Visiting another Village (Vash x Harmony)

[X-Vash00]

It was a strange day for the shinobi of Kumogakure, especially for one Strider Hiryu. He was assigned to be a part of a peace mission, that term made Strider laugh. Sending a trained killer to be a part of a peace mission? A ridiculous notion, any person bringing weapons to peace mission had no intentions of peace, but none the less the Raikage gave him this mission and he had no choice but to accept it. The mission? Travel to the village of Konoha to be a liaison and to be integrated into one of their shinobi teams. He was to smooth things over with them since their treaty with Konoha had become strained ever since the Silver brothers assassinated the second Hokage. He was to be the first to go, but more would come a later time when the two countries had become more friendly toward each other.

He walked around his apartment and checked all of his gear. His Kunai knives were freshly sharpened and neatly placed in their pouch on his belt. His summoning scrolls were all placed in their proper positions, and everything else was in proper order. He then walked to the stand where his sword was placed along with the various names of his forefathers. This sword was his family's sword, passed down from generation to generation of Hiryu's. It was almost a strange sight since the blade was in a more of a triangular shape that was wide at the bottom and narrowed at the tip. Another strange thing about the sword was its color, it was a bright orange color and the extra hilt added to the side that made the sword more like a tonfa rather than a sword. He gently picked it up and skid it into the sheath on his back. With that, everything was ready to go. He quickly raised the scarf up around his face and tightened it around the lower half of his face to act like a mask. With that done he walked to the gate of his village.

At the entrance he was greeted by the Raikage. He gave the Raikage a respectful bow, "I will not fail sir." The Raikage gave him a nod and the gates opened at his command. With the gates now opened, Strider took his leave.

After three days travel he reached the great gates of Konoha. He stated his business to the guardsman and the gates opened, he was greeted by an interesting sight.

 

[Harmony]

Team Kurenai had been picked since they were around the age of the shinobi sent. It did not help that Team Gai was out on a mission and Team Kakashi…well, they were sorting out their own issues and were pretty much off of the grid. It almost seemed like they were the last resort. Even if there was a Hyuuga on Team Kurenai, one of the most influential clans in the village, it was Hinata.

As the time for the meeting of the Kumo-nin approached, the sound of kunai, barking, growling and Kiba’s shouting could be heard from one of the training fields as Team Kurenai did some last minute training before they had an extra shinobi added to their squad.

Hinata sighed as she sat under a tree watching Shino and Kiba spar. It was amazing to see how the two boys could maneuver especially using their respective animals. They were about to start another round...or at least start from the small breather that Kiba had taken when she stood up, "Ano...Kiba-kun...Shino-kun...we should head to the gate now." she called out. During the entire sparring match, Kiba was complaining about the shinobi that was coming from Kumogakure, he kept insisting that this “punk” was a spy.

“Either way…it is an assignment from Tsunade-samma and Kurenai-sensei.” Shino muttered as he held out a finger and watched a bug land, “We should hurry…he’s close.” He added as the bug crawled into his jacket. The bug had not sensed anything bad from this shinobi, but he stayed quiet. If he mentioned no evil vibes, Hinata would let her already low guard down and Kiba would bluntly try to find fault with the guy.

The range of the newbie seemed to spark a nerve in Kiba as he hopped onto Akamaru, “I’ll go greet him!” he shouted as the large dog ran off leaving Shino and Hinata to follow. The two were just running up to Kiba, who was sitting on top of Akamaru trying to look important…and mean, when the gates opened. Kiba’s eyes narrowed, Akamaru growled, Shino merely stayed silent while Hinata looked at the boy with a small blush as she bowed while trying to catch her breath, “Ano…welcome to Konohagakure Hiryu-san. I am Hinata Hyuuga and I will be one of your teammates. This is…” before she could finish the introductions, Kiba growled.

“I’m Kiba…this is Akamaru and the quiet guy is Shino.” He finished before he looked at Hinata with a look she knew all too well, ‘Be careful’

 

[X-Vash00]

The sight at the gate made Strider smile, hidden under his mask. This would most likely be his team since he was givien no order to report to the current Hokage, one of the Legendary Sanin, so he deduced that these three were his teammates. They were an odd bunch to see. One was wearing a heavy green jacket with the hood up (it wasn't even winter), another was ridding an abnormally large dog and he had red streaks run img down his cheek (he wondered if it was paint, a birthmark, or a scar), and the last of them had white eyes. No, it wasn't just the corneas or iris's, it was the entire eye. He had heard tales about eyes like those, but the details behind those eyes escaped him at the moment though he was sure, in time, he would understand the details about them as well as why that dog is so abnormally large.

When he was close enough shy he girl greeted him with a respectful bow, he returned it with the same gesture, "Thank you Hinata. As you already know my name is Strider Hiryu, it is a pleasure to meet you." She went to introduced the others, but the dog riding one cut in. He took that, and the fact that she did not cut back in to continue her introductions, as a sign that this was the defacto leader of their group. Strider stood tall as the one who introduced himself as Kiba do the same for the other teammate named Shino. He carefully observed the look he gave Hinata and noticed it as one of caution. "I sense a certain amount of tension amongst yourselves and I believe it is about me. May I alleviate any thoughts of my intentions by saying I am not here to cause any ill will to you. I am here to learn new techniques, make friends with you three, and hopefully patch our two countries tentative alliance with each other."

