Entering the Sand

Hinamori-chan entered the Sand village after one of her many searches for Haru. She sighed to herself as she re-entered the gates. Holding up her passport to the guard, she hung her head down when he asked how the mission went. Softly, she replied "No luck". She was dressed in her regular clothes today, because she didn't expect to find a fight while on her mission. Her ebony hair hung in wavy locks from her head, reaching all the way down to the base of her spine. In the sand, this was a bad idea, but she could care less. The only thing covering her torso was a thin, tight, tanktop. It hugged her bust nicely, and showed off her figure. She wore her usual, tight black jeans. Most people would overheat in such an outfit, but she had gotten used to it. She walked slowly through the clay-formed streets of the sand and smiled gloomily at everyone she passed. Come to think of it...I never met the other Goryu members... She thought to herself, surprised. Her eyes glistened at the thought of making new friends, and she regained her old cheerful demeanor. Practically skipping, she ran down the streets. She moved around people gracefully, as if she were dancing. Not once did she touch another person, though her hair probably did several times. Finally running out of breath, she stopped to rest at the stairs to the Goryu headquarters. Laying leisurely on the stairs, she rested her arms next to her, and kicked out her feet. This way, she didn't take up much of the stairs, but she was on at least ten of them.

Modorokie happened to be walking around the streets that day to enjoy the beauty of the wonderful weather. Of course as usual, the weather that day was sunny, barely any clouds in the sky, and scorching hot. This day, he did not wear any of his kage appearel. Lee just happened to walk around the market corner while, greeting the fellow businessman, when he happened to notice a fellow Goryu member and Sand Villiage shinobi. He was going to walk over to her when she just took off running right for the headquarters. He sighed and took off right after her. She was pretty fast, but he was faster. Once she stopped, he slowed down and walked over to her.

He looked over at her and asked, "Hey Hinamori, how was the mission? I see that you have just returned."

He was not wearing his headband today, which was unusual. He normally wore it around his leg, but not today. He then wiped the sweat from his eyebrow and forehead, then shook his head.

He then continued by asking, "Well, it's really warm today isn't it? It's a lot warmer than normal days."

"Hm?" Onkei replied to the man who stood before her. She almost didn't recognize him at first, it was the first time she'd seen him out of his official uniform. Smiling up at the Kazekage, she patted the seat next to her. "Oh I don't pay attention to the temperature anymore. Though it is rather bright out, the reflecting sand doesn't help much either. But I guess that is the rare beauty of Sunagakure." She said brightly, pulling herself up into a sitting position. She brushed her hair from her face, and reached into a bag that she had slung over her shoulder. It seemed to be a plain, black, messenger bag. reaching into it, she produced two water bottles and threw one to the Kazekage. "Drink up, Modorokie-dono. Before it evaporates." She said jokingly, unscrewing the top of her bottle and take a long drink.

Modorokie snatched the water bottle while nodding to the shinobi. He agreed with the comment of the rare beauty of Sunagakure, which was one of the reasons he became the Kazekage. He walked over to the bench and sat down beside her. He too unscrewed the lid of the bottle and took a long sip of water.

"Man, I'm glad to be out of uniform for once. Seems a bit nicer out and it feels better without the robe, although the hat creates a good shade." He said to her.

He then took another sip, gulping down the cool water. He then finished up his water soon enough, screwed the lid back on, then looked over to Hinamori.

"So, you are the newest Goryu member. You're only our second one. There aren't enough shinobi here yet to have a whole squad, but hey, at least I have some. So, how did the mission go with you?" He asked her as he stared out at the civilians minding their own business.

"I am? I knew about Kitsuke, but I assumed there were others." She replied thoughtfully, capping the empty water bottle and placing it back in her bag. She looked back at him with sorrow in her eyes. "As for the mission...I can't find him anywhere. But I know that if I can find him and bring him to his senses, he will be the greatest shinobi to follow under your lead since Kitsuke." She said earnestly, brushing a stray bang from her face. Her eyes glimmered as if she were about to cry, but she showed no other sign of starting.

[[Short...]]

He felt bad for her. He glanced over at her, then looked back at everyone. He looked back down at his water bottle, opened it up, and drank the rest of his water in one big gulp. He then closed it back up and threw it at an open trash can, nearly 7 yards away. It spiralled around a little and landed right into the trashcan.

