Heading Home [Exit]

Shin had passed on the information he needed while looking for any on where the kages of Tanbogakure had disappeared too but he hadn't had any luck. It was time for him to make the journey back home, to recuperate and plan his next destination. 

He approached the Village gates and awaited his turn just as he had done not to long ago to come into the village itself. 

[Exiting Hoshigakure to head back to Tanbogakure]

Baliquis had been worrying internally about what to do. She needed to try to adjust to Shinobi life, and that came with its sacrifices and its tolls. Namely, she needed to be more active and interact with the people of the village. Learn it’s civilians. Learn it’s nobles. Learn it’s middle class. Learn it’s shinobi. To learn the ins and outs of what it took to be a productive member of the Hoshigakure shinobi society and maybe… begrudgingly… mend into their ranks.

It’s what her sister would have wanted, and Baliquis needed to be softer and more amendable to the fact she didn’t want to accept: that her sister had decided wholly to leave the temple and devote herself to the Shinobi ways. If that was a mindset, she had in her death? Is it something she was working towards officially admitting in the church, to their family, to the world entirely? No matter how against it that Baliquis was or how much she thought it was dumb or how much she thought the shinobi in this village deserved a mass genocide more than enlightenment-

She was going to accept it. She was going to hold it. She was going to honor it. Baliquis needed to submit and accept that her sister- even by having children- had chosen the life that led to her death. Her sister had chosen the shinobi.

To Baliquis, that equated to more than what the implication had been. Her sister wasn’t here to disprove her theories or give them credence, so Baliquis had to just randomly accept them as the truth and hope she was somewhere better off with this new knowledge, but one thing was sure. Her sister choosing the shinobi and the village meant they were both vital to her- or else she would have returned to the church and their mother’s off-shoot religion of the faithful Sage of the Six Paths religion. So Baliquis was going to honor and respect her memory by making those important to her sister and people who were important to her and carry on that loyalty. She would need to make new friendships with people and hope that they saw and assumed she was her dead sister first to make things easier, make those bonds, then do her best to ensure those people lived because she felt that would be the most needed. The most respectful and honorable way to pay homage to her sister was this plan she had concocted in her mind to hit with the phantom and imaginary version and image she had of her sister- the one she couldn’t confirm if it was real since they hadn’t met for so long. Not in the flesh as she wanted but in spirit, and she hoped her sister would be forgiving and willing to oversee Baliquis’s short-coming and vicious tacts while focusing on the well-meaning intent of the future she was trying to make a foundation for.

She decided to go to the village gates to see if meeting with the people there and learning who was coming in and leaving would help her. She could form new alliances here or try to at least get comfortable around people. What did they call it? ‘Exposure Therapy? Where one subject themselves to something they feared or were not comfortable with so they could become comfortable with it? She needed to force herself to get used to these people that she was going to be around much more often and much more if she wanted to work her way higher up in the shinobi forces, in their ranks, and in their society but-

Every step she took towards the gates of the village sickened her. Every movement brought with it the anxiety of coming to her destination, where there would be so many more people than she was used to. The squeamish, internal thoughts told her to turn away. Swivel backward on her heeled sandals and stride back to where she came from. However, it was nothing against the nauseous feelings that came up higher and higher and made themselves more noticeable with every few paces. Fuck, even her body was against her plans and what she wanted to do. Honestly, she couldn’t blame it; it was a defense mechanism for her to give in to the anxiety and nauseous feelings just to retreat. It was internal and mental cowardice. That’s not what this world needed; it needed confidence. So the words, thoughts, and feelings that were trying to convince her to turn back were met with steeled resolve to carry on, and as she came to the gates, she took a few breaths and approached the guard building where carriages were offered- “How much?” Baliquis asked an attendant, who stiffened when she walked up to them,

“Yes- I’m sorry, what?” They asked, and she narrowed her eyes. Why did people consistently react to her when she left the temple grounds? This person seemed to shrink a bit,

“Your carriages.” Baliquis clarified, “How much is it for a carriage to leave the village?” The attendant seemed to soften at the question they could answer,

“10,000 Ryo, Ma’am.” The attendant said, and Baliquis nodded, looking over to see a line of people just- seemingly standing around or standing by. “Do… you want one?”

“Why are these people standing here?” She asked instead, and the attendant answered,

“They are waiting for a village shinobi to approve their exit from the village.” The attendant said, and Baliquis looked back to them, “Are you…doing to approve them, ma’am?”

“Why would you think that?” Baliquis asked, and the attendant hesitated before getting up from their seat and moving away from the counter where they had been sitting to go to a cabinet nearby, then come back with a thick binder. They set it on the counter and opened it. There were pictures of people. Some were crossed out in red, and their names scratched out in red marker, but there were 4 headshots to a page, front and back on each page. Baliquis watched the pictures flipped as the attendant looked through the pages before opening a page and letting it rest. There was a picture of Izayumi, his twin, in the book. Her name was listed, but the attendant asked, “You’re a member of the village shinobi- here, your hair stands out, ma’am.” The attendant said, “You can give permission to those waiting as you like.”

