A Kage's Day [Open]

"Mommy! Mommy! I got a surprise for you!" came the voice of her five year old daughter Nyx through the double doors of her office which were currently closed. Temaki dropped her pen and focused her attention on the door as she looked to the doors upon them being opened. In came her daughter, happy and joyful as always and looking like an identical mini copy of herself. In Nyx's hands was clearly a boxed lunch complete with a thing of juice that she was carrying by herself despite the tutor standing behind her who was acting as her escort.

Temaki gave the tutor a nod and then opened her arms up as her daughter came over to her and was scooped up into her lap. Nyx placed the meal down on Temaki's desk after she pushed her papers off to the side and giggled as Temaki tickled her. "What did you get me little one?", Temaki asked

"I was eating and figured you were hungry, so I brought you something to eat.", Nyx responded. Over on the giant dog bed nearby Blast stirred, sniffing the air and yawning as he looked expectantly at Nyx. Nyx hopped off of Temaki's lap and reached into her tiny panda shaped back pack to pull out a bag of jerky she had brought just for him. She opened the bag up and handed some to Blast before sitting down next to him and petting him.

Temaki meanwhile turned her attention onto her lunch while wondering if she was going to be able to get through it without being interrupted or if something was going to pop up.

A large black ship came sailing towards Mori. It had black sails, a big menacing ram on front, and many guns along both sides. The ship wasn't lining itself up to attack or anything, it was making towards the port area. Once it reached the docks, considering if they weren't turned away, the ship - called The Mossberg - dropped anchor.

Alec stepped down the walkway to the docks and took a large inhale. With a sense of smell beyond normal folk, Alec could smell things in the air that others couldn't. They were in a forest now, which meant fresh air straight from the trees. The scents and fragrances of the forest were unlike anything that ever graced his nose, and put a grin on his lips.

Some of the crew would stay with the ship, while others would explore the village. Performing his blind man ruse, Alec began to tap his way down the docks with his Blind Fury stick, to the stares of those that happened to be there at the moment. They no longer bothered him after all this time; people staring in his direction was just something he was all too used to now. Alec found that the ground wasn't moving as it did after a boat ride anymore, which meant he was probably growing used to this captain thing.

The radar gave Alec a detailed look at Mori. Houses of wood, no doubt there being underground passages, most of which he'd be unable to see, and a large tree in the back. it sort of reminded him of a village he'd visited once called Niwa... The tree had to be the home of Temaki. As Alec stepped off of the docks and onto solid ground, someone had to be informing her of these dark dressed invaders who'd just arrived in their village...

This would be the second village he ever visited. They got close, and the growth around them seemed to shut out the sky, with occasional patches that let in rays of the afternoon sun. Konran stared about in fascination while the floated closer to Mori, making out animals and wild life on the ground and up in the trees.

His intoxication long gone but still looking calm - and wishing he had more of that "cigar" - Konran stood up, holding the scabbard of his Shift Blade in his left hand, and stepped down the walkway with Alec. The village had houses that looked made out of the trees, and there was a big tree in the back. Were people living in there? He'd never been inside of a tree before, nor could he imagine someone making a house out of a tree. How was that possible?

Maybe he'd get to find out. Konran followed along close to Alec as he walked and tapped, looking like a blind man. Maybe it was a trick he played to fool people. Konran started to ask, knowing that he could really see, but he didn't want to expose him and his secrets, so he didn't. Konran kept an eye on the surroundings and the staring people just in case someone wanted to attack them for being outsiders.

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The rest of the trip to Morigakure was an uneventful one; there were no more pirates or incidents on the water. In fact, it had been peaceful enough that Destiny had grabbed herself a sandwich and an orange while they crossed the rest of the distance. With her sister and Jynx still sleeping Destiny disembarked with her father and Konran, figuring she would go and see what this kage was like. Her father had mentioned having met her before, so she figured she had to be somewhat decent if her father was willing to meet with her again.

