Starring:
Cherii, Tatara, Etsu, Hiei, Tatsuo
Date: October 22, 2016
Summary:
Cherii comes to Konoha for a diplomatic mission, and finds she's not the only visitor from another village.
"Diplomatic Arrivals in Konoha"
Village Entrance [Konohagakure]
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The entrance to the Hidden Village of the Leaf Ninja is pretty well guarded. The entrance is kept tight with Ninja's identifying and querying foreign visitors, and even members of the village. Two large wooden towers are set near the gates where guards are constantly monitoring the inside and outside of the village. Two bells are set in both these towers in case of emergency and the guards need to assemble. The towers are at constant monitoring with Ninjas switching posts every few hours. People walking tread across grey concrete causing a clanking sound as they walk.
On both sides of this area there are several signs up for advertisements and shops inside the city, ranging from apartments, weapon shops and even sushi restaurants. The grey tiled pathway leads into three directions of north east, east and finally south east. Each direction heading to an uncertain destination.
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Konoha ahoy! Cherii marches toward the Hidden Leaf Village, making sure to stay fully visible on the path, clearly display her Iwagakure forehead protector, and not make any threatening moves. Various emotions churn inside her. Nervousness from the unfamiliar environment and the gravity of her mission, excitement from the prospect of meeting new people and learning new things (especially recipes), relief at having put the journey part of it behind her…it's hard to say whether she's more happy or worried. n.n; But whatever the case, it's too late to turn back now! "Top o' th'day tae ye!" Cherii hollers ahead of herself. "I be Kamizuru Cherii, th'diplomat from Iwagakure! I'm hopin' ye got th'word o' me comin'! Requestin' permission tae approach th'gates!"
As the woman yells out, a figure would appear from the gates, though not a guard like one might expect. Instead comes none other than the new Clan Head of the Uchiha. Should he have maybe worn something more suited for a diplomat or at least buttoned his jacket up so as not to have his torso exposed upon meeting a diplomat from another village? Possibly, but this is a village of shinobi. Does one really expect people NOT to dress like shinobi? As he steps out to meet her, Tatara offers a light bow of his head. "Greetings. I am Tatara, Clan Head of the Uchiha. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance. Allow me to be the first to welcome you to Konohagakure. My apologies if you'd hoped for someone of higher standing within the village to greet you, but I'm sure you understand their busy schedules." Does it really get THAT much higher than being a Jounin and a Clan Head? Not much, but at least he's not above acting humble, a trait most Uchiha lack.
Speaking of approaching the gates, a certain Aburame follows closely behind. Well, not following Cherii, at least. The Iwa nin happened to be ahead of her. Seems she's here to conduct business. Etsu was just finishing some. "A diplomat. Fascinating," she remarked aloud. "From Iwagakure…" She looked from the Iwa shinobi to the Uchiha up ahead. "You have a strange selection of clothes, Uchiha," she commented to Tatara. "Do you know the nature of this one's visit?" She pointed at Cherii.
A little later a solid white warhorse with two riders approaches the Konoha gate. The larger of the two, recognized as Yotsuki Hiei of Kumogakure, dismounts and speaks with the guards briefly before leading the horse and the smaller second rider through the gate. Hiei is wearing his forehead protector in plain sight and seems to have no issues with gaining access to the village.
The second rider hops off the horse and runs up to catch up with Hiei. The six year old is a little tall for his age, has similar features to Hiei, including the same ice blue eyes and dark skin, but his hair is a bright shade of pink. Shun looks up at Hiei. "Dad, are we going to go straight there?" Hiei shakes his head once. "No. We're going to get a room at the inn first, then some food. There's a ramen stand here that sells the best beef flavored ramen and pickled vegetables." Shun smiles, "Sweet. So after that we get to go to the Inuzuka village, right?" Then he spots the group of shinobi and pauses. "Hey Dad..who are those people?" He points towards Cherii, Tatara, and the Aburame. Hiei shrugs. "I don't recognize any of them. Let's go introduce ourselves." He then makes his way over, greeting the group with a pleasant. "Hello there."
Such a cheery, busy group of people arriving at the gates! Tatsuo had just been passing through the area on his way elsewhere but when he'd heard the call from an Iwa shinobi, then saw some familiar faces mixed in, he decided to stop and see what was going on! He stops a few paces behind Tatara, just watching curiously at first. That is, until he recognizes someone else. "Hiei-sama!" he says loudly, waving a hand over his head to get the Raikage's attention before heading towards him and…mini-Hiei?
