Heavy Rain

Shihouin pushed through the forest as quickly as he could. It was raining heavily today, and the winds were only making matters worse. The moisture wicking fabric on his kimono was proving its worth, and the bamboo hat that he wore on his head was keeping his body dry from head to toe. He placed his foot steps evenly on each branch, stepping closer to the thicker parts of the branches which were closer to the trees to ensure that his grip would meet perfectly. He could easily trod on the outside of the branches just as well, his boots allowed him to do that, but he decided not to simply because the sound of a thousand rain drops beating the top of his head was annoying enough. He would play it safe and make it there in time.

A gigantic house grew closer and closer as he drew near it, and for a moment Shihouin stopped to think about whether or not he wanted to continue on. A nice hot cup of tea and a warm heater would make the journey better if the hospitality of the people inside allowed it. From his position, he was over looking a large subdivision of houses, not at all unlike the gigantic houses where Ayame stayed in Konoha. They were massive fortresses almost, not too large, but more like a regular house stacked on another house thrice. He thought about it for a second, he could let himself in easy enough using the hypnotic power of the Sharingan. He stopped at a high branch on the tree and overlooked the house. Using a shinobi's premotion and sensing skills alone, he could tell that there were at least four people in there. He couldn't hear any activity just yet, but the lights and shadows that passed by the them were definite signs that people were inside.

A decision passed in his mind, causing him to swoop down skillfully from the high branch, landing with a light splash in the many puddles of mud that had been everywhere due to the train. He made his way through the fence with ease, and came around the front of the house. Walkign up quickly to the door, he pressed a dry finger on the doorbell and listened to it echo throughout the house as all of the activity stopped, and murmurs were heard. Scratching sonds quickly came up to the door, and the sound of a small dog scraping at the door almost caused him to get ready to attack. "Shh!" she said to the dog. "Asami take your dog and put him in the back room" Footsteps pressed against the floor and grew louder as they came closer, and the noise of the dog faded.

The door opened, revealing a young woman in her forties. She had long brown hair which was tied up in a long thick braid behind her back. Small strands of hair hung out near her forhead and sideburns, obvious sings of stress and being worked hard. She wore a t-shirt with no bra on, and her weak but large breast sagged almost to her high stomach. The sweat pants she wore were gray, which did little to match the pale, dirty and stretched out lavender shirt she had on. Yet, despite her overworked appearnce, a light smile shone through her green eyes as she looked at Shihouin soaked and dressed in black. Barefoot and hospitable, she spoke out to him. "Hello?" Shihouin bowed his head and removed his hat, showing his face with his eyes closed. He dipped slowly and then rose up, staring at her with his three tomoe on.

Their gaze met instantly and she was fixated on him. "I am Gennosuke Fujiki, a shinobi from the Sound Village. As you can see, not even a man of my skill can escape the torment of the rain. Would you mind letting me stay within your humble home until the rain passes?" The three tomoe dropped and the woman took a deep breath and sighed quickly. "Oh, oh of course, come in and dry off!" After ushering him in the door, he stood in the forayer of the home as she closed the door behind him. A deep voice boomed from the back of the room, thundering out across the house due to being too lazy to get up. "Who's that at the door Mie?" Shihouin slipped off his ninja boots, stepping on the warm tile in black socks. He removed his hat and placed it on the proper stand, and removed his backpack and placed it just below the coat stand. He bent down and reached inside of the backpack and pulled out a thick black square which was coated in plastic. It was at least 30cm long, 9cm wide and about 10cm across. Mie responded after rushing towards the door and opening it. "It's a shinobi from the Sound Village, he wanted to stay for a bit until the rain passes." The head of the household got up from his spot and walked towards the door. "And you let him in?" He pushed past his wife, and stepped out into the living area.

He was a thick old man, with a fat face that had been layered with wrinkles over time. He had all of his mangy brown hair and was no taller than his wife. He wore a house kimono, that is to say a simple robe that went down to his shins and mimicked a bath robe. He had no sandals in the comfort of his own home, but for some reason felt threatened. He carried a wakizashi in the thick fingers of his right hand as he stared at Shihouin through glasses. "Don't you shinobi have checkpoints and stop houses for situations as these?" Showing his respect for his home and that he held some of the traditional style about him, Shihouin sat on the back of his ankles and bowed, placing his hands in front of his knees in a formal style of respect. He rose up, looking directly into his eyes with his three tomee. "I appreciate your gesture of hospitality. I'm in need of a proper home due to the fact that the checkpoints have been destroyed due to recent vandalism. Thank you for letting me reside here." The three tomoe quickly died down and the old man sighed again and blinked hard, almost as if he'd seen a ghost. "Well," he said in a pious manner, "I suppose it is all right." He looked over to his tired wife and commanded her. "Mie, make us some hot tea and fruits!" Mie quickly rushed off towards the kitchen. You could easily tell that she had been used to being in there. The old man turned towards Shihouin who was still in the forayer. "Gennosuke Fujiki eh? You can call me Irako-oji. Go get your self cleaned up in the bathroom down the hall and let's talk as gentlemen shall we?" He poitned to the hall on his left.

