Open New Arrivals

[Kazumi]

Even with the expert navigation of her shinobi escorts, it took a few days for the group to finally make their way back to the village, and it was a sight to behold. Shielding her eyes from the sun's glare, she surveyed the massive wall that surrounded the village, the small shapes of humans dotting its surface as they worked and toiled on repairs or modifications. She had expected the place to be a bit of a backwater hole in the ground, speaking more to the lack of local resources than to the skill of its shinobi inhabitants, but it seems she was mistaken. She had heard bits and pieces about the shinobi here and their village, and it would appear that this leg of her travels may have been more interesting than she had anticipated.

Hurrying to catch up, the two shinobi stood speaking with the guards posted at the massive front gate. The wall was curved and too large to know if this was but one of many, but it was an imposing sight none-the-less. Aria wasn't sure why the structure needed to be so large; what sort of assault could be expected out in the middle of these inhospitable lands. As she hurried her way past the large sled of supplies, which had been pulled by the other caravanners themselves, Aria stopped just a few paces back from the gathering of shinobi, doing her best to listen in without actually appearing like she was.

Meanwhile she took the time to remove the loose white cloth from around her head, letting her un-braided red-orange hair fall loosely down behind her. It was clear that she was no native to these parts, but it was difficult to place where she might have hailed from originally. In truth, she looked little different from that of the other civilians who were being escorted by the shinobi back to the village, but while she did not have any obvious weapons, she didn't have the look of a nervous, worried or haggard refugee as the others behind her had.

The two shinobi escorts looked ragged and exhausted, but they composed themselves as they gave the quick report to the gate guards. There was little worry of the unbent infiltrating the city, but security was still high these days none-the-less. One of the pair was missing a hand, and the other had cuts and gashes across most of his exposed skin. They relay the important points with as much poise as they can. Over half of the caravan was lost in route, they picked up the woman behind them along the way, they might not have made it to the village without her assistance. She requested to speak to the Kage upon her arrival, but she doesn't seem to know much about the area or its customs. She never gave a name or much other info, but they were in little position to press her for.

 

[Sunaku Harupia]

Recently, Harupia had been spending a bit more time around the gates then he used to. He had grown slightly accustomed to these mighty walls he had a hand in building and was still thinking of ideas on how to spruce up their appearance slightly. With the recent influx of traffic with the chaos beyond the walls, there also was a need for someone who could hope to maintain peace along the way, and he struck just the right balance between being amicable enough to calm down tension and strong enough to step in when necessary. Today was another quite busy day...and judging by the pair of Shinobi that approached him it wouldn't be letting up.

He listened to their tale with his usual attention, a look of concern as he saw the two ragged Shinobi. After they were done he gave both a gentle pat on the shoulder as he said "you two did well, we'll take it from here. Now you two need a rest" as they were approached by men who would escort them away for treatment. He did give some instructions to the genin and Chunin helping to asses the damages from the caravan as he approached the figure mentioned by the two Ninja, a red-haired woman. She seemed to have a lot more poise than the other civilians, and from what he understood she could hold her own in a fight and out int he desert. She had a curious request, but she didn't seem pushy about it. He'd need to see what he could find out.

He approached her with a slight wave as he said "Good day to you. I've heard that you were invaluable in getting the caravan here safely. In the name of Suna Id like to thank you for that" he gave a gentle bow before saying "My name is Sunaku Harupia, a Jounin of the village. I know of your request but if that would be ok, Id likes to ask a few questions before we move forward. We need to exercise caution after all. I'd be glad to offer some refreshments as we talk?" he asked. As he spoke he had a calm, relaxed demeanor to himself, a soft smile on his face. He wanted to be more of a careful host than a rigid guardian if possible.

Wc = 388

 

[Kazumi]

Seeing the surprisingly handsome shinobi approached, Aria brushed a bit of loose hair from her shoulder as she watched him approach. She gave him an appraising look, nothing that he didn't look battle hardened, scarred or missing any vital appendages. Aria didn't know a ton about shinobi specifically, but she surmised that meant he was something more administrative than any actual combatant.

With a casual nod, she accepted his appreciation and bow with a pleasant smirk. "Sure sure, I've got no problems with that. As long as we can do it in some shade at least, a few more days out in this sun and I'll be burnt to the hells and back." She turned and squinted up towards the spiteful sun, shaking her head at the bothersome sphere. "You can call me..." she paused a moment, as if trying to recall her own name, "Aria. Pleasure to meet you Mister Harupia, or is it Jounnin Harupia? You'll have to forgive me, I'm not from around here, as I figure you can plainly see." She gestured towards her strange, but workable, sand gritted white garments.