She watched as her father put on his usual blind man act and held back a grin. She simply hugged her teddy bear to her chest and kept close, playing the young child that she looked like: there was no point in acting any differently and drawing attention to herself - their arrival had likely done that easily enough.

"So, Temaki seemed like a cool person?", she asked curiously, wondering if someone was going to show up and stop them, or perhaps show them the way to the kage. Though, she knew with her father's radar he likely already knew where she was.

Temaki had just pulled out her sandwich from the box when there was a knock on her door. "Come in, please.", she called out before taking a quick bite and making even quicker work on chewing it. From the dog bed with Blast came a giggle: Nyx was watching her and thought it was quite funny. Nyx then went back to feeding Blast jerky who was more than willing to eat all that she would give him.

"We have some visitors. They arrived in a ship. One of them seems to be blind. They're dressed a bit.. darkly?", came the voice from her Jounin who had entered.

Temaki simply grinned and nodded. "Sounds like it might be the people from Kurayami. They're more than welcome of course to be here. Go meet up with them, invite them to my office if they wish to see me."

"Yes ma'am.", the Jounin responded before leaving and heading off to meet Alec and the rest of his villagers.

Temaki simply looked over to Nyx and chuckled. "It would seem we have some visitors, little one." Nyx clapped her hands happily and got back up, returning to Temaki's lap. The little girl reached up, taking Temaki's hat, and placed it on her own head.

"I'm the kage, now, mommy."

"Oh? Excellent. Vacation time for me."

Meanwhile the Jounin would have reached Alec and his people, giving a respectful bow. "Welcome to Morigakure. I was informed you were perhaps from Kurayami? Temaki said she will meet with you if that is what you wish; I can take you to her office." If, that was in fact what they wished, the Jounin would lead them without hesitation to the administrative building, inside the large tree it was carved into, and straight to Temaki's office where he would knock before opening the door and holding it open for everyone.

"Yeah, sure," Alec responded to Destiny. "She was alright when I met her. She's an Inuzuka. You should know about them... but she's nothing like the ones back in the old country."

Someone with Jounin level chakra was coming towards them. He came near and gave a respectful bow. He said "Welcome to Morigakure. I was informed you were perhaps from Kurayami? Temaki said she will meet with you if that is what you wish; I can take you to her office."

"Alright, thank you. I see we were expected. We'll follow you..." Alec walked along with the Jounin to the Admin Complex, which was the large tree. He could still notice many stares, but again, he was used to them. A tall blind man in black had to be a sight one didn't see everyday.

The Jounin took them through the Admin Complex. The inside smelled highly of wood, a scent that Alec didn't mind. The Jounin knocked on the door before opening it and holding it for everyone to walk in. Alec thanked him again as he stepped into the office.

"Greetings," said Alec. The smell of animals hovered in the office, but again, Alec didn't mind. "Good to see you again... or... yeah. A beautiful village you have here, Temaki. We would have been here sooner but we had a run-in with pirates. These are 2 of my kids, Destiny and Konran. You guys, this is Temaki Inuzuka, she's the Kage here."

Destiny asked if Temaki was a cool person, and Alec said that she was. He said that she was an Inuzuka, and that she should know about them. Konran remembered the story Alec told him about their encounter with those other Inuzuka back in their homeland. It was nice to know that they weren't all like that.

Someone came and said they'd take them to Temaki's office. Konran walked along with Alec as they were lead through the village. All of the eyes staring at them started to get irritating, but it didn't seem to bother Alec at all. Konran didn't look back, he just kept his gaze forward and noticed that they were being lead to the big tree.

He couldn't believe that people actually worked and lived in here. His first time inside of a tree... Konran looked around everywhere. They were taken to an office and he stepped in with Alec. The woman in there had a kid with her, and 2 big dogs, way bigger than the ones he'd seen in books. When Alec introduced him as his kid - something he was still getting used to, but didn't mind - Konran kept silent but waved a gloved hand.

