Mission [Divert Refugee Allocation]:

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If there was one thing Shinoko was glad about, it was the fact that the other villages were here. Apparently, unbeknownst to Shinoko at the time, all of the four great nations had gathered to sunagakure. Though it was quickly made very apparent to shinoko that her village at the very least had it's own agenda in being here, but at at least the other villages seemed to be here to help, and Shinoko recently found out that while maybe not encourage, it was acceptable for her to take missions of the other villages, and help in their relief efforts as well.  This was mainly due to the fact that all villages were meant to be here to help the refugees of Sunagakure, as well as, Shinoko was sure, further their own agenda's. That said, Shinoko didn't care much for the villages agenda's,specifically that of her own village which she found rather repulsive. She just wanted to help people. That's what she came here to do, and she intended to do it, and while it might be frowned upon that she was helping another village in it's relief efforts, she couldn't care all that much. She was helping, and that's what mattered.

With this in mind, Shinoko had focused on finding missions she could do that would help the refugees, and it looks like she found one within the midst of Iwagakure's Tasks. It was a simple mission, though still above her average mission assigned. She was to go around to some of the refugee camps, and lead certain refugees to the village base camps. From what Shinoko gathered, she was mostly just escorting refugees to their new homes, or at least towards the villages that would be taking them in for the time being. She wasn't sure if there would be any immediate danger on their journey, but the people in charge of the mission didn't have any problem with her taking it as long as she had a partner. That said, she'd assumed that all villages would be taking in an equal share, or at least that was the impression she got from the mission description, but as she went over the dossier's she'd been assigned too, they all seemed to favor putting the refugees into Kumogakure. Though, she could imagine this was simply a case of who she was. She was a Kumogakure ninja after all, it wouldn't be that surprising for her to have just been handed some or most of the refugees intended for Kumogakure. This way they might even ensure she actually take care of them and do her mission, as she was sure the Iwagakure Higher-ups were somewhat questioning what a Kumogakure ninja was doing taking their missions. To further this point, they had even assigned a Iwagakure ninja to assist her in this mission. She really didn't know much about him, other than the fact that the people gave her the missions details referred to him as him, said she'd be assigned an Iwa Nin, and that she was told to wait outside the of the Iwagakure for him.

Which, is exactly what Shinoko was doing. Standing not but 50 or 60 meters outside of the Iwagakure camp, leaning against a sign that labelled the camp as such. She was in her normal ninja gear, minus her blue robe because it was so hot outside, but the Kumogakure band displayed openly on her scarf, garnered her a lot of glances and even some glares. Shinoko figured she probably should have asked some details about the boy she would meet, so that way she could a least point him out when he came out to meet her, but with the vibe of distrust she was receiving from the people who gave her her mission, and the glares and glances from the people she got even entering the camp, she really didn't want to push her luck by asking details about him. She figured that asking details about their ninja was probably the quickest way to get on their suspicious list when all she really wanted to do was help. Though, She honestly couldn't blame the people of Iwagakure for the glares and glances she got if they knew anything at all about Kumogakure's intentions here. And while Shinoko herself didn't know much in the way of who Hastur was, she was sure that higher ranking ninja of Iwa might have heard of him, or it was possible they had some sort of interaction at the Kage Summit that happened recently, either way, a part of way shinoko was her was to prove that Kumogakure ninja aren't all bad, and she'd complete her mission to the best of her abilities.

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WC:811
Total WC: 811

Takashi was not happy. There were a few reasons for his dour mood, and each and every one of them were valid in his mind. But a few of them were a little more potent than the rest. The first reason for his unhappiness was where he was. He was back in the Land of Wind, headed toward the Iwagakure no Sato camp that had been set up in the boarder region to help with some of the refugees that still had not made their way out of the ruins of his home. Just being back on the sandy ground with the sun high in the sky had brought back what felt like a never ending torrent of memories that did nothing but made him feel terrible. It was in this vast desert that he had once lived with his mother and father. They had been simple merchants, doing nothing to hurt anyone. His father ha fought as a shinobi, but only to protect his family. Sunagakure no Sato certainly had its problems, but it had still been his home. And knowing that he would have to venture back there to help other people like him that had lost their homes hurt him. Part of him wondered if he would find a pile of ashes that was once his father amid the rubble. It was a morbid thought, but that’s where the young Uzumaki’s head was in that moment.

The next reason that he was unhappy was because of the mission hat he had received upon his arrival to the border camp. He was responsible for helping to escort any refuges that he could find to one of the four great nation in order to ensure that they were distributed equally. If one country got more people, it could destabilize them to the point that their economy might crash and burn. And so, the Village Hidden in the Stone was diverting refugee allocation to make sure that a situation like that would not come up. The part that he did not like about that was that he was being ordered to take his refugees to the camps of Kumogakure no Sato. The new Raikage was not somebody that Takashi liked at the moment, given the speeches that he had heard about in Iwagakure. Chuunin had whispered about how he was power hungry and wanted to assimilate the old Land of Wind to be part of his new regime. It was a horrible way to take advantage of tragedy in the Uzumaki’s mind, and the last thing he wanted to do was direct people toward that village for help. If anything, he wanted to bring them back to his new home, even if it meant that the village would have a rough time for a while. The thought of the Village Hidden in the Clouds getting more people just meant that they could grow stronger and stronger, making their goal all the more achievable. It went against Takashi’s better judgement, but unfortunately it was not his call to make.

