Meeting the Kazekage's assistant

Rio walked to the gate of the village. He decided to take a walk around the village during this uneventful day. He stopped for a moment as he watched a few kids pass by. They looked like students of the academy practicing to become genin. He turned back to what was ahead of him and started walking until he reached the gate where he decided to stop and watch as the villagers went about their day.

Yuumi peered around, her pale blue eyes wide with excitement. So this was the leaf village, she couldn't help but gape. It was so much different than the sands she lived in her whole life with Rana. The girl looked awed by something as simple as the trees. There were so many... And the people looked so pale like she did... The blond haired girl would tip her head back, the anbu mask firmly over her face. Walking with a slow trot she came toward the gate, and moved toward the guards at the door to let her pass. After all she was no harm.

Rio's attention was caught by a ninja entering into the village. A sand shinobi wearing an ANBU mask. He walked over to her to greet her. Rio was unaware of what was happening in Sunagakure and had hopes of asking this shinobi about the Sand village. There would be a few questions he could ask her but those would, of course, be saved for later. He exchanged his focus from the sand shinobi to the guard station that was next to him. Getting them to allow this ninja entrance to the village. He then turned back to face the sand shinobi. He expected one of the first few comments from this shinobi to be about his white byakugan eyes. For people who had not seen the Byakugan before it can be difficult not to acknowledge them, and possibly to get used to the way these pupil-less eyes look.

Yuumi looked at Rio for a moment, and then tilted her head. Those were strange eyes. She moved the mask off for a moment to catch a breath of air. It was fresh and cool here, this place was truly strange. She was surprised that he had let her enter the village. Her pale aquamarine eyes held a bright look to them. It wasn't often of her to be in such a good mood, but she had never seen a place like this before. "Those are a pretty shade of white." Yuumi commented after a moment blinking. "White is a shade...But they're strange." she said after a moment, not noticing what was off about the eyes yet.

"They're Byakugan eyes. Though it does make us less unlike each other than we naturally should be we are all born with these eyes in the Hyuuga." Rio stared directly into Yuumi's eyes. "It's always funny though when the youner children in the clan meet children outside the clan. And they ask about their pupils and the other kids ask why we have no pupils." Rio turned away to look at the villagers. "Honestly it makes us Hyuuga stand out too much, you can figure out part of our names just from our eyes. I sometimes envy everyone else." Rio looked back to Yuumi. "So you're from the Sand. So is Isai still the Kazekage?"

Aha! That's what she hadn't noticed, pupils! The woman looked rather confident and then tipped her head to the side, "Isa? Nope. He left awhile back, hasn't really been heard of." The girl said thoughtfully, then tipped her head looking at Rio he was a strange man. Walking to his side she peered around the town happily, it was her first time here, she never really left the sand that often. It scared her to leave Rana's side at times, or to leave the sands she had grown up in.

I had heard Isai disappeared but I never really got to confirm whether I heard the truth. Rio thought to himself as Yuumi walked around him and scanned the village. "Haven't been here before? Then I should probably guide you to wherever you're going so we can avoid the village nutcase" As Rio made his reference to Yuukin he thought about where he'd be at this time so they could successfully avoid him. He then looked back to Yuumi who was still looking around the village.

"I've never left the country of the wind before, which is why this is actually very interesting to me... I guess you could say I'm awed by how different everything is." She admitted rubbing her head, the silvery golden hair shifting over her shoulder. She looked toward Rio now smiling, "Thank you that'd be nice." She said said brightly, in a very good mood now. It was hard for her to talk to most people but Rio didn't seem that hard to talk to.

"Never left the country huh? There are a lot of places that are completely different from where you live and from here. There is a lot to see out there." Rio grabbed the mask on his back and brought it in front of him as he turned to face Yuumi. "You're young for an ANBU, I have to say. I used to be head of the Leaf ANBU." He showed her his old ANBU mask that he kept, with all the damage it had taken over his years of being an ANBU. "those were tough times as you can tell from my mask." Rio looked down at the mask in his hand then back up at Yuumi. "So is there anywhere you need to be right now?"

Yuumi flashed a smile, "Young for a kage assistant too, sixteen...Ahh good times." The girl said thoughtfully, then looked at Rio's mask. It was damaged but a fine quality none the less. She looked interested as she peered down at it, and then looked to Rio's face. 'Nope I don't need to be anywhere right now, I merely traveled here to see this place. I hear about it, but I've never seen it until now." The girl said with a look of interest.

"Is that so? Then I guess I could show you around." Rio looked up the road at the hokage mansion. 'It isn't hard to find the building where you'll find our hokage, Lumiero. It's just underneath the cliff that has the heads of the first few hokage carved into it." Rio looked up at the Hokage stone faces that were the most unique feature of the Leaf village."I've always wondered why their faces were carved into the cliff, I guess the village just loved the Hokage so much they just had to let all the village know, through all time, who they were. However we'd obviously run out of areas to put more heads on so the tradition died."