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Destiny watched as a Jounin approached and listened as the male stated that he would take them to Temaki if that was what they wished. She glanced to her father and Konran before following around. As she walked she glanced about, ignoring for the moment all of the stares and really taking a moment to focus on the people themselves: they all looked healthy and happy. The village was incredibly beautiful and well built; it looked like it was well cared for.

The administrative building was even bigger of a curiosity due to it being built right into a tree, but it smelled wonderful. Once led to Temaki's office she walked in too to see a little girl with fox ears and a tail sitting on Temaki's lap and wearing the kage hat. The little girl didn't look older than say five years old, and it made Destiny grin a bit.

She too waved when introduced but otherwise didn't say anything else: curious as to what was going to be said.

Temaki looked up at she heard the knock in time to see her Jounin open the door and allow Alec and two other individuals to enter. Alec stated that her village was beautiful, and that they would have arrived sooner but had had a run in with some pirates. He went on introduce the two other people with him as Destiny and Konran; two of his kids. "It's nice to meet all of you, please have a seat.", she would say with an indication towards the plush chairs lined up in front of her desk.

"This is my daughter, Nyx, and my two wolves Blast and Cana.", she would introduce the child on her lap and the two wolves laying nearby who seemed more interested in sleeping than what was going on - at least until Nyx climbed down from her lap and pounced on them. Blast simply very slowly rolled onto his side so that she could 'win' their little play fight.

Temaki glanced to her daughter, chuckled, and then looked back to Alec and his people. "You mentioned pirates? If anyone with you is injured we have an excellent hospital and medics on hand; free of charge of course."

"Oh no, no... the pirates were nothing we couldn't handle," Alec said with his trademark sarcastic grin, touching the top of Destiny's head. "If something were to happen to one of us we have our own live-in medic and mad scientist here. Appreciate the gesture though."

Temaki re-introduced her animal partners, as well as her daughter, who had fox ears and a tail. It wasn't the strangest thing he'd seen before, and was well aware that there were animal/human hybrids. Jynx was one herself, and he'd seen others. Alec "looked" towards Nyx and the dogs and waved to them. "Nice to meet you, Nyx. We meet again, Blast, Cana... all is well I hope?" Alec was sure that if the dogs were anything like Little Kong, Kuro's crows or even Artemis' spider Minerva, they understood everything he said.

Alec sat in one of the seats after reaching into one of his cloak pockets. Before leaving Kurayami he'd gone to each of the re-established businesses and took inventories of all of their stock and specialties. Listed also were other things, such as the minerals from the mines and rock quarrys, and also the best trade routes to avoid pirates, and the creatures that inhabited the darkness surrounding the village.

"As I mentioned before," Alec said, sliding the scroll with all of the details written within across Temaki's desk before her. "Everything you'll need to know is within. The crew of my ship is currently in trades with some of the businesses around your docks, so i'll be expecting to see Mori ships in our port soon. If there's any other details you need, or anything else you want to discuss, don't hesitate."

Destiny was quiet too. He didn't know her, but Alec said she was really a grown woman. He couldn't get his head around that. A medical technique that turns you back into a kid?... The familiar confusion was beginning to return to him the further his "buzz" wore off from the earlier "cigar." Alec said that Destiny was a medic and a mad scientist.

Alec said hi to Temaki's kid, a girl with fox ears and a tail named Nyx. Jynx was part monkey and had a tail too; Konran was getting used to the fact that there were some people who were crossed with animals. He wondered how those dogs got so big, and what they ate. Probably whole pigs, or deer.

Alec sat down, but Konran remained standing next to him, his smoking Shift Blade in his left hand. He'd been sitting almost the whole ride here and felt the need to stretch his legs. Alec started talking village stuff about business and trade routes, which didn't interest him much. He'd leave all of that to the bosses...

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When her father touched her on the head and explained that no one had been hurt, but that had they had Destiny could have handled it she grinned from ear to ear. "Medical stuff is what I do best."

