Land of Opportunity (Village Entry)

Traversing through the sandy plains, his feet digging into the hard brown soil with each heavy step, his mind was just about caught with everything he planned for before his departure. He had plenty of time to do so with this little trip. With nothing but the sands and time, Katsuragi realized that in order to get ahead of the current events, he'd have to create his own path. No longer would he wait for hand outs and tips at the bounty station, living off scrapes thrown to him from some third party vendor with connections to a major village. the little bit of change he got was peanuts compared to the monetary benefits of dealing with sources direct. Same with bounties, all that money spent traveling and tracking down a target only to get beat for the money by someone five steps ahead. Nevertheless, the main take away from it all was if you want to make real money and gain real prestige you have to cut out the middle man. Then again, nothing happens over night. The purple haired hustler finally made it, he finally reached the land of opportunity where he could just might make something of himself... maybe.

Katsuragi's attire consisted of a plane white short sleeved shirt, with a thin black jacket current wrapped around his waist due to the heat. below he wore a pair of black jeans along with black and brown steel toe boots.as for his tools and such, all were assorted in various locations, each held in either his ninja pouch strapped to the back of his waist of the right, pants pockets, and his jacket which were all secured tight to avoid loss of items.

Reaching the tall unnatural gates that separated him from the dome lie behind it, Katsuragi looks up in awe. The way the walls were built, perfectly vertical with a height that seemed to pierce the heavens... he did not like it one it. he was so close to just turning around and going back to where he came from. He felt, somewhat of a chill run down his spine. The menacing height of the walls reminded him of his 10 year bid he did out west. The towering walls, the gate house on top. "No escape...", it left his lips with a sour taste. It was almost metal like; his mouth teeming with the taste of copper. The beating sun, the sand in his boots, it all seemed nonexistent while thinking back to those harsh times. he looked down at his tattoo covered arms. The murals weren't this detailed going inside, the things he had to do to earn respect. You can't always talk your way out of things, and prison wasn't the place that allowed so.

Finally, in front of the gate 10 meters out, he stops. his fingers dancing along with a few materials inside his pockets as he waited for someone to meet him. he couldn't wait to get out the heat, his skin begged so as well for it was now tan. His purple hair swayed slightly each time he checked his sides with a stern look upon him, the sweat flew off his hair. These were foreign lands, with him as the questionable traveler.    

((537))

A melodic voice would ring out into the dry air from somewhere atop the wall before Mikofujo would roll into view, her raven hair spilling across her face and blocking her green left eye allowing the right one to sit affixed upon the odd shinobi in front of the village gates. Just what was he after on a night like this, it was doubtful he had foul intentions just sitting so obviously in front of the walls like that, but it always behooved one to try and be a bit cautious instead of fully embracing the laziness she felt inside.  Today the young ninja was dressed in an opulent aubergine robe that hung loose around her legs but tight on her torso, sleeveless to accompany the heat. Her lips and eye shadow were both a rusty red color that contrasted the rest of her but did not clash in too jarring a way of it.

Being roughly seventeen meters away from the man she could smell nothing from him thanks to the strong breeze, but he seemed groomed enough to not stink up the entire village at least. Unlike most people she did not look down at him from the gatehouse but instead laid on her back atop the wall regarding him with a cautious yet friendly demeanor until she determined what this mysterious shinobi's deal was. While it was certainly easy to dismiss him as a threat due to the situation, Miko was a girl that liked to err on the side of caution and thus it was this became her approach.

If he had some semblance of a threatening gesture during this the female would easily roll back over the walls and land on her feet relatively safe from most attacks, but as it was she would regard the male with her gaze while awaiting his answer. She was eager to make some small talk to profile the stranger outside of her villages gates, after all she was a genin and still curious about the world, what it held and what secrets the people inside of it kept. Knowledge was an enjoyment for the woman rather than something to simply be ingested for power or renown, it was not a means to an end but rather the end itself in her mind and that was what spurred her to be in this area at all in the first place.

A voice from up high descended upon him, his gaze quickly snapped upwards to see what appeared to be the gate attendant causally lounging around up on high like a feline. His brown eyes squinting towards the individual from down below. What little sun he had left in the day helped him get a good look of  who he was talking too. The light shinning from their left, he wiggles his feet a bit with energy still within. He couldn't help but smirk a bit from such a demeanor. His first impression he thought he would receive were a trove of armed personal behind the gates, lined up one after another on each side upon seeing the gates open. But no, the gates remained closed, with no question towards it.

