[Kaguya Meiko]

The shrill call of the teapot summoned Meiko to the kitchen of her small house, the soft steps of the chuunin's chusioned socks bringing her to the stove where she would take the teapot off the heat and pour the steaming water into a large mug. With a hum the teapot was replaced on the stove. It was an old thing, her stove. A relic she hadn't had the heart to replace.  Soon enough she would be pulling on her uniform and enjoying the last of her dark tea on her couch. Today had all the makings of a relaxed and uneventful day. The agenda for today was simple; first she had work at the gates, her lunch was packed and ready, so all she truly had to do was finish her tea, wrap her favourite kimono around her and tie it before heading out. If everything went according to plan she would arrive fifteen minutes before her shift - just enough time to relieve the night shift and have a chat with them about. Sometimes they had some fun anecdotes, other times they had more serious matters, which she needed to keep in mind during her shift.  Meiko did want to get some training done, as well. Though it would likely be a late session, alone. She sighed at the idea. She really needed to hit up some of her previous training partners and see if they couldn't schedule a session again... Emptying the mug, she rose and sorted out the rest of her appearance, grabbed her bento and water bottle. A final lap around the small house to turn of lights and throw an extra log on the stove fire before she exited and locked her door. Determined she strode through the clan compound and towards the village.  Everything was more or less asleep still. The sun had not broken through yet. The air was cold and had a promise of winter in its bite. Above the stars twinkled faintly, the sky not quite black as night. White tendrils wrapped around buildings and imitated a crushing wave coming from all sources of water. This morning the village lived up to its name.   wordcount:363 Post count: 1/10 Kaguya Meiko

my limist aren't your point of view. [attr="class","icon"] wordcount:363 Post count: 1/10 Kaguya Meiko

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[Ren]

It was still the early hours of the morning in this cold, autumn day, giving all of those who were up and about in the Hidden Mist Village a taste of the harsh winter to come. The Mist was thick, more so than usual, which would make the duty of those in charge of preventing aliens from entering the village a tad bit more challenging, but they were used to that, they were Mist Shinobi after all.

For the first hour of her shift, Meiko didn't have to deal with anything other than the potential boredom caused by nothingness. Nobody came, nobody left, and all she had to do was to stand there, the first line of defence to her village.

But with the crack of down, in the far horizon, the Chuunin would be able to see the first caravan of travelling merchants slowly making their way towards the village, to sell their goods and make some profit, adding to the new riveting economy of their nation, which had improved in the past year thanks to the restless efforts of their new Mizukage and Daimyo. Some merchants were pushing their own carts, others had horses to help them in the task, but all eager to sell their goods to the citizens of the village.

[Kaguya Meiko]

When Meiko arrived at the East gate it was with fifteen minutes to spare, so everything was going according to plan so far. She greeted the other sentries with a smile and her usual greeting. They were all familiar faces to each other by now, after all.  Meiko kept her kimono on, put the Bento away and went to receive an update on how the night went and how Taiga's new niece was faring. A healthy young girl. Nothing of note had really happened in the night, no strange visitors, no shinobi returning except for the perimeter control patrol. More importantly perhaps, none of the traps had been triggered either. In return Meiko shared a bit of information about the new teashop which had opened on the outskirts of the entertainment district. Excellent brews, cakes and savoury snacks.  She relieved the team and took over. It would just be her today seemed. That would be alright, though ideally they'd be two or more. Perhaps Takao or Yagi would end up showing up for s half day shift. Either way, she took up her position and made herself comfortable. The first hour was spent searching the mist around her with her hazel eyes and arranging the dorms and writing utensils so she had easy access and so that is all was to her liking. Sometimes you could even tell who had been in your seat before you on the order of the forms or how the other nicknacks were arranged.  Once the first merchant came rolling, Meiko donned  smile and greeted the merchant.  "Good morning! What is your business in Kirigakire today?"  She went through the usual spiel, filled out the forms needed and signed where needed before handing over the merchant's permit and receipt. The same thing would repeat for the following visitors.

my limits aren't your point of view. [attr="class","icon"] wordcount:X Post count: 3/10 Kaguya Meiko

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[Ren]

The first man to show up looked rather humble. He was pushing a cart filled with radishes. "G'morning! I'm coming to sell my goods at the market. I have the papers here, give me a moment, ma'am." and as he said that, he grabbed the backpack he had on the cart, searched inside of it for a few seconds, before smiling triumphantly and handing the gate guard the slightly crumpled paper. It was an old permit, but it was still valid for the next couple of weeks. "Just gonna spend a couple, maybe a few days in, just enough to get the cart empty." he said in a rather trustworthy tone.