"Hey, cheer up, it'll be okay. Trust me on that one. I've lost many good people in my past that I thought would be great. One day, they will be found and will be great, you just need to keep trying. I guarantee it." He said to her.

He then itched his head a little, pulled out a kunai and a piece of wood, and started whittling.

"You can trust me on that one, I assure you that," He told her.

Onkei smiled at him, a tear rolling down her cheek as she did so. She reached up and wiped her face, taking quite a lot of dirt with it. She mumbled to herself about bathing soon, and then turned her attention back to her Kazekage. "Thank you, Modorokie-dono. Surprisingly, that helps a lot. Until then, I will serve you as well as possible. Any mission, any time. Just say the word and I'm there." She said happily, pumping her fist into the air to show her enthusiasm. Then, realizing she must look ridiculous, she put her hand back down and shifted her weight uncomfortably. Then, she turned herself completely around so that she now faced Modorokie. Her legs were on either side of the bench, and her hands rested in front of her. She watched him whittle with obvious curiosity. "Your an artisan?" She asked.

He smiled some, then he was asked the question. He looked over at her enthusiasm and smiled a little more. He felt pretty good about himself at this time. He thought about his answer a little and was about to speak when he just remembered something.

He chuckled some then simply replied, "No, I suck at art, but even though I do not use the elements much anymore, I have learned every single element known to man. I guess you can consider that an art of it's own kind. I took me a year to travel around the whole map to learn these moves, but hey, anything's possible. Why did you ask anyways?"

He bent over to his shoe and pulled out a piece of paper that was folded up to such a small size, that it was the size of his fingernail. He then started unwravelling it when he looked back at her.

"My...uh...Clan was full of artisans. That is where I got my innate talents for glass jutsu, something I'm sure even you haven't learned." She said, faltering at the word clan. Every time she talked about them she thought of the ruins. It didn't upset her as much anymore, but it still sucked to remember that place. "What's that?" She asked curiously, pointing to the piece of paper. She was easily distracted, and she didn't like not knowing things. These two things cured her sad flashback instantly. With wide, curious eyes, she attempted to look over her Kazekage's shoulder. Her long hair fell against his back, brushing against his cheek. It acted as a curtain, hiding her face from his.

Kitsuke came out of a tailoring shop, he just got new robes from it, and the new one is cooler than the last one. The newly made robe had a big kanji symbol on its back " Goryu " it says. He also wore a hat worn by Kage's although it is does not wear the symbol wind shadow. And Kitsuke suddenly felt a slight urged to go the Goryu headquarters, like someone would be waiting for him there. So he decided to go to the headquarters of Goryu and see what he can do there. While walking many people said hi to Kitsuke, like everyone is his friend. The wind inside Sunagakure, and his robes were like dancing on its gentle breeze. While walking he happen to passed by a onigiri shop which just opened for about few days. " Oh my~...~~..., are my eyes fooling me? or am I having heat stroke that I'm hallucinatting! " Kitsuke ran towards the shop and quickly ordered 3 bags or packs of Onigiri.

He then continued towards the headquarters, even though Kitsuke is still a few far away from the headquarters, he already sensed chakra signatures from the directions of the headquarters. " I didn't expected visitors..." Kitsuke silently murmured as he approched the entrance of the headquarters. From the stairs he quickly saw to figures, chatting and having a conversation. Kitsuke knew he would be quickly noticed by as he just blocked the sunlight coming from the entrance of the headquarters.

Lee was about finished unwravelling the pience of paper when he noticed the shade had gone away. He looked around, then let his eyes follow up the steps to see the other Goryu member. He smiled and glanced back over to Hinamori. He pointed up to Kitsuke and put the paper in his other hand.

He then stated to her, "There's your other Goryu member by the way. His name is Kitsuke Maru." He pulled his hand back downward then to his side. He grabbed the piece of paper as well and finished the last fold of unwravelling. "You're just in time Kitsuke," He told him as he stood at the top of the steps. "Come, please join us." There was still room for one more person on the bench.

