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The old tired wheels of the manheld carriage creaked in exhaustion from the day long journey. The trip from Higakure (The hidden Sun village) to Takigakure (the hidden waterfall village) took a whole day, although the two were neighboring villages. Higakure was built in the middle of a deep yet flat valley surrounded by clear lakes. The village was exposed to the constant rays of the hot sun, which is where it got its name.
"I have never seen so much weird flowers before" a young purple haired girl spoke, peaking out from the silky curtain of the insanely decorated palanquin.
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"How come there are so many types sensei?" She added looking at a orange haired woman sitting across from her dressed in the finest of silk. The woman raised her straw hat to look at the young one and smiled "You are used to seeing the valleys of sunflowers back home... I can't blame you for being so amazed. Just like people, flowers come in all sorts of shapes and colors" the wise one spoke then added "You will learn a lot during our stay in Takigakure, Shinju" Her sensei spoke, absent mindedly rubbing her fingers over the embellished scroll in her hands.
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The purple haired girl closed the curtain and pouted upon laying her eyes on the scroll "What exactly is our mission? I thought Higakure doesn't bother with external affairs...neighbors or not"
"Well the world is changing fast. Surely a lot of villages are forming and multiple clans are working together but there are also some that aim to rule more land before the borders are drawn for good by the Kages. Takigakure held its own infront of many villages despite being small. Our elders will be giving their leader our secret Jutsu in hopes they help shelter us in this terrible war" the ginger spoke hiding the scroll in her sleeve and tilted her head teasingly seeing as the young girl infront of her was thinking about the subject thoroughly, urging her to say what was on her mind.
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"If the jutsu is so strong and secret then why don't we make tons of it and hand it to our people so they can fight in the war?...I don't know what makes Taki so great anyways" the teen huffed
As the carriage emerged out of the vegetation and into the sunlight, the bright morning rays leaked in through the thin silk drapes and her sensei opened her hand touching the sun and twirled her hand gently inwards bending the ray of sunlight as if it was smoke. "Making scrolls like that took our elders years to perfect. It isn't as simple as writing things down you know...And I understand where your doubt is coming from. We were raised to believe that outsiders are unwelcoming and savage, but that is only because we have yet to encounter them and judge for ourselves...Sometimes Shinju...staring at sunflowers all day gets boring. Sometimes the eye craves more...Sometimes it is nice to smell and see other flowers that are different" She said manipulating the sunlight in her palm.
Shinju knew where those words were coming from. Her sensei had the spirit of a fiery bird that blazed for freedom. She had been cooped up in Higakure for years, the monotonous valley of golden plants pulling her further down into loneliness and depression. That was until Haru sensei managed to finally convince the elders to join forces with other villages for the sake of their future.
"Our elder once said that The flowers in your garden don't smell as sweet as those in the wild, but they last much longer" Shinju placed her hand over her sensei's and looked at her "I worry that you will find better flowers and leave"
"Silly girl... we already left and I took you with me didn't I?" She teased but the realized how sad the girl infront of her seemed regarding this subject and added "Shinju, as long as the sun shines over this earth, I'll be with you to protect you always...and that's a promise" She smiled holding the girl's hand in hers making the latter smile. Before Shinju could say more, the carriage stopped abruptly.
"Halt! state your business!" A man outside yelled making Shinju flinch and peek from the carriage window curiously to see who it was.
Four Taki shinobi stood in the middle of the path wearing animal masks to hide their identity.
"We have come from Higakure, here to see your Leader, Hayase sama" The shinobi leading the palanquin stated formally handing them a scroll.
The shinobi took it with both hands and inspected it then stepped out of the way motioning for his men to move "You may proceed. Welcome to Takigakure territory" the Taki guard spoke giving them a formal bow.