Destiny then shifted her attention to the wolves who were introduced and the size of horses easily enough, and the little girl who looked like she was some kind of part fox. Destiny wasn't one to judge; having a tail and fuzzy ears wasn't a bad thing. The girl looked happy, and despite the size difference between her and the dogs the dogs were handling her as if she were a delicate item - no rough housing.

Before sitting down Destiny paused long enough to get a good feel of the atmosphere; it was calm and collected, a neutral and comfortable setting. So, figuring things were good she too sat down - noticing as she did so that Konran decided to remain standing. She kept quiet while her father presented Temaki with the information needed to set up trade agreements with Kurayami: she hadn't had a chance to see the village yet, so she was of little help in that regard.

Temaki was relaxed and comfortable: she had been a kage for over ten years so situations like this was something she was all too used to. Considering no one was yelling, threatening, or otherwise causing troubles she figured that things were going good and would remain so. She had no reason to have issues with Alec due to him being up front and honest with her when they first met, so it was a good start on what could likely be a very long truce between their villages.

Considering he explained that the young girl with him, Destiny, was a medic and that none of them had been harmed during the pirate attack to boot she allowed the topic to slide and moved on to business. Temaki took the scroll that Alec passed to her and gave it a good look over. The goods he had access to would come in handy, especially those that she herself didn't have access to due to the location of their village. All in all, it was a fair deal. Nodding to herself she reached into her desk's top drawer and pulled out a scroll of her own on which her own goods were listed. She passed it to Alec with a grin.

"Excellent. You've got some good's here my village has been needing to get its hands on. We'll definitely be sending ships your way. That there is a list of what my village can offer; including goods that only my village can properly produce due to its location."

She would sit back then, resting her elbows once more on the arms of her chair and interlocking her fingers. Out of the corner of her eye she could see Nyx continuing to try and wrestle with Blast who was currently playing dead: completely happy and oblivious to the rest of the world at the moment.

Alec took the scroll that she slid towards him and opened it. She said that Kuraiyami had goods that they needed, and that the scroll listed all of the goods that they had to offer as well. Some of the goods could only be obtained here in Mori. Temaki said she'd be sending ships towards Kuraiyami soon, to which Alec nodded his head with a grin.

"Nice," Alec said as he closed the scroll again, reaching behind him to slide it into the bag on his back. "With that over with, i'm not ashamed to admit i'm not very good with these meetings or political matters, i'm mostly the one to get his hands dirty. Though it is pretty nice not to have to resort to violence for a chance. I don't want to drag this out too long or make things boring, but is there anything else you'd like to know? Any questions? I'd like to take a look around your fine village before we set out towards Umigakure."

Alec didn't really want to leave right before he got here, but he wanted to get all of this over with so that he could head back home. For some reason he began to feel that he should be there, not that Kurai and the others couldn't handle things.

Meetings and things like this would bore ordinary children, but Konran wasn't bored. Destiny sat next to Alec after saying medical stuff is what she did best. So if anyone got hurt, she'd be able to heal them. Konran nodded his head; it would be a good thing to have someone like her with them.

Alec and Temaki exchanged scrolls with important info on them, possibly the trade goods between villages, and goods that could only come from Mori or Kuraiyami. Alec said he wasn't ashamed to admit that he wasn't good at doing this leader stuff; he was better at getting his hands dirty. Konran took that as he was used to fighting and killing people. Alec said it was nice not to have to get violent for a change.

Alec asked if there was anything else she wanted to know, because he wanted to walk around and have a look at things before they left for the water village. Konran was all of staying a while, or leaving, it was up to Alec.

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Information had traded hands, and it seemed that both villages would benefit from the opening of trade routes. Temaki stated that there would be ships filled with goods sent in Kurayami's direction soon enough, which was good news: Morigakure had goods that Kurayami could never dream of producing, goods that they would need to finish getting the village back on its feet.

