Being Back Home

It felt like it had been ages since Shin had been back in Tanbogakure, the smell of the rice fields seeing the people he grew up with out in them taking care of the crops it was a pleasant feeling. Now that he had been to a much larger village the difference was much more profound for the uchiha. He really came to appreciate the homeliness of Tanbogakure. While it was a small village barely worth a second glance to those from major villages it was exactly what the boy wanted in life at this moment, he approached the gate expecting an easy entry since he literally grew up here even waving to the guards he recognized. 

He received in turn were stern nods with looks of something had gone wrong or a death had happened, he wasn't sure what had happened while he was gone but he was starting to get a pit in his stomach. Did they perhaps find the kages who had disappeared and that's why things seemed somber on the guards faces? Not like anyone would bother attacking them as they didn't really have anything worth taking last Shin knew. Now the boy had more questions then answers and was patiently waiting in line with the others as he tried to figure things out and was patiently waiting to talk to someone who could give him the answers he needed.

[Starting Timer to enter Tanbogakure]

WC: 234

It was easy to lose your precise sense of location within the rolling hills and rice fields.

To stand at the gates was to stand two kilometers further out than they once had stood. Appearance, however, was largely the same. Mostly a large field with a fence, not some imposing monolith or rock facade. There was little to guard here.

Or, perhaps, there had been. The recent attack left the village on guard, and even more aware of its Shinobi.

Emi had volunteered to guard the gate. She knew the guards were overworked right now. She was trying to find a replacement but...

Word spread fast, and few wanted to take up a gate position. Especially now that it had been moved out so far.

So, Emi was there. As was Kurioshiki Oni, just in the distance. He was trying to hide it, but parts of him betrayed exhaustion. He had refused to let Emi serve alone.

Even when she had tried to insist.

So they were both here. That was apparently helpful. A farmer was coming in with multiple sets of carts and had not bothered to inform the village ahead of time. With the two of them, they could work through the list faster.

Not twice as fast. Even in his tired state, Kurioshiki knew what to look for, and what to fill out, and how to do it fast. He was burning through entry permits faster than Emi was. But it was fine, she was not competitive about something like this. She just wanted to try doing something the village needed.

---

"Thank you, madam," said the last person on her side to bring in supplies as she gave him permission to proceed.

Emi was not sure how to take that. Either even random FARMERS knew now, or he was just showing a form of politeness.

She really was trying to look normal. A tank top, white, considering today was abnormally hot, and some baggy, military green cargo pants. She also had her village headband worn around her left arm, so at least she was repping the village in an easily noticeable way.

"Next!" she called out, looking up from her clipboard to see a black hair individual only a few inches taller than her. She did not know the person, did not immediately recognize him from the ninja profiles she was trying so hard to look over and memorize. Not that they were well kept. Most were blank, some having nothing besides a picture and a few notes from years ago. And she knew they were incomplete. Fucking Dai Cho hadn't had an entry!

The line moved at a speed that wasn’t slow but wasn’t quick, it fed that feeling of wary that was coming off the guards that Shin had noticed upon approach. Even some of the farmers in line were shifting uneasily as if it wasn’t quite save to be outside the village or near the gates themselves. The line moved once more and now it was time for Shin to be up for the entry process and he had expected to see a guard he knew but instead it was a young girl, one that barely reached his chest wearing a white tank top, baggy military pants and her headband around her arm. Shin carried his tied to his belt where it could be seen easily to any that approached him.

“Hello, I am Shin Uchiha returning from Hoshigakure while trying to find information on where our Kages had disappeared too. I’m not sure who to report the meager information I was able to get but I don’t mind telling whoever is in charge now.” He said with ease and calmness, Shin wasn’t sure who was technically in charge of the village at the moment, he supposed it could be the Captain of the guard a tall dark man by the last name of Oni. Shin spotted the Captain not to far from him actually though he seemed worse for wear from last time Shin had saw him and the Captain kept shifting his eyes towards Shin or no it wasn’t towards the Uchiha but towards the young lady next to him.

“I’m sorry but I don’t seem to recognize your face and I thought I knew all the gate guards.” Shin asked to the young woman in front of him, He could have sworn he knew most people who lived in the village maybe they just never crossed paths or maybe they were new to the area regardless it made the young man very curious about the person in front of him though he really just wanted to hurry and get inside to pass on the information as needed and check on his family.
 
