Hey, So....

Having been let through the gates by Saya, Daiko walks into Kirigakure no Sato. Immediately his first thought was to find out WHERE exactly he was supposed to go. Not entirely sure where exactly he was supposed to be headed, he sighed to himself. This really was something he would have to get used to, or he'd end up walking into every village looking like a fool. Speaking of Daiko's looks, he was dressed in the same dirty clothing that he entered these islands in. His classic t-shirt over long-sleeve shirt looks was now beginning to get a bit... Crispy. Bathing himself in the ocean while fully clothed wasn't exactly forgiving on his outfit nor his hair. Using his hands, Daiko attempts to fashion his hair in a way that didn't look like he was wearing a wig of black seaweed. He then continues on his way.

Sighing away his thoughts about his ragged appearance, he decided it would be best to use his recently learned technique to change into something fresh. His idea of an outfit would be something that invigorated his image and blew away his previous attire. Forming the Boar and then Dog hand seals quickly, his skin began being covered in a pattern, that quickly led to him having a puff of smoke around him. From this smoke, he appeared wearing a fresh pair of clothes, detailed exactly the same as the last pair he had on, minus the grime. Nice. His long-sleeve shirt was black, and so were his pants. The t-shirt over was plain white. Nothing else had changed about his appearance;; he still had two weapon pouches on each of his hips that each had a paper tag sealing them that had the kanji for "Peace". This would let anyone at a glance see if he had opened either of his pouches, considering that the paper was sewn into the fabric and would tear if the clasp were to open. His skin was a bit fairer than would be expected from a Tau, but this was a privilege that he only had because he had never actually ended up tearing his skin apart with his clan jutsu. No scarring? Sweet outfit? What more would he be able to manage to impress the leader of this village.

Finally finding his way to what he believed to be the Mizukage office, he looked around briefly to see if there were any type of instructions on how he was supposed to come inside. If he didn't find any, he would simply walk up to the main entrance and give a few moderate knocks, before opening the door and peeking in for a moment before fully entering. Looking around what he believed would be a 'front desk' of sorts, he approaches the first person who he sees that could be assumed to be working here. "Hey, how's it going?" Daiko stays silent for a moment, wanting to phrase his next sentences with accuracy. "I'm Daiko Seidra. I'm here to talk to the Mizukage, or someone that assists them with new visitors..." Daiko goes silent, before hurriedly saying "Oh yes! Saya also wanted me to say hello."

[527]

Instant Armoire -30 AP
[680/710 AP]

Returning from his trip, the Mizukage had entered the estate through the front. He wasn't sure if his return had been known yet by officials and other members of the council so he'd like to be able to relax and go for a long walk of sorts. Maybe even get himself and his companion, Ram, something to eat. On his way to the Kage's estate, the Mizukage had stopped by a stand selling meat and veggie kabobs and decided to purchase eight of them. Two for himself and six for Ram. After this quick detour, he'd resume his walk towards the Kage's estate, eating his snack with his right hand and feeding his hungry companion with his left. Amusingly enough, Ram managed to wolf down all of his food before the Mizukage finished one of the two he bought for himself. As he finished one, Ram started to whimper a bit as if he was still hungry despite eating six whole kabobs himself. Giving a light sight, the Mizukage caved in and gave the second one to his buddy and watched him happily wolf that one down too. If he managed to finish that one before he was done with his own, the Mizukage wouldn't fall for the sympathy trick a second time.

Arriving at the Kage's estate, he had managed to finish eating his snack and stepped onto the premises in order to find somebody had entered before him. Walking into the lobby, wearing his red, steam armor with his white and blue robes over them alongside his hat with a veil draped over his face, the first person he had seen was an unknown individual who he was certain he'd never laid eyes  on before. The Mizukage was informed of a visitor waiting in his estate but he didn't know he'd run into him so quickly. Approaching the stranger, the Mizukage had noticed he was talking to a receptionist prior. Before the receptionist could respond to said visitor, they had spotted the Mizukage approaching and decided to inform him of what had transpired here. "Good afternoon, Lord Mizukage. This gentleman here named Daiko Seidra had been requesting to see you. They claimed to be a be a visitor of sorts," they had said as the Mizukage approached. He simply nodded as he approached.

"I'll take it from here then. Hello Daiko and welcome to the village hidden in the mist, what can this humble Mizukage do for you," he had said, looking at the boy with a piercing gaze, already trying to discern if he was a threat or not. After hearing what he had to say, maybe he'd get a better gauge of his intentions. Placing both of his arms behind his back, as if he were attempting to fold them.