Yuumi looked up at the cliffs where Rio mentioned them, her eyes widened. That was kind of creepy... But these people were hokages and the people had respected them by doing this. That was kind of touching in its own way... The girl tipped her head, her eyes moving over the faces before she looked back to Rio. "Ah we have nothing like that in the sand, its a little disturbing for someone who's never seen that before. But its like a statue I assume." She mused then smiled.

"Yeah it is." Rio looked towards Yuumi. "There are a few places we could see in the village. There are a lot of forests around the village and there is a nice view from atop the cliff the stone faces are carved into." Rio wasn't sure where they could go. "But if there is anywhere you heard about in the village that you wanted to see I could take you there."

Yuumi looked fairly excited and shot her gaze to Rio with a bright smile. She shifted slightly looking around at the people, they dressed for their climate, she was used to head protection in her country. She had been a little surprised that Rio hadn't questioned how she looked different from her people, but she knew that couldn't answer that. It just was. Her bright aquamarine eyes fixated on Rio now, "I'd like to see the view from the cliff, please?" The girl asked looking interested.

"Sure." Rio took a few steps forward moving a bit ahead of Yuumi and looked back at her over his shoulder. "I hope you won't mind if I have some things I want to ask about during our walk over there. They may mostly be about the current Kazekage, though."

Yummi followed after Rio, peering around. The air was much more crisp here, she enjoyed that. "Ah that's fine, questions are always dandy.' The girl said brightly rubbing her one arm nervously. Although no one would tell the arm she was rubbing was her fake one. The girl's eyes wandered over the area and she picked up her pace a little more to be walking at Rio\s pace. She didn't want to get left behind that would not be good.

"Okay. Well since Isai isn't kazekage anymore. Who's the kazekage now?" Rio looked back at her and slowed down so that she would be walking right beside him then walked at the same pace as her. "And how did you get be the kazekage's assistant?"

Yuumi smiled slightly, her lips parting in the usual smile as she thought about her kage. The look showed much affection, "Rana Nassier." She said lightly with a crooked grin now, noting that Rio had slowed his pace to match hers. The girl looked toward the cliffs when Rio asked how she had come of her position. "Much pain, training and loyalty. I was the best for the job at the time." She said simply.

"I see. Sounds like how I've gone through my life so far." Rio turned forward again. "Rana Nassier. What can you tell me about this person?" Rio looked left and right as he heard the sounds of the villagers all around them. Then looked back at Yuumi.

Yuumi smiled slightly, how he went through his life? I'm sure theirs differed, but the idea none the less made her feel comforted. "Rana, she's stubborn, and lazy when it comes to paper work, but a very strong woman who will protect her country at all costs." Yuumi said her eyes sparkling as she talked about the dark skinned woman.

"Oh I see." Rio looked up towards the kage stone faces still a bit away. He wasn't sure what else to ask now and didn't want to bore yuumi "Sorry but I'd like to speed up our trip here. Think you can you beat me there?" Rio jumped up onto the roof of a nearby building and looked down at Yuumi.

Yuumi looked at Rio for a moment, she was very fast. But he was probably faster, and he also knew this place much better than she did. The strange desert kage assistant stared toward the sky, looking at the point of where the sun was. Slowly he eyes moved back to Rio and then she smiled, "I do not know the out come, nor do I think of one. But stretching my legs would be fun." She said simply, with a light smile fastening her ANBU mask on her arm. Stretching out her thin form the girl suddenly leaped upward landing at Rio's side in a flash, in a feline like crouch. "Let's go then!" She said happily, and jumped off in a white blur of movement landing on another roof.

Rio jumped over to other roof that Yuumi landed on then jumped off to another in the direction of the stone faces, leading the way to them. He looked back at Yuumi watching to see if she was following him.

Yuumi watched the direction Rio was going in, her eyes held a bright look to them. With a few agile movements, she had leaped to the man's side, with a grin on her face. She was no where near slow, the girl had speed and was agile. She paused for a moment, only to let her eyes wander around the area to memorize, before she followed after Rio, going to his side constantly before dropping back and peering around. The village did interest her, and so did the speed of their journey to the cliff heads. She was excited to see the view from the mountains, it would be beautiful.

Rio noticed as the girl stopped to look around and memorize the area every now and then. It also seemed she was enjoying herself. It seemed more and more obvious to him how she had not seen much of the world outside the Sand village. He understood this. He is usually stuck in the Leaf village now. It's not often he gets the chance to take an S-rank mission for the ANBU which is mostly the only time he gets to leave the village. He and Yuumi soon came close to the hokage mansion. He stopped on a roof top not too far from the building.