As everything seemed to be in order, Meiko would fill up the forms as needed, sign, stamp and let the man go on his merry way. A few other merchants of a variety of merchandise passed through the gates. At this time, there were very little visitors. Everything would be fine for the first couple hours, just routine work, until a couple of merchants arrived, in a chariot drawn by two horses. "Good Morning, just going for the market." the blonde woman announced, not making any indication of the intention to stop the chariot.

[Kaguya Meiko]

Easy work. Nice people. Sometimes being at the gates was nice and a refreshing take on being a shinobi. Meiko had seen the war, had seen malice and the underhanded way she and other shinobi had to act ar times. A win is a win and sometimes you had to strike first and hard on small problems to avoid having a bigger problem on your hands later.  Meiko didn't attempt too much small talk, these were working people and they needed to be able to go and get their wares sold and shops set up rather than chat.  A chariot approached, rather determined and as if it was the most natural thing in the world that they'd just get permission to pass through the gate. Falling into a routine was easy, but that was not why she was hired. She was hired to be observant and notice people who thought themselves too important to stop for a simple check.  "Please let me see your permit and sign you in, miss!"  She called out, her chakra already churning and hardening the layer of bone beneath her skin without much of Meikos incentive. Below the table, out of eyesight, Meiko weaved the signs for the hidden mist signature Jutsu. She kept her eyes on the chariot, if they still made no attempts to stop and approach her, she would weave the final seal and activate it, summoning an incredibly thick mist to block the gate and hide herself. If necessary she would make them leave and notify the rest of the gates as well to be in the look out. Worst case scenario, they had ill intentions.   If the mist Jutsu had been cast Meiko would leave her post and be between the chariot and gate, walking up to the visitors and once again asking for their permit.  If they simply handed the permit over she would fix their forms and everything else before dispelling the mist Jutsu and letting them pass.

my limits aren't your point of view. [attr="class","icon"] wordcount:X Post count: 5/10 tag

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[Ren]

The chariot attempted to continue, and when Meiko called them out, they gave her a slightly nervous - yet trying to look calm and cool - smile. Definitely suspicious. As they made no sign to stop, she would waive her hand seals and create a thick mist in the area, making it basically impossible to see the path ahead, which prompted the horses to stop in hesitation. "Whoa, whoa! Calm down boys!" the woman shouted to the horses, as they seemed to grow more nervous. She would then turn around, looking for the guard, but it was difficult to see with the mist.

"I'm so sorry, ma'am. The horses are new, they are still hard to control hehehe... I will get you the permit, I'm... Well... I'm having a hard time seeing with all this mist, you see?" she said in a rather apologetical tone, which also sounded quite nervous. The man hadn't said a word yet, but he looked as nervous as the woman; if not slightly more, as he hammered his fingers on his thigh.

[Kaguya Meiko]

The merchants weren't very reassuring. Meiko was tempted to listen to the small voice telling her to sprout the bones needed for one of her dances, to pin the chariot or spook the horses. To employ tactics which had been encouraged when they were in another time. But they were peaceful now and if she was quick to jump at guests, then she'd only damage their reputation. She was a shinobi, a guard.  With her chakra primed and ready to react to the situation and her layer of bone hardened to its strongest point she dispelled the mist and it would slowly fade out and clear up enough to grant them all a decent vision once more.  Meiko held her position between the chariot and the gate.  She would expect the merchant to come to her with their slip of paper. Her fierce hazel eyes locked on the passengers. Would they truly want to attempt to weasel their way around her? Or would they have sense enough to know they didn't employ civilians with lower level shinobi training? Most of the serving shinobi had after all experienced the war and discord from the scuffle between the kage and daimyo.  If the merchant simply offered the permit for Meiko to come and take, Meiko would stand still, her eyes moving from the permit to the merchant before resting there, silently urging her to dismount her carriage and march the few strides to where Meiko stood.

my limits aren't your point of view. [attr="class","icon"] wordcount:X Post count: 7/10 tag

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[Ren]

The mist was dispelled at their request, and the woman moved to the back of the chariot, to grab a backpack and check for the paper work inside of it. She did take a few minutes. "Just a moment... Where did I put it again?" meanwhile, the man sitting in the front just continued to hammer his fingers on his thigh, growing more and more nervous. Then, the woman would come carrying a small bag and offer it to Meiko. "Soooo... I couldn't really find the permit! Silly me must've forgotten it... But maybe you could check the bag for the authorization request forms I had sent... And maybe we can get to an understanding, what do you say, ma'am?" she asked, cracking an uncomfortable smile.

