Hello, Hoshigakure [Open, Hoshi]

The constant stream of people going in and out of Hoshigakure could only be described as overwhelming. Coming through customs, Iesada found himself pulled along by the crowd like a leaf on the wind. From time to time he'd bump into someone and he'd try to apologize only for the person to be gone. Hoshigakure was much different than Kumogakure, the people seemed to be happy, the colors were brighter, and noises louder. No, he wasn't in cloud country anymore.

Finally breaking from the maelstrom of humanity by the gates, Iesada managed to find his way to an empty bench on a less trafficked—but still populated—side street. Removing his pack and placing it by his side he took a seat. He needed to orient himself.

Unfolding the map the customs officer had given him he traced his path with a finger. He had a few options when it came to lodgings it would seem. Normally, he would've elected to stay at one of the more lavish inns, but in his current state he lacked the funds to do so and he couldn't go wasting the pooled money of Yukigakure's inhabitants.

Then he found it, deep in the heart of the city, an inn by the name of 'The Dogged Dog'. Now, the only task was to find the optimal route. Finding where he was on the map he began plotting how to reach the less than prestigious lodgings. To anyone passing by he'd look like a lost traveler nothing more.

Let this be a lesson, planning is important.

Shiroi decided to watch the gates again today. She watched from inside the village. There was no need for her to deal with the bureaucracy of customs. She dealt with the people that snuck in by pretending to be normal citizens. She sat in the tree, legs dangling down. The leaves obstructed her vision, but she was not watching the people. She was observing them, checking their chakra. It was a sea of generic. People with so little chakra that they may as well not be people.

But one stuck out. Their chakra was not monstrous, but it was higher than could be expected from a normal citizen. This was the sort of thing that caught Shiroi's attention. She jumped down from the tree once this signature, that belonged to Iesada even though she did not know this, was past the gates, within the village. She had not yet laid eyes on him, but was able to track the signature in the sea of bland, almost light a spotlight surrounded by candles.

Shiroi made no attempts to hide the fact that she was following the person, but the torrents of bodies going to and fro would likely do this for her. If it did not though did not matter. The man broke pattern: instead of ducking into the first empty alleyway he came across, we went down a side street. Not empty, but significantly fewer people walked along the road. He sat on a bench and pulled out a map. That truly surprised Shiroi.

So instead of confronting him, she would wait for him to take an action. To that end, she would sit on the opposite end of the bench from Iesada. Due to her short stature and loose clothing, her age was well hidden. She would seem much younger than she truly was. To play on that, she swung her legs, which were not reaching the ground, as she sat on the bench. 

Her black sleeveless hoodie dress hung past a pair of black shorts. The grey and black patterned scarf hid the village insignia under its folds. Based only on outward appearances, she was a simple twelveish year old girl.

Whoever laid out the streets of Hoshigakure should really have reconsidered their career as a city planner. It seemed like parts of the village were well organized while others, such as the market district, were a mess. Some streets bent at weird angles while others appeared ramrod straight. If there was any significance in the layout then Iesada couldn't find it.

Unclipping the large calabash gourd from his bag he brought it to his lips. As the last of his water trickled down his throat, the diplomat considered the days ahead of him. He'd have to get a room, plead with royalty, and find the two people Maku had asked him to. All in all, assuming the royalty didn't dance around the subject of aid, he'd be in and out in a week or two. Simple as that.

Replacing his gourd and folding the map into his pocket, Iesada was on his way. With his pack firmly squared on his shoulders he returned to the fast moving stream of people. He hadn't even noticed the small girl across from him. After all, why should he?

A few lefts and two rights later the diplomat found himself deep in the center of the market district. The urban bustle moved all around him, but he'd stopped again. Moving to the side of the main street he whipped out the map for a second time. Somewhere he'd taken a wrong turn; he wasn't supposed to have come through the markets.

Yes, he was lost.

Shiroi continued to follow the person. Eventually it became obvious that he was lost, or at least acting as such (perhaps he had noticed her tail? It was not unlikely). Putting on her best 'young girl' voice that could be achieved without a transformation, she walked up to the man. "Hi there! You look lost. Where're you going?" Shiroi hated this 'chipper' version of herself, but it was good cover, so hey, if it worked.

Turning the map around a few times, Iesada worked to orient himself. It appeared as if he'd taken a right when he should've taken a left, typical. So much for a sense of direction. Perhaps it would best to backtrack to the main road? Or, god forbid, ask for help?

Such questions swirled around in the diplomat's mind when a small voice cut through the ambient noise. Dropping his map, he looked down. The girl, or perhaps feminine male, before him looked to be no older than Yui had been when she died, maybe a bit older though he couldn't truly tell. Regardless, the Yukigakure native was not one to look a gift horse in the mouth.

