Surreal Sycophant

It was a fine day, perhaps too fine. The sun was high in the sky, perhaps too high. A warm day, perhaps too warm. There was little wind, perhaps too little. No clouds either, perhaps...too...none?

Well, whatever, suffice to say Shiki was not having a good time. Having just spent the majority of his morning chasing a rabbit across a field, in order to replenish his dwindling blood supply (conveniently resetting the thread counter), the man was in quite the state. Having semi-successfully removed the twigs from his hair the man now found himself in a new place. Said place of course being outside of the new hotness he had heard about about a day ago.

Now if Shiki had to describe what he saw for himself it would be something like this: 'The front gates of Tsukigakure were crafted from intricately carved wood, flanked by towers with crescent moon roofs. Lanterns cast a warm glow as visitors passed through, welcomed by the tranquil ambiance of the village beyond.' Original quote he came up with himself trust.

Now truth be told, this was the first time Shiki had ventured to a village the likes of this before. He had vastly preferred to stick around in run down and shabby places, they usually served the cheapest drink, and wasn't entirely well versed on how to approach. Did he simply walk up? Did he stand around and wait to be let in? Was there a secret knock or handshake he had to know? Perhaps previous planning was required for this instead of just winging it, but that wasn't exactly Shiki's style.

So he just sort of stood there and looked around for someone who looked like they knew what was going on.

One of the gate greeter's that day was Hasumi, a young kunoichi of the village. She was dressed in a black kimono with gold trim and had her raven hair tied back into a ponytail. The village headband was clearly visible wrapped around her head, the symbol of the village displayed over her forehead. There were other guards present at the gate but after the recent incident it seemed that they had decided to increase the number of shinobi on duty.

Hasumi approached the large man who was standing in front of their gate, walking at a casual pace as she wondered if he was perhaps admiring the craftsmanship of Moonrise Gate or if he had some reason for being apprehensive about going within the walls of Tsukigakure. The young kunoichi was anxious about dealing with the man but figured she was safe with all of the other gate guards around.

The girl stopped about 2 meters from the man and nervously attempted to greet him, "Excuse me sir, are you attempting to enter the village.. or is there something else you need? We'd just need your name and a copy of any identification you have if you would like to come inside."

WC: 203

He had only been hanging around for a short amount of time before someone approached. A lost child perhaps? Maybe they had assumed that he himself was someone to seek guidance from. For the most part Shiki was content to ignore them as they approached, not really finding a reason to react to them.

That was until they addressed him. It seemed the small girl was actually someone who worked here. The question of what were the child labour laws of this land briefly grossed through Shiki's mind. Or maybe they were a lot older than they appeared to be, it wouldn't be that surprising considering how old the man was himself.

"I heard this place a interesting and wanted to visit." He replied to the questioning, beginning to pat down every single one of his pockets. "Now where did I put that..." Murmuring to himself his hands fished into his deep coat pockets to try and find his passport or driver's license. "Shiki is my name, no last n-- ah here it is!" He finally pulled out an older ID card, he didn't remember what country he had gotten it from but he had passed some sort of cart driving test at some point. "My hair was shorter back then." Shiki added as an after thought as he handed it over for inspection.

Hasumi found the man's behavior a bit odd but not to suspicious, he didn't seem like a criminal to her based off their brief interaction. She noted his lack of a surname, which intrigued her more than bothered her. Did he perhaps not have a family name, or could he even be like her? The young kunoichi didn't possess a surname either, having just been given the name Hasumi by her creator, who she only knew as Takehiko.

As Shiki spoke to her Hasumi did her best to maintain a cheerful demeanor and not appear to awkward or anxious. After he handed her the ID card and informed Hasu that his hair used to be shorter, the teenager held up the ID so she could quickly glance between it and the man's face. Figuring that he looked like the man in the picture, Hasumi handed the man back his card. "Thank you for your cooperation, I hope you have a wonderful stay within the village of Tsukigakure! If you're looking for a cart I believe we have a few salesmen not to far past the gate."

Hasumi gave the man a quick bow and then quickly made her way to the gatehouse, where she recorded the relevant information about the newcomer. Seeing as he had no last name Hasumi to inspiration from his identification and wrote his name as "Shiki the Cart Driver" along with a note stating that he didn't have a cart when he entered the village. Once she completed the document she went back to work.

[EXIT]

WC:259
TWC:462

That had gone surprisingly well Shiki thought as his ID was handed back to him. It's amazing what a bit of patience can do. "Thanks you." He responded to the girl, the comment about the cart flying over his head, and made his way inside of the village proper. Shiki's gaze briefly turned to the top of the gates as he entered, noting that it would be a good place for someone to watch people from. A scary thought to be sure. "Now then...let's see what you have to offer." The man spoke to no one in particular other than himself, shoving hands into his pockets and whistling quietly to himself.

Walking past the girl on the way inside he'd give her a wink before going off to explore.

[Exit, topic closed]

643 WC

Entrance to Tsukigakure
6 Speed
500/500 Water Release Mouth Shot
Discard the rest out of laziness

Shiki wrote:That had gone surprisingly well Shiki thought as his ID was handed back to him. It's amazing what a bit of patience can do. "Thanks you." He responded to the girl, the comment about the cart flying over his head, and made his way inside of the village proper. Shiki's gaze briefly turned to the top of the gates as he entered, noting that it would be a good place for someone to watch people from. A scary thought to be sure. "Now then...let's see what you have to offer." The man spoke to no one in particular other than himself, shoving hands into his pockets and whistling quietly to himself.

Walking past the girl on the way inside he'd give her a wink before going off to explore.

[Exit, topic closed]

643 WC

Entrance to Tsukigakure
6 Speed
500/500 Water Release Mouth Shot
Discard the rest out of laziness

Approved!