives other than just a liquor license. Who needs guards that big huh?"

Hoshi continued to follow after the group giving directions as they traveled through the town. The guards would be stoic, always looking straight while the high fashion man was extremely friendly. He'd greet just about any and everyone in his sight with a friendly statement and a million dollar smile. Hoshi would smile all the while only playing the part. Hoshi looked over to a concerned Tatsuo to reassure him.

"If anyone were to get in trouble it would be me, as you said, you're a foreigner, helping a Shinobi citizen. This would only fall back on me as a bad leader. Don't worry, just try and stay focused."

The group would proceed into the residential quarters of the village. Their pace was steady and too slow. Tatsuo was quite talkative during the trip, Hoshi looked at him flabbergasted at his curiosity. Hoshi shook his head and grabbed the bridge of his nose. He had to conceal his laughter which sought to burst from his chest in an explosion of laughs. The boy cleared his throat and chuckled.

"Tatsuo, even if I wanted to do that, it wouldn't take a genius to know I was looking. Haha, actually, I can't see beyond things with a certain depth. So no, I can't see through clothes or armor. Or even behind a wall or rock. It's weird but, any obstruction makes my vision blurry."

They'd finally arrive at their quarters where Hoshi would greet them into the door. He had to call another guard to accommodate the giants who couldn't fit through the door. Hoshi would discuss some options with the guard, who would agree to a sturdy ladder placed on the side of the house for roof top access. Hoshi then explained the situation to the business man who jeered in excitement. The young Shinobi turned away and beckoned Tatsuo to follow.

"Alright, now we post up and wait."

 

[Tatsuo]

"Damn." Was all Tatsuo had to say in regards to him not being able to see such things. "You know, that'd be awesome. I'd trade away wood jutsu for it." he nodded sage like. "I'm not a perv or anything, but ya' know, you would too." he laughed and continued to follow the group from a distance. As they finally decided to post in position, he nodded, crossed his arms and took a look at their surroundings. This really wasn't too difficult of a mission, but the boys had to be vigilant.. they were for all intents and purposes the first bastion against the chaos of the village's exterior. Even if they were just a couple of kids, a certain amount of professionalism was needed for a job like this. But who didn't like some good banter every once in a while. "Maybe we'll get into a fight today." Perhaps the two would get into a fight, but the opponent would be one they'd rather not fight.