What was in his pockets, he was asked? We all knew the answer to that, he was armed of course. His upbringing didn't allow for such wandering about with no means of defense; especially in this god forsaken desert. Katsuragi pressed his tongue against the inside of his body lip, tilting his head a bit to side. "My tools..., gotta have the right tools for the job, eh", he retorted. His tone  leaving off with a cunning beckon. Like a wandering snake in the grass passing other wandering inhabitants. He was here, yet had other things on his agenda to pursue. His words carried enough volume for the gate keeper to hear.

Upon further inspection, he realizes that gate keeper wore no headband of such. He wondered just who was he talking too. No matter, he might as well get it over with, seeing how they were the only two people here at the moment. Anything to get out of the heat... The random hits of hot air was not doing it for him.

"What's up with the action in there? I don't a thing about this spot, other than the fact that I hear they got some serious opportunities for gettin some of that green!", he dips slightly with his knees emphasizing his interests in the money.

"Ayo they got AC up in there in the hut, I could use a hit", he said irritatingly.

((TWC:866))

Tools, so it was personal defense that he held inside of his hands. While that was well and fine for out in the wilds, before they could have a civil discussion he would simply have to trust her more than that. While Mikofujo knew the ninja could easily dart back into his pocket without much lost time, the principal of the body language was what she disagreed with. Still it was she who would have to voice and seize the initiative upon that matter, not the male who was but a visitor. A mercenary from the hidden meaning between his words, of course that was nowhere near as much as a delight to unpack as when he said a hit of AC. Surely he meant air conditioning, and if Miko remembered correctly the village itself was climate controlled. 

Well what harm would come from teasing the man and making him sweat a bit more she wondered?

Hopefully none.

"Well big fella, I gotta ask you to take your hands of your tool for a second so we can have some proper discourse" as she spoke, the female ninja would pivot to a crouched position with her knees coming up and flanking either side of her head. "And then I'll see what I can do about those silly gatesy waitseys." Playful and demur she would twist her face into a pleading demeanor with her delicate eyebrows posed in a non-hostile manner and her eyes looking at him slightly pleadingly. Played up for certain but the female ninja did want him to relax before she could let him inside the village, if he were to cause trouble she needed some plausible deniability after all. A lady must always be certain to be civil, even if that Lady disdained most 'polite' things she always followed a system she understood the need for such as this. 

Hopefully it would be a non-issue though and Miko knew she had a bag of ice sitting behind her that she could toss down to the man, but had abated until now. Now she needed a token to show she trusted him and that he, in turn, must trust her. So it was that she threw down the head sized burlap sack towards the man in a lazy way. If he caught or came near it, he would feel the cold radiate off of it and no doubt realize what she was tossing towards him.

His once tense shoulders dropped along with his head, tilting it towards the side on the left upon hearing more from the playful feline up above. He sucked his teeth in even more frustration, the heat was getting to him. However, it indeed made sense, it wasn't like he was walking into the chow hall. Old habits were to blame, the things you'd bring to dinner on the block. From razors lined against the walls of the inner lining of the mouth, to the sharpened utensil saved only for special occasions tucked below; he was always dressed to kill. Katsuragi would have to make a mental note of this.

Looking back up towards the female, just now realizing this, he paused for a moment. He took in her features, noticing her somewhat carefree demeanor under a different lens. He grunts. It's been awhile since he was in company with a woman much less associating with one. Come to think of it, he couldn't remember the last time he even... he stops himself mid thought.  Rather the heat did to be exact.

Readying to comply with the Feline's request, he then notices a small brown bag tossed up high in the air. His heart fluttered slightly wondering just what was she doing. Looped upwards, still managing to keep an eye on the feline. The bag seemed like he it filled with contents, cubed like. Was it ice? he smirked as the bag came closer to her. 'Good looking out', he said mentally. he needed this more than anything. There was something like sucking down on ice that added pleasure to the mind; plus like a great many others, he was addicted to chewing ice. An extremely bad habit. He removed both hands from his pockets, empty and bare for the feline to see, extends them forwards to catch the bag as it got closer. The comforting embrace was well met with confirmation of the contents, and it was much needed. However, he was met with a lukewarm splash of water as the bag met his grasps. The bag now sat on top of his purple hair, his face obscured showing nothing but disbelief. What little ice remained fell out of the sack onto the ground, now covered with sand.

