Requesting Entry It's All [REDACTED]

[Kagami Miro]

From the horizon past the corroded rocky roads emerged the ANBU Sennin. Her white cloak hid most of her body but with every step an onlooker could see that golden glimmer of the sunlight reflecting off her mask. The travel to Leaf and Sand exhausted its pretty sights and expanded her mindset. Time had come to finally put her pieces into motion, but where did she stop first? To the Raikage’s office? The Sileo? ‘Bed?’ A silvery voice chimed into her mind. Her bangs moved side to side in response to Naibu. A progress report had to be sent first. The rest Naibu sought for her would come in time. Her Sennin duty called for her like a siren in heavy fog.

At the newly constructed Kumogakure gatesthe door had been kept open by a busy line of citizens and travelers. If she weren’t tired from the day's journey she’d plow through the lines and meet the receptionist. Once she had made her way inside there were a few open booths, one with a person packing their things to leave an opening for her. Swiftly she moved over to see an aspiring shinobi finalizing some paperwork before they looked up. A bandaged hand moved to pull back her white hood. Red hues peered past the gold mask to the receptionist. “Entry to Kumo, please.” A hand slithered from underneath her cloak to pull out a passport with mostly redacted information other than the branch, her code name; ‘Alpha’ and a signature from the Raikage herself. It moved towards the individual at the desk, with an eyebrow rose on the shinobi's face. “Yeah.. I’ll get a higher up.” Quickly the person radioed another personnel in hopes to hasten the entry checkpoint.​

[Requesting Entry]
[Provided Passport]

 

[Shinrya Kitsune]

Sitting behind the desk inside the gate guard office, Tedo, or as he went by now, Mr. Wikku, wasn't really doing much. It'd been a while since anything of interest last happened at the gates, which suited him just fine. He wasn't into a life of action anymore. But when one of the military higherups show up at the gates to be let in, he was the go-to guy for handling those situations.

A man of few words, he stepped out of the office, impeccable in dress as always with his trademark black suit and white shirt, and headed over to the checkpoint where a masked individual was wanting entry. He quietly looked over the passport, checking it with a UV light to ensure a few of the security measures were indeed valid, then scanning the chakra imprint left by the signature of the Raikage, validating it as absolute truth. This was indeed a higher up from the ANBU branch, no doubt about that. He'd seen enough of these passports to know the real deal from a fake at this point.

"Welcome back." he simply stated before stepping aside to allow entry. He didn't bother to ask for the mask to be removed. He didn't care who was behind it. He was just doing his job. With a single hand gesture he had the masked individual guided through the gates and into the village proper, while also shooting off a notification to the Raikage offices that one of the ANBU had returned to town.

[NPC Tedo the Gate Guard has entered the thread!]
[Access granted]

 

[Kakihara Shirokouu]

The azure-eyed Santaru walked calmly through Kumogakure towards the Great Dragon Gate. The site had been significant in his life multiple times throughout his days, and some of the most important interactions he'd experienced had taken place there. Today, however, he was simply seeking out an excellent pair of old acquaintances. Most of the shinobi he'd come to know in the Village Hidden in Clouds were long gone. Yuii had vanished like the wind, Joukuu and Kiyo might as well have been ancient history, and the strange dark-skinned traveler that he'd met in his first visit had also been missing for most of the age. But familiarity in this new world, this new time, was something that Shirokouu yearned for. Perhaps it would calm his stormy eyes, which still shone with a soft pale blue light.

As he approached those grand gates, the white-clad young man noticed that the current gate guard was one that looked familiar, not only from his last time entering the gates, but also from his brief interactions when the Tenouza invasion was at its height. It just dawned on him. 'With all the time that's passed, perhaps that was the same man...' He pondered the difference in age. It did fit. The realization brought a sort of existential dread to the Santaru, his eyes fading whiter still in their glow. It was then that he noticed the person that he was talking to. Through the frightening visage of her golden mask, Shiro's sharp vision locked onto Miro's eyes. Their piercing crimson caused the young storm caller to quirk an eyebrow, unnerving the young man, but not as much as what he felt might lie behind them. 'Interesting...' He thought, not knowing the depth of how at odds the two might be in reality should Miro have known he was a shinobi of Leaf, or was before his journey through time itself. His headband was mostly hidden, tucked low on the neck beneath his white hakama, but with a sharp eye perhaps the smallest of details could've been ascertained.

