In Transit [Sora]

Age : 28 Posts : 3145

Continuation of [Moving Out]

It had been mere seconds since they set off, and already, two curious developments had occurred which had caught Shingen’s attention. Firstly, there was a disturbance in the crowd behind him – a crowd that had apparently been incapable of staying in their designated place for a few seconds; how pitiful. What had been the cause of it was rather unclear to him at first – he sensed an incoming chakra presence but it was of little danger to him and, though perhaps he was wrong, it seemed effeminate. Indeed before his golden irises looked to his side, Shingen had assumed the very worst, and indeed, this assumption was true enough. A young-ish girl – that is, a woman of twenty or so – had broken out from the crowd, broken past his guard too or rather, perhaps more accurately, avoided them and their path elegantly, though it did mean she was out of the ear-shot, much to the Kage’s dismay. Whilst he had been known for his uncanny ability to care very little for proper etiquette or for the frivol opinions of those below him, openly inviting a girl to come to his side whilst this grand procession was ongoing wasn’t very... tasteful. Or strategic, for that matter. Shingen was after all a bachelor and a very prospective one at that. To show such favour to this mysterious woman, whoever she might have been or whomever she might have represented, would have been to dash aside the hopes of the other clans and foreign dignitaries. So he merely smiled. Perhaps it was a grin or perhaps it was a polite, formal widening of the lips - whichever his face at that very moment, had decided to enact – and proceeded to walk on.

Then the second occurrence happened, this one marginally less intriguing. Yet another chakra source presented itself in his peripheral, this time a one that he found perhaps more threatening, for rather than simply use his ‘sixth sense’, the man actually turned his head to acknowledge the new arrival – a figure of black among his sea of red. The white mask was a clear indication of the individual’s allegiance, and yet Shingen felt a sense of uncanny – the chakra told a slightly different story, than what his observant golden eyes could wriggle out of the simple attire alone. It wasn’t that the person was an actual threat, more so that he didn’t feel... warm, like many others did. Shingen interpreted this as a cold, indifferent sense of duty; not every shinobi felt a burning desire to serve their Kage. Many were tied to their village or to the people living in the village – perhaps family. Hence, whilst they were honoured or perhaps even weren’t that, to serve the Raikage, they didn’t exactly feel any special or specific feeling towards him; this is what Shingen felt was the situation with the KYOBU agent. Not that he was particularly perturbed by this. The Raikage hadn’t exactly been a popular man not that he was an unpopular figure. He was merely there, acting out a ceremonial and executive role as expected of him. The village had been at peace and was quietly prospering under his rule. The people were content with him, as he was with the people; there were no immediate plans to do anything in particular. Other than this trip of course.

The crowd marched for some time – much of the morning to be precise. At various periods, parts of it would break away to rest or to ‘dally’, only to return to the tail. At noon exactly, Shingen called for a stop and the camp rested for an hour, before heading off again. After the rest, the walk was longer and harder and took much of the afternoon, with only short moments of respite, that Shingen announced largely for the benefit of his armoured ‘friends’. It was then by the evening, having crossed much of the Country of Lightning and having neared the border of the Land of Frost at a surprisingly quick pace, that the procession finally stopped for the last time today. The scouts had found them a large clearing where they could camp and rest; tents were erected swiftly, Shingen’s being golden, scarlet and ornate. Sentries were posted around the whole camp, whereas the red-guard stood at the entrance and around his mobile-home. Whilst the rest of the camp came alive around his golden abode, Shingen sat around a rich-oaken table, upon which were sprinkled maps and such other documents. Nothing that would be dearly missed or of any great importance to anyone, of course. Really, these were there to serve as visual aid for his thoughts more so than for an actual, diplomatic or strategic purpose. It was then that he had heard one of his guards announce the arrival of a certain Kousen, Naomi. “Come in” the man barked in reply, curious to see who his guest was and what she wanted.

MADE BY MINNIE OF BACK TO NEVERLAND