[Sunanada] Arrival of the Dawn

[Ace Trainer]

Reinforcing Sunanada
A New Dynasty
As local support is being built up, Hokori is dispatching a covert team to act as diplomats. They will need to identify a noble family that is still in Sunanada that remains in support for an independent Wind Country, is willing to take up the role as the Daimyo bloodline, and will be popular and accepted by the masses when the time comes to establish themselves. This could also entail eliminating competition for the chosen family if necessary.

Sunanada was the further of the big three villages in the land formerly known as Wind Country from the Temple of Shulsaga, so Indra's trek to the capitol city had been a long one. He'd come with a small entourage, and upon their arrival everyone scattered off in their own direction. Indra - or Teishi as he'd continue to be known on this journey - was much more interested in being careful, and that meant everyone accompany him were given mission tasks and responsibilities, and would be functionally operating in isolation. Some of their missions overlapped, minor things to make sure they could provide updates, have support and if necessary have an escape plan. But for the most part they'd be navigating the massive capitol on their own, spreading the word of Yuumegure and helping to foster the rebellion

Indra had only been to Sunanada twice in his childhood, and not at all since the attack by Earth Country. He remembered distinctly arriving to the massive capitol city as a kid and the excitement that he felt seeing a place like that. Sunagakure was large, but it was more a military fortress than a true village, and there were little things about it that made it different. Most of all was the giant walls that surrounded the village, visible from pretty much anywhere when you were ouside. They had a way of making the village seem small. Sunanada was different, though. It wasn't trying to be hidden, so the massive towering buildings were visible from the distance, the life of the city felt palpable. It was...alive.

Teishi had found himself in the market district of Sunanada. Usually when he arrived in a village, he was wrapped up in his bandages and disguises, but with the gift he'd been given by The Sun, this was no longer needed. Indra's eyes and fingers no longer betrayed his unusual nature. He looked...normal. And for the first time since his venturing out into the desert he was here, in a village around people he'd never seen before, simply being in their presence. He was soaking in the moment by sitting and watching. His hair was pulled back into a head scarf, hiding the long black hair and protecting it from the sand and dust. His ears, neck and wrist were adorn in black and gold jewelry, the black and white cloak hanging around his body as he simply...watched. What a pleasure it was to see people, to blend in, to look like everyone else. He loved it. Eventually, he'd push himself to his feet, taking up the bottle of tea he carried with him and taking a quick sip from it before attaching it to his belt and beginning to walk. Just like everyone else in his entourage, Indra too had a mission here in Sunanada. His, unfortunately, would not be as simple as bringing people to the cause, no. There were three families the preliminary scouts had identified to be the new lineage for the daimyo, each of them with some benefits and some risks. Any of them, however, would be better than the family Earth Country has installed. The 'daimyo' title was loose since they were compliant to the Earth Country Daimyo. However, if Indra could identify a family that would act as a leader in Sunanada, and would have the support of locals when the Hokori were in open rebellion against Earth Country, they would have an important advantage. For now, Indra would be scoping out the three families, getting meetings with them, and then offering one the opportunity of a generation.

"Lets get to it...", he'd muttered to himself.

[Texas]

Today was a very fun day. Although it was hot and somewhat oppressive. A couple of children excitedly ran through the street laughing and giggling. As they continued through the streets Sunanada, like there was no care in the world. The anger of individuals they would accidentally bump would only fuel their laughter. However as they bumped around the crowd one of them yelled as the other "Hurry Hoto! We are going to be late to see who loses first!" The other one was straggling behind but he would shout to him "Just wait up! Do you think Todo will buy us all candy again?!" The boy leading the charge laughed and made the grand statement "He does every time he wins! So we gotta get there early in case he loses first. We don't want to wait around all day!" The boy in the back followed his laughter and after the one in the front finished he simply replied "You're right, he can be a loser most times huh" Both the children's laughter fell into the crowd as they ran forward.

They made it! However, it was decent sized spa. The two boys would walk around into an alley and try to sneak their way to the back. The back had a specific entrance that also was an exit. You would think based on the sketchiness and the way the kids were walking around, they were entering somewhere top secret or heavily guarded. However, this was not the case, the kids were being quiet to hopefully hear who would be the first losers.