Still, Destiny remained silent. She had nothing to add to this conversation. She was like her father - she wasn't a leader, nor was she good at this political stuff - she was much better at taking a hands on approach and handling things through combat. She liked to leave the talking to those who were better equipped at it.

She remained mostly still, only shifting a bit by folding her hands together in front of her as she waited to see if Temaki had anything else to add before they went and did a bit of exploring before taking off to the next village.

Temaki couldn't help but grin at Alec Kane's admittance. She knew all too well how that felt to be new to something: she too was very much like him in that way. "Don't worry about it, you're doing a fine job, Alec. I know how you feel; I became kage of Morigakure out of nessecity, not choice. I would have much rather preferred being out in the field blowing things up and taking care of things in combat than stuck seated behind a desk playing the politics."

She then shrugged a bit, still relaxed. "You get used to it after a while, I guess."

She then shook her head to his question. "I have nothing else to bring up that needs discussed. You and your people are welcome to visit Morigakure whenever you'd like, and you're welcome to stay as long as you want. If there's anything you and your people need let me know."

Alec stood up again to stretch. There were several popping sounds. "Uggh... getting old," he said with his sarcastic grin. "Well thanks for that Temaki, I do try. I'll let you know if we need anything else before we set sail. Here's to the beginnings of hopefully a long and prosperous friendship between our villages."

Alec held out his right hand to shake. After Temaki would shake it - assuming that she did - Alec would turn and motion for Dez and Konran to follow him. Alec would lead the way through the building and back outside. He'd walk around the village for a while, taking in all of the sights, and waving to some of the villagers.

Before too long, Alec stopped moving and put his right hand to the side of his head, his index and middle finger massaging the temple located there as he put his radar to work. His line of sight left Morigakure and traveled to the village of Umi, the next country over. "Hmmm," he said, noticing that no one was in the village. The whole place looked pretty much deserted. "There... doesn't seem to be anyone in Umigakure, then..."

What to do now, then? Head back home? It didn't make sense to travel to a village where there would be no one to greet them. "Well, I guess this is where we cut our trip short. That girl in the sand, Neo. i'm pretty sure she'll put the word out that we want to meet and greet. Maybe someone will get in touch, if they haven't already. You need to see our new home anyway, Dez. It's almost as big as Makkura..."

With that, Alec began to head back toward the docks to the Mossberg. "Besides, Kurai doesn't like being a leader figure, not for long, anyway. We'd better get back so I can relieve him of duty..."

Eventually Alec was back at the wheel while the crew loaded on the rest of the goods for the ride home. He waved to the people on the docks seeing them off. the anchor was raised, and the big black ship began to set off, away from the forest and out towards open sea, headed back in the direction of Kuraiyamigakure.

/Exit/

That was over with. Alec shook hands with Temaki and said he hoped they could be friends for a long time. Konran liked this village; he hoped they could be friends too. If she ever needed help Konran wouldn't hesitate.

Outside, after walking around with Alec for a while, he put a hand to the side of his head. At first Konran thought that maybe he was having a headache, but soon realized that he must have been looking at something with those eyes of chakra. He said the next village over was empty.

Seriously? Did those eyes really let him look over into a whole other country? Well... an ability like that did come in handy, it saved them a trip into an empty village. So they were going back home then... that was fine with Konran. It would give him the chance to go and grab whatever he may have missed from that room and leave it for the final time, then sort out a proper living space.

So soon they would be back on the ship, with Konran sitting in his usual spot behind Alec and to the left, settled in for the ride back home...

[Exit]

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So, the meeting was over and done with. It had been short, but not bad. It seemed like they would be on friendly terms here just as they were in Sabaku. It was a good feeling really, not to have to sleep with one eye open so to speak because there were so many enemies running around. Plus, they'd be able to get materials and such that their homeland wouldn't be able to provide them.

Good deal, very good deal.