Since Hinamori was curious about the paper, he showed her anyways. He flipped it over and it showed some new writings and it's translation. He showed it to both of them now. "I'm glad you all are here. I have a new mission for both of you. This one is a top notch mission, an S-Rank mission. Both of you will be accompanying me as we are going to look for a bijuu that has been terrorizing some smaller viliiages. I know you just got here Kitsuke, but if you want, we can stop and talk a little about life or something?"

Lee then folded the paper back up and stuck it back inside his sandal. He leaned back up against the bench and sighed a little. He knew this was important, so they had to get on it as soon as possible.

Onkei perked up instantly at the word 'bijuu'. She could hardly keep herself still. She continued to bounce with joy at the word, though most wouldn't understand why. [i]This rocks! I just got back...but I am so ready to go![/b] She thought to herself eagerly, before realizing that she looked like a seven year old. She turned to her Kazekage to explain. "Bijuu means Akatsuki. Akatsuki means another chance at finding Haru!" She exclaimed, throwing her arms around her kage in her excitement. Suddenly realizing what she had done, she pushed off of him and sat awkwardly in silence for only a few seconds. "I'm in." She said finally.

Onkei then noticed the new arrival. With wide eyes and a friendly smile, she stood. Bowing low, she spoke loudly so that she would be heard. "I am Onkei of the Hinamori clan. I, like you, am one of the few survivors. It is an honor to meet you, and furthermore an honor to work by your side, Kitsuke of the Maru clan." She said formally, though there was a tinge of friendly excitement in her tone. She straightened up and tried to make eye contact with the male.

" Ahh.., nice to meet you Kazekage-sama, I have a trivia for you!, you're the 4th Kazekage I met..." Kitsuke bowed as soon as the Kazekage is finished introducing him to the little girl infront of them, " Kitsuke Maru at your service..." Kitsuke walked down the stairs nearer to the Kazekage and the little girl. But he didn't bother to sit besides them. But there's a thing that made Kitsuke's eyebrows flicker " Both of you will be accompanying me as we are going to look for a bijuu that has been terrorizing some smaller viliiages. " those words confused Kitsuke. " A bijuu terrorizing smaller village? please be sure that's not me Kazekage-sama, if you have been wandering on the Sunagakure hidden files, I'm a jinchuuriki...so.." Kitsuke didn't finished the sentence as Lee asked him if he wanted him to continue the topic or change it to a more nicer one. " Let me here the mission Kazekage-sama, do you have any more furthermore info about that " Bijuu " attacking smaller village..."

But again, the little girl caught Kitsuke's attention. The girl introduced herself to Kitsuke, " Nice to meet you Onkei Hinamori..., I'm glad to met fellow shinobi's who are all alone on their lives..., it is also my pleasure to work alongside you..." Just as the girl straightened up, he caught the eyes of the girl looking at him. But he didn't mind that they got more important things to discuss, " By the way here's you're cute robe, its big but I think its enough for you.." Kitsuke took another robe of " Goryu " on his backpack, which the tailor just finished working on. Kitsuke spoke again to the girl, " Are you looking for someone in the akatsuki?, if you do, I can help you...the akatsuki's are my best friends which means their always around for me...ahmmm to be more specific their hunting me...ahaha! "

Lee just smiled at Kitsuke and simply just replied, "No, it is not your terrorizing the villiages. It is not the Six-Tailed Bijuu or you Kitsuke. And yes, I am fully aware of you being a Jinchuuriki. This is the Seven-Tailed Bijuu. He has been terrorizing the Hidden Grass Villiage lately and we've been sent to stop it. Here's more information on it..." Lee said as he handed them both an infochart on the Bijuu.

"Tale in the Legend of the Tailed Beasts： Kaku is a bijuu in the form of badger. Its Kanji is also read as Mujina, which is the name the Japanese subspecies of badger (Meles Meles Anaguma) receives in some parts of Japan. It has seven tails, and is the smallest bijuu out of the nine; though it is the most cunning and stealthy. Kaku hunts its prey underground most of the time. It kills by crumbling/destroying the piece of land that is under its target, making it fall right into his open mouth. Above land, whenever he is around he can transform into any type of creature, but he is unable to do it if he doesn’t have clay.
Situation in the Ancient War of the 9 Gods： Battled 4 times; 1 Win, 3 Flees
Wins： Sokou
Escapes： Nekomata, Isonade, Yamata no Orochi
Japanese Myth Appearance: Kaku is the smallest Bijuu. It has a blue color, and is good at using clay camouflage. Kaku is very difficult to bump into.
Ability: Transformation (Henge), Clay, Earth elemental magic arts
Bijuu Strength Ranking： 7th
Bijuu Chakra/Stamina Ranking： 3rd
Symbolic Element： Earth (God of Earth)
Personal notes: Resembles Deidara pretty well."

