Entry into Sunagakure

It had been a long journey for Akihiko through the perilous desert of the wind country, but he had finally arrived to see The Cleft of Sunagakure. He looked up at the great divide in the earth that the Sand Shinobi had used as a natural gate of entry or exit. With the sun finally starting to rise, Akihiko threw off the blanket he had been wearing to protect himself from the elements. He no longer needed the protection it had brought him. The clothes he had worn which was a black muscle shirt, arm warmers and baggy pants that were tied down that were underneath could now be seen by all. His white hair with blue highlights started to reflect the bit of sun. He relaxed any tension out of his body to show that he was not up to anything suspicious and walked with a straight posture as he was taught by his father, Hikomaru. It was apparent that Akihiko had no weapons on his person.

Akihiko stopped a respectful distance from the entry point of the Cleft, knowing he could not just walk right on through a major village as it was not proper. He would wait for a person of interest to permit him passage. From there he would greet said person with a friendly introduction. “Hello, I am Akihiko the Wanderer. I was not born into a village and still remain that way. I have heard tales of Sunagakure’s hospitality from my father. My intent is to help around the village while spending my money here at your markets.” Here he had hoped to find a person who saw mutual benefit in his entry of Sunagakure. Akihiko was eager to be able to purchase new equipment so that he could better his training in the future.

(WC: 300)

Guren, endowed in his desert cloak and the Kazekage hat upon his head, opened the teeming gates to Sunagakure. It had been the first time since Mizuki had closed the gates that they were opened, and the rusty screech they emitted made it apparent. As they crept only, the rays of the sun would pour out from the interior of Sunagakure and dispel the shadow they previous casted on the entrance to the village. The light was bright, only allowing a silhouette of Guren's stature standing in the center of the threshold to Sunagakure's gateway. On both of sides of him bore a guard tower, teeming and well fortified. Within the Eastern tower, Han the loyal gate guard stood within. The Western tower was vacant, a testament to the multiple losses of personnel and power that Sunagakure had suffered. Yet nevertheless, Guren remained in the village, committed to protecting it, its civilians, and its shinobi. 

With each step he took away from the village, he approached the newcomer with poise and peace of mind. No matter the turmoil and perils he and his village faced, he was solid. And that's how he'd present and carry himself. As he neared the visitor, his appearance became more apparent. This person would be able to make out the features of Guren, and clearly see who he was based upon his apparel.

Now within audible range of each other, this person would introduce themselves as Akihiko. A rouge wanderer, with no definitive place to call his own. Guren could somewhat relate. But it seemed as if his father had some history with Sunagakure, as he spoke of its hospitality. When Akihiko concluded his introduction, Guren would raise his left hand to the brim of the hat and raise its lid slightly so his face was visible.

"Akihiko, welcome. I am certain your travels were long and tiresome. I am Guren, the third Kazekage and I'm pleased to hear of your desire to visit my home here in Sunagakure. Of course though, we do have formalities. Do you have any identification that you can present to me?"

As he'd wait for Akihiko to present his identification card, Guren would study the posture and behavior of the man. And would offer some interest in his backstory. "In the meanwhile tell me, who is your father and what was his history with Sunagakure?"


WC = 393

Akihiko was well endowed in the ways of courtesy, as his father had made sure of it. He was not expecting to see the Kazekage himself visit him at the gates of Sunagakure. Akihiko wondered if he was really all that important to be graced with the Kazekage's presence, or if the village was suffering in ways that did not meet the eyes. None-the-less, he bowed in the presence of the Kazekage, a figure of power and by the way he talked -- a strength of mind. Only then, would he continue with the formalities of introduction, not daring to use the Kazekage's name over status. "It is an honor to meet you Lord Kazekage. I am afraid --", Akihiko stopped abruptly patting himself. It was clear to anyone that his pockets were completely empty. To his own surprise, Akihiko did not even have any ration bars left to eat on his person. All Akihiko had owned were the clothes on his back. "I have no form of identification on me. I would be happy to fill out any of the necessary paperwork for entry." Akihiko would give an embarrassed smile hoping to be shown some sympathy and not be mistaken for suspicion.

If not interrupted, Akihiko would speak proudly of his father. "My father, Hikomaru is a mercenary, but don't mistake it. He only took on jobs that followed an honorable cause. He beat thugs, helped rebuild towns, and those under oppression. He told me he had worked with Shinobi from Sunagakure before. He never let me get involved in his work. Well, for the most part, as I could not leave his side much. We wandered many regions, but our latest venture has been from the Land of Fire to here, the Land of Wind. We had split ways some days back in the desert, as he had some urgent business to attend to. He -- uh, did not really inform me on what. He decided it was time I experience the world on my own." Akihiko would leave out the part of his father being an ex-Leaf ninja. He thought it would only complicate matters if it was brought up. His father was a good person, and only left the Leaf because of his birth in relation to his mother. In ways, Akihiko felt guilty about the matter surrounding his birth. Not that, he himself, knew the whole story behind it yet. He never wanted to pester his father because of the pain it had brought him, however one day he would work up the nerve to bring it up again.