Time would go in reverse and as the kids began running in the street, the man who went by "Todo" was in an extremely dark room with a round table. 4 other people were sitting at the table. One was in some nice clothing, one was in a full suit, and the other two were wearing Earth Country Guard outfits. Todo was a suave, yet goofy, man. He, along with everyone else, were holding two cards. Todo would swing his blue eyes to the right to look at the Earth Country Guards. Some teasing turned into shit talking which turned into a dick measuring contest before the flop. It got to the point where Todo, the two Earth Guards, and a gentlemen who was dressed semi nicely threw all of their money in the middle of the table! Todo would adjust his slight gaze to position himself to look at them. The beard on his face would follow his slight smirk. "I don't know what you're waiting for gents, but I would prefer to spend this money later tonight so the quicker you can fold the better." It was a simple yet effective tactic of both bugging his opponents and giving the illusion that he is at least semi confident. All of which would be great to appear confident... since Todo had jack shit for a hand.

There was nothing to do, it turned into a 4 way all in. Well the decently dressed man actually had much more than them, so for him it was half of what he had won so far. Todo was the dealer for this hand and he would look at the other men in the hand with a dramatic pause before burning a card and revealing one card. As he placed it on the ground, he would quickly go to grab another card and burn it. Then with a dramatic flip he revealed the river. In order, the men showed their cards. The first guard had a single pair, the second guard was chasing a straight that never hit, The nicely dressed man revealed a straight, and Todo smiled and slammed his cards on the table. He would reveal that he had a 4 of a kind! What luck! Was it luck? It didn't matter, the guards were so frustrated they got up quickly and warned him that there would be a sweep in a couple days and to leave town. They then got up and started heading to the door.

Now with the timelines connecting the two boys were leaned around the corner. They could hear a large "NOO" and a "DAMN YOU" but then they would hear the warning the guards gave as they said their goodbyes. The two boys would hear the door open and they would stealthy run to the alley and then to the front of the building. They would move to the building over to the left and sat down. As they leaned against it, the disgruntled guards would start walking in the crown and headed about their duties.

Todo would lean over to the nicely dressed man and the other man dressed in the suit. "See, I told you to give it time and we could clean them out. Here is your cut" The two would laugh and the nicely dressed man would simply say "They were not happy huh? I guess it was good that you had them win a couple times last month. I'm guessing you're even now?"

[Ace Trainer]

The two boys would rush past Indra and he'd raise an eyebrow, it wasn't long ago he was like them getting into trouble. Trouble in Sunanada was a little different in comparison to Suna. The hidden village was a dry village, and there wasn't a lot of places to get into more 'mature' types of trouble. And while Sunanada didn't advertise it, there was alcohol, some less savory establishments, and gambling here. All of those were things Yuumegure cautioned against depending on your reading of the texts. He smirked, seeing them enjoy themselves did make him happy, even if he was sure they'd be involved in some trouble. Curiousity would get the best of him as he peered around the corner they'd come from, only to be accidentally eavesdropping on the conversation of a burly looking man and two nicely dressed gentlemen.

Con Artists!

Indra frowned, wondering what scheme he'd just happened upon. Truly it was none of his business, but the tendency towards mischief had been tickled in the depths of Indra's mind, and he couldn't resist the urge to poke his nose into the business. In particular, schemers had a tendency to know the ins and outs of any place, and getting on the ins with one of these gentlemen might provide him an opportunity to learn a little more about Sunanada, and the families he would need to meet with to conduct his mission.

"Oi oi oi", Teishi called out as he wandered into the alley way, "Some kids just scurried off from this way! Any trouble coming up?? Should I be worried?", he'd ask. As he got closer, he'd see the money changing hands and would hold his hands up in deference, taking a cautious step back with a bit of theatrics, "Ah man, have I stumbled into something crazy?", he asked with a light hearted laugh.

[Texas]

Tokugawa swung his ocean blue eyes to the door as an olive skinned young lad walked in draped in mysterious clothing. What a precarious individual. Someone brave enough to walk in an alley, past guards, and make such a grand announcement. Was he not scared of anything or was he an idiot. Regardless, he was Tokugawa's type of reckless!

