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The village of rain was a place in which those who wish to go missing can stay missing without the eyes of the all seeing villages. Amegakure itself is a village that breathes in and out war out of default and not because it wants to. It’s hollow exterior of the infinitum of pipes that wrapped itself around the buildings and even some through the buildings and hollow windows to empty skyscrapers that no longer spoke the ways of industry. It spoke only the past and its ghost who use to live in such an ideal place. The village has suffered through countless wars, using its body as a means to hold in the battles that will decide whether one faction capture this point or the other faction will capture it.

But it only adds to the fact that it continued to pour down the cold rain that would pitter and patter on the buildings every day without cease. When Keiro first arrived in Amegakure, he found that it was pouring harder here than it was in the forest. He wondered the reason for that was because of the factories created here. He had known that Amegakure had an extended market of factories that would pop in and out ever since the first shinobi wars. He was surprised that even with all the wars that have passed on in this town, his eyes could still feels a distant life within the factories. Maybe things had changed in the past six years but Keiro had doubted this assumption knowing that Amegakure was one village that could support itself without the help of anyone.

Keiro clothes were already soaked to the bone; he would need to find some new clothes when he found the time, something that’ll at least be waterproof for the time being and definitely a new cloak. The cloak he was walking in was decent being a green, tattered old thing he found lying in a trash cans that covered him from head to his knees. The hood covered his entire head and gave the appearance of an entire shadow covering his head. Their eyes would watch him but that was ok for Keiro. Keiro knew that the moment he showed his face it might cause a scene. It may have been paranoia but Keiro had to be cautious. He had to remember that he was no longer a citizen of Konoha but a criminal, a man without a home or a village.

He passed through the business district and made his way into the market district. The entire layout changed as he saw factory among factory that were lined up against the large lake that surrounded the village and now into a place where there were small shops and little businesses. He saw a small bistro on his right next to a convenience store and pharmacy. To his left was a smaller set of strip malls that consisted of a beef brisket joint, a small parlor that held baked goods and a late night bar. Many of the lights on this particular strip were off, the signs saying “sorry, we’re closed!” on the door with the times they offer during the day. The late night bar was open with a small neon sign blinking open with the “E” part fading in and out. Keiro didn’t know the time was but he didn’t see anyone sitting at the bar. He did see a man wearing a suit and bowtie wiping the tables clear with a dirty cloth. He saw the man spray the table with a cleaning fluid, spraying twice on the table before rubbing the cloth on the table and then moved on. It wasn’t a thorough job from Keiro’s point but it was probably enough for tonight. From his look and the way he cleaned it, he could be a hired hand or just the owner having a long day. Keiro walked to the door expecting the door to deny him access with him pulling on a lock door. When he pulled it, it surprised him with it opening. He walked in slowly.

The man in the bowtie didn’t pay him mind, continuing on spraying the tables and wiping the surface but Keiro knew that he knew he walked in. It wasn’t going to break him out of the routine. “I would say the bar is closed but I be lying” he said without hesitation. “Make yourself comfortable as I finish these tables.” His hand pointed over to a coat rack along the wall indicating that he should hang his coat there. Keiro walked over and took off his wet cloak and set it along a hook. The cloak did not waste time to drip on the floor forming a puddle that’ll expand over time. Keiro walked over to the front sitting on a stool where there an outstretched bar that went from the window to one of the walls. The man in the bow tie went over and lifted up a panel by the wall and walked over to where sat. He set his hands on the bar, turning his head as if to examine the wet man sitting down “What can I offer you?” He asked. Keiro looked up at him. He was a tallish man, maybe six feet in height but he was standing on an incline so it may him appear taller. He was in his thirties, no older than that with two scars on his right cheek that seemed to be carve into his face rather than being purposely place by whoever it was that cut into him. Keiro saw that he had an aura of professionalism around him, not looking sloppy with his attire. His white shirt was button up to the top and lacked any sort of stain that might’ve drawn out the attention on it with a crimson red bow tie. His brown hair was slicked back, not a piece of hair out of line with that same aura. In short, he appeared to be the owner and Keiro could conclude that with certainty.

“Something warm, nothing strong or anything. Perhaps some tea.”

The man put on a coy smile “You come into a bar asking for tea. That’s interesting if I say so myself. People usually come in from the rain asking for whiskey.”

“I’m not much of a drinker.” Keiro said, knowing that he couldn’t handle his liquor. The taste of alcohol never sat well with him. He gave a slight shrug “Besides, I don’t think I have the money for anything like that. I only have a few coins on me.”

“You homeless?”

“I suppose that’s the term for it.” Keiro had to be cautious around other people, especially those he just met. He looked into the man’s eyes and saw that he was trying to read him. He was looking up and down at him without moving his eyes which is something bartenders are able to do, good ones at least. The less information he gave, the more he would have to read him. “I’m from out of town.”

“Oh, I can see that.” The man said, leaning off from the table “You got the eyes of a man who looks like he’s been wandering for awhile. They look weary and very cautious. A man who has a story to tell but doesn’t want to give it away.” He paused and they both stare each other down. The man eyes were hazel, the streaks of color in them could make any other patron in his bar look away. They were intimidating because they were the type of eyes that could penetrate into a man’s soul and begin to strip away at the walls that people put up around him. Keiro had many walls around his soul, his blue eyes made sure of that. The man saw this. “But you appear to have something to hide.”

“Perhaps I do…perhaps I don’t.” Keiro said “Don’t all men have something to hide? Like you?”

Part of the man’s lip lifted up into a smirk. “Why would I have something to hide? I’m a bartender, all I do is given my customers something to drink and feed them from time to time. If I had something to hide, why would I place my bar in a place that may show what I have to hide?” He answered a question with another question. He was holding back himself, trying to put the game in his favor. He was being cautious himself not trying to give himself way either. Keiro had no idea what the man had to hide. A man who was finely dressed didn’t have that distinct aura of shadows and underground but Keiro always had that gut feeling that would tell him otherwise. The man’s fingers were tapping on the wooden bar, the repetitive patter of his fingers distracted Keiro for only a second.

