The Troupes first Stop

The air here was soggy. The amount of water within the atmosphere clung to his clothes as he sat in the crow's nest of the ship and smoked his cigarette, keeping the rather potent smoke out of the partygoers faces. This had marked the second voyage of his mobile troupe and things were just getting started for those that had joined their cruise. Originally heading toward the land of bears, a sense of nostalgia brought the man to sail toward what was considered New Kirigakure. As his family had originally hailed from an island of the old and now sunken Kiri, Neinto felt it somewhat poetic to be visiting the new one for supplies and maybe a place to have a new show. As he wasn't in the habit of doing "shinobi" antics the bills had to be paid somehow. From below him, the sounds of merriment and cheers filled his ears which brought a small smile to his face. Many had been wondering where the ringleader had been and once he heard his name being called a single large puff would be taken as he leaned backwards intentionally and with a small application of space time chakra he landed on the stage, mask in hand as he propped it onto his face and shoved his arms out," I hear the calling of the crowd for one more encore but alas we are soon to reach our destination but fret not! Our lovely Pantomime, our family and home, will continue to dash your minds and hearts until we approach harbor. Enjoy. Sit and drink and for the little ones fill your eyes with wonder. Let the last encore begin!," and with a swirl of chakra he disappeared.

As the ship began to pull up into where he would assume he would need to show the guards to be allowed in, he would stand on the front of the ship and when spoken to he would remove the mask and give a small smile," Greetings. My name is Niento and I am here traveling with my circus troupe. I am currently seeking asylum to do trade and maybe some jobs if your fine village allows that of others," With that he would wait for the guard to ask any questions they needed to.

Daiko decides that today would be a great day to go for a walk, and not die. Though he wasn't specific in his mind about the second part, he had no clue as to what events would be happening that day. It was a good time overall, with nothing too crazy going on in the village. He hadn't heard much from Saya since the last time they were together, and it was probably for the best... Watching her face after she had confirmed her first kill wasn't exactly something that he had wished for his friend, though it wasn't necessarily something that a shinobi wouldn't have to experience. By this point in his life, Daiko was pretty numb with the whole idea of having to kill. He did, of course, choose which missions he took and which shinobi that he needed to kill, so it was all business to him. Though that semblance of a moral compass was at the front of his mind, the main reason that he kept from lashing out at those around him for fun was simply out of fear. After first meeting with the Mizukage, Daiko got a taste for what it felt like to be around someone truly powerful. It wasn't something to be taken lightly. 

Daiko thought more about his first days on this island, and where that had led him to be at this point. He was pretty capable as a Ninja so far, though he still had plenty of room to grow. He decided to go back and visit the shore in which he first washed up on, and try to reminisce of the first techniques that he had learned since his past master's passing. He learned a handful of Doton techniques, as well as a handful of useful tricks that he was able to do with his bloodline. One thing Daiko was proud of, was his grasp on space-time and its nature. He was slowly forming together thoughts in his mind to someday explore the place that he believed that his summons had come from, to begin with. 

*Walking slowly, Daiko finally made it to the gates. The sun today was hanging directly overhead, and beating down on the top of Daiko's head. It was rough, to say the least. He was dressed in a long-sleeved black shirt, with a white t-shirt over the top, and long black sweatpants as a bottom to his outfit. This wasn't because he was trying to make a fashion statement; Daiko's body was currently ripped apart and covered in scars underneath from the times that he had hap-hazardly ended up using his clan's techniques... and he wasn't exactly proud of it. Finally making it to where the gates led to outside the village, Daiko takes one step forward and then stops. He noticed that there was someone that he hadn't seen before standing at the entrance, seemingly waiting to give passage. Daiko wasn't entirely sure what he looked like at this very moment, though he looked different than the usual teenage girls that ran around the village. The visage of this man looked closer to the Mizukage, both in impatience and in determination. Daiko was still around 15 meters away, but still was close enough for this random man to see Daiko clearly. 

"Yooooo. How's life treating you?"

[554]

Romp was currently sleeping in his booth, atop the walls of Kiri with a questionable magazine covering his face. Snoring rather loudly, he had been bothering another guard stationed at the gates with him. As usual, Romp had delegated his work onto another member of his security team as he liked to spend most of his time "reading" and napping. After all, he only needed to be awake every so often for certain duties. It turns out one of those duties would be coming up shortly as one of his subordinates spotted a ship in the distance. Taking a speed walk towards the booth where Romp was napping in, he'd knock on the door to it before opening it and staring. Letting out a sigh, he'd yell at his Anbu captain to wake up. Romp groaned as he woke up, outstretching both of his arms into the air before smacking his lips a bit, and stepping out of the booth past his subordinate in order to take a look through his binoculars at a ship arriving in the harbor a decent walk away. Giving a small sigh, he'd jump from off of the walls down onto the ground in his augmented Anbu armor in order to greet the incoming guests.