He then sighed a little and stood up, stretching his back out a little. He scratched his head a little more then walked over to Kitsuke and patted him on the back for getting her robe for her. He continued up the steps, and disappeared for a brief minute. The then reappeared, wearing his headband on his, his Jounin Vest, and sweatpants. "So, are we ready to roll?"

"Ready and waiting!" Onkei said cheerfully, her new Goryu robe already put on over her tank top and jeans. She began to think, climate-wise, about the grass village. Checking her bag, she made an inventory in her head. Alright, I should have enough for traveling...let's just hope the others have their own supplies.. She thought to herself, looking back up at her new teammates. "Let's catch us a Bijuu. I know a few fuuinjutsu that might help us here, but if our objective is to kill them I will need you guys to take over. I can freeze the bijuu in time until we can bring him back to the sand and transfer his demon if you'd like." She offered. She knew that all Kazekage's knew how to transfer Bijuu's. It had been a rumor around the Sand village ever since the first tail was sealed in the one known as Gaara. God I hope that rumor wasn't false...I'd hate to look ignorant before we even get on the mission... She thought to herself.

Appearing in the nick of time, Kagerichi eyes the two Goryu and then the Kazekage. "Pleasure Kazekage-San." Kagerichi says, smiling. "I do not believe we have met." Kagerichi says, turning to the two Goryu. "I am Kagerichi, master of smoke." Turning around to the Kage, he says, "I overheard a Bijuu capture. I would like to have in." Kagerichi takes a suck on his pipe, then blowing smoke into the air. "I would actually... Love to have in... :D" Kagerichi says, bowing to the Kage.

((The post order: Me, Hinamori, Kagerichi, and Kitsuke))

((Sounds good.)

Kitsuke just nodded on all the commotion about the bijuu. Kitsuke took the vest, but not the sweatpants. He wore the jounin vest and looked at the kazekage, " I don't need a sweatpants, " Kitsuke took a headband from his backpack, a really really old looking one..." The headband was a very priceless one, Kitsuke got it from the first Kazekage Seiyuuki Uindo. But when his about to walk away, someone again interrupted again, another person entered the room, which is a polutting one. " Nice to meet you Kagerichi, but I hate smoking...it's dangerous for your health...better stop it or else..." The wind breeze came inside the headquarters, it passed the group and carried all the smoke from Kagerichi towards outside.

~Sorry for the short post, I just wanted to make the thread advance.~

Lee stared at him for the moment, then stated "The vest and sweatpants weren't for you....they were mine." He walked into his office and grabbed another Jounin Vest and handed it to him. "This one is yours." He then took his and put it back on. He looked at his group of Goryu and finally smiled some. He looked over the area, then crossed his arms once again. "So, well, are we ready to go?"

"Yep..Just let me run over to my apartment to re-stock my supplies. I'll meet you guys at the gate?" Momo said, after chuckling a little at Kitsuke's mix-up. She nodded to Kagerichi before looking back to the Kazekage. Smiling at him, she grabbed her bag and prepared to sprint. Turning her head over her shoulder, she winked at Kitsuke. "I'll pay you back for the robe." She said, before disappearing in a cloud of dust and sand. Running at full speed, she kicked off of the ground and launched herself into the air; she landed on a nearby roof and began to speed through the village by roof top. Soon after, she would reach her rooftop and launch herself into her room through an open window.

[[Short....Exit]]

Jealous of Kitsuke, Kagerichi says to him, "Smoke doesn't effect my body in a negative way... Well at least not this tobacco." Kagerichi smiles and replies back to the Kage. "Seems we're all set :)"

[[Sorry! Reaaallly short, bout' to go to graduation...]]