He hoped what he said would help things, but seeing astute look Kiba gave Hinata he wasn't planning on it working, but he have it a shot. "So," he continued, "What's on the agenda today?"

 

[Harmony]

As Strider talked about tension and what he was suppose to do in the village, Kiba frowned as Akamaru turned to start walking away, "You can alleviate the thoughts of tension by going back to your own village. As for my agenda...I am heading home." he announced as Akamaru started to walk away. "Come on Shino...we can go bug the Genin brats." he called out, but Hinata caught his eye. She was standing there with a displeased look on her face, her arms crossed just under her breasts, showing the generous size of the wonderful orbs and her eyes were narrowed slightly. "Ugh...I guess we can go back to sparring." he muttered.

Hinata shook her head as Kiba hopped off of Akamaru and sulked back to the group, "Kiba-kun...be nice. I am sure Neji will give Hiryu-kun enough trouble when he returns." she murmured as she glanced at the Kumogakure shinobi before she let out a calming breath, "Hiryu-kun...I only have one question for you. Please answer truthfully...Shino and Kiba can tell if you're lying. Are you connected in anyway to the attempted kidnapping of the Hyuuga Heiress over a decade ago to gain the secrets of the Hyuuga clan's byakugan?" she asked calmly. It almost seemed like history was repeating itself. The kumo-nin from the past had come under the guise of a peace treaty to strengthen ties with Konoha. Now, it was Hiryu who was here to not only help his own village grow, but to help strengthen ties...and he was paired up with the Hyuuga Heiress. For all she knew, Kumogakure wanted to give the failed mission another try.

 

[X-Vash00]

Strider was not pleased at the reaction from Kiba, but it was to be expected from him. Kumogakure had much to answer for, especially to Konoha. Still when he attempted to leave with Shino to bother the beginning shinobi his hand gripped his sword which he affectionately called his Cypher. He was ready to unsheathe it and challenge Kiba to a right to be a part of this team, such was a custom from the military in Kumogakure. The orange blade was almost showing when Hinata glared at Kiba that brought him back. The way she did it was equal parts threatening and non-threatening. The glare she gave him warned of reprocusions if he did not come, yet her stance, other than her arms crossed, was not threatening violence yet was still frightening in a way only a woman could do. A smirk came across his face, still hidden under his mask. Maybe Kiba wasn't the leader of this team after all.

When Kiba suggested sparring and that got Strider excited. He had been traveling for three days and was itching for a good sparring match. He moved to propose a match, but before he could Hinata asked him a question that seemed to be weighted heavily. She asked about a kidnapping attempt on the Hyuga Heiress for their secrets on the Byakugan. It clicked for Strider. The white eyes, the name, now he remembered the tales. A group of shinobi from his village went to Konoha claiming peace, but instead they attempted to kidnap an Heiress to the Hyuga clan when she was only three years old to unlock the secrets of their family technique. After that the details were left to the higher ranking shinobi of Kumogakure. After pondering that dark stain on his country's history he had his answer. "I, nor my family, was ever involved in that plan." He was hoping it was satisfying enough for his team or else he was in trouble.

 

[Harmony]

Hearing the answer, Hinata glanced at Shino who gave a slight nod. Nodding back, she turned to look at Kiba, "You and Shino run ahead and continue from earlier. Kurenai-sensei should be stopping in to say hi once she returns with her new squad." she suggested. The two boys seemed too eager as they darted off towards the sparring grounds, but not before Kiba could give Hinata one last warning glance. "I apologize for Kiba." she said gently as she glanced at Strider before the tightness of the crossing of her arms lessened to a less threatening amount and to a more casual standing stance, "He...does not trust foreigners easily. After all...with what has happened since we have been alive, it makes us uneasy...and Kumogakure has come after my clan quite a few times." she explained calmly, ignoring the bug that had landed on her neck. So, even Shino did not completely trust this guy, or perhaps it was for Kiba so the boy would shut up and focus on sparring.

"So, do you want to go sparring first? Or would you rather get a tour of the village?" she asked curiously, the tone in her voice seemed more carefree, now that Kiba was gone and formalities were pretty much over, it was time for the squad to bond with Strider, but since Kiba seemed unwilling and Shino was more of the silent support type, that pretty much left the burden to Hinata anyways. Not that she cared, even now, she was the weaker link of the squad and she did anything she could to help them.