Hoping he lead her to someplace shaded, she would follow after and take in the sights of the area. Even from just inside the village she could tell how popular of a vacation spot the village had become. Little wonder, given the creatures that were wandering the wastes. "Been getting a lot of visitors lately?" Her tone implied she knew the answer, asking more to spark casual conversation than genuine curiosity.

 

[Ryu Hime]

“Jounin is his a rank.” A voice would emanate from behind her. The voice was soft and gentle like a whisper, but as loud as one speaking normally. The person speaking to her did not sound condescending, but merely stating a fact like a mother would with a child. Turning around she would see two figures behind her. One was a thirteen year old girl that was clearly a late bloomer as puberty has seem to not even touch her yet. The girl had blue hair and wore a white dress fitting for such a climate as the desert. On her one hand was a white rabbit hand puppet which had an eye patch over its right eye. This was the girl that physically spoke to Aria, but was not the entity addressing her. About half the girl’s height was another girl. This one however was clearly a doll as her skin was quite obviously porcelain. The dolls seem to wear a dress of large flower petals and it too had an eye patch over its one eye.


“My name is Hana. I know of a place, if you care to follow.” The doll spoke though the words came from the girl. Ren was an expert when it came to ventriloquism as it honestly seems like the doll was talking. To a non-shinobi they may wonder how this is possible for a doll to stand and move in such a fashion. A shinobi may have some of the same concerns as there was no strings on her chakra or otherwise. This Hana as she called herself seems to be fully autonomous.

 

[Sunaku Harupia]

The look he received from the visitors didn't go unnoticed but he didn't say anything about it. She herself looked like someone used to a lot of traveling through the desert dunes and capable of dealing with all the dangers there, so it would make sense she was cautious. He only wondered what kind of observations she did have after a first glance.

At least she didn't seem like a troublemaker for now. As she replied he would say "I can imagine you have had your fill with of the Sun, there should be a free, though it might be tricky with the number of people pouring in..." he mused. Before he could answer the further questions, someone did it for him. Peeking behind Aria he saw a familiar blue-haired girl along with her companions...though this was a different doll than she had in their class as far as he remembered.

He let out a bit of a chuckle as he moved to approach the younger girl saying "Well, wasn't expecting to see you here. Interested in helping us guard the gates?" before turning to Aria "Yes, Jounin is my rank within the village. I assume you may not know the in and outs of how Shinobi villages work but let's just say its a position of some esteem" before turning back to Ren saying "I'm sure you have a nice place for us Ren but we kind of need to stay close to the gates for now. I'd be glad to see the place you wanted to show us later?" before turning his head around seeing one of the offices just being left as he turned to Aria "If you could follow me please" before he headed that direction.

 

[Kazumi]

After so many days away from civilization, it was almost startling to year a young girl's voice from outside her field of view. Taking a glance over her shoulder, she turned to see the newcomer, a child of no older than ten perhaps? Her attention drifted for a moment to the puppet and then to the doll that stood at her side. She was not sure how to react when the doll started speaking, or at least seemed to. She had seen so many things over the years that defied expectation and explanation, it was honestly becoming difficult to surprise these days.

She was saved from the need to say much as the esteemed officer in the village behind her spoke up, apparently familiar with the little girl. "Nice to meet you Hana, and thanks for the offer, but the adults have some talking to do." She never was great with kids, one of the few skills that did not seem to get any better as time went by. "Maybe we'll play later, yeah?" It was a hollow gesture, of course, she would likely never see the girl again, and even if she did she would likely forget. Even so, it felt better than dismissing the little one outright.

She turned back towards the jounin and nodded to him, "course, figure my options are that, or to head back out into the desert. I think I'll take my chances in the shade." She chuckled softly to herself before taking another glance over towards the girl, giving her and her odd toys a friendly wave before she turned to follow after her gracious host. As she did, she pondered a moment as to why it felt strange to see a child in a shinobi village. She didn't know a lot about the reclusive mercenaries, but it was no secret that they trained their soldiers from a very young age. She wondered if the little girl was already a trained assassin or thief, or if the rumors simply had been greatly exaggerated.

