This walk should definitely have taken longer

Well, after a good set of walking that took all of thirty seconds to describe, Kukla arrived at the gates outside the village of Konoha. Cool beans.

Sadly, having never visited a real village with any cohesiveness before, he was kinda clueless about protocol. Perhaps a brief trip to gather information would have been helpful.

Approaching within calling distance of the gates he called out... "Ummm ... Hi? I'm just a traveller in these parts, mind if I pay a visit?"

"Hullo little bird." She'd sensed the boy's approach, the powerful assistance of her chakra sensory tipping her off that someone with some level of power was soon to be upon the village. She leaned up in preparation, looking down over her seat high upon the wall as he approached, an almost sinister smile slipping across her lips. She'd planned to relax in the sun for a few hours. She was meant to meat Sani for lunch but the girl would be asleep for some time considering it was only two in the afternoon. Now she had something to do. In a fluid motion she'd allow her body to slide from atop the wall, plummeting quickly towards the ground fairly quickly. Half way through her descent the trademarked cry of Sorrow of Humanity rang out, it's screech like to a woman's fearful last breath, cold and shill as the twin daggers slid into the holsters set for her Faewild daggers. A small opaque cirlce formed beneath her, slowing her momentum as the shield turned enough to push her forward. Two more stairsteped her way down, the loss of momentum allowing her to touch down on the conscructs just enough to land safely on the ground below. Who even needs wings?!

"Traveler from?" She knew the protocol. She'd been through this process time and again in four other villages. She toughed her thumbs to the two senbon woven into the fishnet shirt that set over her black seemingly metalic armor. She'd show no chakra signature, though her attire made it clear she wasn't one to deal with lightly. As the small droplets of blood dripped past the opening in her first armor, sliding through the chainmail to touch down upon the summoning tattos she'd had put onto her forarms she studied the boy's form. In a puff of smoke two small creatures appeared, her summons being called simply in the event something happened. She'd learned a bit of a show of strength often assisted in getting her point through. They slid underneath the long black cloak openly displaying her position as the head of the nara clan, clutching the chain tightly in their clawed feet to begin drawing sage mode chakra as a precaution.

"standard procedure I'm sure you understand. Konohakagure has had some issues of late and It's my responsibility to aid in their protection." As she spoke the silver chain bearing a crest of the hyuuga clan swung lightly in place near the center of her chest.

O.o

Having seen few living people outside the Nazar clan, that were not abhorrent in nature, Kukla was more than a little taken aback by her appearance. He was more taken aback as she kinda walked through the air, bleeding a little, shortly before a pair of... things... appeared. We're all ninjas of other places like this?

"I'm formerly of a clan associated with the Volcano village. We kinda sit outside and try to help out in there when not busy seeking enlightenment.  For now though, I am but a traveller seeking to learn more about the strange world around us, hope you don't mind. My only tie to my old residence at this point is this..."

Kukla pulled out a Funka village headband from a pocket in his shorts. Shorts because he was trying to blend in, likewise with the t shirt he wore. Different attire from the usual tunic and pants. "This holds little value to me though except to be allowed back among my clan later perhaps. I am but a friendly soul who means no harm."

He was unsure how this would go over but hopefully being open would help his cause.

It was a lazy day.

No criminal syndicates to topple, no mad genin defectors to put down at the village gates and, best of all, not a cloud in sight. Konoha had gotten off with a very mild winter with simply cooler than normal temperatures relative to the summer and very little snow to speak of. However, today was perhaps the first day that one could call the temperature 'warm'. The sun shone merrily and the light breeze that rustled budding trees all said only one thing: spring was on the way.

Alas, good weather did not mean a day off; ANBU worked through rain, shine, sleet and hail, nothing stopped them. That being said, the work she was doing today did not require a mask. As a result, she wore what one might expect from a jounin: a simple forest green flack jacket clasped around her chest under which she wore a black short sleeved shirt. Interestingly, she also elected to wear long black pants that were just a bit baggy rounded out by simple sandals-it was not summer just yet. As for her hair it was tied back in something that resembled a pony tail and kept the hair out of her face. The last detail, which marked her as a shinobi of Konoha, was the headband of the Leaf village that hung loosely around her neck.