WC: 354

Many things coursed through Emi's mind at this introduction. Shin Uchiha? Sent to learn about the disappearance of the previous Kages?

Why was this not in her records!?!?

...Then it struck her.

The Kage were gone by the time he went out looking for into.

Of course there would be no information about Shin in her records. At least, none that were eyecatching enough to remember the boy yet.

Nobody had updated them in far too long.

"Um, Kuruosh-"

"Wait," came a deeper voice from across the 'gate' that was really just a whole in the fence. They had not even had time to install a proper gate yet. "Shin? Is that you?" Kuruoshiki apologized to the person he had been working with and walked over to Emi and Shin.

"He wants to speak with who is currently in charge about his findings." Emi said that... somewhat regretfully, because she kind of knew what was about to happen.

"Why not walk him back to the village and do the debrief?"

Yep, there it was. Kuruoshiki had been trying to get her out of here ever since she managed to convince him to let her out. Sure, she COULD have just ignored him but...

He was a trusted member of the village, and his input is worthwhile. Here, however, Emi did not really have anything resembling a leg to stand on. Kuruoshiki recognized this Shin fellow, even if she did not. He wanted to speak with 'the person currently in charge' and that was... Well, that was her.

"Yeah, OK, if you vouch for him."

Kuruoshiki would not, wait in case Shin had anything to say, and then walk back to his post, apologizing again to the farmer and starting the process.

Emi, on the other hand, would climb out of the ditch she had been standing in to make sure nobody drove a cart over it.

"You'll have to do something about the ditch!" she shouted out to Kuruoshiki before looking back to Shin, who stood only a few inches taller than her, now that she was actually standing on ground level.

"Ok, long story short, somehow I got the Kage position right now. So let's go head to town and you can either tell me along the way, or tell me later if it's secure information." Emi said this quietly, hoping Shin would not announce it to everyone here.

This was a losing battle of hers, but it was one she had been trying to maintain for awhile.

And, unless further discussion was needed, she began walking towards the village proper, waiting for Shin to follow and explain.

---

It was at least somewhat sunny and warm. Their walk would not be awful. The grass was crushed underneath Emi's feet, only for it to quickly regain its composure after she stepped away. Grass was fun like that. You could harm it, bend it, twist it. It was pliable. It allowed the world to do what it pleased around itself. It did not fight. It acquiesced. That was the power of the humble leaf blade. It never tried to fight back.

Emi considered that sometimes. Never fighting back.

But what she dealt with was far more than a single field of grass in the wilderness. She ran a village. That required more. Simply giving up was not an option. She was getting used to that.

---

---

TWC 1001
Max stats, 20 Bonus AP
500 words learning B rank https://www.narutoroleplaygame.com/t50860-block-v7-2
300/750words towards learning B rank https://www.narutoroleplaygame.com/t49940-360-degree-shield-hand
rest of words dumped
[Solo] completion of https://www.narutoroleplaygame.com/t47295-guard-duty-intern
10 AP
17000 ryo

Nevermind that's major only just ignore the attempt at a mission claim

Exit

Entry approved

A look of confusion seemed to pass over the woman’s face as they asked for Gate Guard Captain, who luckily recognized Shin’s face which was to be expected. “Yes Sir, I’m back from Hoshigakure.” Shin replied to Kuruoshiki’s initial question though the captain and the woman had a small discussion about what they were to do and it seemed that she would escort him to whoever he needed to talk to. Not much for him to report really but something was better then nothing.
 
Now that the woman had removed herself from the weird ditch she had been occupying probably to keep others from entering it themselves Shin realized she was much taller then he thought though still a bit shorter than himself. The woman told something to Shin that really surprised him and that was she was in fact the new Kage of the village. Shin was for a lack of better word speechless. This person in front of him was someone he had not heard of in any way shape or form and didn’t recognize her so how did she come to be the new Kage.
 
“Well then it seems a lot has happened since I left.” Shin muttered out as he followed Emi back into the village.

[Exit]

WC: 210
TWC: 798
 
Using 700 WC to Claim 14 AP due to being max stats.
Discarding the rest of the WC
Claiming entry into Tanbogakure with Kage’s Permission.

Approved