"Perceptive," He commented, flipping the map around and pointing to the inn he'd decided on. "I'm looking for 'The Dogged Dog' and I seem to have gotten myself all turned around in the process. Any help would be greatly appreciated, I'm not too familiar with the village just yet."

Hopefully, the child could help. If not, he noted that a few people, like himself, had stepped to the side of the road and he could probably ask them for some help. That said, it did strike him as odd that said people were unrolling mats onto the dusty ground. Hoshigakure was more than a bit strange. It was a good strange, though, a good strange.

Akemi walked along the rooftops, practicing a new wind technique he had heard about called "Quiet Footsteps". See, Akemi loved to be alone. The better he became at stealth, the better he would become at avoiding people.

As he walked he was using chakra suppression. Akemi wanted to eliminate the possibility of getting seen or sensed on all fronts. All he had to get rid off were his sight, sound and smell. Sight was going to be difficult to deal with, he was learning how to deal with sound right now and smell could probably be dealt with.

He walked up to the edge of the building, still using chakra suppression, and spotted a young girl, probably about 12, was following a man. Which, Akemi found rather strange. Was it a daughter playing hide and seek with her father? Akemi didn't know, but as they say, curiosity killed the cat. So Akemi started trailing them along the buildings, keeping himself concealed and using chakra suppression the hole time.

Shiroi looked at the map. He wanted to go to a pretty cheap place. In a cheap neighborhood.

Ok seriously, what are the chances? This inn was only about two blocks from her house. That was somewhat creepy.

"Oh! I know where that is!" Shiroi grimaced inwardly, but outwardly she showed only excitement. "Follow me!" She said, doing a little jump and grabbing for the man's hand before running off (at a normal person pace) towards the inn.

"So stranger," she said without stopping, "why're you here?"

Iesada barely had time to fold up the map and shove it into his pocket before the small child grabbed his hand. The next thing he knew he was being led back the way he had come orginally—he had taken a wrong turn, go figure. People streamed past him at a dizzying rate, but the child seemed to know where she was going. Yes, he was pretty sure the small person leading him about was a she.

Perhaps he should have been more skeptical of a person walking up to him and knowing exactly where he wanted to go. However, Iesada, despite his normally cold demeanor, still believed in the goodness of mankind. Plus, he had a blindside when it came to kids, they could do no wrong and he too often let his guard around them. He was clearly a newcomer to the shinobi world where children were warriors and murderers.

"Oh, I'm here seeking help for my village," he admitted with a hint of sadness slipping in his voice. "We have fallen on hard times and I hoped to find aid here."

Hard times was an understatement. The majority of Yukigakure had been burned to the ground and only a few people remained trying to scrape out an existence on the tundra where their homes once stood. He didn't plan on marring the young child's mind with the bloody details such as the death of his wife and child or the massive mound of burning bodies he found.

As the pair continued onward the buildings started to look a bit more rundown than those in the market district and lined the main inroads to the city. The people, while still smiling and talking, appeared less lavishly dressed and the store fronts were less colorful. Yes, every city had that neighborhood and it appeared this was Hoshigakure's.

Akemi continued to trail the two after the little girl grabbed the man's hand and started dragging him somewhere. He wasn't usually that bothered about other peoples business, but for some reason he felt protective over the little girl and he didn't know why.

When he looked at her he got a sense of familiarity, almost like she was his little sister or something akin to that. Akemi had never had any siblings before so the feeling of kinship he was feeling was quite unknown and strange to him. Nonetheless, he still needed to make sure no harm came to Hoshigakure's youth, it was his duty as a ninja and as a decent human being.

He noticed they seemed to be heading off towards a grungy, battered old neighbourhood. That... Was a little creepy. Still, the man could be running a little low on money, Akemi was certainly running low himself. He also saw that the two were conversing, though he was to far away to pick out any specific phrases, just slightly muffled sounds.

Naturally, Akemi had been using chakra suppression the whole time as he continued to silently follow the two along the rooftops and he was ready to spring to action should the need arise.

"What village?" Shiroi asked, curiosity precipitating her voice. She would continue leading the man. The area they traveled through now was significantly more downtrodden. But it was not a poor neighborhood. Not technically, at least. The people that lived here were generally poorer, but the businesses were not. The reasons behind such can be left to the imagination.

The inn was not far from them now. The sign had fallen off the building not but a week ago. So, Shiroi would lead him into the unmarked building. Though the old sign was stored on the roof until it was repaired, so if Akemi was still following them from the roofs, he would be able to easily tell that it was an inn in a shady part of town that the two had entered, should that be what they did.