“I don’t know.” Keiro said finally “Maybe you don’t need to hide anything. If you wanted to hide something, you would hide it in plain sight because people’s eyes don’t look around sometimes. Their eyes can see it but they are still blind to whatever it is in front of him. That’s how life in the shadows works. There are the shadows the people want to see and there are shadows that find their way to the light.” Keiro paused for effect. He set his elbows on the table and intertwined his fingers so that he may lean on them “And then there are shadows that never see the light of day because they believe that shadow is…well the light.”

The man gave a moment’s hesitation comprehending the words that Keiro had said. His message was cryptic but it was blunt enough to tell the man that he was Keiro was far from an ordinary. The man raised a hand in a gesture telling them both that there was no need to speak like this any longer “I understand” he said, his face relaxing from the reading position “You haven’t really answered what I asked. What can I get you?”

“I would like something that’ll warm my bones. Tea would be ok if you serve it. If you don’t have tea then I’ll have water.”

“I can serve tea” The man said “In an establishment like this, I only do the best I can to serve my customers.” He said with pride. “If the customer is not wanting any liquor I usually don’t suggest it but would you mind if I did make a suggestion? Just this once?” Keiro nodded and the man proceeded on “There is this whiskey that is made in Grass Country. They are very proud of it because it has a medicinal effect…or so I’ve heard. They claim it is medicinal because of the oak they store it in.”

“They store it in a particular oak barrel?” Keiro knew little about the aging process with some alcohol but never has he heard anything that made alcohol anywhere near medicinal in terms of drinking it.

“Correct. This type of oak was once used by the native people of that country, saying that they were the first to theorize and create whiskey. It is said that the alcohol would ferment, sitting in the barrels for a few years as the alcohol took in the nutrients of the oak and, of course, its particular flavor. It was then consumed by the natives millennia ago during times of festivals and certain rituals. It is said that the medicinal power of this whiskey could cure digestive problems and clear the mind of fogginess in the morning.”

Keiro gave a look of doubt on his face. The man shrugged “That was the sales pitch the man who sold it to me said. A bunch of snake oil in honesty and I could care less about any ‘medicinal’ properties of any sort of alcohol. If anything, you drink something that suppose to loosen you up, it has no intention of curing you of anything which is why I called bullshit on his story. But the taste of the whiskey is something to admire. It has a nice aroma and it is perfect for warming up the bones on a cold rainy night like this.”

The thought of drinking something alcoholic didn’t sit well in Keiro’s mind which affected his stomach to a certain point. He could hear it churn as if it already drank some of the whiskey straight with no ice. He wasn’t like his friends he once went drinking with who could hold their alcohol with little problem. He, on the other hand, had doubts that he would be able to control himself even if he had a sip of it. He shook his head “I would rather have nothing stronger than tea at the moment.” He reassured the man “But I thank you for the offer.”

The man nodded “Of course. I shall return with a cup of tea. Anything you have in mind?”

Keiro thought for a moment “Pick what’s your favorite. I could care less at this point.”

The man gave a mock salute “I’ll be right back” he said before walking towards the door and pushing it in before disappearing in the back. Keiro watched the door swing in and out as the man’s footfall faded away from ear distance.

Keiro took a glance at the entire layout of the restaurant/bar. It wasn’t a large building. It looked large from the outside with the building have three stories. It probably contained smaller rooms for guest maybe or maybe this was where the man stood to sleep from time to time. He imagined the man was a person of business, offering customer service to whoever needs it and leaving an impression that imprints a good image into a man’s mind. Where it was set up in the market district made it an odd place. Keiro would imagine this place to be set up in a busier city or village where the amount of traffic was on the high end but the man, or rather owner Keiro should say since he was the only one here who could be considered an owner, probably had no intentions of letting in a large amount of people in his establishment. The way it was set up was meant for smaller parties, more of a personal feel when a group sits down in here. It held six wooden tables which could seat maybe three to a table. Six tables could hold eighteen people which, again, didn’t give the impression of this place getting a surplus of money. The tables were somewhat close together, layout in a fashion where one could overhear each other if they had the desire to eavesdrop. The thought of someone hearing his conversation to someone made him a bit disturbed by this. Keiro could see that the tables were maybe a two feet or so a part. If he were to measure the exact distance of the table he would probably be in the general ball park area if not exact. Those measurements were made intentionally, made with not the idea of having eavesdropping but a concrete plan of it.

The bar had ten stools lined up against it stretching from end to end. He could only see people using eight of them account that the one near the window was too personal with the people that walked outside of the bar and at the other end where one could not hear the others conversation. It was made to isolate themselves from the bar which seem like this place would be odd to find oneself isolated from this place. It rang camaraderie but it rang class as well.

He stared ahead and saw his reflection of himself on the large mirror that stretched from end to end. He could see himself clearly which he hasn’t viewed his reflection in a very, very long time. He has looked in the mirror to shave after he got out of prison and trained with Shooden but he never got a good look at himself. He saw his face that has aged over the six years in prison. The young teenager that he once was who had an innocent look, a look of pride and relentless energy was gone now. It had been eaten away in the prison cell that held him for so long. He knew that he had gain back some weight, he felt like he was when he eighteen but he could imagine that he was a bit on the gaunt side because the food they served was only meant for the prisoners to survive and not truly nourish them. He looked a tad bit harder now, the small trace of baby fat that was disappearing slowly at the time had faded and he saw the image of his father in the mirror. His face looked cold always, even if he smiled, it wasn’t the warm smile that many people remembered Keiro for. It lacked that warmth, the vitality that glowed whenever he showed his face in a crowd or whenever he was with his close friends. Now staring back at him was a man whose lost much in his life. It was harden, the look of a man whose been betrayed and lost many things in his life. It was the look of harden soldiers who looked into the face of darkness and didn’t turn away at it. Many men stare at it and turn away out of fear, out of weariness in their hearts and they have the choice to leave the darkness behind. Keiro’s mind was then enlightened and this was the price to pay for such knowledge and understanding.