Apparently cold ice and searing heat don't mix.



Like the big bad wolf, he huffs and puffs and blows away all his frustration in a passive aggressive tone. "I see you got jokes... Happy now!?", He waves his now wet empty hands towards her mockingly. It fit her carefree posture and mannerisms. Set up like a doll, and knocked down like a pin.

((TWC:1333))

As the man slouched his shoulders he sucked air in through his teeth, no doubt he was slightly perturbed from being kept out of the better climate conditions more so than Mikofujo had gambled. Alas there was little to do about the die after they had been cast. The next noise out of him was a rather manly grunt as if to acknowledge what she had said, well...at least it was something. Being a woman she was used to men and their odd ways of using fewer words to attempt to carry the correct meaning but it always rubbed her as a bit odd outside of combat situations. Still, she picked up on his demeanor rather quickly and had calculated, and determined that he truly did not mean harm to the village.

Surely she could let him in without dire repercussion then? The genin thought so as she tossed the bag to the man, not realizing that the climate controlled environment did not extend to her part of the wall and thus most of what she tossed would have become water. This was the opposite of what the female had expected and as such the guilt brought about by the careless action would be quite immense indeed. Worse yet, it ended up splashing and landing on his head, this was rather awful in the mind of Miko and she let out a high pitched wail of grief in response. 

"I...I...didn't....mean to...I had, just...it...was...frozen...." was all that came out softly in response as her eyes began to water. The tone was stripped of any playfulness or confidence from before, instead it sounded much more akin to a small girl who had accidentally broken something important that had rested upon their parents mantel. It was now determined that she would just go back behind the wall, open the gates and get out of there before the male could get into the village. Oh how he must truly hate her at this point for the callous mistake she had made, the cold disdain in his tones pierced through her soul like barbed arrows shot from a long bow, skewering her completely in their disgust for what she did. Getting up slowly she would go back behind the wall, climbing down using the water walking technique to scale the other side.

Within mere moments the grinding of gears would be splitting the air with their retching screeches as the large doors began to open and guards jostled into place to check and frisk the wandering ninja who had approached the village. This would buy Mikofujo the time required for her to attempt her retreat from the horrid misdeed she had caused upon another person. It was unbearable to think about her attempt at help causing harm instead, the opposite of what she desired and now instead of a new friend she had manifested a new enemy perhaps whom would remember her as naught but a shit bag. The thought itself greatly disheartened the woman who was now walking briskly back towards the village in order to avoid her shame.  

Noticing the incoming water works ready to erupt, he arced his right eyebrow while swiping the cloth bag from top of his head he keeps it in his right hand... "Know what? It's all good...really", the words slowly forced from his mouth, his teeth clenched together tightly with no space in between. He holds his emotion a bay for the sake of entry into the village on good terms. He didn't want, or need to ruin his chance on taking hold of the great many opportunities the village offered. "Just..., cut that out, whatever you bout to do. Please!." Moments later, the door would open with sounds reminding him of nails against the chalk board.

He wondered where the kitty cat would go, no matter, at least he was allowed into the village; and to his pleasure no background check was administered. The amount of checks his record possessed were concerning. especially his little 10 year sabbatical he did out in the west. A jailbird like himself didn't need extra curious hawk eyes on him while he conducted his business.

He slowly advanced towards the gates, the walls somewhat becoming larger and larger with each step he took due to his perception. Like he felt before, an uneasy feeling surged within. Nevertheless, he continued while looking behind him periodically. He takes in that grand vast space that was the desert. Although it was a desert, it was open and unrestricted. here in this village were rules, guards, and restricted areas only certain individuals had access to. Was it any different from the pen? It sure sounded the same to Katsuragi. The only difference, the chains weren't physical. Hew wondered how many people were aware of this? or bothered to even care.  

As he continued towards the village, to his surprise, a certain familiar post keeper was dead ahead a few meters. With the bag still in hand, he jogs with a mild pace towards her. "Hey Gurl!! you forgot something! YO!", his hollering loud enough for all to here. he would stop once he caught up with her to hand over the empty brown cloth bag.

((TWC:1689))

Unearthly screeching would permeate the air as Mizuki would suddenly turn toward the gate that was slowly opening without her approval - narrowing her eyes she would hold her hand up to halt the conversation she had been having to turn and stalk into the gate tower and pull Miko’s hand off the mechanism that opened the gate. She wouldn’t address her upset in words as her facial expression did that for her- so in the same instant she would turn again and stand in the path of the newcomer and inclined her head slightly as she appraised him with hard eyes.

