Meeting with the new Village Leader

Kana was surprised to hear that the previous leader was overthrown but at the same time wasn't really all that surprised, she couldn't really say anything about the old leader of the village beyond that he apparently helped fund the building of the village before retiring... Somewhere, she actually wasn't sure where the village leader was most of the time or if he was actually a shinobi or not, the man was just kinda a vague figure, a leader that didn't really do anything as far as Kana could tell but she didn't really know about the new village leader either but he must've knew her and Gunshin as the duo were summoned to meet with the man, for what purposes were beyond her and she'd be lying if she said it wasn't making her nervous but with Gunshin by her side, she knew it shouldn't be the biggest problem in the world. They were no slouches but she doubted the man was going to try anything, it's not like Kana or Gunshin were particularly loyal to whoever the old leader was, at least as far as Kana knew, maybe Gunshin actually knew the man that had lead the village into it's stagnant state.

Arriving as the location this Merlin guy had requested the duo meet him at, Kana crossed her arms and begun looking around the area with curiosity, wondering just how the new guy would stack up and rather or not this would end up biting them in the ass, the old leader probably had something keeping him in power, so Merlin would more than likely have something greater backing him up and she didn't want to find out what that was first hand by pissing him off.

WC: 290

Gun had been an academy student a short while ago and now she was being summoned to the village leaders’ office. It was nerve wracking, for sure, but she was also hopeful: her and Kana had been doing a lot of missions lately, maybe they were getting a bonus or something. Even if it was just a “way to go”, handshake, or a gentle pat on the back, Gun would have been thrilled to know that the leader of the village knew of her and Kana; it would be reassuring for their careers as kunoichi as well.

Of course, Gun had also been informed that there was a new leader. That added a whole other portion of this conversation; what if he was firing them because they were part of the “old guard”? Gun hadn’t even met the old leader, and neither had Kana, as far as Gun knew. The kunoichi was thankful for what Sakura had taught her, she just hoped this new leader would allow Gun to continue to learn and develop her skills.

WC: 176

Stacks of paperwork filled the cherry blossom wooded desk in front of Merlin. The man had rearranged the whole office of his, the room was 10m by 10m, along the walls were bookcases filled with various books, they covered a good chunk of the information pertaining to the settlement such as history, business, cultural traditions and more. In between some of the bookcases were paintings done by the local painter’s guild and they were various depictions of environments around the village itself during the Cherry Blossom festival. Two chairs also made of cheery blossom wood with a healthy amount of cushions and thought put into them sat in front of his desk facing him for any guests he may need to speak to. In front of that were two office couches and a sizable coffee table between them they faced each other, this was for meetings with larger groups and discussion.
 
Merlin had brought his tea collection from home and had a station near his desk so that he could brew his own tea whenever he wished. This helped when he needed to work late nights and didn’t want to travel all the way home to get the tea leaves he wished for. Merlin had been quite busy ever since his takeover of leadership for the settlement. So much information was out of date or just completely wrong. The first actions Merlin had undertaken since taking over was appoint Shitai to Jounin, he was more the appropriate and why the prior leader had chosen not to was simply out of distrust and petty. Next he had changed all the old passwords and such to knew ones and let the appropriate people in the village know what had changed. Following that he had hired a pair of Shinobi from the nearby area, one had actually been a comrade from Merlin’s Vagabond days. The other was a young girl who had come here with her parent’s permission and joined to protect those who couldn’t. One would be in charge of the Gates and the other had been put in charge of the ANBU force, which they didn’t have much of one but you got to start somewhere.
 
Now the things he had to do today. There had been an influx of students graduating from the academy and having already proved themselves as competent and trustworthy individuals. With these achievements it was more than suffice to bestow a promotion for the pair. He had already brought them their new uniforms and assorted items that are bestowed upon a person when they achieve a new position. With that he simply continued to work on the paperwork till the pair showed up, a quick knock let him know they had arrived.
 
Putting his papers down, “Come in. Take a Seat.” He would say as they entered the room.


WC: 473 

Gunshin wasn't the only one a bit nervous about being called down to meet the new leader, so at least Kana wasn't being weird about the whole thing but still she had to put on a brave friend for her face so she gave Gunshin small smile that she didn't really feel before finally knocking on the door to the office the new leader had set up, rather or not this was the same office the old leader had or not was beyond Kana but it didn't really matter anymore, did it? The old leader was branded a missing nin last she had heard and she doubted he would be able to escape from the village hunting him down. Hearing the man's words, Kana entered, trying her best to hide her distrust and nerves as she finally laid eyes onto the man that was now their new leader and arguably the strongest in the village, long silver hair was the first thing she noticed about the man, he had seemed busy writing away at papers and seemed almost at ease around the two and rather that was because he trusted them or because he didn't see them as a threat was beyond her.

"Sir? You wanted to see us?" Kana would ask quietly, keeping her voice calm and small as she lead her more meek friend in to take a seat across from their new boss, part of her looking around and taking note of the various things in the room, the chairs, the couches, even the little tea pot that he had, all of it being filed away for a just in case scenario of an attack that may not even come. She doubted the man would invite the two here when it would be far easier to simply kill them one by one in the dead of night, Kana was far weaker alone without Gunshin's support and she was sure Gunshin wouldn't manage to survive without her either.