The man came back with a cup in one hand and a platter in the other. He set the platter down in front of Keiro and then set the cup on it. “I hope you like lemongrass” the man said smiling.

Keiro didn’t like the taste of lemongrass. It reminded him of drinking hot lemonade and he didn’t even like lemonade all that much. But he couldn’t be a chooser and he did say that he’ll have whatever the man likes. He grasped the cup in his hand feeling the warmth of the tea, trying to get a good estimate of its temperature. The cup was thick, made of bamboo from its texture and weight, and it didn’t transfer the heat to his hand very well which was good since it was containing the heat rather than releasing it. He took the cup and raised it up to his noise so he could smell the aroma of it. It wasn’t at all he expected in the smelling department. It had a light aroma, slightly fragrant that had no close resemblance to that lemonade smell he disliked. He could smell honey in it as well, orange blossoms from the hint of orange that came along with the lemon. How interesting Keiro thought, to mix the potency of lemon and the citrus taste of orange blossom. He’s either went to school for this or he’s done many trials and errors testing to find that perfect balance in smell. The real question was whether it tasted decent.

Taking a small sip of the tea, he instantly noticed the lemongrass, finding it slightly bitter to his tongue. There was that taste of lemon in his mouth but it slowly transformed to that hint of orange from the honey that now rested on his taste buds. He found the taste of this tea to be-well pleasantly uplifting to his warm bones and felt the creak in them slowly fade. He took a few more sips in silence as the bartender watched him with those careful eyes. Keiro set the cup down and looked at the man “You’re a master at this art. You must take some pride in it.”

“As customer service, I am to please.” The man smiled once more, no longer sarcastic but genuine. He seemed pleased with the comment as if it was his first attempt and receiving a complement was worth its weight in gold. He leaned back against the back of the bar, arms folded. “Is there anything else I can get you?”

Keiro found himself contemplating whether he should say anything else to him. He wanted to give as little of himself and what he had planned to a minimum if he could help it. He needed to find some money, find some sort of job and get out of the village as soon as possible. He didn’t want to say that he was trying to find his students or their whereabouts. Tight-lipped as he was intending to go, this man didn’t seem like the type of give away his information even if he was bribed. He understood the role of the bartender, to be the voice of reason and the ears willing to listen to the problems of others. They would give the troubled people their sorrows and worries and they would advise them on whatever it was with the best answer possible. Sure, that bartender may not experience the same as the people talking but maybe he’s heard a story from another person not even two weeks ago and found that that solution was the best one since it helped his problems. He remembered one of his friends calling them the poor psychologists of the world, understanding the people they talk to without the necessary need of a doctorate to advise them. He took another sip of his tea before deciding. What the hell he thought. Sometimes you gotta take the risk.

“I’m looking for some work” Keiro said “I’m in town for awhile and I need to pick up some cash before I hit the road.”

“You need a place to stay too?”

“If it’s better than sleeping in the streets tonight, I wouldn’t complain. Anything would suffice me at the moment.”

The man raised a hand to his chin and begins to rub it slowly. He was viewing him again but not as deep as he did the first time around. Keiro saw that he bit his lip that was so unnoticeable it made him question whether he did bite his lip or not. He cocked his head a bit before saying “What are you willing to do?” he raised a hand up before Keiro got a chance to answer “I do believe I have the pose the question as to whether you are the honorable type or not. You’re a shinobi, I already guessed that much, but are your loyalties still to a village?”

Keiro had the idea that the man knew from the start that he was a nukenin. What gave it away Keiro thought? Was it the way he walked into the bar, with quiet steps that they were told during the academy? Was it the way he stared back at the man when they had that little staring contest and he pierced through one layer of the walls he put up to reveal his secret? He tried putting two and two together, finding what it was that gave it away. He couldn’t find it. The man probably just knew he was a shinobi and had already had the answers to the questions Keiro was going to ask beforehand.

“My loyalties died the moment I was accused of murdering my own father.” Keiro said, the pleasant voice lost under the cold voice he now spoke in. “And it was buried when I was taken to prison. I’m willing and able if that’s what you’re asking.”

The bartender didn’t seem to be disturbed by this notion. He kept the same look on his face and remained still as the silence crept back in. The rain appeared to pick up outside of them. Three people rushed by them during that minute of silence, all them moving with haste as the rain fell down hard. The bartender leaned off the bar and nods as if he understood everything about Keiro’s situation. “A man falsely accused and now is an enemy of his former loyalties. I will admit, that sounds like a novel of the sort. You sure didn’t make that up and you’re not some runaway?”

“Believe me” Keiro said, finishing the rest of his tea in one gulp “I wouldn’t make this kind of shit up. You could say I’m a horrible storyteller.”

“That’s hard to believe.” The bartender reached down underneath the bar and grabbed a drinking glass. He turned around and grabbed a bottle of imported whiskey and poured the liquid barely full of the stuff. It was the whiskey that the bartender was talking about earlier. Keiro received a good whiff of it, smelling the wooden flavor rising from it. The man took a sip of it, not grimacing from the burn of the alcohol. He relished the wooden flavors on his tongue and the taste of the warm liquid down his throat without even showing any emotions as to whether he enjoyed it or distaste it. He let out a soft sigh. “But I have no reason not to believe you. You seem like a man who would lie for his own benefit but only if it satisfied his needs rather than his wants. Right now, you’re asking yourself whether I would offer you a job and a place a stay while you’re here in this village and the debate is if you are going to accept it or not.”