W.C: 464

Daiko had heard someone entering the estate. As he saw the head of the receptionist turn to address the entrant, he turns as well. 'Woah.' Daiko hadn't but a moment to look at him, though noticed that he was dressed quite differently than most of those that he had seen in this village. The man was only a few inches taller than himself, though when standing this close it almost seemed like he towered over Daiko. The armor he had on reminded him of the hard shells of oysters he had seen tumbling around the shores of these islands. The fact alone that the man could walk with what looked like a tank on his body left Daiko impressed. Aside from that, it seemed that the garb he had on over the armor and the Kage hat that he had on was more ceremonial than actually effective, but was quite eloquent in its design. 'This is the leader of the village...?' Quieting his own thoughts, he stood at attention for what the village leader was going to say to him. 

Daiko nods his head upon getting a welcome to The Village Hidden in Mist. In response to the question asked to him, Daiko said in a soft tone, though still with confidence in his words "Thank you! This place is really nice. There's a lot of sand though..." Trailing off, Daiko internally kicks himself for not saying exactly what he had planned to say on arrival. The situation could still be salvaged, however. "I come here because, in my past, I had no other place to go. I'm looking to be able to do some missions around this village, and put in the work required to earn some ryo and try out the food around here." As if on queue, his stomach made a low gurgling sound that hopefully wasn't audible. Standing as professionally as he could imagine from his limited experience of actually trying to seem like a normal person, he waits on what response the Mizukage might have, and how he may be able to convince the man to allow him to take some time helping the village's mission board.

[362]
{889}

Continuing to stare at the boy in front of him, the Mizukage listened to his response. At first, he said some nonsensical thing about the country having too much sand as if they weren't on an island country. Looking past that, the boy had stated his intentions on the matter. He was apparently a wandering vagrant that was looking for work in order to feed his stomach. It wasn't a noble cause but it was what was needed in order to survive. Well, he couldn't fault him for that since they all had to do things to survive as the Mizukage had been preparing to do so for matters unrelated to this one in particular. "Ah, I see. Well, if you're visiting and looking for work, I'm sure I can find something for you to do and if not, you can get an honorary title as 'Genin' that will allow you to help out with the lesser tasks around the village. Speak to my attendant there about getting you signed up and when you're all done, come up to my office so I can learn more about you and your 'past'. I'm afraid I'm in a bit of a hurry and so I'll head up to my office now." 

With that, the Mizukage had begun to walk up towards a staircase with his companion, Ram, sitting on his back staring blankly into space without a care in the world. As the Mizukage left their view, the receptionist cleared their throat in order to draw the attention of the wanderer. They had still been present through the little exchanged, already preparing the required documents for the wander to fill out. After they had gotten them to look in their general direction, they handed Daiko a few sheets of paper in order for them to fill it out as a temporary shinobi of the village allowing them to take certain tasks for the village. "I need you to fill these papers out and when you're done, the Mizukage himself will give you a screening to see whether you are eligible or not to work for the greater good of Kirigakure," the attendant had said.

W.C: 362

Daiko nodded his head at the Mizukage's instructions and watched him walk off. He noticed that the man had on a weird backpack. It had a coarse texture. Maybe it was holding something important. His train of thought interrupted by the sound of the desk attendant clearing their airways. Daiko was almost startled by the ferocity of the sound. Taking the papers, Daiko thanks the receptionist and goes to sit down, snagging a writing utensil on his way back. Spinning the pen in his fingers, he looks down at the questions. Name... Age... Appearance... They were pretty standard questions, really only pertaining to identifiable features about Daiko. He filled out his first and last name and wrote 21. For his looks, he simply wrote: "scruffy-looking, with black hair". It seemed pretty reasonable, and after the general questions, there was a lot of writing about how he was liable for being exposed to "The full extent of the law" if he were to break any of the cemented rules of Kirigakure. Not being too eager to find out what that might mean, he signed his name on the line that said he agreed. Simply signing his initials on the line, he walks back up to the attendant. "I've filled it out. Thank you for your help."

Shifting his weight between his feet, he begins to slowly trail where he had seen the Mizukage walk off to. Arriving at his office, he waits somewhat close to the door to see if there were any queues as to what he was supposed to do. If the doors were open, he would walk in slowly and stand in front of the desk of the Mizukage, awaiting questions. If there was a place for him to sit, he would gladly get off of his feet for the time being. If Daiko approached the office and the door was shut, he would simply knock three times and wait to be given entrance inside before awaiting the screening that he had been informed would take place.