Destiny would wait until it was time to leave, and the hand shaking was done, before she too would follow her father out of the room. As they traveled through the village, exploring and such for a short period of time, Destiny got a glimpse at how beautiful the place truly was. Everyone seemed happy too, which spoke volumes of how good of a job the kage was doing.

Then it was time to get back on the ship and head home; her father said that there was no one around in Umigakure at the moment, so it would be a wasted trip. Besides, Destiny didn't mind, she was curious to see her new home and see everyone else again. She jumped aboard the ship, choosing to sit nearby her father so she could watch the coming and goings of everything while keeping out of the way...

Okami sighed. He hated having to go through formalities, but it was fairly common. Brushing his bangs out of his right eye and behind his ear, the Uchiha knocked on the Kage's door. He wished to travel to their new ally's country for training and such, and to visit a small group of Uchiha that were in the country in hiding. Stepping in, he looked at the Kage as she sat at her desk. She was fair of skin, with colorful hair and a rainbow tattoo on her left arm. He'd even dare say she was a drop-dead stunner, except she was married to the current head of his clan.

"Temaki, I was wondering if I could travel to Kurayamigakure for training. I also heard a rumor along the grapevine that there were more Uchiha there, and I'd like to meet them out of curiosity. I've honestly missed the days when we could be out in the open, and I'm glad you've made our Village a safe haven for us."

Temaki had been in the process of putting her current paperwork away now that Alec and his people had left when a knock on her door caused her to look up. She knew almost every single individual in her village in one form or another since she had read the files on all of her people many times over again, so she knew this individual to be Okami of the Uchiha clan. From what she knew of him he had done a few mission within the village including an S-Rank one that had been labeled as being rather difficult. Still, he had come out of it alive which was more than what the average shinobi could say.

He was requesting to travel to their new allies village, Kurayamigakure no Sato. He said his intentions where to meet some of the Uchiha that had been in hiding in the village, and he commented thanking her on giving the Uchiha in Morigakure a safe haven to live in. Given what he had done in the village already, and his reasoning behind wanting to venture out there, plus the new treaties in place she nodded her head in approval. "You have my permission Uchiha Okami to travel to Kurayamigakure no Sato. I don't need to tell you to be on your best behavior with our newest allies and abide by any rules they have set there. You'll be the first from our village to set foot there as a visitor, so make sure you're a proud example of our fine country.", she said with a bit of a grin.

Temaki made sure to make a note of Okami Uchiha's destination; it would be entered into the files later on so that there were no complications later on with him having left. "Keep yourself safe out there; there are all manner of beasts lurking in the darkness."

Around two weeks after his return, Okami would come up to Temaki's office once again. This time, it would be with better news than what had been brought on the LAST surprise visit to her domain. The last time she was surprised, Luke Yasenha had been brought in and promptly killed on the spot by her husband as he had disrespected both her and Rin, the husband in question and Head of the Uchiha clan. This time, on the other hand, Okami had brought his backpack. Which, while not filled with explosions rumored to make the Harukage giddy, was filled with priceless gems stolen from a dragon's den. He had picked up a few firecrackers, however, as he knew both she and her daughter would be able to enjoy them if the rumors were true. Maybe the head of his clan would get a kick out of them, too.

Knocking on the door and waiting for a response, Okami would walk in when cleared to. "Temaki-sama, I have a surprise for you! I had a little run-in with the dragon rumored to live in the cave up by the mountain stream about a day outside the Village. I'm doing better than he is, as his head is in my foyer, stuffed and mounted. I raided his horde, and wanted to give you the spoils to use for Morigakure's sake. I also brought you some firecrackers, the good ones from the merchant down the road. I figured you and Nyx-chan would enjoy them!"

Okami spoke with a slight lilt in his voice, having regained his normal cheer since his recent brush with death. Setting his backpack and the bag full of fireworks on the table, he would open the backpack to show Temaki. They were filled with diamonds, rubies, emeralds, pretty much anything sparkly you could think of that people would kill for. Giving his trademark wolfish grin, Okami would wait for a response form the Harukage.