 

[Ryu Hime]

“I modify,” was the only words Ren was able to muster. Ren is a very shy girl who is has difficulties articulating full sentences and express herself well, as she lets her puppet, Usagi, do the talking for her. She directs there gaze at the thing she was holding in her non-covered hand. It was a little red wagon with several large bolts of cloth. “Banners.” If one were to look at the banners more carefully and study the embroidery. They would notice that the design may be simple but it seem to glimmer in the light. Upon touch the embroidery would fell smooth and hard like metal. In other words the banners are giant ninja wire traps to hang along the wall. Behind this shy little girl was the mind of a mechanist. She might not be able to use advance jutsu yet, but she knew how to use tools and traps in creative ways.

Haru responds to what Hana had said, but did so in a way that she would consider rude. Instead of talking directly to her, he talks over her to Ren. It was like talking about someone, in front of them and acting like they weren’t even there. Hana clenches her one fist as if ready to punch the man, but instead she just walks off angrily. Hana did not even seemed to hear Aria’s comment as she at least did not repeat the same mistake Haru did. “Wait Hana.” Ren was about to follow when suddenly Hana pulls out a kunai and throws it towards Ren. The weapon stuck in the ground by her feet and she takes a step back. “But…”

“Perhaps it would be best to leave her alone for now.” The white rabbit suggest and Ren gives a silent nod in agreement. When the two older shinobi leaves, she too goes about her duties as a young journeymen in training. When the red head turn around to wave Ren was not paying attention, however the rabbit puppet did wave back. Perhaps there was something more to these dolls than meets the eye and just where did Hana walked off too anyways.

 

[Sunaku Harupia]

Harupia blinked as he saw the young girl speak on her own, remembering how in the class he had her in she preferred to use the bunny puppet on her hand as a spokesman of sorts. Then again she was being addressed directly. He did see the little wagon she had along with her and the banners laid out within it "Ahh, is that your craftsmanship? Those look quite lovely, maybe you could interest some of the newcomers in them?" he said, not fully grasping the hidden nature of her creation. He was for all intents and purposes in the middle of work. At least Aria seemed to be understanding, as polite as she was in rebuking the child.

He noticed the puppet which was free-roaming seemingly looking...upset. He raised a brow as it seemed to almost trying to attack him before wandering off... but not before tossing a kunai towards Ren as she spoke. It probably took all the combined years of his Shinobi training to not have his jaw fall down right to the ground, though his face looks like he was a pipe trying to contain a highly pressurized amount of steam. As Ren did end up walking away safe and sound, he didn't turn to the red-haired visitor as he said "I... apologize for that. But trust me, the girl has full control over those puppets of hers. It's a special technique used by some Shinobi, quite impressive for her age. Though she does seem to treat her puppets as if they were sentient she wouldn't harm herself" he said as he led her to the empty office.

He let out a heavy sigh, both of relaxation from getting some shade and just over the ordeal outside. He spoke up "Ah, looks like they even refilled the pitcher with water before they headed out...lucky us" as he sat down at the desk and poured some of the liquid into two cups, offering the other one to Aria before saying "So we had the introduction out of the way, so maybe you could tell me a bit more about how you encountered the Caravan? Were you traveling with them from the beging from where they came from or did you perhaps encounter them while being out in the desert? And just what happens out there. I did talk with the two Shinobi who were with you but I'd just like to take the account of someone in...better shape" he said, his face became,onig a bit more serious as he thought about the two men from before.

Mft, Wc= 428

 

[Kazumi]

"Puppets?" She asked as she followed along after Harupia, taking a moment to glance back at Ren just as a glint of metal stabbed near her feet. A part of her wanted to stop, go back and see what was wrong, but her shinobi escort seemed to think everything was in hand. "I am beginning to wonder exactly how far the line between rumor and fact lies." The advent of shinobi villages proper was a somewhat recent development, in the grand scheme, and her few interactions with them had only shown here that they were a varied and strange bunch.

It was not long before she made it to the man's office, or a temporary location from which to perform these casual interrogations. She sat down in the free chair opposite Harupia and happily took the drink, downing the large chilled glass with a few deep gulps. She winced in discomfort as the sudden shock of cold surged up her head and stabbed at the edges of her skull. A few seconds of pushing the needles aside and she let out a long deep sigh of relaxation. Ice cold water, a comfortable chair, a respite from the shade that didn't involve freezing her butt off, it was paradise.

