The Sunlit Workshop

[King of Cats]

The weather in Sunagakure's residential district was just like any other day, a strong, hot wind blew through the streets and people rushed from shade spot to shade spot to get where they were going While the people did that, Hiroshi was hard at work at the Sunlit Workshop.

Some years ago Hiroshi had used his wealth from puppet crafting to convert his childhood home into a proper workshop and storefront. It had always been equipped with a little workshop in the back of the large mansion, but Hiroshi desired something more. He spent a lot of money to convert his home into a shop, and then buy another home to live in, but it was worth it to him. Ever since he opened up the Sunlit Workshop his production rates increased and his pocketbook got fatter too. Hiroshi was proud of his work, and recently he had picked up a special job for the Dawnbringer Church.

The Dawnbringer Church was a sect of Yuumagure that believed the Chosen Disciple of the Sun would come in the next era. They believed, and taught, that a time of darkness would befall the world that only the true Chosen Disciple could resolve. The Dawnbringer Church was not very popular in Sunagakure, but never the less Hiroshi had been raised by the church and he believed what they taught. As a lifelong member Hiroshi often picked up jobs crafting puppets for the church. They often held exhibitions to display the Sun's power, or historical happenings in Yuumagure; and this wa sone such case. The church had a play where three hundred puppets would be required. The puppets would need to be in the shape of lambs though, which made the construction slightly more difficult than usual. Of course Hiroshi was a master of his craft and finished the workload on perfect time. The play went off wonderfully and word of Hiroshi's talent spread quickly.

On this day Hiroshi was in his workshop cleaning it up after all the work he had just done in it. He was sweeping the floor in quietness, not thinking about much. He was simply enjoying the moment.

[CDF]

So many pieces in play, so many potential stories.

Hito's now short legs almost blurred as he power-walked through the sandy streets of his home village. He had not only done this many times, but in this very moment was doing so through over ten pairs of legs. His extensions were littered throughout the village, doing crucial and mostly hidden work. This was the only one of his extensions currently disguised as a child, however.

His pace slowed by the time he reached the shop, having caught a glimpse of himself in the reflection of a shop he passed and realizing how rushed he looked. He made a note to account for stride length next time he changes his height for an extension, lest he once again try to maintain his normal pace. With the blustering confidence of an eager 10 year old, he swung open the door of the puppet shop and walked in.

"Wooooow, mister! This is all yours?"

Hito was disguised as an academy student in uniform. He took the form of a younger version of himself, changing just a few of the details of his appearance with advanced transformation, giving it his best work so that the young Jounin would suspect nothing nor feel the need to perform some sensory jutsu. If he did, he'd realize the boy was merely an illusion cast over a makeshift puppet that Hito had taken control of.

Today's goal was to meet Hiroshi, the jounin who had the potential to be part of many of Hito's plans, especially those related to puppetry and religion. He knew very little about the man beyond what files could tell him, however.

"Wooow, the kids at school said I was dumb to come to you, but I could tell your shop was the coolest" His face beamed with pride and wonder as he looked around the shop and up at Hiroshi. "Is it ok if I come in? I want to build a really cool puppet before I become a genin, but.. ." Hito committed to the act, moving his "body" with nervous energy, twiddling with his hands and feet while looking suddenly shy and trailing off where he had previously been bold and talkative. "I don't really... have much money.."

[King of Cats]

Hiroshi had his hands gripping the broom and was sweeping underneath of tables when Hito's disguised puppet wandered in. Immediately the boy started talking. Hiroshi didn't suspect anything off about it, though he did note that the boy was loud and boisterous. He seemed to be chewing at Hiroshi's merciful bones with the way he innocently pandered him. Hiroshi stood up from his bent over position and then looked at the boy.

"What a nice kid.." Hiroshi thought to himself and tossed the broom into the air. As the broom flew in the air Hiroshi shot chakra strings put of two of his fingers. The strings connected to the broom and flew it over to the rack where it hung on the wall. Hiroshi placed the broom away and then the chakra strings faded away. "All mine kiddo. Come on in, look around." Hiroshi gave the boy a wink. "By the Sun's Light we will find you something to work with today. I'm feeling generous, perhaps you could fool me out of something grand." Hiroshi was smiling and knelt down. He pointed here and there as he spoke. "Over here we got labor puppets. Good for practice, they are typical human shaped. Then we got combat puppets, I can show you D-Rank puppets. Something your level. Then there's performance puppets. I make em all. Look around, tell me what you like and I will make something just for you. I am Hiroshi Takumi, welcome to the Sunlit Workshop."

Hiroshi stood back up and attached a handful of chakra strings to one of the puppets on the wall. It was called Gumbo. Gumbo looked like a monkey, about the size of a small child, with greasy fur attached to the wooden plates that made up the exterior of its body. It was an ugly puppet, but it was flashy and useful for novice shinobi. Hiroshi commanded it to jump off the table and it walked toward Hito's puppet.