Today was all about guard duty. Yes, sometimes even ANBU had to stand guard. No, Ashi did not like it. Unfortunately, she had no say in the matter either way. Thus, she whiled her days away in the booth just inside the newly installed village gates. Chairomaru lay at her feet and out of sight while Ashi went through the monotony of checking people in and out of the village proper. The woman kept herself sane by talking to Chai and making up stories in her head about each person she met.

A little past mid-day, a disturbance outside the gates grabbed the Inuzuka's attention just as she was going over the finer points of the latest play in town with Chai. Someone had slipped by and confronted another at the gate. Ashi knew that scent. She had smelt it before on the day she burned Kasai, the defector, it was not a bad scent nor was it a good one. It simply was.

Kira, the leader of the Nara clan-supposedly anyway.

"Chai, you stay here," Ashi murmured to the dog prompting him to look up at her. "Don't give me that look, I'll be fine."

Pushing herself out of the chair she had occupied for the past few hours, Ashi made her way around to the gates themselves. The scene that presented itself was a bit odd to say the least. The person Ashi knew to be Kira appeared to be talking with another just beyond the gates themselves. Seeing no immediate reason to intervene the woman leaned lazily a shoulder against the frame of the gates; she would watch and wait for now. The ANBU had noted Kira's new status in the village. The Hokage's word stood, questionable though it may be.

A bit ostentatious isn't she?

"Understandable. I was once like to you myself. " She studied the item offered to her intrigued eyes, noticing the symbol of Funkakagure. Intently she searched for what she didn't expect to be there, imperfections in the metal or a slash mark noting something amiss. As a final precaution she activated what was one of her greatest powers, The eternal mangyeku sharingan. Through this new sight she took notice of the boy's chakra, finding it quite low, but as she prepared to comment she took note of something that made her laugh out loud. The boy was clearly not used to the current situation, noticeable immediately by any who took note of the less important factors. He wore a tshirt with what could only be the most obnoxious Hawaiian style design she'd ever seen, blue and yellow with large palm trees reaching from shirt tail upward towards his neck, and lime green shorts. Through her snickers she thought to herself 'well, at least it wont be dificult to find him'

She turned her head slightly, to indicate the direction her statement was meant, Her smile subsisting from the boy's dress as she continued. "He has little strength to his chakra, Symbol of village has no indication of being tampered with, and I doubt he'll pose much of a threat."

With her attention back on the boy she'd continue. "Well, unless my associate has any objections it seems you'll be fine to enter the village. I will ask that you see the Hokage to check in at your earliest convenience, and that you find immediately to be your earliest convenience. While within Konohakagure you will be subject to their rules. Dont step on any clan's toes, dont think of harming any of its inhabitants, stealing, any other general not so good things otherwise my friend here will have words, and Generally I believe her style is to rip throats first and ask questions later. If you have any questions, worries or otherwise I'd gladly answer them. If you're looking for a place to stay I believe theres an inn at the east of the village, if you find that suitable I have a bed in my district welcome to those not seeking Ill of konoha. Anything else I could help you with?"

If Kukla knew his chakra was low, he would be metagaming and sad at the same time. Sadly he was unaware of both. Apparently she found his outfit amusing, but then again, the Nazar were not famed for their fashion sense. He grinned back, figuring she thought his outfit odd. That implied he would not blend well into the populace. Welp, he seemed to need a new outfit then. His current one seemed to smack of tacky tourism at its peak.

"Well I've seen enough carnage in my old place to last me a good while, I think."

He pondered for a little bit. Then in a fairly typical earnest tone, "Where can I find this Hokage? Konoha looks to be a pretty big city, I fear I might get lost in there, or someone might play pranks and lead me astray, as I seem to be clearly an outsider. What kinds of protocols do you guys have here that I should be aware of? I would not want to offend anyone, let alone the Hokage, especially if I meet... him? Let alone recognizing him."

This being directed kinda at both of the two. Having had a decent glance at the first, he surmised that neatness was not the other's primary concern. And that hair! Both of them came across quite different from his kin, especially the newcomer leaning on the gates. This would take quite an adjustment it seemed.