Going out into the hallway was weird enough, down the hallway lay the bathroom and a couple of other rooms with children in them. As he listened to the noises of television and video games, Shihouin could do nothing to stop the surge of nostaliga that was now flooding over his body. For once in his life, and from a while ago, he actually took a second out to think about the room he had which sort of looked the house here. He could see, feel, and hear himself in the back room watching TV without a care in the world, while his parents were up front either cooking or worrying about him watching too much TV. In that solitary moment Shihouin stopped and stood there, stunned a bit from the feelings of the past. Had he any chance to see his father and mother again, that is to say is uncle and aunt, the people who actually raised him, he would leave within a moments notice.

The old man assumed he was lost and didn't know his way. "It's on your right." His mind snapped back from the flashbacks that played in his mind. He turned right and faced towards the door, pushing it open with the tips of his fingers. The light had been on, revealing a clean bathroom which looked like it took a lot of effort to clean. Shihouin looked around, it was long for a normal bathroom with two sinks, a small shower next to a large tub and a nice toilet situated in between them. Shihouin placed the spare kimono he had on the large counter top and began to undress himself.

For the most part the kimono he had on was fine, the water had soaked it, but not as much as anyone would think. However, it carried a distinct smell of wet trees and leaves, mixed with his own sweat from moving through the rain. Of course the animals wouldn't notice it, but he disliked the feeling of his own sweat soaking his body against the rain. Removing all the clothing, he had stripped down to his fundoshi as he began to fold up some of the parts of the kimono in the traditional manner. Shihouin's head instantly perked up, he felt a small chakra coming up behind him and rush past. It met another chakra signature and then faded away as the slightly larger one came clsoer to the door. A small knock echoed across the long bathroom and Shihouin reached for the door, opening it slightly. It was Mie. "I can wash your old kimono if you want..." She had caught a glimpse of his pretty much naked body through the long mirror which was over the counter top. She blushed deeply and turned her eyes to the floor at his feet when she realized she was married. He grabbed the garments that were halfway folded up and placed them in her hands, bowing a bit. "Thank you." She bowed nervously back and took the clothes, closing the door in the process.

An old style bath might feel better, but Shihouin figured that the shower would be the best bet, he couldn't stay here forever. After removing his last piece of garment, he stepped into the shower and turned on the hot water. He turned around, letting the warm water beat heavily on his back as he changed the settings to 'jet' to make the water shoot out quicker and faster. After a while, he ran what little hair he had through the water and soaped up decently, rubbing between the nooks and crannies of his body. After soaping up throughly, he turned off the shower and grabbed one of the towels and dried off. He assembled he parts of his fundoshi and put his undergarments back on, and undid the plastic coating of the kimono and took out the new fabrics. From head to toe, he quickly dressed in the fabrics and stepped outside, looking the same but fresher than he did before. He quietly walked over to the table, where an assortment of fruits and teas had been set in the living room.

Shihouin took a seat and calmly grabbed a some tea. The old man looked over at him and sipped his own brew a bit too loudly and placed the cup down, smacking on a small piece of orange as he struck up some conversation. "So how are things going with the Sound Village military wise? I know it's hard to tell but I'm a veteran." Shihouin looked over towards him. "Oh? Nice to hear that someone served, what rank were you, team?" "I was Special Jounin, and I went up under the tutelage of Ranki Oonikan. I'm sure you never heard of him though." "Unfortunately I cannot say I have." Shihouin picked up an orange slice and began to eat it. "Have you heard about the recent Celestial Empire movement from the West near Iwa?" Shihouin perked up. He remembered it from the Leaf. "How would you know about that?" He bluffed him, he figured it would be classified information only. "Ehh, I have my ways. I've been keeping in contact with some of the reserve departments. I'm not skilled physically but I've never lost my wits." Shihouin knew that the empire was coming, but not for some time. He had forgotten about it. "They're headed towards the Leaf though, I'm not sure of the diplomatic relationships we share with the leafs about this oncoming threat. I'm more of a... relaxed shinobi. I do whatever is asked of me and stay out of other situations." "That's good though, need more like you in Oto. Too many of them are too weak. Though we should try to help out Konoha some, we're just too small in numbers." Shihouin had to know. "When is the ETA for Konoha?" The old man looked his direction. "You didn't know? Tomorrow."

Shihouin stood up straight and instantly grabbed the kimono that Mie had brought out for him. Of course they were in an up roar about it, especially the old man who had now assumed that he was a spy of some sort. Shihouin bailed out of the door the first he could, taking all of his belonging with him. Luckily the rain had passed and Shihouin could get back to the leaf village as soon as possible. This was bad. If they were going o strike this fast, then why did the guards even let him go on the mission in the first place? Shihouin began to make his way quickly back through the forest, moving as fast as he could. He would end up disregarding his mission but he could pick itup later on. If Konoha was going to be attacked, he had to be there. For the village, for the Hokage. Especially for Nasa.