Cherii whips her upper body down in an enthusiastic responding bow, almost overbalancing herself. "Ach, 'tis quite a'right, I wouldnae have expected th'Hokage himself tae come an' greet me." n.n Cherii blinks and straightens up. "Er, not tae belittle yer own standin', sair. I'm sure ye have important duties as well, an' I appreciate ye takin' time from yer schedule tae meet me." n.n; Cherii blushes faintly when she takes a good look at this Tatara fellow…must be one of the privileges of leadership getting to dress like that. *c.c* At least he makes it look good. n.n;
And now there seem to be others gathering around. "Top o' th'day tae ye," Cherii says to Etsu. "I'm here as a diplomat from Iwagakure. Kakmizuru Cherii be me name, pleased tae make yer acquaintance." :) And THEN…an actual Kage DOES show up. o.o; Cherii wouldn't be much of a diplomat if she wasn't at least familiar with all the Kage and their appearances. Cherii makes another low bow, more carefully this time. "Greetings, Raikage-san."
Did Cherii bring the whole horde of Iwagakure with her? It doesn't seem so, but at least a large number of people have decided to all come to the gates about the same time. Glancing over at Etsu as she arrives, he lifts an eyebrow at her. "…. I suppose someone from a clan that tends to cover their faces and wear sunglasses all the time just might find my clothes strange," he says with a smirk then nods. "Yes." Then comes a large man and a boy. The Uchiha looks to them, sizing the man up before he says, "Hi there. Uchiha Tatara." Just as he's about to ask him who he is, Tatsuo walks up behind him and greets the man. Hiei… Ah, the Raikage. He nods to the man before finally looking back up Cherii and lifting an eyebrow just slightly. "It's my pleasure. Where would you like to go first? There's an inn setup for you, but perhaps you're hungry after a journey like that? The ramen shop is pretty close."
"You're more cheerful than I would have expected of a former enemy," Etsu described to Cherii. "Not that I am bothered by this. It's actually refreshing," she regarded the Kamizuru positively. Her gaze rests on the Raikage and Tatsuo momentarily while he greets the Raikage. "We've met," she spoke plainly to the Raikage. "I engaged one of our shinobi here in a spar and he was incapable of taking a simple strike. I was scolded for it."
She took a step, turning her body towards the crowd that gathered so she'd appear more open. "We have reasons for doing what we do. You come from a clan that utilizes fire. I am surprised you run around exposed in such a way," she tilted her head at Tatara.
Hiei hears a familiar voice and lifts a hand over his head towards Tatsuo. "Hey, Tatsuo! How goes it?" However, he does offer the rest of the group as he introduces himself. "Ah..yeah. I'm Yotsuki Hiei..Raikage, but please, no need to be so formal. My son and I are here for recreation." He then nudges the boy slightly and Shun bows formally. "Greetings. I'm Yotsuki Shun..it's a pleasure to meet you all."
Hiei rubs the back of his head slightly and smiles. "I told him if he got good marks this semester at the academy, that I'd bring him to see the Inuzuka puppies and treat him to Hachiman's.." He grins. "Etsu..pleasure to see you again. I hope you've gotten stronger since I saw you last." And at last his gaze moves to the Uchiha…a slight frown, but other than that, he attempts to be pleasant. "Uchiha-san." To this date, he's never met an Uchiha that he liked. However, he always at least gave them a chance. He'd do the same with this guy. He smiles again. "I assure you, if I had known an Iwa diplomat was arriving the same day as me, I'd have made my horse go slower." Hiei grins at Cherii. "Not trying to steal your thunder, so to speak."
Shun walks over to Tatsuo and looks up at him. "I've seen you before, but I don't think we really met. Some of the guys in my class saw you manipulating water and we thought it was pretty cool. We don't have a lot of water users back home." Hiei clears his throat. "Shun, don't bug Tatsuo. Your next question was going to ask him to show you a trick, and that's not appropriate." Shun sighs as he's totally busted. "I wasn't gonna ask him that." He grumbles.