Ashi listened to the report Kira gave of the boy with a detached silence. Yes, ostentatious was the right word for the Nara. However, she could not help but allow a a toothy grin to cross her face at Kira's assessment of the anbu. It was true, of course, that operative Wolf would rip your throat out without a second thought. That being said, Wolf was not here at the moment. Without a mask, Ashi was just that Ashi and no one else. No need for a prickly demeanor and unbreakable will.

"My..." Ashi paused as she pushed herself from the gate and walked over to the left side of Kira. "...Associate here exaggerates far too much. I assure you my bark is much worse than my bite."

Accenting her point, Ashi flashed a toothy smile that hopefully came off as friendly, but probably ran counter to her words.

"As for your questions," Ashi said casting a sideways glance at Kira before returning her gaze to the comically dressed man-hopefully the woman would concede the situation to the anbu. "I can address those after you have filled out the necessary forms."

Sadly villages did not run on promises and feelings. Paperwork made the clockwork of the village whir and tick. The sad price one paid for order.

"Come along now," Ashi said almost too cheerily as she turned on a dime and made her way back to the booth. With her messy pony tail of hair swishing much like a dogs tail as she walked, Ashi would spare one glance over her shoulder to make sure baldy was following. Yes, there was a distinct difference between Ashi and Wolf.

Hopefully, the visitor was right on her heels, because Ashi moved with long strides and in a matter of moments she would be sitting in the booth with Chai at her feet. Sifting through a folder, the Inuzuka would pull out a packet of papers and place them on the ledge in front of her. It was all pretty basic stuff, name, birth-date, village of origin, reason for entering to Konoha; the works.

"Alrighty," Ashi chirped to the bald man who was hopefully standing opposite her outside the booth. "Just fill these out and then we'll see about orienting you."

Where did I put that map...?

Yes, Ashi was in a good mood. The weather was great, no trouble about, and this would probably be her last job for the day. She was only on duty for roughly fifteen minutes more. Ah, the wonders of freedom. Perhaps a visit to the bars? Of course, Chai would not come-he never did. However, she had been with him all day. Hmmm.....

Perfectly on time she'd simply point, feeling the girl move beside her, giving the appearance that this was a practiced dance the two played often. Ashi would interject exactly on time, continuing the expectations for her, and as they left she'd take up the spot the Anbu had once sat at on the other side of the gate. "Take it easy on him wolf. With luck I hope that one day he could be groomed to protect konoha!" Kicking her feet up she'd smile. The statement wasn't serious, considering she knew nothing of this boy, but it wouldn't surprise her if it ended up proving true. It wouldn't be the first time a random person joined her team, fighting for the survival of those she cared about and the village under her protection.

(exit assuming they're leaving me)

O_O <-- Kukla’s approx. expression as the other ninja (Ashi) begins talking

Kukla was a bit more than surprised at the other ninja's aggressive cheerfulness, a stark contrast kinda, to what the first kunoichi had said. He was kinda used to people acting tough or talking up others, but said subjects turning around and acting quite differently, was a bit outside the norm to him. The long canine teeth did not go un-noticed though and he wondered if the semi-wildish appearance was the reason she was being referred to as “Wolf”. He did not want to pry at this time though, it could be a sensitive topic the so called “wolf” was too polite to respond violently to in public.

“Fill out the forms? Ok!” Kukla replied after the relevant sentence from the second ninja.

She set off and Kukla scrambled to keep up. Gosh, he was slow in comparison. So, when she turned to look to see if he was following, she would likely see him scurrying along and somehow making far less progress than she did every stride.

Thus it was that the bald ninja monk guy was hurrying into the booth just a few long moments after she would have set the packet of papers on the ledge. Red in the face from the brief exertion, having trotted as fast as possible, since running might look bad, he huffed and puffed as he spoke - “Sorry, I really hustled but you are so fast! Every three strides you manage, I don’t even get one in!”

He leaned on the ledge for a second, having had to cover quite a few meters in a short time. After a few more awkward moments, he stood straight again, took a deep breath, and said “Sorry, I needed a breather before I could read properly. I’ll take a look now.”

Hmmm….

He perused the documents before taking his hand and wiping it dry of the sweat that had beaded up momentarily earlier. Taking up a mighty pen in his hand, he began filling out the forms. It didn’t occur to him to put anything but the actual dates etc. in, the only bit where he paused a bit was the reason for entry. Well, why did he want to enter Konoha? Hmmm.