The man's black hair would swing as he swung his head back to the other man dressed in a suit. It has seemed as though he was more of a butler than a participant. He would smile at the man. "Hey friendo, why don't you stand outside the door so no more visitors pop in like our new friend here?" He would look over to his nicely dressed friend. With his left arm lifting up by making his elbow a 90 degrees upwards and pointing at him with his thumb. "I'm sure young Itoku wouldn't mind, we can just keep playing cards and get to know one another."

A gentle smile came from Tokugawa. Although the 1st born of the Itoku family didn't mind, he always did find it annoying that Toku use his last name so casually instead of his first name. Regardless, Itoku nodded his head in agreement and the butler got up from his seat and walked passed the young man. Toku would then move his attention to the young lad who walked in and begin to invite him over for a seat. "Well Tall, Dark, and Handsome, what's your name? Mine is Todo and my friend here is Itoku... although I do keep forgetting his first name hahahaha." A simple lie, Toku found it easier to lie when it was closer to the truth. The handsome and charismatic man couldn't give away fully who he was, that info could cause issues down the line depending on who this mysterious man was. He would then point to the seat next to him, which would make him in the middle between the two. "Why don't you take a seat and hang out for a little bit. It's always nice to meet some new friends. Want a drink or a water or something?" As he finished his sentence, Tokugawa would shuffle the deck as if he was a low rate street magician.

[Ace Trainer]

A sheepish grin would come across Teishi's face, as he rubbed his cheek. While the man before him seemed nice enough, the invitation felt mildly threatening. As 'Itoku' moved past him to guard the door, Teishi felt he didn't have much a choice other than to accept and head in, taking a seat next to the kind gentleman that invited him. He tried to keep the sudden excitement he was feeling to himself - Itoku! That was the very family that was first on the list the scouts had provided for him. What were the odds of this?! They had company though, and this was far from a proper introduction. He'd need to play it safe, especially since it seemed the man who carried the name didn't seem to be the one running the show. "New in town.", he admitted as he fiddled with a ring on his finger before gesturing towards the cards in front of him, "Gambling isn't allowed in the little town I grew up in, so don't expect me to know how to play.". A simple lie, Teishi too found it easier to lie when it was closer to the truth.

Now closer to Tokugawa, he'd inspect the man curiously. Tokugawa was certainly a handsome gentleman, in a way that contrasted quite well with Teishi. Where Teishi was handsome with fine, thin features and jewelry that made him look soft and well taken care of, Tokugawa struck him as someone who was more rugged, handsome in a sort of well mannered mans-man sort of way. It was a hard thing to describe, but he had an inkling Tokugawa would not very easily discern Teishi as a rebel, let alone the leader of the rebellion that had just recently announced it's existence to the world.

While his eyes searched Tokugawa, however, his own soul reached out to Toku's, feeling intently at the gentle hum that was coming from the man in front of him. The Soul Genma jinchuuriki felt no ill intent from the man, so for now, he'd simply smile. "I won't play for anything, but I'm happy to play none the less. It's a fine line to walk under Her Light.", he'd say with a wink. At least if Tokugawa didn't recoil at the mention of Yuumegure he'd know he was at least not in bad company.

[Texas]

The two of them in the room with both the butler and Itoku standing outside at this point. Unfortunately because of the climate, Tokugawa had to be strategic in what information he provided to a stranger here. However, he couldn't help himself from at least being himself and simply enjoying the opportunity to swap stories with someone he has never met before. It was odd though, he was rather loosey goosey for someone who didn't even give his name. Tokugawa would point to the seat across the round table. "Come sit down friend, what was your name again?"

Tokugawa would then take his cards and shuffle them ferociously. He would laugh at the slight restrictions, but his laugh would settle when this tan gentleman mentioned her light. He was either being sarcastic or completely serious. So to play it safe Toku would gaze upon the stranger and simply say "Ah yes and may Her Light guide us all." His growing attachment to the land of wind came with understanding their culture. Although all of his vices were contrary to their religion, he still had respect for the people's continuing belief in this Light.

Toku sat there and decided to switch up the game a bit. "I got an idea friend. How about we play a game of War. I'll shuffle this deck and we each will get half. Highest card wins, with Aces being the highest. For every hand one of us wins we get to ask another a question. Would you want to play?" Tokugawa would continue to shuffle and if the stranger accepts, he would deal out the cards until they both have half the deck.