 

[X-Vash00]

Strider was pleased to see nods coming from his new teammates after he have his answer. So the truth was spoken and all was well, except do the fact that Strider could tell Kiba was still not at ease. 'Quite the paranoid one,' he thought to himself. He believed that at least Hinata would be the more paranoid of the trio since his countrymen had come after her family before, or was Kiba. Wing paranoid for her since she seemed to be the one at ease the most, perhaps too much for her own good. That didn't seem important since Strider was not here on some covert mission to kidnap her or any of her family members and he certainly wasn't here to be a spy. A, the fourth Raikage, had made it specifically clear that he was not to report anything back, unless directed to, until his return home after both Kages felt that enough time had been spent there. The length was not specified so he could either be here for a short time or he could be in for the long haul. So he was going to have to make the best of it. His attention turned back to Hinata as she apologized for the behavior of Kiba, her stance returning to one of neutrality. He himself realized his grip on his sword had not loosened and the blade still gleamed in the reflective sunlight. He quickly remedied that by sliding it back into its sheath and resting his hand on his belt. "Oh it's fine, really. It wasn't expected but we are trained to adapt and that's just something I'm going to have to adapt to." He decided to spare no words and continued, "Infact I'm a little surprised that you don't treat me withthe same hostility. From what the stories are you should have probably alread killed me since it was rumored that one of your family members sacrificed himself because my village demanded it due to the fact our Raikage was killed in their ill fated attempt to capture a member of your family." He waited for her answer while he pondered her question.

It would give him a tactical advantage to take the tour and learn about the places he would be going to for awhile. Then again he did want to spar to get some exercise in as well as leanr about his teams fighting abilities and tactics. Decisions, decisions. After giving it some thought he would have to go with sparring. "Let's go ahead and head to your sparring rings, I'm interested to see how Kiba would fight with such a big dog by his side all the time. I mean if that's no trouble for you, if it would be best for you I wouldn't mind taking the tour of the village."

 

[Harmony]

As Strider told Hinata that he was surprised that she did not act hostile towards him, the girl looked at him before she shook her head slightly. "Mm...I didn't feel a killing vibe from you." she admitted almost too easily as a small smile came to her face, "I mean...both times that a Kumo-nin tried to kidnap me...there was this creepy aura, and you're not giving off the same thing. Plus...Shino said you're good." she explained as she turned around, "Lets head over to the sparring before Kiba and Shino finish. It's no trouble at all. We can take the tour later." she offered with a small smile, "As for Kiba fighting...him and Akamaru become one. But it is hard to see that with Shino...I mean, Shino could give Akamaru and Kiba fleas and win the match like that." she murmured, of course Shino could really only control his bugs, but she was sure that he could make the bugs act like fleas. Most of their sparring had been taijutsu. Rarely were either of them able to use their animal.

"Ano...Hiryu-kun...what is your fighting style?" she asked the boy curiously. She had not let that large triangular sword slip her sight, but that was not much help, did he only prefer sword or did he like using jutsu? If he liked using jutsu, then what kind? Surprisingly, Hinata was very curious about him, and that'd probably be the second reason why Neji would want to kill him when the Jounin returned. "Also...since Kiba and Shino are trying to settle their issue...could you be my sparring partner for today?" she asked curiously as her hands came together and she fiddled with her fingers to distract herself from the oncoming blush.

 

[X-Vash00]

Strider smiled as she told him she didn't get a killing vibe from him, "Well I'm glad you think so." Though 'killing vibe' seemed to be a bit... Strider didn't know to put it himself, but weren't they all really killers? They only chose when and who to kill and with extreme precision. He smiled with her as she lead him to the sparring rings. He was interested to hear what she had to say about her teammates. He rose a brow when she said that when Kiba and his... well he couldn't really say dog since it was so huge.... beast perhaps? Either way he was surprised when she said they became one when they fought. "Interesting, a pair in tandem. That is something I would want to see."

When she asked about his own fighting preferences he had to think about it. He did favor his Cypher over all but it certianly wasn't something he was limited to. "Well, I do enjoy using my sword, like most people from my village, but it's not what I solely rely on. I have a lot of ninjutsu in my arsenal, as well as tainitsu, but not many genjutsu I don't have a knack for that." They walked further and as they did she asked if he would be her sparring partner for the day. "Sure, I'd love to be your partner for today."

 

[Harmony]

"It is interesting to watch...but I believe that Shino-kun's fighting will overpower Kiba-kun." she murmured quietly as she started to head towards the training grounds. "Even now, I feel like I am watching their backs, but they try not to give off that feeling." she added with a small yet sad smile. The feeling of being left behind was less than it had been when they were Genin, especially with her clan acknowledging her, but still, Kiba and Shino were strong...really strong and she still felt that she was behind.

When Hinata arrived at the training grounds, she saw Shino sitting in a tree and Kiba was passed out next to a knocked out Akamaru. She knew what had happened. Kiba started an argument while they were sparring with Taijutsu since when those two sparred, Shino held back for the safety of his teammate, the Inuzuka kept pressing Shino to the point that both were using their Ninjutsu as well and Shino probably summoned some bugs that released a faint odor that affected the oversensitive senses of the dog and his partner. "Gomen Hiryu-kun...it looks like their done for now. I do not think that Kiba-kun will be up for a while." she murmured, "But you'll have plenty of chances to see both of them fight." she added calmly.