(WC: 430 | Total WC: 730)

He watched as the newcomer searched himself from any form of identification card but to no avail. Truthfully it was just a formality and to confirm that the person's identity matched their documentation. And although Guren detected no malice in the boy's heart nor words, they would still need to get this issue resolved. 

"No matter. I will allow you entry into our village, but once you have made yourself comfortable please head to the police station to get some identification cards prepared for yourself. Not every village has such an open door policy so it will serve you well in the future to have an ID."

Guren would fold his arms across his body, and maintain eye contact with the foreigner as he spoke on his father's life. "Well it was probably for the best he didn't allow you to get involved in the work he had with Sunagakure. Still though, after all those years and travels you've found your way back to Sunagakure. I am not sure when your father worked with our village, but our policies have changed significantly throughout time. Currently we are accustomed to quite...unorthodox practices, shady arts...if you will. Which makes me wonder, what is your interest in Sunagakure? Once you give me your answer, you are free to enter."


WC = 216. TWC = 609

He was grateful to the Kazekage for allowing him to get a pass on the lack of identification. To be fair, Akihiko never needed one before this. He was quite used to traveling around the world outside of major villages. His father never had mentioned the need for identification either which was odd. He must have expected Akihiko to be able to get in through personality alone. Akihiko smirked at the thought of this, giving his self-esteem a slight boost.
 
“I am sure I will find to love Sunagakure’s hospitality.”, said Akihiko. He did not know where the police station would be located. Sunagakure was after all a humongous place, from what he could see from the small gap of the gate. Of course, the gap of the gate was only small in comparison to the rest of the outer wall he could lay eyes on.  “I will make sure to visit the police station”, he stated firmly. After saying such, Akihiko felt disappointed as he really wanted to spend the majority of his time checking out the training grounds.
 
When Guren mentioned Sunagakure’s “unorthodoxed practices” and “shady arts”, Akihiko became curious as to what he had meant. Were they shady for civilians not used to war, or shady for ninjas such as themselves? If it were the later, Akihiko worried about the extent of brutality that Sunagakure had been using on their foes. It was one thing to kill an enemy and another to tear them limb from limb. Either way, it seemed that their plans of unorthodox practices did not involve himself and in that, he tried to find comfort.

“I am interested in becoming stronger. I wish to see what shape your training grounds are in and make use of them. However, as I have mentioned, I need your market as I currently need to purchase a weapon to train with. And with that, I have no funds. I plan on fixing that problem by helping your citizens here for whatever coin they can spare.”
 
Akihiko hoped with that, the Kazekage would explain if his unorthodox practices was a form of training beneficial to him, and if not – kept silent about it. He would wait to see if he was granted permission to enter.

(WC: 377 | Total WC: 1,107)

"Sounds good. I look forward to seeing how you acclimate yourself into Sunagakure's culture. Come and see me in the Spire once you've made yourself at home. And oh, as for the training grounds...stick to fields 1 through 5. Anything beyond that is for Sunagakure shinobi only."

With that said, Guren would wave his non dominant hand upwards, signifying the gate shinobi to allow Akihiko to make entry into the village. Once he admitted himself in, Guren would make some comments to Han, then return to the village. He had work to do. 

WC = 93. TWC = 712

- Exit - 
Claims to come later

He felt relief as he was given permission to enter Sunagakure. He had come a long way, depleting his resources in the pursuit of finding the village. It was a big village, but the desert was even bigger making it a challenge for him to find himself here. He locked his fingers together and pushed out his arms over his head. Leaning back, he stretched out his body causing a satisfying audible crack to be heard. It felt good for him after all that exercise he had put out.

Stick to fields one through five? Akihiko wondered if the other fields that were reserved for Sunagakure were special or simply just reserved space. He debated whether or not to investigate that area in his spare time. It did not matter too much for him at the moment however, he wanted to earn the ryo he needed first to commence his training properly. It was clear that he would have to find people willing to give him work to do.

Guren would mention that Akihiko should meet him at the Spire. Akihiko definitely took a mental note of that. It would be great to see what the Kazekage’s office would look like. He wondered if the Kazekage had a special training ground of his own deep in the Spire hidden. Dwelling on this, Akihiko became convinced that Guren did actually have a training ground hidden somewhere. He was determined to find it once he was done going down the list of tasks he had.

Akihiko would respond to the Kazekage, “Thank you, Lord Kazekage. I shall take your suggestions to heart.”

When Guren raised his hand upwards, signifying the gate shinobi to let Akihiko in, Akihiko would bow to the Kazekage and start heading towards the gate. He looked at the shinobi who were guarding the gate for Sunagakure. The man known as Han seemed to be the main person leading the defense operation there. He wondered what kind of training Han had gone through to become a Sunagakure shinobi and what kind of punishment put him at gate duty. He was sure no one would willingly man the gate out of enjoyment. Akihiko hoped he never reached the day where he had a leader that made him guard a gate in the name of self-sacrifice. If he were to be protecting someone, he would want it to be from an active threat, not a threat to be.

He would look onward, heading into Suna.
(WC: 411 | Total WC: 1,518)

[Exit]
Claiming: Bull Rush D (500) + C (1,000). 15 stats = 8 strength, 7 speed.

Approved of exits for both and claims for Akihiko