The man would already know the answer but Keiro satisfied him with a slight nod. “Not many people would ask a nukenin if they want a job or not. They believe them to be lying, thieving criminals. I only lie and steal out of means to benefit a goal but I’m not a bad thief or a bad liar. I am technically a criminal so I suppose if I wanted to work in a business, I wouldn’t put on my resume that I was arrested. Bad for let that skeleton fly out the closet wouldn’t you think?”

“And it would definitely be bad business for that company too.” The bartender made a decisive humming noise. He made a gesture with his hand as if he was deciding what choice to make. “But…”He said after a few seconds “I am looking for some help in terms of doing odd jobs. I have clients that come to me time in and time out if I knew any hired hands that’ll-well, assist them with their needs. I use to say that I didn’t know of any because quite frankly the nukenin here are so scarce that it’s like picking at a dry field hoping to find gold. But now it seems you can scratch some things off my back and I can scratch some things off yours.”

“I’m going to assume that you’ll be the go between in terms of the deals that the clients are offering.” Keiro said without much thought in it.

The man snapped his fingers and points to Keiro “Bingo my friend. If you’re willing and able then I can give you what you need. We shall split the shares, say…sixty/forty?”

Keiro had one eyebrow raised up in this quick offer that seem to suggest that this man has been wanting someone like him to pass by his bar. There weren’t many nukenin here? How true was that statement he wondered? He admit, he had been in prison for six years and maybe things have changed since he’s last been in Amegakure but have things changed to such a degree? Amegakure use to store a group of nukenin for many years due to its deep connection with the black market. The supply was simply men and weapons. There was always someone who hired a shinobi for some odd job that they wouldn’t even suggest to a shinobi from the villages. It was anything that ranged from stealing documents from other political leaders, killing a man or a group of men that would draw attention or carrying a cargo of drugs over borders. Amegakure was the center due to its position being in the middle of Fire Country, Wind Country and Earth Country. These three countries were at odds when it came to the trafficking of Amegakure, none of which could center on a single decision and goal to maintain the raining country. It was a matter of politics to these countries rather efficiency of ridding a problem. But something had happen; Amegakure was not what it was. He didn’t doubt the man’s words of there being a shortage of nukenin. As he was, the bartender has a way of knowing what’s happening in the world of light and the world of darkness.

“Fifty-fifty” he responded “I rather we split it even. After all, I’m asking is for shelter and a bit of food. You have all your necessities plus more. You live a rather lavish lifestyle while I’m just a poor and homeless man. I would say that I should get the sixty percent since I’m the one doing the dirty work but I’m not that type of guy who wants money for just wanting it.”

The bartender made another one of those fox smiles. He saw through that bluff Keiro was making, indeed something that he was going to get use to. He chuckled “I find you interesting Mr.…I’m sorry, I never caught your name.”

“Keiro. Hateshini, Keiro.”

“Ah, well then Hateshini-san. I suppose you have yourself a deal.” He held a hand out for Keiro to shake “My name is Zurui by the way. Sasayaki, Zurui. I shall be your negotiator.” Keiro reached a hand over and grasp his hands. He had a strong grip, seemingly wanting to crush his hand to see if he had the strength. Keiro had the strength, perhaps a bit too much as he saw a twitch in Zurui’s eye. His smile didn’t waiver “You and I are gonna be very close in this relationship.”

Posts : 760

Zurui had flipped the panel open allowing for Keiro to walk behind the bar. He decided it was best to show Keiro around seeing that he would be staying at this establishment for a set amount of time. It was best, Keiro thought, for him to know the entire layout of the place, finding any weak points if there were any. Zurui reassured Keiro that there was no way anyone could get in if they tried to sneak in. He’s has found over the course of five years with his establishment that those who try to steal from him have had a difficult, if not impossible time getting into restaurant to loot what wealth it stored in the inner walls. He followed Zurui into the back room where he had made the tea. Keiro saw that it was a narrow hallway that only three people could walk passes each other without bumping elbows. This had a different feel than it does on the outside. The outside showed the exquisite part of the building, the place where the action took place and the social gatherings would occur. That part was the makeup, the fancy dress and fancy suit of the building. Here he was viewing the arteries of the place. The glamour of the place had disappeared the moment the door closes behind them and there was the true ‘interior’ of the place. The carpet had stopped at the entrance and the floor had black and white tiles. There were three rooms to the left and two rooms to the right. On the left were two rooms of storage rooms side by side to each other. Zurui explained to Keiro that there is the true storage room and then there is the ‘storage’ room. Keiro imagined the latter was a place where he had stored shipments of alcohol and drugs that would supply the underworld but Zurui cleared that notion in saying that the ‘storage’ was where he set up a false panel behind the wall and it led down into the cellar where it conjoined with the underground tunnels of Ame.

“The black market knows about the tunnels here in Amegakure. The pipes stretch from the village all the way out to forest of Rain Country itself. They were created fifty years prior to the second shinobi war as a means to escort refugees out of the country. Alas, the pipes are now use as means of travel for those in hiding or the local mafias of the area for transporting goods.”

“What kind of goods?” Keiro asked

“Depends on what’s hot on the market. Last year, the hottest thing to hit the black market was opium from the Far East. The market for that has declined over the year but it’s still a valuable item today. From what I understand, it’s the alcohol I spoke about earlier that is being hot. Next year it’ll probably be heroin or cocaine. The following might be opium yet again. It’s kind of like fashion and that there are things that just recycle it over and over. As long as there is demand, there will always be enough supplies to fulfill that demand.”