Tatsuo gives a slight bow to the visitor from Iwa since he's close and he offers her a small smile as a way of greeting. But his attention shifts back to the visitor he actually knows. "It's always nice when you visit Hiei-sama. I'll make sure the inn knows that you're here so they can have a room made ready." Dark eyes turn then to Shun when the youngster approaches and he blinks at him in surprise when he says he knows him. As he explains Tatsuo ohs and nods slightly, his small smile returning as he's chastised by his father. Water suddenly appears in the air above and behind Tatsuo, thin rivlets moving around each other in a bit of a dance. Tatsuo doesn't look at it, pretending like it isn't even there.
Cherii nods brightly at Tatara's suggestion. "Oh aye, a bit o' tuck would be grand. I'm a bit o' a chef meself, an' I'm lookin' forward tae samplin' what Konoha has tae offer." :) Cherii sweatdrops when Etsu mentions 'former enemy'. Oh yeah, she looks like an Aburame…she especially would remember some of the bad blood between their clans. "Ehehe…I'm glad y'see it that way." n.n; Cherii turns toward Hiei and gives another bow. "'Tis quite a'right, Raikage-sama. I'm sure your presence willnae interfere wi' my mission." Well, honestly, it probably will mean she'll have a harder time getting on the schedule of important people…but there could be some advantages as well. Maybe if she can get in chummy with Hiei's son, that'll gain her brownie points with the allies of Kumo…
Smirking a bit at Etsu's comment on his attire, Tatara says, "Uchiha don't fear flame. Only children manage to burn themselves with their own jutsu." He then looks back to Hiei and nods before looking to Shun and smiling. "Welcome to Konoha then. I hope you enjoy your visit. If you and your dad like, maybe you can both visit the Uchiha Police Station later. It's pretty cool and newly rebuilt." He smirks over at Tatsuo as he starts to show off, snickering a bit before he at last returns his attention to the guest he is to be escorting. "Understood. I'll guide you to your inn. If you need an escort anywhere else, let us know. I tend to be at my office at the police station most of the time."
"Stronger… Depends," Etsu shrugged at the Raikage. She observed his son closely as she does anyone else. Her attention moves back to the group itself as she gains more information and understanding of who all were gathered here. "I try to see things differently from time to time, but it doesn't mean I have to like it. In your case, I'm indifferent," she indicates to Cherii of their clans' history. "The lack of fear against flame isn't disturbing, but I beg to differ when it comes to burning themselves with flame. I've served with enough Uchiha to know some of them may not always master that fire. Still, that is true of every learning shinobi." She looked towards the village gates. "I think it best we all move inside. Us gathered here is a vulnerability. Especially so with children here," she noted Shun.
Shun's eyes widen as he watches Tatsuo manipulate water behind his head. He points and says rapidly and excitedly. "Look Dad, he's doing it. He's doing it right now, look, Dad, look!" Hiei makes an apologetic look. "Excuse him. He's easily excitable." A trait they both share, Hiei just handles it better. He smiles at Tatsuo. "I'd appreciate it. We wanted to stow our gear and then get some ramen." He pauses to smile at Cherii. "I hope not. I'm not here on business and I'm not planning on meeting with any of the village leaders. We're kind of on a small vacation." Which is why he brought the kid. "Uchiha, you know I think I will stop by the police station. I used to dabble in law enforcement when I was younger." Hiei then nods faintly towards Etsu. "I concur. We should perhaps move to the restaurant?"
Tatsuo pretends to be confused when Shun says he's doing it. He turns around and ohs as he sees the water, making a show of waving his hand to cause all the water to gather in a ball, circling a moment before it shoots off and vanishes into the sky. He turns back and just smiles like nothing happened. "Of course Hiei-sama. Ah, would you like to take your horses there yourself first, or would it be okay to have someone else take them?" He vaguely recalled that Hiei's mount might be a little tough to handle, after all. If he says someone else can take it Tatsuo would quickly grab a nearby pair of Genin to take the horses to the inn as well as inform the innkeep to prepare a room.
Cherii blinks briefly. She must have miscommunicated, she was trying to agree with the suggestion of going to a restaurant but Tatara said he'd take her to the inn. =.=; Probably just as well, though, she ought to drop off her pack before wandering around town. "Thank ye, Uchiha-san. I'm sure I'll be relyin' on ye plenty durin' me visit." :) And with that, Cherii heads off to establish herself in her room. "Sae long folks, I'll look forward tae seein' ye aboot." n.n