He began scribbling in the relevant section. “Interested in learning about the vast ninja world, Peaceful intentions, Looking for a new home due to family situation,” He paused for a bit, and fidgeted with the pen a little, staring at the paper. Then he added in a couple more lines – “Looking for people to train with to forward my own fitness, willing to help out in the village where needed or wanted.” and, a few lines down for clarity “Note- only loosely affiliated with the Volcano Village, have not completed any missions for the old village for a variety of reasons. Open to elaborating on anything in person if necessary but not doing such here due to lack of room.”

It took a good while, a solid five minutes perhaps, for him to get through all the paperwork, another inconvenience he was not accustomed to from his old village.

When he finished, he organized the papers back into their original order, turned them all to face the same way, put all the tops on the same end, and then attempted to pass the bundle back to the ninja. “Sorry about the wait, finally got through all those, whew!”

If the papers were taken from him he would sit on his heels so to speak, waiting to see what would happen next.

Words, Ashi would have words with Kira. One doesn't go hinting at the one's anbu status to outsiders. It simply wasn't done. Certainly it might be difficult to make such a connection between Kira's words and Ashi's identity, but it was doable. Nothing was impossible. The Inuzuka did not much like the idea of being targeted outside her anbu life. No, she would have to talk to Kira. However, that was for another time and place. For the moment Ashi played it off as a friendly jibe and continued on her way.

Glancing over her shoulder the woman forced herself to suppress a smile. The poor guy couldn't keep up. Well, Ashi was not one for sympathy so she kept up her easy jaunt. A bit of exercise might do him some good.

It might even promote hair growth!

At the boy's exclamation about her pace Ashi could not help but let out a light airy laugh that seemed almost out of place coming from her, almost. It was good to laugh. The Inuzuka did not laugh nearly enough as evidenced by the startled Chairomaru who sat up at the commotion. With his head able to rest on the ledge-yes Chai was that large-he watched the bald man fill out the paperwork with a lazy detached gaze.

Ashi, on the other hand, spent the time Kukla spent filling out the forms to rummage aimlessly through the files she had around her. No, she wasn't really looking for anything in particular, save for the map she found in the first minute. The woman simply didn't want to be that person who stared at others. Sure, she was an odd one, but not that odd. Plus it probably would have resulted in an uncomfortable situation for all involved.

"It's not a problem at all," Ashi replied as she took back the papers and began scanning over them at a brisk pace. "Alright, Kukla Nazar...Native of Funkagakure...Not exactly affiliated with the village...Family situation..."

Ashi trailed off a bit at which point she placed the forms into a cabinet next to her and turned back to Kukla.

"Chai, don't stare," Ashi chided her companion prompting the ninken to drop out of sight at Ashi's feet once more. "Everything appears to be in order."

Pulling out a temporary passport, the woman stamped it once, dated it and handed it over to Kukla.

"Keep this with you at all times or risk expulsion and possible jail-time," Ashi explained matter of factly as if to one of her up-and-coming academy students. "Otherwise, there are no stringent curfews or laws you need be aware of. Just mind your business and you'll be fine."

Pausing for a moment, the woman pulled out the map of the village and placed it on the divider between the two making sure to turn it so Kukla could see.

"So, we are here," Ashi pointed out the village gates and proceeded to list off, and point out, the general districts. "Here is the residential district, not much going on there. Then we have the entertainment sector, boos, casinos..."

Ashi paused for a moment and tilted her head oddly as if sizing up Kukla.

"...And women if that is your thing. Fittingly there is also a bathhouse around the corner as well. I would not suggest going there past nine-a bunch of drunks." No, Ashi did not mention that one of those drunks would probably be her later, no need for that. "The we have the administration complexes in the back of the village itself along with the varying clan districts."

Taking a breath Ashi sat back in her chair as she found she had got a bit too involved in pointing out the sights of Konoha; she was standing. Of course, her whirlwind orientation didn't really do the village justice. There was much more to be seen, but she wouldn't hold the man up with such rambling.

"I think that is about it," Ashi said lightly. "Any questions?"

Five more minutes...