Letting commoners from other nations and guest shinobi alike, Romp had found himself a bit puzzled at a strange troupe that was approaching. He wasn't aware that entertainers would think the bloody mist was a good place for this kind of thing but it was a bit refreshing to see such things as he could use a break one of these days. He might sneak off to see if their shows were any good but for now, he had to do his job, or so Scyxion would tell him. "Hey there," the tall shinobi said. "Sure, just head to the Mizukage's office and he'll get you sorted out for your request. Nice Troupe by the way. Could you perform some really quirky tricks for me," pleaded Romp. He hadn't had anything fun happen to him in awhile but this was the perfect opportunity to appease his boredom. Fifteen meters away from Romp and Niento was some stranger that happened to being calling out to somebody. 

W.C: 375

The activity could be seen coming toward him and as it did, Niento shifted the mask from his right hand to his left as the guard had finally came down. He had heard the instructions crystal clear. Head to the Mizukage's office and then there he would be squared away hopefully with a decent amount of jobs so that while his troupe performed he could also make some money for their future endeavors. It would also be nice to at least see how the new Kiri fared against the memory of the old. A small smile appeared upon his face as the guard asked for a quirky trick to which Niento only smiled as the mask was settled against the left side of his head," Why thank you and I can provide some free entertainment since you have been more than kind enough to allow me into your village," as he finished speaking his hands would begin to move into the sleeves on his shirt. One could tell that there was nothing there due to the sleeves sticking to his arms, but once his hands had came out two halves of a whole deck of cards would emerge and quickly be shuffled. His ever dexterous hands would continue to move, even after hearing the voice that had been somewhat far, maybe 15 meters by his guess. The smile would remain as he answered the question and replied," Wet but ever more happy to have my entry approved so that I may do some work to feed my troupe," as he spoke his hands would split the two halves into four, each one balancing on the edges of his fingers before disappearing and reappearing in the hands of the gate guard. Clapping his hands together he would give a slight "ta-da" before motioning to his troupe to prepare to break down the stage and move after everything was cleared," If you would like to see one of our shows, after my folk get their belongings and equipment together we can put on one for the village within reason. With that sir I bid you a good day," a small bow would be all he would do as he walked into the village provided Romp had allowed him to and from there he would head to the Mizukage's office.

[Entering Kiri will post claims shortly]

Daiko noticed the man started doing tricks of some kind, his hands moving to and fro. It had seemed that Kirigakure had another entertainer entering their midst, and Daiko would be very interested to see where this man's story led him. It was interesting, to say the least. Though not much to actually act impressed when he saw the song and dance that usually followed around his ally Saya, this type of performance seemed to be different. It was less about making noise, and more about the simple artistry that had come along with finesse and practice. Daiko wondered for a moment if this man also used puppetry, though the way he had handled the cards made Daiko think twice. Maybe it was best not to make assumptions about this man right off of the bat, and rather take the time to observe and get to know the man during the time he'd spent in the village. It had seemed just as well that this man was in the village to try and get money. This lined up pretty well with what Daiko was here for, if not exactly. Daiko was here for somewhat selfish reasons; only really caring to make money for himself, and learn what he could while he was in the midst of these island ninja. 

Daiko nodded his head, his face having the usual blank expression that he carried. It didn't seem that he had much else to say, and he decided that it may be best for him to leave the area and go back to what it was he was doing otherwise. He thought of a few interesting spots that he might be able to get some food and prepare for the next set of missions that he had to take. Daiko figured that if he was lucky, he might be able to pick up one or two of the same missions that this new traveler had, and they would be able to complete it together. Hearing the last thing that the man had to say, Daiko simply walked away, back into the village. He wondered exactly what one of those shows would look like, though he would imagine that he could draw some inspiration from it at the very least. Daiko did particularly enjoy some of the shows that his ally Saya put on, and this man somewhat reminded him of those kinds of antics. Maybe that wasn't the goal, but still, Daiko always found himself fascinated by ninjas that were able to break away from the standard mold of being nothing but cold unfeeling being outside of the battlefield. 

Being strong-willed was definitely something that was required of a shinobi, but Daiko yearned to someday be able to express some of his deeper thoughts outside of the battlefield, and not derive his only pleasure from the collection of hearts. He still had no idea why he was so drawn to those damned things, and he figured he would find out in good enough time. Until then, he set on his way to go back to the village. 

[Attempting Exit]

[514]
{1068}

48 HRs Exit Confirmed

{1068}

[1000] + [500] -- [1500/2750] Torture Chamber
68 words discarded

[1000] 20 AP

Romp watched the man with glee as he agreed to his request of getting a free show. He didn't get too much entertainment nowadays and was very grateful for it. Watching the man perform his magic trick, Romp was in awe of the man's skills. After he was done, he clapped joyfully before clearing his throat and letting the man and his troupe in with a smile on his face. This was a nice bit of a distraction from his everyday job and he was grateful for it. Now that his time fooling around was over and the troupe broke down their stage, Romp figured it was time to get back to his post to open the gates for them. Scaling the wall he had jumped down from, he'd given his team the 'go ahead' in order for them to open the gates for them. After they had finished passing through, Romp would go back to his usual state of presence, napping in his booth. 

[Exit.]

W.C: 165
T.W.C: 540

Ability Claims
Using 200 words to learn Eight Inner Gates (Skill) 
Using 300 words into Eight Inner Gates(Jutsu)

Approved