WC: 330
TWC: 620

The best part about this nervous encounter was that Kana was with her, it allowed Gun to feel a little better about it. She was Gun’s rock, always there and sturdy to provide Gun support if she needed it. She hoped that some day Kana would feel the same about Gun, but she didn’t think they’d gotten to that day yet. She knew Kana felt more like she had to take care of Gun, but Gun wanted their relationship to develop to the point where both of them felt like they were equally supported by each other. She just wasn’t sure how to get to that point yet.

Entering the room with Kana, Gun looked around briefly before her eyes settled on the man seated at the desk. She was amazed at his hair: she didn’t know where it ended or if it even did. But more than that, Gun was impressed with the man’s aura. Just being here, Gun felt like he was supposed to be here. He felt like a man who was destined for this chair and job, something Gun felt like she’d never be suitable for. It was drawing her in; she wasn’t familiar with men of power, but for some reason, she felt like he was someone she could trust and put her trust into. She wondered, briefly, if Kana felt the same way.

”Sir.” Gun squeaked as she took a seat next to Kana. She didn’t want to be seen as “the meek girl” by this man, the one who held her future in his hands which brought her mind back to why they’d been summoned. Unlike her partner, Gun wasn’t worried about their lives, she was more trusting and had trouble thinking the worst of others. She could be called naive of the ways of this world.

WC: 304
TWC: 480

Merlin looked up at that pair and gestured towards the seats in front of him, “Welcome to my humble abode. It’s a bit of a mess right now due to circumstances.” He mentioned as he moved the paperwork out of the way and begun to make some fresh tea for the pair. He would put it on the front of the desk and it was up to them if they wished to have some or not.

“First off, Hello I am Merlin Shinto and due to some interesting situations I am now the Village Leader. The old one seems to have taken a vacation of some sort and has no interest in returning. Which is perfectly fine, we will improve and better the people of the village and the village itself by our own effort and ability.” Merlin said as he enjoyed his own cup of tea, it was a nice moment of respite for the sarutobi who had been here pulling long nights to get things back up to speed.

“Now then, I’m sure you two are wondering why I have called you here today.” Merlin mentioned as he put down his cup and reached into the desks drawers and produced two Chunnin Flak jackets that are suppose to be given to every newly appointed Chunnin. “You two have accomplished quite a lot within the village and have done so at a fairly quick pace. These are to go along with your promotion to Chunnin. The Village and I have great hope and expectations in the two of you to continue to improve yourselves, protect those who are unable to do so themselves and to uphold the pride of the village wherever you may go.” Merlin said as he made eye contact with each of the two. “At the moment I am only able to give you two these flak jackets, but soon we will have our own techniques and arts once I finish cleaning up the mess of the prior leader. Once I have done so, I am giving you two permission to learn any of the selection within reason. I will send for you two once more when that time has come.” Merlin said as he smiled at the pair, he still had plenty of work to do.

“Once more, Congratulations on your promotion to Chunnin, the village thanks you for your continued effort and care, And I thank you for your dedication and relentless ambitions.” Merlin said with a look of pride, this pair had been academy students not to long ago and now they were Chunnins. It spoke of their willingness to work and prove themselves without anyone having to ask for it. The village would need plenty more of people like these two if it wished to improve and grow.

“Enjoy your drinks, have a snack and make sure to grab your new possessions. There is plenty of work for you two to do now with your position and I expect you to keep up the work you have been doing.” Merlin said as he started to go back to work, he didn’t mind when they left or how fast they did he simply needed to continue doing his work as needed as evident by the large stacks of paperwork covering his desk.

[Exit]
[Promotion of both Gunshin Juunan and Kana to Chunnin]
WC: 549
TWC: 1022

Claims: Will make WC Claims later on due to being busy.

Kana watched as the man prepared some tea before placing it before the two, Kana looking toward her friend before deciding to try some for herself, if it was poisoned somehow, she had methods of dealing with it but the man looked far too tired and busy to look like he even had anything in mind for combat, let alone killing two random girls and surely he must've known Kana was a medic at the very least if this man was the new village leader. Perhaps she was just too paranoid for her own good, Gunshin looked a bit nervous but she lacked the tension of expecting a battle, instead it felt like she was a child being called into the principals room during the academy, she had heard that tea had a calming effect and she probably should try to settle herself down before the new leader of the village saw it as a threat or something.

She added quite a few cubes of sugar into the tea, making it more sweet than calming but the warm beverage with a sweet taste was a welcoming distraction as she listened to what the man said, explaining the old leader went "on vacation" somewhere, probably in a nice 6 foot hole in the middle of the forest surrounding the village if Kana had to guess. The tea that she was drinking ended up getting spit out as she saw the man bring out the two flak jackets from his drawer, she wasn't stupid to not know what those were and she was dreaming about getting those for a while now but she would've guessed that they would be a few more months away at the latest before they earned the promotion. Was this just his way to bribe them onto his side or was the old village just too poorly ran that Kana misjudged how fast she should've been earning his promotions? How long was she and Gunshin due this promotion?

