You don't know me...[Open]

No one knew him and he knew no one; Iesada walked the streets of Kumogakure as a virtual unknown. With each step he took it felt as if he were being swallowed up by the village's vile maw. Buildings rose and fell on either side of him like crooked teeth and intermittent piles of rubble could be seen here and there. Even the people he passed by seemed oblivious to his presence as if under some spell. Kumogakure appeared to be every inch a war zone, nothing like the books.

Nothing like the books at all.

Thankfully, his progress through the village brought him into a nicer neighborhood. The rubble had since disappeared or at least been moved out of sight and the buildings were no longer wrought in greyscale having some variety in design.  That said, the people remained as uninterested in the young man's movements as ever moving like drones through a hive. The whole place felt odd as if it were something out of a child's deranged fantasy.

'Many inns and restaurants are down that way, they are safe enough,'Taios' words echoed in his head, He had pointed to the right, right?

Yes, in no time at all the Yukigakure native found himself lost in a foreign land. Perhaps he should've asked for better directions? Or maybe he shouldn't have asked for them from a man made of lava? Who was to say really?

Stopping in his tracks at an intersection of two roads, the man looked around dismayed; nothing at all screamed "I'm an inn", worrying.

More worrying, however, was that as he stopped people began to become aware of him for the first time. Though his clothes matched much of the people around him, brown traveling cloak and an overloaded knapsack, he had stopped walking. Moreover, he was looking around without a sense a purpose. Stopping, apparently, had been a mistake—so much for blending in.

Maybe I should just ask for directions?

Senshi looked at the blue haired man watching as he seemed to be wandering around lost. He reached up itching his beard absentmindedly as he began walking towards the man. He had never seen him around before and he wasn’t wearing a headband of Kumogakure and yet, Senshi could tell from his walk and stance that he had to have some sort of shinobi training. The tiny white flamingo on his shoulder adjusted itself slightly, but Senshi just ignored Kyoki for now. The half inch tall flamingo usually went unnoticed, considering how small he was, despite the fact that he hung out in plain view. His eyes narrowed on the man as he approached hands hovering near his weapons pouches. Once he was closer he spoke, not bothering to hide his suspicions about the man. “You seem lost.” He didn’t say anything else his sideways headband glinting in the sunlight.

Komon had been walking with senshi for a bit, the two were discussing the mission they had just finished the day before. Senshi had been giving him pointers on how to better carry himself in battle so that others would be more likely to follow. While Komon didn’t like the idea of being a leader he knew that as a chuunin it would be his responsibility to be one and that he better get in the practice of being a good one, however senshi seemed to stop mid conversation before directing his attention elsewhere.

“Huh?” Komon would mutter before following the mans gaze and instantly knowing what was wrong. Senshi had spotted a man who carried himself like a shinobi but also wasn’t wearing kumo shinobi attire, a strange sight for the village hidden in the clouds, Komons hand would rest gently on the handle of his katana which was clipped to his hip as he walked up, and allowed senshi to do the talking.

WC: 163

"Perceptive," Iesada turned to the pair of shinobi approaching him. "Yes, I am more than a bit lost."

It had been only a matter of time before he was approached by more shinobi. Taios had not seemed the type to announce new arrivals. This, of course, left him in a sticky situation. Sticky, but not untenable. After all, there was nothing a few silvered words could not smooth over. The key, as it often is, was confidence and Iesada had thirty years of confidence under his belt, which judging by looks was much more than the two children before him.

While not formerly trained in the shinobi arts as one might expect, Iesada had been a diplomat by trade before Yukigakure fell and he held himself as such. Squared shoulders, and even gait and fluid movements were his greatest assets. Such traits tend to crossover to a warrior as well, so to mistake him for a shinobi would be all too easy and understandable.

"Perhaps you two might be able to point me in the direction of the nearest inn?" He took note of the one with his hand on his sword. "The man at the gates told me there was one down this way to the right, but, well, here I am with no inn in sight."

A shrug and a practiced look of embarrassment accented his last words.

Senshi gave Komon a half apologetic glance for cutting their discussion short with no other words to him. He probably should have let the other boy know what he was doing, but he had simply zoned in on the obvious stranger in their midst. He’d appologzie for the rudeness later, for now he had other concerns. Despite the glance he had never looked away from the man in front of him. Though his chakra sensory wasn’t supplying him with much of anything from him, his age and general appearance lent Senshi to believing he had to be at least decently strong. His hazel eyes continued their assessment as the man spoke, asking for an inn.
 

“Before I can allow you to proceed to one of our few inn’s, who allowed you entrance to Kumo and what are you here for?” Senshi’s eyes narrowed slightly on the blue haired man, making it clear that he didn’t trust him. Kumo didn’t get many visitors so it wasn’t too surprising that the newest one here would be treated as such. Deciding that he could at least offer some form of politeness Senshi decided to introduce himself. “I am Chuunin Kobayashi Senshi.” He gave a half glance to Komon, hoping the boy would introduce himself as well. They were doing their duty by clearing this stranger and ensuring he was allowed to be here, but that didn’t mean they had to be completely rude.