And so Takashi found himself striding toward the outside of his country’s camp, wearing his usual attire which consisted of a black jacket and white shirt long with his “forehead protector” on his upper right arm and with his ninja tools strapped to his right leg in a pouch. As he stepped up to the small gate that signified the edge of the camp, the third reason for his frustration came into view, and Takashi could not help but frown ever so slightly.  Leaning up against the sign of the camp was a girl that was younger than Takashi, though not by much. A black ribbon in the fashion of a bow holds together her light pink hair. She wore a short sleeved, short skirt white kimono that was held together by a back band that was matched by a long back scarf around her neck. The reason he was unhappy was because of the forehead protector that was tied to that scarf; it bore the symbol of Kumogakure no Sato.

Of all the people to be paired up with, Takashi had to complete his mission with a kunoichi from the Land of Lightning; the very place he did not want to help. The girl seemed innocent enough as she stood there, but part of Takashi wondered just how much like her kage she was. Perhaps she wanted to subjugate all of Iwagakure as well. He wanted to shout at her, or make her feel disliked right away, but he decided not to stoop to that level right before he opened his mouth. Instead, he walked up to her silently and nodded, his hands in his pockets as he looked her over once again. Hopefully she was capable enough in a fight, not that the Uzumaki was expecting much trouble. After standing in silence for a moment, Takashi decided to introduce himself so that the pair could get the show on the road. “Hey,” he said nonchalantly. “I assume you’re the kunoichi that’s going to be helping move refugees to your camp? I’m Takashi Uzumaki. Let’s just get this over with.” With that he would be begin walking away from the camp, expecting her to follow him.

WC:884

There was a lot things a life of trouble could show you. Pain, Hatred, Loss, even guilt. These were all important lessons in life, and one that most shinobi learn early on. Unfortunately, or maybe fortunately for Shinoko. Her life had been relatively peaceful. All of her family members were still alive. Her village nor family had never been attacked, aside from the one time Kirigakure stormed the village, but even then she had been out exploring the wilderness with her grandmother, and she had almost missed the entire thing. She had never even had to harm a soul. While this might be good to some, it left a lot of lessons untaught. One of those lessons was how to deal with guilt. The only time Shinoko had really had to deal with Guilt when was she broke her mothers lamp at the age of 6, and even then her mother had done her best to cheer up the crying child, and tell her everything was going to be okay. this sort of life had not prepared her for the guilt she faced now. She knew what she had done in the name of Kumogakure was beyond wrong, and nothing she could do would shake the feeling. She had just started to distract herself with people watching, when she reminded all over again about her wrong doings.

Shinoko had been worried about being able spot her mission partner before hand, but at the face of not anger, but hatred approached her, she could tell almost instantly the man she was to be dealing with. She could see his eyes narrow on the Kumogakure Symbol on around her neck and feel the hatred burning off of his gaze. This was the moment guilt consumed Shinoko all over again. She wouldn't even be able to look at the man as he finally finished making his way up to her. Instead she looked to the ground to her right. It was the best she could do, to avoid staring her guilt in the face. She was clearing uncomfortable, the image of sorrow and regret written all over her face, as she remembered the banners she tore down. The face of hopelessness at the Sunagakure refugees they had passed by. The crying people they stumbled upon on their expedition. They people they didn't help, but instead ripped away their hope. Shinoko clenched her fist as the memories watched over her. The boys voice almost cutting through her thoughts. “I assume you’re the kunoichi that’s going to be helping move refugees to your camp? I’m Takashi Uzumaki. Let’s just get this over with.”

He had done his best to hide it. But there was a hint of frustration in his voice. Maybe there wasn't, and he actually didn't care, and Shinoko was merely projecting her insecurities unto him. But she could feel the tension in the air. The anger hidden beneath his words. Shinoko would almost mutter back, saying "Shinoko... Hanabi, Shinoko." Regret clearly lined her voice. Still unable to look Takashi in the eye. She wanted to say something more. Tell him how she wasn't like the others. Tell she thought what Kumogakure was doing was wrong, and that is anger was misdirected towards her. But She knew she'd be lying. She'd helped. She'd actively torn down the banners, and the hope those refugees had. She knew his anger wasn't misplaced. And even if she could find the right words to say, it sounded like he didn't want to talk to her. He almost made that abundantly clear as she simply turned and walked out, away from the Iwagakure compound. Shinoko would follow. OF course she would follow. She was here of her own violation. She had actively sought out to help the people of Sunagakure in their time of need. Not subjugate them as her comrades seemed to wanted, but actually help the people who needed her. She could only hope that the Iwagakure ninja before her would see this. If she could maybe just show him that she wasn't as bad as the people around her. Maybe, maybe she'd feel better. Or, maybe she'd finally get some sleep. But it all started with him, and the people she'd help today.

The two would walk for a bit, as Shinoko let her mind wander, thinking of ways she could talk to this man, before she finally built up the courage, clenched her fist, and spoke. At this point they were in the middle of the desert, a few ruins around them, but not a soul a in sight. Shinoko would merely stop for a moment, before saying "Hey... listen." before pausing again. She had built up the courage just to even say something to the man in front of her, but she hit a wall. She didn't know what else to say. She once again couldn't face him, and even before he'd turn around She'd already turn away, unable to look him in the eyes. She'd wait to see his response before she'd continue on.

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WC: 866
Total WC: 1677
Total Thread WC: 2561 (1 EP)