It was an unbarring truth to hear it but Keiro could care less at the moment. He asked to know the rest of the area. To his right was actually just two rooms but one room was the kitchen. One was the entrance and one is the exit. Keiro looked inside through the small oval window. He saw that it was the standard line set up. There was the oven, the burners to the stove, the grill, the fryer and another set of ovens. On the other side of the line were tables that were set up to hold in fresh ingredients, both hot and cold types. He imagined that Zurui would hire catering from time to time allowing them to use his kitchen freely under circumstances. He didn’t use catering much seeing some of the kitchen appliances retained their shine and appeared new. The last room on the right was Zurui’s office. He saw a long wooden desk with a small lamp on the desk. He had a small stack of papers that was messily placed on the table. He seemed to have written some things down in a scribble, hurriedly signing his name on the papers.

He had four bookcases, all of them filled with assortment of books. Keiro walked over to one of the cases. With his finger, he slowly traced along the bindings of the books. Each row carried thirty books, each separated according to genre. He held a large collection of medical books, science books, repair books, books on the history of different countries, books dealing the political views of every country and books on different country’s weather patterns. He didn’t have many fiction books which was surprising. Zurui just seem to be the man who enjoyed a classic novella or a long read from time to time. He certainly had the office where it presented a nice atmosphere for it.

“Come on” Zurui said “I’ll show you where you’ll be sleeping.” He walked out of the office just stopping half way out of the room. He was watching Keiro taking a glance at his bookshelf, eyeing every move he was making. He doesn’t think I’m going to steal anything does he? Keiro wondered if that was the case but the thought was a ridiculous one. Zurui didn’t show concern for his books; it was an impatient stare really as if his eyes were saying ‘I’ve seen this room plenty of times. There is no need for us to linger.” Keiro took a book off the shelf that read for the title “An Endless Landscape.” The author of it was unknown. It didn’t show an image of what it was. The cover was entirely blank with any hint of what it contained. He shook the book for Zurui to see

“Who wrote this?”

Zurui walked back in and leaned forward to get a glance at the book. He gave a weary look to Keiro. “This is my novel.” He said in a doubtful tone of voice “Not exactly a novel. It’s more so a biography of my family. I showcase the history of the Satayaki involvement in the drug trades and what not.” He grasped the book from Keiro’s hand. He examined the book by turning it over from front to back as if he was checking the quality and weight of it. He opened the book and flipped through the pages “My God, how long it’s been since I’ve written this. Ten years maybe? There have been some changes but it goes into detail about my family pretty well that the reader would get a chance to view my family in detail. I never published it and never have intention of publishing it.”

“Is it all right if I read it?”

Zurui gave a moment’s hesitation thinking in his head. His head bobbled side to side as if the gears were beginning to turn in his head. Finally, he let out a sigh and handed the book to Keiro “Sure, why not. Really, I have nothing to hide from you. Seeing that you’re my courier, you should know some things about me and my family.”

“Thanks.” Keiro said. He took the book at hand and gestured Zurui to lead on. They both left the office and made a right to a set of stairs. The flight of stairs led to the top floor of the establishment. Again, they went down a straight hallway but this hallway was shorter and the doors that the hallway on the main floor had. Instead, there was one door that was straight ahead of them. Keiro guessed that this would be the place he would be sleeping. Zurui open the door and gestured his hands in presenting the room.

The room itself was about the size of a hotel room. It had enough space for him to walk between the large queen size bed and the dresser. There was a small round table with one chair right next to the window. The window itself had heavy curtains covering it. Keiro walked over and pulled aside one of the curtains. There was another set of curtains that was thinner, white lining around before he saw out the window. They were on the second floor and he could see the empty market district streets with surprising clarity.
Keiro set the small tote bag he was carrying on the dresser. Even the set up of the dresser had a hotel like feel to it. There were five books standing up on a very small book case and even had a pack of cigarettes, just in case anyone staying here wanted to smoke. Zurui pointed to the next room. There was no need for him to introduce the bathroom. Keiro went inside and saw that there was a small shower stall for him. Both the toilet and the sink were porcelain white and bore no visible grime for him to see. There were white towels over a small rack right next to the shower. He would do further examination of the place when he found the time.

This was definitely something not what he was expecting. The main floor contained the public while the back room contained the arteries and brain of the entire place. If he was doing comparisons to the body then this part of the restaurant was the kidney or the appendix. It existed because it was a part of the establishment. But a person could live without one or the other and survive just fine. He didn’t think Zurui got a lot of guest. From the cleanliness of the entire place, this didn’t seem like a place used. Keiro suspected the reason why he had this nice room was for his family but it was not too sure on that assumption. He was looking around for anything that would make him odd and out of the ordinary. Small things like pictures in his office, the type of books he read, anything that showed he had any kind of relationship outside of work like a wife or a girlfriend. Was he a closet homosexual or did he have no particular taste in anyone romantic? He came off as someone that Keiro could’ve been if he wasn’t arrested. He had that mesmerizing charm to him, a type of magnetic personality that allowed someone to open themselves up to their deepest secrets without so much as saying in a gentle tone of voice “Hi, how may I help?” or what he heard “Is there anything I can do to help?”

These things went in his head during his little tour. He made it clear in his mind on the resolution: He didn’t wish to be involved with a person that showed some sort of killer personality and tried to lure him into his establishment to murder him. This wasn’t paranoia more so it was a bit of caution. He was taking a chance. He put his cards up, looking to find that he had a pair that didn’t show him any good odds but he was still putting his chips on the table. He didn’t know this man, his true personality, his history, nothing that showed him anything. Nothing but the book he had in his hand. It contained the history of his family, a documentation of everything up to ten years prior. He wouldn’t have anything on his background and even if he did have a little back story on him, it would be in the vaguest of detail only picking at a few things in his life that one may consider to be small to the eyes of the reader and the reader would pass by it without a second thought.

I am the courier while he is the negotiator Keiro thought I suppose that this was a type of work that is based on contracts. I suppose I can work with this for now. If things get too crazy for me there won’t be anything that’ll stop me from leaving.