"Not too much to say. I was actually on my way to the village here when I came across the group. They were being attacked by those husk things and o I helped out. I'm sure they would have been fine on their own, of course." If the report was anything to go by, it was obvious she was being humble bout it. "They offered to let me walk along with their caravan and now here I am. Pretty lucky for me, I must say. Without a map, a compass and a few years experience navigating through the desert, it must be nearly impossible to find the place." She tipped her glass back again, popping one of the half-melted cubes into her mouth. "Good for security, bad for business. Wonder how many people died trying to come here and offer a job." Her tone was rather casual, but after she said he she did grimace slightly as she bit down on the ice. Fleeting as it was, she hated the idea of people pointlessly dying.

 

[Ryu Hime]

[Ooc: I should have realized it was going to be an office, In that case considered me left topic]

 

[Sunaku Harupia]

As they moved to the office he said "Yes, there are some among us who use their chakra to control this kind of contraptions as something between companion and weapon. They can be quite crafty with them, and Ren is learning quite fast". His face became a bit gloomy at her remark, but he continued with a smile saying "I know how this can look, especially to someone who I feel didint...interact with Shinobi a lot before...if you can forgive my presumptions. But that girl has a...attachment to her dolls, almost treats them like their actual people. I'm not sure how or why but If I had any inkling of her being in danger Id step in in a second." He could understand this probably looked bizarre...and he was cofounded by the situation as well, but the last time he got to closely involved in a student's development it didn't end as well. He needed to be careful...and probably find a way to not have stuff like this happen when accepting guests to the village.

Haru was a bit more careful with his water once ey were inside, getting his brain spiked oh so many times in the past. He listened to her speak, producing a scroll and a pen to write down the details. He couldn't help but rise a brow before saying "Mm, from what I've heard you came just in the nick of time. Something for which we are grateful, rest assured. So, you were trying to reach our village on your own accord before encountering the caravan. I have to say, it is somewaht of a bold endeavor to try and reach out village without any direction." he paused for a bit to add some scribbles to his notes before saying

"Well, we have had a vested interest in making the village secure with all the...ongoing events, even before the swarm crawled out from whatever hellhole they were born with. And before the Daimyo lost his damn mind... We do try to keep the desert as safe as we can, at least some of the routes. Have you tried contacting anyone through the Soon's Haven?" he asked almost matter of factly before leaning in a bit closer and saying in a more serious tone "Speaking of job offers...you mentioned you wanted to see the Kazekage. I assume you were prepared for it not being straightforward to get such a request granted, soI assume you must have some grave trouble to deal with? " As trusting as Harupia was, given everything that's happened, he'd need to learn just why someone from the outside wished to see their leader. Though he was coming from a place of genuine openness to whatever might have led her to the village. He just would take her words under carefull consideration.

Mft - 468

 

[Kazumi]

Area reclined back in her chair, seemingly relaxed during he small interrogation. Objectively, she should be more than a little nervous sitting within the threshold of a village fill of capable killers, but it took much more than that to get her worried these days. "Soon's Haven? I would rather get attacked from the front by a shinobi than behind my back by one of the Merchant Lords there." She took another long sip of her water, a child traveling up her neck from the sudden chill. "As for the Kazekage, you said, lets just say I have learned not to listen to the hounds when I should be speaking with their masters." She paused a moment before tipping her glass towards him in a friendly, yet off-handed manner, as she added, "no offence, of course." Aria gave the man a smirk before setting the glass down onto the desk, sitting straighter in her seat and learning over to rest her elbows atop the desk.

"I am sure you can understand my desire for discression. That is half of our business, right? Selling information to people for the right price." She slowly glanced around the room, as if expecting some sort of camera to be recording them before she continued. "Now you seem the trustworthy sort, but it always starts with the best of intentions before aspirations and fears turn to knives and nooses, if you know what I mean." She gave Harupia a sly smirk before she slowly sat back up, leaning back into her chair with a knowing smile once again. "What about yourself? I more expected to see a grim and grizly battle scarred veteran guarding the gates these days. Not a young strapping gentleman that would not look out of place at court locked arms with a noblelady."

 

[Sunaku Harupia]

He raised a brow at her first comment, though he could somewaht understand it. For as many goods and services, Soon's Haven provided the merchants could be seen as pretty ruthless and profit driven...though some would say the same about him. His brow was raised even higher at her next comment. Seems she didn't really mince her words now did she though he left it without comment for now as he listened on simply clicking his tongue.