[339]
{1228}

The receptionist simply waited for Daiko to finish filling out the forms they had given him before it was returned shortly afterwards. Taking the forms, they had looked over it to make sure everything was in order and filled in properly. Afterwards, they had given an approving nod before allowing Daiko to head into the stairwell where they would find the Mizukage relaxing in his office.  Leaving the doors open, since he was expecting a visitor, the Mizukage could be found feeding his animal companion some peeled oranges. He was unsure if the armadillo would eat the peels until he realized it was reaching for the peels anyway. Giving a slight chuckle, the Mizukage had turned his head to address the newcomer. Standing by his desk, the Mizukage had gone around behind it in order to take his seat, pressing both of his hands together as he took a good look at the wanderer. He'd then point to a seat that was in front of the desk where guests he was meeting with could potentially sit, if they so choose too. Whether he took a seat or not, the Mizukage had begun to speak with him.

"So, as you mentioned before, you are a traveler looking for work, correct," the Mizukage inquired. He'd then continued on to say, "Well, it seems you've followed the instructions of my receptionist and I'll have your information processed shortly. I have a few jobs somebody like you can do but first, I must ask, do you have any formal training that might aid you in a dangerous situation. I don't have anything standard like fetch quests and finding items. All I have that's considered basic is apprehending two-bit criminals and what not," the Mizukage had informed Daiko. If he was willing to put himself in harm's way.

W.C: 303

Taking a seat, Daiko takes a moment to scan the room that he was now in. He noticed that the Mizukage was feeding a little creature some oranges. Damn, that orange looked good. He half thought to himself about asking for one, though he figured that would probably be rude upon first meeting someone. While seeing the little guy munch away happily, Daiko squints his eyes slightly at it. "Yes, essentially. I don't know how much of a traveler I really am, I just ended up here." Daiko's attention snaps back to Mizukage as soon as he started speaking, and he continued to listen.

Nodding his head along with the words of the village leader in front of him, Daiko made it clear that he understood what was being asked of him non-verbally, though his tone shifted slightly for just a moment. "To be honest with you, I don't really care what the job entails..." Slouching back in his chair slightly, Daiko shrugged, putting off an air of having no self-preservation. Though this wasn't the case, Daiko had a strong assumption that 'two-bit criminals' were similar if not identical to the types of people that had harassed him in his upbringing. The hardest part for him would be bringing them back in one piece. Returning to his attitude of respect and grace just as fast as it had left him, he sits up in his chair. "I would be more than happy to assist with this kind of job, Lord Mizukage." Daiko nods his head solemnly. "I do, however, request that I have a small amount of time to prepare, as well as accurate listings for who or what I would be apprehending, as well as what I am to do if they were in my custody." Internally, Daiko was holding back on a particular question that had been on his mind since he'd walked in.

Grabbing the sides of the chair slightly, Daiko finally decides to give in and ask the question. Relaxing his body for a moment, he decides it's better to ask now than to bring it up later. "Hey... I see that little creature over there... What's its name?"

[355]
{1583}

Listening to the words of the traveler, the Mizukage had pondered on what he was going to say for a few seconds. After listening to his reply the gist of it was this. He wasn't sure how he got to Kirigakure but he knew he'd just ended up in this particular part of the world, despite the supernatural disaster that was the storm barrier, raging around the entire nation. He was lucky to have braved or survived all of that indeed, or so the Mizukage thought. The next thing that he found interesting was, he didn't care what kind of jobs he did so long as he got to work. This made the Mizukage smirk under his veil as this means he could just send this person on suicide missions, not expecting him to return and it would be of no consequence to him since he wasn't actually one of his citizens. He figured he'd send him on dangerous recon missions with others and if they had left him behind or lost him, he'd be of no consequence to the village. He did ask for a favor though and that was to give him time to prepare in between missions.

The Mizukage wasn't unreasonable so he allowed it of course so he figured he would tell him that in his response as well. "Alright then, seeing as you don't mind what kind of jobs I send you on, I hope you don't mind when I send you on some dangerous affairs every now and again. Now then, if you need time in between missions, I can give you that. I can also give you temporary shelter and food if you so desire or you can make your own way. As for the details of jobs, all of it is normally on the job itself, one who to apprehend and what to do with them if they fall in your custody. Sometimes, dispatching them is acceptable too," the Mizukage had said, a bit coldly at the end. With that, he had hoped to have answered all he could from said traveler. As he thought this, the traveler had one more question.

He inquired about the name of his animal companion. Turning his head, he's look at Ram, sitting on the floor stuffing his face with fruits and chewing rather loudly. The Mizukage looked at Ram, a bit nervously because of his behavior before turning back towards the traveler. "Ah him, that's Ram. My animal companion." The Mizukage had turned back to Ram once again to see Ram pause from eating, raise one of it's arms towards Daiko before going back to eating. The Mizukage had made a cough in order to draw attention back to him. "Anyway, there you have it, any other questions or requests you might find yourself asking or needing?"