If Meiko checked the bag, she would see a fair amount of ryo. The woman was trying to bribe the guard into letting them in. The amount was not astonishing, but it was not insignificant either. The woman would then wait for the Gate Guard's reaction to her dirty proposal. The Hidden Mist had changed with time, but maybe these people were not yet aware of the new path the village had been taking. Or perhaps they were just bold, or extremely naïve. Maybe even all of the options at the same time.

[Kaguya Meiko]

Meikos eyes driftes between the two, as the woman spent time rummaging through the bag, Meikos gaze lingered on the man, who seemed tense and uncomfortable. Something was definitely fishy about these two.  The woman would dismount amd approach, carrying a bag and explaining that maybe it'd be better Meiko looked through it for their papers. Her hands would be occupied...  Her eyes narrowed and she took the bag, looking through it. No papers. Only ryo. "It seems you have misplaced your permit and authorization papers. Please follow me, ma'am, and fill out the forms."  She lead the way to the desk and found the papers needed and pushed the forms towards the woman along with a pen. Meiko then turned towards the chariot, her eyes landing on the man.  " I will need to inspect your wares and chariot. Do you have any sharp tool with you on board? Any explosives? Food items?"  If no resistance was made she'd start her inspection, asking about their business in Kirigakure, where they had travelled from and the like. Mentally she noted their appearance and any identifying markers such as scars, tattoos, symbols and the like.  She might need to report them after all.  Either way she'd draw up a report about attempted blackmail. Her decision about detaining them was still being debated. If they were simple merchants here to sell something harmless it'd be alright. Either way, she'd eventually hand over the description and everything to the suiryu butai's police division, especially if they were harmless...

my limits aren't your point of view. [attr="class","icon"] wordcount:X Post count: 9/10 tag

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[Ren]

The woman was nervous, yes, but she didn't argue when the Kaguya asked her to follow her to the desk, where she had the forms. She sighed and grabbed the pen to start filling up the paperwork when the Gate Guard asked if she had any sharp tools and explosives on board. "No explosives... We have knives to cook, we are travellers. Food only what we needed for the trip. The rest are our goods for sale." the woman said, slightly nervous tone, but she didn't sound necessarily malicious there.

The Kaguya would find no opposition to the inspection, and most of the stuff there, other than the merchant's supplies for travelling, were trinkets of many sorts. They looked like they could potentially be stolen goods due to the variety of stuff. Clocks, Computer screens, radios, batteries, stuff like that.

She also took note of the traits of the woman. Pitch black, wavy hair, a missing tooth in the front, and a mole on her upper cheek. The man was bald, with grey hair only on the sides, thick eyebrows and a beard, with black sideburns, but white mustache and goatee. Now it was up to the Gate Guard discretion if she would allow them to enter or not. "I filled up the papers, ma'am. Can we go?" the woman asked.

[Kaguya Meiko]

Meiko's search yielded nothing too concerning. If she stopped every traveller with assorted items, no one would ever enter. Meiko nodded briefly before inspecting the papers, finding them to be satisfactory she would stamp them and keep the copy for herself and the gate's files. Another copy would be made when she had a moment of peace and then she'd call for one of the trusted officers from the suiryu butai to handle the rest.  "All appears to be in decent order." She kept her gaze on the two, flickering between them briefly. "Stay safe and don't try anything like that again. Be grateful you aren't being turned away for your behavior."  She warned and handed them their permits and receipts. Meiko would note their appearance and attach the description to the copy of their sign in before finding a walkie-talkie and tuning in to the frequency associated with the policing force. Hopefully they'd arrive swiftly.  New merchants had piled up and she'd get to processing their information and requests. Hopefully it'd all go smoothly with no more hiccups amd strange encounters as the pair she had just processed.  Whenever the Suiryu butai officer arrived she'd report to them swiftly about the encounter and hand over the information, then the matter would be out of her hands and she could focus on prepping for the next shift and refilling the form drawers as well as ink containers whenever no visitors needed her attention.

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[Ren]

The woman nodded in relief when Meiko let her in after her attempt to bribe her. They didn't have the proper papers, but their goods regular, perhaps stolen from somewhere, but not necessarily something she had hard evidence of, and that would now be on the jurisdiction of the Suiryu Butai, who informed the Chuunin they were on the way to check things out.

The rest of her shift was relatively uneventful, with just some visitors and other merchants, and shinobis returning from their own missions. At the end of her turn, it was one more day of good work, and she could go home and rest.

Random Mission Scenario roll: 1 - no change.
Mission Completed