A visitor? To Kumo? Komon couldn’t help but wonder why someone would willingly walk into a village surrounded by corpse’s he knew it sure as hell wasn’t for the view, doubting the man he turned to face senshi who seemed to not be buying the man’s story either. He asked for further confirmation of the man’s story which seemed as good an idea as any but then proceeded to introduce himself giving his rank and name in a formal manner.

Komon figured that in the off chance that this man was telling the truth he should do the same and show the man the respect he was supposed to and chose to follow senshi’s lead once more. “And I am Gennin Hyuuga Komon, welcome to the hidden cloud” Ensuring his hand was still resting on his katana, he was definitely going to be sending this man mixed messages that was for sure.

WC: 315

"Chuunin Senshi, Genin Hyuuga," He gave a shallow bow to each in spite of the heavy load on his back, courtesy above all else. "I am Iesada Saito of Yukigakure, I assure you the pleasure is all mine."

The question that now stood was did people know of the demise of Yukigakure? In all the time hidden away in his cabin, he had not seen a soul. For all he knew the only people who knew of the village's destruction were those who destroyed and, naturally, himself. That said, one could never be too sure how far news traveled.

"As for who allowed me into the village," A slight pause. "He went by the name of Taios; large man with the ability to spout molten rock. I imagine he'd be hard to miss."

Yes, that man would stick out anywhere, even Kumogakure.

"What I'm here for is a bit more complicated, however," He decided to go with the shock and awe method, time to spill the beans. "I don't know if you are aware, but Yukigakure was razed to the ground by a group known as the Akatsuki. They killed my family and destroyed my village, I am here to find out more about them. Kumogakure's proximity to what remains of my village makes it the obvious choice. So, I suppose you could say I am here on business."

The truth was always the best route to take in matters such as these. Lying had its place, but it was not here and not yet.

Senshi was pleased with how Komon was acting, it seemed that he was beginning to understand how a Chuunin should act. He had been right when he had told the Raikage that the other boy was ready for the rank. He knew how to act appropriately in a situation like this. That was rather reassuring since Senshi wasn’t sure that Komon’s twin, Komori would know how to behave appropriately. He could only hope that Komon’s twin would mature more with age. Pushing the thoughts of his pride at other Kumo shinobi either succeeding or failing he focused back in on the situation at hand.
 

Logically Taios should have been escorting this man through the village not allowing him to roam freely. Since he wasn’t it now fell to Senshi and Komon to rectify the situation. With a sigh Senshi spoke again, “Unfortunately we can not allow you to roam our village freely. You will have to come with us, so that we can check your story out and ensure that Raikage-sama allows you continued access to the village.” Senshi paused his eyes flashing around the area to ensure no one else was near them. He didn’t want any of the villagers to be put into danger if this man decided he did not want to cooperate. “If your story checks out, you will be issued a temporary visa to stay in the village, though it comes with severe restrictions. Do you have any questions?”

Komon listened closely as Senshi laid out the rules of the village to the strange man and said if his story checked out he would be allowed a temporary visa for such a situation. It seemed however that Senshi was still just as suspicious of the man as himself. This brought about an idea in Komon’s mind that he was surprised hadn’t come to fruition sooner.

“Excuse me, But if you would like to gain our trust I have a proposal, In my training I came across a particular skill that allows me to view a man’s memories and thoughts, with your permission of course I would like to validate your story here and now, should your story check out we can get to work on that visa.” He would first look to the newcomer to hear his answer and then to senshi to see if the chuunin approved of his idea.

WC: 465

"I would expect nothing less," A slim knowing smile etched itself across the older man's face. "I have nothing to hide."

I have nothing to hide yet. Yet.

Truthfully, the worst thing he had done to date was to steal from merchants passing through the ruins of Yukigakure. He, of course, rationalized such criminal activity as a matter of survival. How else was he to get food in the dead of winter?

As for his current situation, well, he had hoped to simply be shown to an inn. However, being taken in for questioning was not the end of the world and he had half expected it. Taios had, as it turned out, not been all that helpful, oh well.

"Hyuuga-san," he said with a kind tone. "With all due respect, my memories and thoughts are my own. I once served as Yukigakure's lead diplomat under one Maku Jemuzu. I am afraid I cannot allow you free reign in my mind for, despite Yukigakure's demise, I still have many secrets in my head that are not my own. I hope you can understand my position and why it would be irresponsible of me to use my memories to verify my story."

Here he stopped; he could not betray the trust of those he once served, of his village. Luckily he still held the documents of his post as diplomat. Perhaps he could use those as proof?