Nevertheless, the man approached, his gait calm and soft-stepped. There was a calmness that always followed Shirokouu, regardless of circumstance, like the silence before a storm, or perhaps like its eye. "I hope I am not inconveniencing you with this interruption. But... are you Tedo-san?" He asked, calling out in a steady tone as he directed his attention to the gate guard who was more than a decade older and far more grizzled than he'd remembered. "If you'd like me to wait, I can do so. However, if you have a moment, I'd appreciate a minute of your time." He added, leaning against a post just inside the now opening gateway.

 

[Kagami Miro]

In a matter of minutes from being radioed a man approached the desk. His hair was wild and loose yet his attire spoke volumes. Who else dressed that sharply for work? The connection to her Raikage came swiftly, just as swift as the confirmation of her passport from the rugged gentlemen. A seldom welcome had been given, an underappreciated act of kindness to a person who recently traveled across the world.

Just as her hand slithered back underneath her cloak to stow away her passport an unfamiliar voice called out. A devious side eyes snapped to where the sound came from. Red hues scanned the lanky white hair individual briefly. From first glance, the pale complexion and the snow white hair, she concluded he was a foreigner. With her infamous red hues the Sennin caught a quick glimpse of the foreigners headband. While she hid her emotions well the mask allowed her to turn her face into disgust. The same raw disgust that she held when she witnessed a mountain of bloodied bodies in her chuunin days. Mirō turned away to face the entrance to her village. From behind the mask she spoke out, “Another sickly dog led to our pure waters. Tainting it.” Her voice carried over to the man even though she refused to hear the mutt's rebuttal. Those from Konoha undeserving of her voice, let alone acknowledgement. Without another word Mirō moved through the entrance past Mr.Tendo and toward her headquarters.

[Topic left]
[Village Entered]​

 

[Shinrya Kitsune]

Tedo, or John as he went by now, raised an eyebrow at the comment made by the golden masked kunoichi, but didn't otherwise react to it. He didn't get paid to get into politics. He got paid to handle entry and exit for the village. He did when he was younger, and he did now, only having a stint as a sort of mercenary in between, earning him a reputation of "Don't mess with this guy". Now, one thing he hadn't expected was to see a guy from many a year ago, looking exactly the same as back then, coming up to him and asking if he was indeed who he was.

A quick nod confirmed Shiro's question, and with a slight gesture, he invited Shiro over to have a chat away from the gate, letting the other guards handle it for a bit. "It's been a long time. Yet you look exactly the same." he said, a man of few words now, compared to his youth where he'd been using words like "bodacious", and "most non-excellent". His years as a mercenary had taught him to be more serious, as one mistake could end up costing a life, and he'd kept that attitude ever since. "What brings you back to the village?" he asked, curious as to why Shiro had returned.

 

[Kakihara Shirokouu]

The generally stoic Santaru couldn't help but let his stone-like façade crack a bit in the face of Miro's snide statement. He'd known the Shinobi of Kumogakure to be kind, wise, and welcoming in his previous experiences but the air of hatred for him hung in the air as he simply shook his head, his brow furrowed slightly as the golden-masked kunoichi walked off. Returning his attention to Tedo, he was quick to notice how much the man had changed over the years. He'd formerly been an excitable, outgoing, and high-energy young man with a mop of dark hair, but now he had a whole different aura to him. Calm, precise, weathered, and notably without his similarly awesome companion.

Tedo, or John, took note of the fact that Shirokouu didn't look like he'd aged much more than a day from their last encounter. Considering it had been well over a decade, that proved just how apt the man's memory was, Shirokouu smiled as he took note of this. Despite the man's new appearance proving how much had changed, it was a good feeling to see something familiar in this new world he'd found himself in. When he continued to his question, the Santaru's smile only widened into a self-aware grin. "Would you believe me if I said I never left?" The azure-eyed shinobi asked, waving the passport that he'd been given on the day of their initial meeting. It was of course well-expired, and his current stay was only made legal by his earlier meeting with the Raikage, but it, like him, wouldn't have looked aged by the years that had transpired in between.