[Ace Trainer]

He asked for his name again, and Teishi would relent, no use in keeping it a secret if they were going to be here for a while. "I go by Teishi.", he said with a smile. If Tokugawa had his ear to the ground he might know the name, Teishi was the alias Indra had been using for the past 5 years and while the rebellion did not have a habit of coming up in casual conversations, whispers were spreading throughout the desert, and his pseudonym occasionally came up in those whispers. "Its good to meet ya, Todo. War is a bit of an odd name, but I'm down to play it that way."

Todo's comment on the light guiding them echoed in his head a bit, a fellow followers of yuumegure? Well. It was hard to tell here. Sunanada wasn't quite as committed as Sunagakure was, but if you were in Sunanada you certainly would hear about the Sun enough. If you wanted the blend in, picking up some of those quirks was the best way to do it.

Then an idea occurred to him, "Do we really need them watching guard? You in some sort of trouble I should be worried about? Why don't we invite the two of them in to join us in this game of inquiry?", he cheesed as he said it. In truth, he didn't particularly care if the butler joined them, though he seemed a nice enough fellow. But if he could get the Itoku boy to be in the game, perhaps he could draw out enough information to find out if the family would be inclined towards the rebellion without actually having to ask? It was worth a shot.

[Texas]

Tokugawa smiled at Teishi after he revealed his name. Then the man couldn't help but give a genuine hearty laugh as the name of the game was revealed to be odd. "Why yes it is odd isn't it! Unfortunately I didn't come up with the name or the rules, I just follow it." Tokugawa was giving slight and subtle hints to test out Teishi's perspective and potential allegiance. It wasn't every day someone meandered over to their private game of guards. It was double suspicious that he happened to arrive right after a couple of Earth Country guards lost a big pot too. So the fact that he wasn't thrilled about the game being called War was something to note, but Toku didn't want to put much stake in it.

The suave gentleman also gazed at Teishi for any reaction to his response to Yummegure. With his time here, it was very clear that there was a divide of who was who and especially when it game to that religion. However, being cautious a little bit and having fun was a great balance that Toku couldn't wait to keep teetering on.

With Tieshi's final comment about having the others join them, Toku continued to smile and spoke up. "Maybe not both of them! We don't have people pop in like you, so it's more or less a just in case. Hey Itoku! Why don't you join us for a game, I'm sure you aren't in any rush to get home. Your father is going to question where you won all this money anyways right?"

The nicely dressed man would leave the other guy who was dressed in a suit and sit down with the duo at this point. He would grab his seat, plop his butt down and with a sigh of relief, would speak up for the first time in front of Teishi. "Yeah, he wouldn't want his familial status to be tainted, so I would probably do what you did last time and just distribute it to some people in town." Tokugawa would laugh and pat him on the back. "Well that's the spirit! Well for now, let's just enjoy this game with Teishi, at least you can't lose or win any more money." Tokugawa would shuffle the deck and distribute it to Teishi, Itoku, and himself until the deck was empty. "Alright, lets flip our first card to determine who is going first then we put that card back in our hands and shuffle it!"

[Ace Trainer]

Indra had to resist the urge to fist pump when his small ploy had worked and the Itoku man had been invited back in to play with them. "Good to meetcha.", he said with a cheeky grin. He would rub his hands together as if about to eat a meal as Tokugawa shuffled the deck. In truth, he was kind of excited to play this game. He had never played card games before, on occasion he saw adults playing them, but gambling was such a quasi-taboo subject in Sunagakure that many people avoided card games that could be perceived as gambling entirely.

He would eye Tokugawa and then Itoku momentarily, thinking about this plan. The game would serve him well, if he could ask the right questions and pull out the right information, he might not only make a friend but get all the information he needed about the Itoku family without even actually approaching them. It would make this part of the mission much easier than he had planned. As long as they were all on the same side, the questions would help establish an easy alliance. Of course, Indra was sure both these men were thinking the same thing.

As commanded, Indra would flip his card, only to reveal a Two, a losing card no matter how you sliced it.