“Seems as though the trainee wasn’t thorough enough with you… I’m going to need your full name, village or origin, and missing nin status. Those who visit Sunagakure aren’t held accountable for their past transgressions but we believe in transparency. Answer truthfully as it can come back to bite you in the ass if I find out otherwise. Miko! Get this man a village ID please.” She would stay in the middle of the mans path if he attempted to blow past her, only moving out of his way once her answers were given and the ID was in his hand. 

“Enjoy Sunagakure.” she would say giving a last cursory glance at the man before frowning and shaking her head at Miko- losing the heart to really reprimand her today.

It seemed that her emotional display had upset the man even further, fueling her flight from the fires of failure that flew forward facing her fully and were dragging her through the pits of despair. Oh if only she hadn't even tried to be kind in the first place, none of this would have happened, she should have known better than to interact with someone. The girl thought these things as she descended the wall before erroneously allowing the stranger inside out of social shame. Of course this feeling would grow even stronger at their second interaction, especially thanks to a superior showing up and making a note of her mistakes when she was so freshly enlisted into the role of protector for the village she held so close to her heart. 

Turning around to face the man she had let in, her arm would come up to rub away the remaining tears that she had smearing her eyeliner a bit and causing it to make her eyes look to evoke a bit more smokey of a style. "Th-Thanks" she said half heartedly before hearing a voice that would make her heart sink even deeper. Could this day get any worse for her socially speaking? Ah why did it have to be conversation, the girl would rather crawl into a hole and die. Bowing towards the female superior who had arrived multiple times she would rush out to the post to grab an ID for the man before rushing back, placing it forcefully into his hands while taking the bag and resuming her position only bowed to Mizuki this time in a show of reverence and to atone for her earlier failure. Silent, the girl did not wish to voice her excuse knowing that such a thing could only get her in more trouble. Now all that remained to be seen was if the man played by the rules of the village or not.

Coming down the home stretch, his entry into the village seemingly successful, a figure off in the distance would appear. Insignificant at first, it grew to become yet another thorn in, Katsuragi's side. What butterfly did the hustler step on to receive such luck? If it wasn't one thing it was another. Then again, with his experience, it was moments like these that either helped mold or hinder progress in the future. Life truly was how his cellmate stated... This world adapts to the choices you make, your life is tailored by how you play. His cellmate wasn't really big on religion or any belief that there was an almighty watchful eye, carefully watching all of us all the time.

Pressing he is cut off, a figure noticeably shorter than him began to take note of Katsuragi's figure. Failing at dodge her, he sucks his teeth once more. Like a squeaking easel, his eyes drop down towards her first followed by his entire head towards the shorty in front of him. Little on the thin side, which he surely wasn't gonna complain about after being locked up for 10 years, but she sure had a whole lot of heart to step to people like she so previously did with no warning. Just how many times must he do this? 'Come on now... Ya'll need get this shit together ASAP', of course, his mutters this mentally while listening to shorty's introduction. She seemed to be a higher rank, unknown still but with the bow from the feline it was quite the hint.

So what was Katsuragi gonna do? Tell the truth and skate on by? Or forge a new identity that he could use to benefit his goals of the future. Lord knows he could use a clean slate after the time he served out west. His time served wasn't that long ago, so a simple record search would definitely show his criminal activity. Then again, this village was out in the middle of no where... 'Fuck it...'

"It's Katsuragi Baito, I'm from Quarters..., fuck I mean Tanzaku Town. We call it that. And uh, i'm not wanted so you can kick back on that...Uh...", his focus trace back to there feline returning only to shove an ID card against Katsuragi's frame in a forceful manner. "Whoah... slow your roll. There's a better way you could do that Kitty kat." he takes the card while noticing the smeared ink around her eyes, he then makes sure everything was all in order. He holds the card up in front of him, chest level while pressing on in between the two shinobi. he was a man with authorization, his new access card confirmed it

"Ya'll see this right? Bet, I'm outta here. And cut out that crying Kitty kat! What is this, your first day on he job?" He said, gaining further distance away from the two and finally entering the village hidden in the sand.

((TWC: 2188.  Exit with 21 stats, upgrading transformation tech to D rank and Hangover Cure D rank.))