"T-Thank you, sir!" Kana managed to say as she coughed a bit, the thought of learning new jutsu, new things about the village once everything settled down for their new busy leader was promising and maybe this guy really did kill the last leader but did Kana really care about that? She thought she might've heard the old leader's name somewhere but she can't even say if she had even seen him in person before and so far this Merlin was proving himself to be far more proactive than their old leader had ever been. "We won't let you down, thank you for granting us this position." Kana spoke with excitement, eagerly grabbing her flak jacket and putting the thing on, it was a bit of a snug fit but she'd prefer it to be wrapped tightly around her rather than have it be a bit loose around her body.

"This is awesome!" Kana would declare as soon as they left the office, examining herself in her new flak jacket with a wide grin on her face, the thought of being a Chuunin was just one of the many steps forward she was bound to take but it was the first tangible step she had taken in a long while since becoming Genin. "We should go and tell your mom the great news, she'll probably be so excited!" Kana said to her friend, eager to show off their accomplishments to anyone and Gunshin's mother was always so supportive of the duo even if Kana often felt a twinge of envy for what her friend had, but it was overshadowed by the pride she had for herself and her best friend.

[Exit]

WC: 610
TWC: 1,230

As Kana hit max stats, I'll be using the 1,200 words for 24 bonus AP
Using 24/600 of the AP toward Strength of a Hundred [Skill]
Previously was 200/600 but is now 224/600

Using 165/250 to master E Rank Sensory Jutsu Cat Eyes
Used 1,065/2,000 to learn B Rank Fuinjutsu Chakra Storage Seal [v7]
Previously was 435/1,500 but is now 1,500/1,500

Approved

Gun watched the man in front of her prepare and then place two cups of tea down in front of the kunoichis. She hadn't considered them to be poisoned, like Kana, but she also wasn't used to drinking tea. She could tell it was still hot and considered letting it sit a bit to cool.Then the new leader began introducing himself so she looked up to pay better attention to him. She felt like she'd heard the name Merlin before, maybe just in passing but she didn't remember anything specific. His words seemed to indicate he was not necessarily doing the village leader job because he wanted it, but because the former leader wasn't doing a good enough job. Gun appreciated the honesty and the man's willingness to put in the work that Sakuragakure required. She hoped to continue getting stronger so that she could "improve and better the people of the village and the village itself by our own effort and ability" as Merlin had said.

Gun watched as the man shifted the conversation to why they were there. He then began pulling something out of the desk and Gun, not being too familiar with the shinobi world, didn't understand their significance.  However, Merlin proceeded to tell them that they were being promoted to chuunin. Gun was shocked. She had considered some sort of bonus pay for all the work they'd been doing, especially with the weird Dream stuff that had been going on, but she hadn't considered that the new village leader would promote them, not so soon at least. Gun's smile got bigger and she looked to Kana with excitement on her face. Merlin went on to say that the village expected much of Kana and Gun, which made Gun want to live up to those expectations. Merlin continued explaining that at some point, he and the village hoped to be able to offer them unique skills and techniques. It was more than Gun had ever expected, unaware that many of the larger ninja villages functioned in this way.

Gun reached over the desk, picking up her new flak jacket. She looked at it, realizing it was a status of her new rank and a rush of pride rushed over her. Then she heard Kana in her mind "He's trying to buy our loyalty with a promotion," which Gun would never have considered if she hadn't met Kana. She wondered if Kana was really thinking that or if Kana was just rubbing off on Gun that much.

"T-Thank you, sir!" Kana responded, prompting Gun to do the same.

”Yes, thank you sir.” Gun still had her inner Kana’s voice in mind. Despite that voice, Gun felt like the man in front of her truly wanted what was best for Sakuragakure and, if he genuinely wanted Kana and Gun to be chuunin, maybe that included them.

“We won't let you down, thank you for granting us this position." Gun nodded her agreement as Kana reached for her flak jacket and put it on, while Gun’s sat in her lap.

Moments later, the two left the office and Kana spoke "This is awesome! We should go and tell your mom the great news, she'll probably be so excited!" Kana suggested.

”Yeah!” Gun exclaimed, glad to tell her mom about her advancement in rank and the increased pay that would come with it. It might even be enough for her mom to quit working at the bar! Of course, if she did stop working, she'd have to start a hobby or something.

”Let’s go!” Gun was excited to see the look on her mom's face when they told her. They had both gotten a good deal stronger, but now they had a rank the rank to prove they'd gotten stronger. Amongst a relatively new village like Sakuragakure, becoming chuunin meant something. They now had some level of gravits, people they could order around... it was definitely a good step for the two kunoichis.

[Exit]

WC: 663
TWC: 1143

Claiming:

1143 WC, promotion to chuunin, and Flak Jacket
1125 to learning Hidden Mist so 1125/1125
18 WC towards stage 3 of Eyes of Medusa putting it at 1852/4500