“I’ll see if the client will still accept my offer.” Zurui said, standing in between the door post of the room “If he is still interested, I’ll tell you about it in the afternoon.”

“What time?” Keiro asked, closing the bathroom door.

“Around two o clock. It may be three because I have to take care of a few errands and grocery shopping. I don’t carry food in the kitchen downstairs unless I’m hosting a small party. Can’t have a courier unfed if I’m expecting good results.” Again, he smiled that charming smile. Keiro didn’t know whether to be at odds with that smile or not. Keiro smiled underneath his breath and turned away “All right. I’ll see you then. I’m locking up for tonight.” He gave a salute and closed the door leaving Keiro alone in room with nothing but the pouring rain pelting the window sill.

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Keiro took off his wet clothes and set them off to the side. It took him a great deal of time since his clothes were still soaking wet and had stick onto his body like wet paper on a wall. He should’ve asked if he had a washer and dryer or at least a place for him to hang his clothes but the thought hadn’t occurred to him. “Oh well” he said “Better than sleeping on the street with wet clothes on.” He picked up his wet clothes and open up the door to the bathroom. He took the towels off the rack and hanged his shirt and pants on it. It’ll do for now he thought.

Keiro turned off the light in here, something he forgot to do at first then closed the door. The room itself was warm, comfortable for him to walk around in the under shorts that he was in and nothing else. They were somewhat soaked in the rain but it was not uncomfortable to wear. He first walked over to the curtains and opens it up a tad bit. It was still dark outside; a few of the neon signs in the district were still on but were not bright enough to pierce him if he were to fall asleep. To no one’s surprise, it was still raining. He walked over to the bed and sat back testing the waters of the bed. It was springy and gave a slight bounce. Soon after, he laid himself on the bed and got himself comfortable. There was a small nightstand that had a lamp. He reached over and switched if off and laid in the darkness. He looked up at the ceiling staring at nothing in particular and began to zone out. He first listened to the rain outside. The rain seemed to have been a living, breathing entity. It existed in this country, this village just as air existed for humans to breathe or how the sun would rise in the morning and fall in the evening. He could hear the different intervals of rain in the course of ten minutes. The first few minutes, the downpour was mild, almost non-existent to hear if not for the shadow of the moving drops of water that confirmed that it was still raining. There was an interval where it downpour tremendously, the rain almost seem to come down in globs of water rather than drops then the last two minutes it decreased in intensity.

He closed his eyes and began to think back on the day he left Shooden’s house. He found himself back in that picture where he was standing in the room where he once had to recover from his injuries. He was looking out at the window; the landscape in front of him was the lush rainforest this country had created with its intense rain. He was about ready to leave Shooden and his home. He had ready a small tote bag that Shooden gave to him for his travel. There wasn’t much in there but another set of clothing for him, a small coin purse for him to buy a few things such as food or utilities and a small bag of homemade venison jerky. He found that Shooden was very fond of venison seeing that it was the one thing in the forest that was easy to catch. He said that that there are some animals that won’t stop moving. In the rain, the technique that found Keiro gets complicated once the target is moving. If the rain isn’t at a constant he said it makes sensing far more difficult. Once a target starts stand still, however, it’s easier to track them in a centralize location. Keiro asked why he didn’t set up traps for the animals. It would be a lot easier then to catch what he is looking for.

“You would think that but I am not the normal hunter.” Shooden had said as they sat eating a large bowl of stew for dinner. “My father and I use to hunt from time to time when I still had ties to the village of the mist. The one thing my father said to me is to anticipate the hunt, one must not think like a human hunter. One must hunt like the predator of an animal. One must know the layout of the land, understand the premise of what you are hunting and understand that you do not kill for the sake of killing but rather for your life to continue on. All living things must consume in order to survive, regardless of personal views on the world; one must consume life in order to continue on living. Even the world itself is a living entity and it allows us to live. Sometimes we kill a part of the earth in order for us to continue on living.

“Placing a trap in the forest disrupts the life of the forest, disrupting it causes the creatures of the forest to avoid the area which could starve another creature from receiving its meal that day. Is that to say that it is an unethical thing to do? No. My family was also fishermen and he place nets to trap our catch. This did not disrupt the flow of the water for there were plenty of fish for the rest of the ecosystem to survive on. The ocean is a different hunting ground than a forest.”

Shooden would talk like this to Keiro during his three month stay. Keiro would usually keep quiet during those monologues, only putting input when Shooden let in a pause to whatever it was he was saying whether it be economics, philosophy, the different outlooks of nutrition and training or just life in general. Keiro was always a good listener and he always had something to say that would enhance that story.

The both of them knew that Keiro would have to leave. Keiro did enjoy his stay, almost second guessing whether he wanted to stay longer with Shooden, another two month or three months maybe. But Keiro knew that he would get too comfortable for this place and his travelling legs would be itching before long. He didn’t want to leave the impression that he was staying and then leave all of the sudden. This man had taken care of him, nursed him back to health and even opens his door for him to train without even letting a single thought of hesitation enter his mind. He had taught him meaningful things that reminded him of what his father would say to him on those late evenings before he went to sleep. He had that general aura of coolness that radiated off of him which made it even harder for him to make the decision to leave. He knew, however, that it was best to leave now then leave later.

He heard a knock on the door and the door open. Shooden walked in with a medium sized pouch in his hand and held it out for Keiro to take “It was the kunai bag that you had on you when I found you. I cleaned it off for you because it was soaked with mud.”

Keiro took the bag out of Shooden’s hand and examined it. It looked brand new; the cloth almost like it was new material rather than the worn material when he took it off the body of the prison guard that lay in front of his cell. He didn’t say thank you not because he couldn’t but rather he couldn’t find the exact words that could even express his thanks. He clipped the bag to his belt and tugged on his shirt to cover it up. He looked up at Shooden “I guess this is goodbye…” he felt oddly corny for saying the phrase, sounding like an actor on stage with this line that had existed since the beginning of acting.