He couldn't blame her, people had their secrets. Not something he enjoyed in strangers when the Cabal came, but she did save the two Shinobi and their caravan earlier, so she wasn't outright hostile... and she was also skilled. He let her speak as he scribbled some notes before he felt like needing an additional brow at her final comment. Almost sounded like an attempt to flirt though with her earlier comment about hounds he was less inclined to take it. Rubbing his somehow smooth chin he said "Really now? I guess I clean up pretty well. I guess I look a bit fresh for my age. And trust me, there were a lot of people who tried to give me a few scars to make me look all grizzly and rugged... didn't work out well for them" he said taking a sip of his own water. He was bending the truth here a bit, but even before his changes, he had done a good job not getting himself hurt.

"As fun at hanging out at some fancy shmooze fest would be for...probably about ten minutes, I'm pretty dedicated to the work I do for the village. And there's been a lot of traffic here. I get your business here is pretty important but us hounds are pretty good at guarding the yard" he said with a bit of a sly smirk of his own before saying "I won't grill you too much on the reason for your visit, but I just need some more general questions. Your family name, from what town or village you might be coming to us from, do you have any realtives or past connections to the village and the obligatory question about you being pursued by any forces from the different Shinobi villages or otherwise." he paused for a bit looking at her as he said "A bit of red tape but we have to know a bit about any visitors in case we need to find them later. Though I do hope that won't be necesery here" nodding slightly. Perhaps a tiny bit of tension in his voice. He wasn't planning on causing trouble to the visitor as she did lend a helping hand earlier...but the small verbal pokes earlier did make him want to grill her just a little bit more.

 

[Kazumi]

She knew being questioned like this was innevitable. For a short while she had hopned she would be able to initially slip into the village without noitce, a faceless soul among the dozens upon dozens of refugees. It seemed her luck did not extend to all things. She momentarily considered causing a scene elsewhere to distract the man, bit that would likely only delay things. He looked closer to a nobleman than a solider, but he still had that air of discipline about him that she knew would be difficult to shake.

"Don't have one. Gone. Dead. Probably." She answered all his questions quick and one by one with a flat affect as she stared over at him to see his reaction. "I passed through Tea, and those Sound shinobi do not seem to care for anythin' outside of their control." She figured that would pique his curiosity enough to draw him away from his other questions. "I am sure you Sand folk are more hospitable than they are. Yeah?" Her tone shifted from old annoyance to a friendly smirk as she looked expectantly towards Harupia.

 

[Sunaku Harupia]

There was a bit of silence as Harupia drank his water, shuffling through some other papers while Aria decided how much she wanted to divulge...if at all. He couldn't discount her trying to escape or trying to pull off a stunt like that, but given they were in a locked room he'd probably have a good chance to catch here than and there. Or at least she had a lesser chance of getting lost int he crowd. From his side as much as he flicked over their Bingo List and other documents he couldn't really find any reference, so she wasn't a wanted person.

Her answers were... Well, somewaht morbid. And he couldn't honestly say how truthful or not they were. She certainly did seem to have an independent Aura around here. The Part about tea was a bit worrying but he said "Depends what you did to get on their bad side. Or they on yours. But hopefully, we'll avoid either situation" he said while looking directly at her eyes for a second...and then having his eyes wander over her face, a focused look in his gaze. As he did so he was writing something in some papers. Looked like a small booklet as he scribbled down, one page being left blank. "Normally visitors need to go to one of the other rooms to get a photo into the temporary pass but we Sunaku like to make a bit more special for visitors...just give me a second" he mused with a focused look on his face cracking his fingers and then holding two of them over the blank page.

As he did so small specks of sand started to whirl around the fingers and over the page, some coming seemingly from Harupias clothing, some from the ambient dust and specks from the area around them. As he moved his fingers the sand would move over the space, different colors grouping together. In the end, a sort of portrait of Aria was upon it, made from the sand specks. Even with the unusual method, it was a rather faithful representation. After that, he slid the booklet to her "There we go. A document to show you've been let into the village as a visitor. Might get some raised eyebrows with some of your answers but as long as you keep this around no one should bother you too much. If you want a more standard picture or something I can show you the room" he said as he stood up before continuing "I do hope you find our People better than the Shinobi you met earlier... and that you'll return our kindness as well" offering her hand to shake before adding "I will have to say tho, be prepared to talk to the Kage might be tricky...well, getting to him at least"