"Ah. Man. Alright. ", he mumbled disappointedly. Looking up at Tokugawa and Itoku to see who would win, he was certain either one of them would end up asking him a question rather than each other. The spot light was on.

[Texas]

With excitement, Tokugawa watched as Teishi slammed a 2 card down. This would be a piece of cake, since Toku had the higher card. With excitement he would slam down a 5 with happy laughter following. "Looks like I win this round!" However Itoku would have a maniacal smile, a shift in the air would be unavoidable. He would slam on top of both of the cards a 6! How devastating. Toku's laugh continued but caused him to lean back. "Damn you Lord Itoku, I wanted to win that hand!"

Itoku laughed along with Tokugawa but as they settled from laughter, he would look upon their new friend sitting near them. If it wasn't obvious before, it would be pretty obvious now. Teishi was going to be dealing with a 2v1. Doubling his unfavorable odds. It took Itoku a couple minutes to think. With a few Hmm's and Umm's as an entry point to indicate he was thinking, Itoku finally figured out what he would ask. "Well, I wanted to ask what lured him to this town... but I think that's too easy of a question....." He would rub his chin and think for only a few seconds before snapping his fingers. "You seemed to have some kind of confidence to just walk in here... you could have witnessed anything. What do you do for a living or what have you done for a living in your past? You seem rather young so you must have focused on something growing up or had some kind of military based training right?"

Truth be told, Itoku was a family member of a royal family. It was true that the situation was rather odd, but what a super specific question to ask right out of the gate! Tokugawa looked confused for only a second before smiling and continuing to lean back in his char. "I mean... rather intense first question to ask.. you didn't want to ask him his favorite color?"

Tokugawa would watch their new friend either answer or avoid the question. After he was done, Toku would simply announce. "Interesting! Well lets flip our next cards!"

[Ace Trainer]

Spot on. Unsurprisingly, when Itoku pulled his card to reveal a six, he almost immediately look towards Teishi, pondering a question. Go figure. He tried not to look too disappointed, the whole point of inviting Itoku was so that Indra could ask him questions, and already he was on his back foot. Well, it was an opportunity to gain the trust of his new friends, while he was deciding if he wanted to trust them, there was value in that. Finally the question came, and Teishi would sheepishly scratch the back of his head, laughing a little at it.

"You don't believe I just lack a sense of self preservation?", he said, clearly joking but hoping it would be enough to get him out of the question. When it clear that wasn't the case, he just sort of shrugged, "I dunno if I would call it confidence, curiosity maybe. But, I guess that doesn't answer your question. Well, I'm a Priest of Yuumegure.", he gave a subtle bow of his head as saying this. It was a half truth, he was a lucent, but such a title was specific to the sect of Yuumegure practice by Sunagakure. While it was practiced elsewhere, it was a dead give away, "And my branch of Yuumegure expects priests to be able to stand up for the poor, meek, disparate and weak.", he recited what was clearly scripture, "So I've had some training. But, I've been traveling for almost five years now, and that means not being so averse to situations that those types of people might be in my need.", he smiled, looking Itoku directly in the eyes as he finished his answer. How would the young nobleman respond to Indra so willingly outing himself as devout? That would be important to deciding if their family was a good candidate.

"And my favorite color is green.", he laughed, "I'll give you that one for free.", reaching forward, he'd take the next card on the deck, pulling it facedown, and leaving it on the table, "I'll remember to jump right to the tough ones.", he teased them before flipping his card, this time revealing...

a three. Maybe he had a shot.

[Texas]

Tokugawa laughed at the initial answer. If it were him who asked, he probably would have let it slide. However, when he turned to Itoku who was looking at this handsome figure, it was clear he wasn't going to accept that. So Tokugawa leaned a bit forward and rested his elbow on the table, leaving his arm up so his head could rest on his hand. Ugh when was it going to be his turn! Tokugawa listened to the young lad proclaim his love for religion and priesthood... was this guy a virgin? That thought almost made Tokugawa laugh, but he held it in while keeping a smiling typical face towards their new friend. A checklist kicked off though when Teishi revealed that he had been traveling for 5 years now. Interesting timing to the Gold Country Representative.. right after the war aye? He didn't want to make any deal of it, nor should he since he was informed of any context outside of that sentence.