"It's... a long story." Shirokouu added, giving the man's dapper appearance another once-over. "Though I suspect you have your own stories to tell. Perhaps we can share those tales over a cup of tea, unless you have more pressing responsibilities at the moment?" The Santaru inquired, pulling out a large heated flask that he kept in a pocket to his side. He uncorked the top, letting the steam rise into the crisp mountain air and waved it slightly back and forth in his hand.

[MFT .:. 356 Words]

 

[Shinrya Kitsune]

Never left, huh? Well that'd explain why Shiro didn't look a day older than when they'd last met years ago. He gestured for Shiro to follow him over to a small office he'd been given usage of due to his years of service. It wasn't an enormous room, but it was enough for his work needs, and then some. He sat down in a chair behind a desk, then gestured for Shiro to join him opposite the table. "Tea?" he asked, pouring a cup of hot tea for himself, and if Shiro agreed, then to Shiro as well. It was a native blend from the hHartlands of Lightning Country, rich in aroma and flavor.

Wick would take a sip from his own cup "As you might've noticed. I'm older than when we last met. I've experienced my fair share of adventures and excitement." he said in his signature calm voice. "You might say I've seen some shit. So now I just work here, where I started. But you, on the other hand. Tell me what's happened with you, since we last spoke."

 

[Kakihara Shirokouu]

Shirokouu quirked an eyebrow at the man's response, then nodded and followed Tedo into the small building. It wasn't that him accepting his request was out of the ordinary, it was the way the man now carried himself that caused the Santaru to ponder. If a man that, when he last saw him, had changed so completely from a rambunctious and energetic young shinobi to the hardened and experienced man that sat before him, what had the man been through? And more importantly, what else had changed while he'd been away.

Taking a seat and accepting the tea with only the slightest second thought, spurred on by the interaction with the mysterious masked kunoichi that he'd just met, Shirokouu took a sip and said, "You have good taste..." He said, admiring the quality of the tea he'd been given. "I appreciate you taking the time for me, Tedo-san. I won't lie to you, it's hard to rectify you with the excitable young man I saw all those years ago." He was honest in his assertation. After all, the two versions of this man seemed to be not just years apart, but worlds apart. "I can certainly see you've come a long way over those years... And I'm equally certain that you can see I haven't changed at all. Like I said, it's a long story, but one I'm happy to tell." Shirokouu said, then continued to recount the honest tale that he'd just told the Raikage and Main Branch Sennin. It was a story of time lost and Shiro's words came out with the somber tone of a man who had lost decades and likely almost everyone he knew.

The story was as long as he'd advertised, and he offered to refill their now-empty cups with his own special blend of herbal tea before continuing. It was different from the rich blend that Kumogakure had become known for, but had a unique flavor to it that couldn't be found in stores or with traders. The Santaru recalled the part of his tale about his experiences during the Tenouza conflict and couldn't help but ask. "That shinobi I saw there during the Tenouza's attack... He looked a lot like you. Do you have family?" The man inquired, only putting together as he'd asked that the man may very well have been the one that sat before him. "And what ever became of your former partner? If I recall, you two seemed very close." He added, hoping he hadn't stumbled upon too sore a subject.

[MFT .:. 423 Words]

 

[Shinrya Kitsune]

Tedo listened to Shiro's tale with a calm, attentive demeanor. His eyes, however, betrayed a hint of surprise at the mention of the Tenouza conflict. He had indeed been there, and it was one of the many experiences that had shaped him into the man he was today. "That was me," he confirmed, taking a sip of the herbal tea Shiro had offered. It was a different flavor, but it was good. "I was there during the Tenouza conflict. It was... a difficult time."

At the mention of his former partner, Tedo's chiseled expression softened slightly. "My partner... he's no longer a gate guard," he said, his voice steady but the pain of no longer guarding the gates with him still evident. "He suffered a serious injury during a mission, and has since been retired from active duty. He now does paperwork. It was a long time ago, but... I still miss him being here with me."

He took another sip of his tea, letting the warmth of the liquid soothe him. "But life goes on," he continued, looking at Shiro. "And we have to keep moving forward, no matter what."

Tedo then leaned back in his chair, studying Shiro. "So, you've been away all this time, and now you're back. What are your plans now?" he asked, genuinely curious about what the apparently time travelling shinobi intended to do.