Ah. A time when being mistaken for her dead sister was a good thing. It seems the gates haven’t been updated about the death, and Baliquis planned to take advantage of that by approving the exits for all of the civilians- but among them was another shinobi. Shin Uchiha. An Uchiha… that was a known witcraft family, was it not? No, not ‘witchcraft family.’ They were ‘clans’ or, instead, that was their shinobi name. Clans and bloodlines were ‘witchcraft and lineage’ to her. They seemed to be going to Tanbogakure? Or so it had been listed in the attendant’s book and pending approval. Baliquis regarded the name and the position she had a moment before she produced the money and advised, “This one- Shin Uchiha- I’ll pay for a carriage to take him back, but let me speak with them first.” Baliquis said, and the attendant nodded, “Point them out.” She said discreetly, and the attendant nodded toward him,

“The big one over there with the long black hair.” The attendant said they took the money and marked Shin Uchiha down to take a carriage to Tanbogakure. Baliquis thanked them before turning away from the counter and going to the exiting shinobi. Could she lie? She was going to lie. She was going to try and make sure that at least she could know one person per village, and here was a chance to know someone from ‘Tanbo.’ Internally she groaned, but she kept her face stoic and took a breath before stopping in front of him,

“I noticed you are a shinobi going back to Tanbogakure.” Baliquis said when she stopped before him, “My name is Baliquis Hozuki, and I have an offer for you.” She smiled her practiced smile and held out her hand towards the shinobi as she stood before him in all her towering, 6 feet and 2 inches height on her geta, “If you let me memorize your chakra signature as part of the new exit process for foreign shinobi, I’ll ensure you leave for Tanbogakure in a carriage; as an apology for the last-minute implication and inconvenience.”

[ WC: 1428 ]
[ Allowing Exit for Shin Uchiha ] [ Carriage to Tanbogakure purchased for Shin Uchiha]
[ Ryo deductions: 16,500- 10,000 (carriage ride) = 6,500 ]
[ Upon IC approval, Chakra Memorization for Shin Uchiha payable at my exit post.]

Shin had been waiting patiently in line to leave Hoshigakure just as he had when entering the major village though the wait time was always an inconvenience it usually went smoothly without issue and that was all that mattered to the young shinobi. It seemed like fate today had something different planned for the young man as a tall woman almost as tall as he was just shy a few inches approached him with a stoic expression and a proposition.
 
If he allowed her to memorize his Chakra Signature apparently apart of the departing process of Hoshigakure she would also pay for his carriage back to Tanbo which would save him the trouble of having to walk all the way back home. Shin didn’t have any real issue with it and at the time couldn’t think of any reason to deny the deal.
 
“Oh, well they sure do it differently here in the Major Villages huh. If its apart of the process, then yeah I’m fine with it and I’ll gladly take the carriage ride back home.” Shin responded with politeness. “I’m unsure if I have to do anything for you to be able to memorize it but I’ll do what I can.” He said with sincerity. Overall at the end of the day he got a free ride back to Tanbogakure and that was to good to pass up.
 
WC: 230
[Permission Granted for Chakra Memorization for carriage ride to Tanbogakure, Claiming Exit from Hoshigakure and starting Travel timer of 12 OOC hours thanks to the Carriage ride.]

The shinobi did not seem to waste any time with accepting her offer.“Oh, well they sure do it differently here in the Major Villages huh. If its apart of the process, then yeah I’m fine with it and I’ll gladly take the carriage ride back home.” Baliquis smiled and began to do so, hoping that somewhere in the future they could meet again. Perhaps when she was better trained she could put this chakra signature she learned today to much better use.

“I’m unsure if I have to do anything for you to be able to memorize it but I’ll do what I can.” The male that was slightly taller than her- which was a massive shock within itself- advised. Some she was done memorizing the chakra she nodded and he was directed off to the carriage.

She watched a few moments as it left the village gates and began it’s journey back to Tanbogakure. She smiled slightly as she watched it gradually shrink on the horizon . That’s one person she’d know if she left the village- well, known int he sense that she had taken the time to work an opportunity to her advantage. He needed nice enough and she quietly mused ot herself on his height and it made her a bit… sad.

No, reminiscent is what it made her. It reminder her of her own overbearing mother who was more or less the same height without shoes and she smiled to herself. She stayed at the gates until th carriage vanished from the horizon and until the night came after the sunset. Thens he decided it was time to start heading back to the temple. But first? She stood ther and debated what to do with her sister’s picture.

How many more times would luck allow this type of mistake to happen? How long could she go on and just allow herself to play off old, outdated credentials? Then she kind of just decided- she would deal with it another time and today was not the time to deal with it, however, she was doing to do as she needed to make sure she didn’t have this issue again.

Baliquis turned on her geta heels and walked off, back towards the temple and away from the grates.She needed to do more. She needed to be more. More than what she was now if she wanted to reach the limits she was hoping for.

Greed. That’s what was beginning to consume her and it was haunting how it licked it’s lips in her mind’s eye at her recognition. At her registering of it’s birth and acknowledging it was there. It was starving and she was skittish to look more into these shinobi ways because it begged a question to which she knew there was no answer yet: “When was it enough?” When would she stop this pursuit?

Would it be after she moved up their ranks? After she grew more powerful? Would it be when they started to warily regard her as she was in the temple hallways by those who could ‘see’ her? Would this need have to be sated with blood and bloodshed? Would she finally feel fulfilled once she stood atop a pile of shinobi corpses as they laid under her shoes, cold, grey and dead?

All she knew was that it writhed and she was more than willing to explore and see how far she could take her wants and desires. She wanted to exist in the world as she felt: Ever present yet never truly vanquished.

[ EXIT ]
[ WC: 595 ][ TWC: 2,223]
[ 2000 towards Chakra Memorization: Shin Uchiha, banking 23 WC ]
[ Claiming 22 AP ]

[With the passing of 12 hours OOC Now claiming arrival at Tanbogakure Gates]

Exit claims Approved for Shin Uchiha!

Exit claims Approved for Baliquis!