Shooden shook his head as if he was not allowing him to leave. He smiled casually “Never goodbye my friend. Goodbye means that you have no intention of returning. If that is the case then I can say goodbye to you here and now. It would not hurt me if that is the case.” You’re a liar for saying that, Keiro thought as Shooden spoke. You would regret saying that if I did said goodbye. “But I doubt you were going to do that.” Keiro did not answer; he only stared at Shooden now that he was talking like this. Shooden continued “It would be better to say ‘I’ll see you around’ or ‘I’ll come back and visit so this isn’t the end’. Can’t leave an old man, as you young folks say, leave me hanging.”

“Shooden…” Keiro spoke but then was at a loss for words. The man had a way of making a situation very sentimental at times where it should be sentimental. He hated that in honesty. He hated it because it just felt so cliché. He’s never been one to like clichés at all. He shook his head. Shooden appeared puzzled by this but Keiro spoke “I don’t even say leave you hanging. Call me ‘whack’ of whatever but for the love of all humanity, don’t try and act like the new generation. It’s just lame.” Shooden let out a roar of laughter, swaying back and forth holding his stomach. There were tears coming out of his eyes as he was calming down.

“You’re right. I think I fit the role of “Cool old dude” if I do say so myself.” Keiro shook his head but he was smiling in spite of himself not wanting to. Shooden calm down a bit more now speaking with the life that his tone of voice projects “What do you have intent on doing now Keiro? Do you still have plans of revenge?” Keiro nodded. Shooden sighed, almost hoping that he would say no. “I wish you would reconsider. You’re a good kid Keiro. You show so much wisdom for a young man and you have unlimited potential, revenge will only corrupt you.”

“I said to you before that my goal will not be of revenge. I’m not doing it to avenge my parents and my uncle that I lost years ago. I don’t want anyone else to suffer because of these people’s mindset. If I can exact revenge on an idea, a solid mindset that’ll never cause anyone harm again, then I have done myself a great deed to this world.”

“Even if it means that you’ll have to travel into darkness to do it?” Shooden had spoken these words in a soft, cooler voice than before. It was unheard of hearing this man’s voice as soft as that. Because of it, it meant that he was seriously concern about the issue. Keiro wondered if he lost someone who had travel that far into the darkness and never returned. He thought it was someone he cared for deeply, like a son, who walked that path in which made him ‘irretrievable’. It seemed like it Keiro thought before drifting to sleep because when Keiro gave his answer, Shooden looked like his father.

Keiro woke up at about twelve twenty-three in the afternoon. The clock by the dresser stared back at him with that time. His eyes drifted over to the window, the curtains still drawn back revealing the window. He didn’t remember the time when he fallen asleep but he felt rested, rejuvenated even. Maybe it was the dream he had that made him feel this way or the fact that it had been awhile since he had rested comfortably and undisturbed without feeling like his body had weighed a ton. He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and sat up off the bed. The window let in enough light that filled the room. It was definitely the afternoon. The sun rarely shines here but it was bright and rainy today. He supposed this was the village of rain ‘sunny days’. He walked over to the window and saw the market district came to life. The rain hadn’t hamper people of this village. They were still out and out moving from place to place on the sidewalks. He could see vendors further down the street that had large umbrellas to cover whatever merchandise they were trying to cell. He saw an old couple, no older than seventy-five, walk out of the convenience store with two bags, one bag on each hand. The way they were moving their hands about, it seem like the couple was having a marital argument on whatever it was. Keiro could guess it was because the expenses on their drugs were just too high nowadays or they didn’t have the right brand of orange juice and one of them was upset. Either way, it didn’t seem to cause attention as people walked by them without a second glance. It wasn’t a busy city but it was a city nonetheless.

Keiro walked into the bathroom and saw that his wet clothes were now just damp. A small puddle had formed on the tiled floor. Keiro had searched through the cabinet where the sink was and grabbed a towel wiping the floor clean of the puddle. When he was finished, he took his clothes and decided it would be best to find a better place to dry it. He opened the door out of his room and walked down the narrow hallway down the stairs to where all the rooms were. He doubt there was anything that resembled a dryer in the kitchen so he decides, by process of elimination, to check the true storage closet. He open the door and found that it only contain a few brooms, a mop and a shelf where there were extra amounts of cloth, both clean and rags. He closed that door and shook his head. “Maybe there’s a basement somewhere. I’ll check the kitchen.”

He closed the storage door and walks through the entrance of the kitchen. He immediately felt the atmosphere here change. He first stepped into where the line was set up. He saw that on the right was one large for setting large plates of food to serve. He walked in and saw a door that had a handle for a knob. It was the walk in refrigerator. He looked through the window seeing that there were three large shelves that were set in the square walk room. All of the shelves were empty, not a container in sight, not a speck to be found. He turned to his right and saw that there was a bit more to the kitchen. His first few was that there were more ovens, at least three of that were both conventional type of ovens and one that was solely a convection type. There were three more tables that the table in front, but on the sides of them was cupboards. He imagined what were in here were the appliances, the cutting boards and the utensils. Keiro took a few steps and there was the walk in freezer. Again, same as the refrigerator only that it was harder to tell if there were more than three shelves. He didn’t bother investigating further and continued making his way in the kitchen. There was a left turn that had a short hallway and another door. Keiro saw that this was the only thing in the hallway and it either lead into another room or it could be the basement. He saw that there was a clock on the wall. It was twelve forty-two. He had some time to kill before Zurui would show back up. He’ll just ask him then instead of opening up doors that he had no business opening. He walked out of the kitchen and back up the stairs to his room. He closed the curtains and finished undressing himself to just the bare essentials. He went into the bathroom and turned on the knobs on the shower letting the water run until it was hot.

