New Begining's

Kato stared up through the leaves of the tree branch he was laying on admiring the clouds in the sky. It was a nice partly cloudy day that would reveal the bright blue sky for a few moments before the cloud covered it again. It was a warm day and every time the clouds cleared he could feel the warmth on his face and he would close his eyes and just enjoy it. Since coming to Tanbo, his life had gotten much better than when he was in Konoha. He had friends, a job, and plenty of reason to wake up every morning. Hell, even his father seemed happier now that he was here, even though he was nothing more than a Rice Farmer. He was even making friends with old people who always seemed to comment on how skinny Kato was. 

Feet dangling and in full on chill mode, he wondered how much trouble he would get in if one of the village Jounin's caught him being so casual while on gate duty. He wasn't even in his expected guard post at the village gates, instead, he was in a tree line a few feet up the road. It was more peaceful here and it was not like anyone was going to be coming or going. The bandits had been a lot more timid with the influx of ninja coming into the village. Yes life was good, relaxing, and he was flush with Ryo these days since he had been on multiple missions the past few weeks. Which was why he was fine just chilling up in the trees for an afternoon. Sure, could he be out training and getting stronger? Well, yeah, but like that was future Kato's problem. 

As if on queue he heard a wagon coming down the street and Kato let out a surprised sigh. Was the universe listening to his thoughts? He was JUST talking about how there was no way anyone was going to be coming to the gates. Sitting up, he looked out in the distance, and sure enough there came a wagon complete with what appeared to be two people. Activating his Sharingan he noticed one of them had a decent amount of Chakra. Nothing too crazy, but that did not mean anything, they could be suppressing it for all he knew. 

Ah, what was he worried about, it was most likely just another ninja coming to offer their services to the village. Probably. Maybe. Most likely. No use worrying about it now as he had to go and greet them and make sure they were kosher to enter. Leaping from his tree branch he jumped and ran as quickly as he could back to his post. Leaping down, he was out of breath as the wagon came to a halt outside the gate. Using his right arm to prop himself up he tried to quickly get his breath again before speaking. His katana moving rapidly on his shoulders as he took deep breaths. 

"State your business, travelers!" Kato said in his best impression of an intimidating voice. The black haired youth was not exactly the definition of imposing, not like Hanzo, who looked like he could crush your skull between his biceps. By comparison, Kato was just a tall and lanky teenager who happened to have a ninja headband tied around his right arm, the only thing that signified he was capable of any authority whatsoever. "What brings you to the Rice Country?" He said this in a little bit nicer of a tone. He was not meaning to seem rude or mean, god, he was incapable or letting even a little bit of his aggression out on people. Everyone said he was too nice to be a shinobi but he preferred being nice to an asshole any day of the week. 

WC: 642

Kato immediately felt bad as he watched the old man hobble off the cart and the younger boy putting his hands up signaling compliance. His guilt only worsened when the old man hobbled up to him and handed him the papers. Kato read over them quickly and then slapped on a smile. "I wish you good fortune with your delivery," Kato handed the papers back over to the man and then returned his attention to the younger boy. Upon closer inspection he appeared pale and almost sickly. He wondered what Hanzo would think if he had seen him react the way he did. Hanzo would have been unphased by the whole situation, most likely, god he was cool. "Please, come right on in." Kato stood out of the way to make room for the merchant and the young boy. 

He began to speak and Kato snapped to attention and listened to him. He was good at that, always had been, being a listener. He was not the smartest, fastest, or strongest in the world but by golly he was able to get a read on people pretty well. Or, at least, remember what they had told him. Kidnapped? The ninja world could be so cruel. The image of his mother flashed in his head but he quickly shook his head and tried to ignore it. Not today, he would not let it get to him, not after all the progress he had made. 

"Tanbo took me in and I never looked back," Kato said with seriousness in his voice. If there was one thing about this village that he would cling to dearly for the rest of his days was the fact that they had taken him and his father in and welcomed him with open arms. The only people in the village who were even remotely rude to him were the nobles and that was just because they were too rich to know any better. "You can't find a better place to hang your hat in my opinion." Kato smiled and extended his hand out to the boy. "Names Kato and you can stay here as long as you like. Heck, you can stay with me if you want, have a spare room back at my place. My dad wont mind." 

That was exactly the kind of stuff that got Kato into trouble. He was, sometimes, too nice. Here he was offering to let some person he had never met stay at his home without any permission from his father or the village. "We are having Onigiri tonight if you do decide you need a place to stay." Kato kept the smile on his face as he spoke, "I am off patrol in a few hours if you want to meet at the center of the village. I can show you around if you'd like?" 


WC: 476
TWC: 1118

He felt a bit helpless as the boy began to cough and all of the sudden he felt good about what he had done. He did not care what anyone said, doing good deeds was the right thing to do, and this was proof of it. He could tell that this boy, Yemma he had called himself, had been through things harder than even Kato. Kato knew what it was like to feel like the world was against him and if it had not been for Tanbo and the people he could have easily become a foul and depressed person. Yet, he was not, and if anything he was a much better person now. All it took was a few good deeds. Kato could, hopefully, return the favor to Yemma. He watched as Yemma placed his right fist over his heart and tapped it twice and Kato smiled at him. 

"I am still on duty so," Kato looked around for a few moments before he reached into his pocket and pulled out a piece of paper. He wrote directions down on it to his house and handed them over to Yemma. "Here, this will get you to my house," He paused and thought about what his father would say and how he would react. Of course, the secret of their Uchiha heritage was a tight lipped and frankly well kept one. The best way for Yemma to get through to his father would be to acknowledge their heritage. "When you get there tell my father that Kato promised you shelter among the Uchiha of Tanbogakure. He will understand and know what to do." 

All of the talking had almost made him forget. "Oh, old man!" Kato ran to the side of the gate where there was a little guards station. He pulled out two ID Passes and gave them a stamp. This would signify that they had passage to enter into Tanbo. He ran over to the old man and gave it to him and then also handed one over to Yemma. "If anyone asks you for ID this is what will signify that you have been given permission to be in the village. Should you wish to stay for longer we can always get you an official ID so you can enter and exit the village freely. Make sure and hold on to that." 

With all that being said he figured it was time for the two of them to head on inside the village. "When I get off duty I will come and meet you and we can tour around the village. Maybe even meet some of my friends. You'll love them!" Kato gave a wave to the two and went back to his duty, excited he had a new friend to go home to. One good deed, that was what he kept telling himself, as he returned back to his tree and laid back down hopeful that no one else would be coming through while he was on shift. 

WC: 502
TWC: 1620

EXITING THREAD

+16 stats, +16 to Vigor

250/250 towards Fire Stream
500/500 towards Fire Lash 
870/1000 towards Blistering Web