Daiko ponders for a second on the offer of food and shelter. It would definitely be nice to be able to have a place where he could bathe and actually eat his meals. Though he considered that there might be public ways of dealing with these things, he absolutely wouldn't mind having somewhere to wash his pits that weren't the briny shores. Daiko nods his head once, and replies "Danger? That's no issue. If I have the assets that I need to actually DEAL with the task at hand." Daiko continues, "I have a list of things that I need to accomplish before I'm confident that I can serve you any more than taking down some thugs, or even groups of them for that matter" Daiko scratches his chin, thinking about his objectives as a ninja first, and his need to impress second. "I want to prove to you that I can handle some of the litter that scatters around this village before I become your garbage service." Impressed with his own use of metaphor, a look of ambition crossed his face for only a moment as he nodded, before returning back to his usual neutral gaze. He was sure that his old master was smiling down at him while he exhibited common sense. 

Daiko had come to a decision on the Mizukage's question of housing and such. "I would definitely appreciate a place to stay, food I'm sure I could manage on my own." Daiko nodded "However, I'm entirely comfortable finding places to rest on my own, assuming there are no laws against ninja sleeping in the mud." Daiko then chuckles softly, hopefully breaking the tension that seemed to be filling the room as he noticed the Mizukage's tone shift to be a bit more sinister when talking of dispatching targeted individuals. "Honestly, the biggest questions I have would mainly be..." Daiko thinks for a second, scratching his chin. "First would be, if available, where you would want me to stay?" Daiko would listen to his answer to this question, and each of the ones that followed. "What mission, in particular, would you have in mind?" "What would you want me to do after I complete it? Is there an office to which I bring things, or would you want me to report directly to you?" "Would you rather me send you a scroll with details regarding my mission completion, or would you rather hear it from me in person?" 

Prior to the line of questioning, Daiko would look at the small creature that he had seen munching in the corner. "Hey, Ram... You're a big guy huh? A hungry guy?" Daiko sees the creature reach its little hand outward, before returning to its snacking. Going against his better judgment, he forms the Rat and Dog seals in a very slow, non-threatening way, and afterward, particles slowly crept together in his hand to bring forth a coconut that was about the size of his head. Daiko very slowly would reach his hand in the direction of the little critter, offering it the snack as an addition to the fruit he was already eating. This was not only to try and show the creature that he thought it was kind of cool but also out of morbid curiosity about seeing what would've happened to him had he tried to get up to pet the creature. After everything was said and done, he would return his focus back on the Mizukage.

[581]
{2164}


Storage Displacement
[670/710 AP]

Well, it seems the traveler was content with his terms as the Mizukage would have it. Although he had a list of concerns and requests, all of it seemed trivial in the face of the Mizukage. He found it odd, he wanted to prove himself to a foreign nation's leader but it didn't seem like he had any intention of joining the village itself. Well, whatever reasons he had, they were his own. He said he was fine with dangerous situations but needed time to potentially prepare for them. A simple request top grant. The traveler had also remarked that he would appreciate a place to stay but it wasn't necessary. This was a cause for concern for the Mizukage as he didn't like the idea of having a wandering vagabond wander his village without supervision. However, that wasn't the case since he had eyes and ears everywhere, literally. His intelligence agency would keep him informed on the whereabouts of this person regardless. Now it would be time for him to answer more questions from the traveler. His first one would be where the Mizukage would like him to stay. 

"I didn't have a place in mind to set you up in, normally I would call a subordinate to do that for me unless you have a specific place in mind that you want to stay in or nearby," said the Mizukage who would then follow up with. "As for the type of tasks you'll be doing, all of that will be up to the discretion of the various shinobi you'll be assigned too. They can sort out the details. No need to report to me directly, the mission details will eventually come my way anyway." After answering his question, the Mizukage watched as the traveler began to form hand signs. This immediately put the Mizukage on edge as he raised both of his own hands towards the traveler, revealing his petrification gauntlets. "What are you doing, traveler," the Mizukage had asked a bit menacingly. This also caused Ram to stop eating briefly to stare at the stranger weaving hand signs.

As they both were on guard, a coconut had appeared in the stranger's hand as he presented it towards Ram. This would result in Ram standing up and taking the coconut from the stranger and placing it near his small pile of fruit. The Mizukage however brought his right hand towards his face to mackle an audible cough as the man returned his gaze towards him. "You aren't very bright, are you? In the future, I would suggest you give a warning or carry your gifts in by hand the next time you meet with an authority figure. if I didn't know any better, I'd say you were trying to assassinate me or my companion. I'd recommend you don't do that again or the next time, I will take it as an attack afterwards. You've been warned. Anyway, you are dismissed. Leave my office," the Mizukage said, a bit annoyed.

[Exit.]

W.C: 501
T.W.C: 2,102

Ability Claims
Using 2,100 words to learn Kanzeon Lotus King