Island of Storms [Sakura]

Chapter 45 | Greeting

The group of Leaf shinobi met at the harbor as they were told to, being greeted by the villagers they passed by. They were to meet with the village elder and the personal guard of the princess before being led to the woman herself.

Their journey on the ferry was an interesting one, as they learned about the wall of rain for the first time and were able to talk with a few villagers about what day-to-day life was like. But that soon came to an end as the ferry pulled up next to the dock of the hidden island.

Yoshino raised a brow as she looked at her husband, his eyes on something outside the window on the dock. Her eyes followed and found a tall man with silver hair next to a short, elderly woman. She wanted to ask what was so striking about them, but decided against it as they were to be getting off in the next few moments. The group allowed the villagers to pass by them and gathered together to wait. They had only a few moments to themselves before the elderly woman approached them. She was hunched over slightly and wore more traditional clothes in the colors of the village.

"Might you all be the ones coming from the Leaf Village?" she asked, her green eyes looking over all of them.

"They are," the man Shikaku had seen said as he came up next to her.

"Kakashi...?" Everyone looked to Kurenai before looking back to the man, each of them having the realization as well. "I thought you were dead. Why are you here? What happened to your eye?"

"We can talk about all that after the meeting," the old woman smiled. "It's not that far of a walk to the Kage tower, otherwise I wouldn't be able to make it!"

She laughed before turning and beginning to walk. The group followed behind and Kurenai quickly made her way up next to Kakashi.

"So, everyone just assumed I was dead then?" he asked quietly.

"To be fair, most of us thought it was stupid to just leave everyone... But after you didn't come back..." she frowned. He shook his head in disappointment.

"I am Nashigaki Iro. I was appointed to the position of the village elder and do my best to help with matters in any way I can. If any of you have questions concerning the agreement between our two villages or anything else important, then you can ask to speak with me at the main desk and they'll find my old self for you."

Kurenai heard Kakashi give a quiet laugh. "At the moment, we are walking down the main road of the village. Most things are able to be found here, including shops and important buildings such as the hospital, mail service, and other more government-based buildings. Further down the road, a fork breaks off into three directions. Those streets have more shops, housing, restaurants, and other businesses. I'm sure your loved ones will be thrilled to take you on tours once we have finished up the meeting."

They came upon a large teal and white building that climbed up the side of a large protrusion of rock, just as the houses did on the rocks across from it. "This is the Kage tower, all things involving the princess and the village as a whole are discussed here. Situated just to the right is the hospital. If the princess cannot be found in the tower, then she is most certainly hard at work with patients."

"Sounds like Lady Tsunade..." Iruka muttered as they entered the building. Upon entry, they were met by applause and looked around to find many people smiling at them.

"Thank you so much for helping us!" someone cheered from the crowd. A man from the back rushed forward and they noticed he held a large Champagne bottle. Something zipped toward the bottle and wrapped around it, the large container ending up in the old woman's hands.

"I said no!" the old woman scolded.

"But Lady Iro—" the man started.

"Do it outside, you fool!"

He sighed and took the bottle from her hands before exiting the building and popping the cork, everyone cheering.

"They're excited to get started with improving the village," Kakashi muttered. "He's a little more excited than most."

Choza let out a laugh before they continued on, heading up a few flights of stairs and coming to a door.

Kakashi opened the door before the rest entered, the group looking around as they saw that the desk was empty. Iro turned and looked at the man at the door.

"She's disappeared."

Kakashi looked at the desk before he looked around the room, a few of them thinking they saw a little panic on his face before a small woman rushed in through the door, her seafoam Kage robe fluttering behind her. She dropped a stack of papers on the desk before snatching up a pen and writing a few things down. Once finished she took the paper and sprinted back out of the room. Iruka was the first one to look at Kakashi in shock.

"Was that..?" The woman rushed back in and hurried over to the desk, shoving the stack of folders to the side before resting her elbows on the wood. She gave a warm smile and Iruka felt tears in his eyes again.

"Welcome to Arashigakure!" Sakura beamed.

"Sakura!" Choji cheered. She laughed and he approached the desk, the two of them exchanging a few happy words before he went back to his parents. She let out a happy sigh as she laced her fingers together.

"I'm happy to see everyone was able to make it."

"Sakura, you're the Namikage?" Iruka asked, amazed.

"It's a long story..." she laughed. "But let's get to the point of this meeting so I can let you all loose."

She picked up a stack of folders to her left and Kakashi took them from her before passing them out. "These folders contain a temporary citizenship form, a home request form, and some general information on how things work differently here than in Konoha. There are some schedules and contact information as well."

She looked down at a paper and lifted it slightly to see it better. "I'll be sending a messenger bird to each of you who have a role to play in the strengthening of the village when we're ready to begin your part. I'll probably be contacting Teacher Iruka first as everyone is antsy to get the schools up and running."

She looked back up at them.

"But for the time being, please fill out the citizenship forms and a house request form and drop them off at the front desk by the end of the next few days," she finished with a smile. "Do any of you have any questions for me that do not involve my status or what happened prior to knowing where any of us were?"

"I do... actually..." Iruka started. Sakura frowned at seeing his fall in mood. "Kosai and his teammate... along with another woman... mentioned Kurama..."

She pursed her lips.