Upon being given Teishi's favorite color, Tokugawa laughed "See Itoku! It's that easy, lets rip this again" he proclaimed as he watched Teishi flip a low card yet again. This time Tokugawa flipped a 4! Nice, higher than Tieshi, would gurantee that one of them was able to.... AND Itoku with a 5! With a flipped number, he would actually turn to Tokugawa this time oddly. "Out of all of our games, have you ever cheated when playing against me?" Itoku wanted to keep the room light... but what a weird way to do it!

Toku simply laughed awkwardly and gazed upon them. "Well I mean technically yes, but that was only in the beginning. I had to make sure you weren't going to cheat me" Itoku tilted his head... "How was cheating to beat me, going to prove I was trust worthy?" Tokugawa didn't hesitate, instead he flipped a card down and shouted "Sorry you already asked a question!" The card Toku slammed down was a 6! Itoku sighed and slammed down a 5.

Tokugawa would turn to Tieshi with a smile, "Hey kid, what's your last name?" Toku would ask out of turn, simply because he had assumed he won.

[Ace Trainer]

The game continued, Indra's answer seemingly be accepted with little pushback. Unsurprising, but in truth he was a little disappointed that they didn't dig in on it. He wasn't going to make much progress or learn much of anything if they just answered and didn't dig into it at all. The next round of cards were no better, and while he lost, they at least didn't ask him a question. The next question wasn't much help either, sure they were gambling buddies. That was great and showed they had a relationship but it certainly didn't add anything of value to his investigation. The notion of a card game had excited him initially but this wasn't really panning out to much so far. Another flip of cards, and Indra excitedly looked up when he flipped a 5 only for Tokugawa to pull a six! Right when he thought he was coming back into the game, Tokugawa had him beat.

My last name.

Indra looked directly at Tokugawa when the question was asked. He could tell the truth, Teishi versus Gekko, Teishi wasn't meaningfully different. Perhaps someone might be able to recognize that Gekko was the last name of a nobody in the bingo book, but it was unlikely. Tokugawa didn't seem like the kind of guy that had the bingo book memorized anyways. But, maybe that was an unnecessary risk anyways. "Boyyy, you guys really are fancy folks, huh? I don't have one.", he shrugged. It wasn't uncommon, Sakaze didn't have a last name either. Teishi had no established last name, and if he was going to lie, he'd stick to the story he told. "Villages like mine, last names are common for the nobles and stuff.", and the merchants, and the shinobi. But even still, it wasn't uncommon for families to have no last name, or to just be 'of the Sand' or 'of the Sun'. Especially as a priest, lack of a last name and cutting himself from worldly connections would be pretty common.

"Not having very good luck. Maybe this is punishment from the Sun.", he laughed, flipping another card and immediately frowning as it revealed a 1

[Texas]

Tokugawa nodded his head at his lack of a last name. "I wish I was fancy, unlike my compatriot next to me." The laughter that followed made Itoku smile, but not a full one. He wasn't happy about giving up free information to a stranger, but Toku simply didn't care. At this point, he was saying truth's out loud to see what kind of reactions he would get. The happy go lucky man would laugh again at the one. "Man, you must have done something bad recently to get this kind of luck!" Upon finishing the word luck, Toku would reveal the highest card, a 6. With that Itoku would follow with a 5. Man they were crushing it, maybe the could get down to it a little bit harder. This was a one sided questioning so far.

Toku would lean back in his seat and rest his head on his hand. His elbow would be on the arm of the chair. "hmmmmm, traveling for 5 years is quite the task been given to you. It must be tiring." Toku would think a lot about what to say... hmm maybe he should go for a shock value. The man would smirk and then take a drink. With a few very large gulps, Toku would place the cup back on the table.

His body would straighten up and then snap his finger! "You say you have been traveling around for 5 years. Have you been to Sunagakure recently since the invasion?" Tokugawa would reach for his glass to drink again. His eyes would be waiting, analyzing, hoping to see anything. Any twitch of the eyes, any frustration, or even pride.

Directly after asking the question Tokugwa would throw his next card down and a 3 would be put on the table. How annoying. Itoku would follow suit and throw a 5 down. Ugh this Teishi guy was not having the greatest luck.