He had a little bit of time before it would warm. He decided to go and get the biography while he waited. When he returned into the bathroom, the water was still running cold but it was on its way to lukewarm. Keiro open to the first page of the book and began reading it. The first few pages were short and simple explaining that this was a work of facts documented over the course of 500 years. That was extensive, very extensive for that matter. Zurui must’ve spent months if not years finding all the documentations of the materials. He read the first three chapters of the biography grasping an understanding of the Sasayaki family. As the biography went, the Sasayaki were originally from the countries furthest to Wind. The country didn’t have a name that was a part of the map now but he imagined, from the way Zurui described the location, it was beside demon country. He wasn’t going to state that this assumption was a fact but he guessed it as much. The Sasayaki were once nomadic, a combined of two families that presented with two different attributes. One part, the Satayaki, represented the founding body, the one that protects the organs from falling out as the words described it. They were the shinobi that would form the Satayaki clan 300 years later after separating from the Sasayaki. The Sasayaki were the second half, considered the mind of the group. They didn’t have the potential to become shinobi, had no way of drawing out the inner spiritual energy that shinobi are able to use. What they lacked in physical power, they made up for in the tactical asset. The Satayaki believed the Sasayaki to be psychics, one that dealt in the powers of the supernatural as the Satayaki were the other way around in the mental/physical department. The Satayaki had the illusion that they were the ones who were controlling the Sasayaki, because of their size and their physical prowess, they thought that they were the masters and the Sasayaki the slaves.

This was not the case. The Sasayaki were smaller in numbers, yes some weak physically but they had the mental aptitude of many intellectual of that day in age. The Sasayaki had a few of their own clansmen among the Satayaki who they believed to be their blood. Zurui wrote that those who were among the rank of the Satayaki had not only dominated the two families but were the forerunners to what they are today. They moved their family across the different countries until their final resting place which was the country of grass. The Sasayaki broke away from the Satayaki as the days of mystics had fallen off and the age of reasoning had arrived, albeit a bit late for the Satayaki.

Keiro put the book on the sink. The heat from the shower was making the entire bathroom cloudy with condensation. He tested the water with his finger and immediately drew back. It was hot to the brink of scolding. He turned the hot knob slightly down and he could feel the heat from the water drop in temp. He put his hand in and felt that it was at that right temperature. He got in and took his shower which lasted only ten minutes. When he got out, he immediately grabbed the book along with the towel and covered himself up before exiting out the room. He saw that he had overlooked that there was a closet area right beside the dresser. He wondered how he missed it. It probably didn’t occur to Keiro that Zurui didn’t offer him any clothes because he expected him to know about the closet area. He supposed he was in the mindset that he carried nothing but the clothes on him and wasn’t all that use to having spare clothes. He open the door and saw there were four sets of button up shirts and three pair of pants, two of them black while the third one was blue. He grabbed a pair of the black jeans and white shirt putting them on. He rolled the sleeves up as it was still warm in the room and put his boots back on. He walked over to the table, with the book in hand and continued on reading.

It was two twenty on the clock when there was a knock on the door. Keiro said to enter and the door opened up. Zurui came into the room and close the door behind him. He appeared as neat and tidy as he did last night, maybe more so on the account that there not a speck of dust on the man. “Did you sleep well?” He asked.

“Very nice. I feel like a new man.”

Zurui looked pleased with the answer “I’m glad that you are. I’m quite glad seeing that I’ve talked to the client before I got here which was why I was a tad bit late.” He sat down on the bed. He glanced over to see that Keiro was reading the biography “How do you like it so far?”

Keiro put the book down and had his hand placed on his head thoughtfully “It’s hard to say how I feel about it. I do like how you’ve written it. The style in itself would probably make editors and literary critics wanting to wring your neck off but I think people would definitely enjoy it. I’m not finished with the book as of yet but it is interesting.” Zurui look taken aback by the comment, his eyebrows rose in the look of disbelief. Keiro smirked “What, you thought I was going to say that it was terrible or something?”

“N-no, it’s not that. It’s just that-you’re right.”

“I’m right?” It was Keiro’s turn to be confused “What do you mean?”

Zurui placed his hands out “Just as you said. I brought this to a friend who was a literary critic. I wanted him to read the book for him to see if it could possibly sell. I was young, twenty-four at the time and I thought that if I kept the names out and all that no one in my family would mind. Needless to say, he said the same thing you said first that the literary style is-well, he used the word contradicting but interesting nonetheless. It wouldn’t sell he said as people have not heard of the Sasayaki family in over 200 years. They would think that it was the history of the Satayuki family and just some fraud claiming that these two families once exist.”

“That…that actually kind of sucks.” Keiro expressed.

Zurui nodded “Yeah. My family did a good job of making sure they didn’t stir anything in the last 200 years because they wanted to be hidden from the rest of society as just an ordinary family with surprising wealth among them. Seeing that they are a mafia, I guess I would’ve shamed my family if I expressed anything outside of family’s interest. That or I would get a heavy lecture from my father.” His interests on the subject matter just seem to bore him as if he’s gone through this like a procedure. He supposed his closest associates would ask him about it and he would give the entire speech that ‘yes, I’m a part of the Sasayuki family, yes that is my father. No I cannot answer whether they were a part of that particular event or not.” On the questions came Keiro thought. He was probably waiting for him to ask the questions.

But that small pause gave him the opportunity to sigh “Oh well. I suppose you already had an idea that my family is one of the big guys in the mafia crowd.”

“I got the idea after reading chapter four. Your family is devious from the way they run things in the past. They seem that they never actually have leaders when the Satayuki and the Sasayuki were combined but more so the puppeteers holding the puppets. Had they always been a shadowy organization?”

“From what I’ve learn from the generation before my father and the documentation, they’ve always had some sort of direct involvement in some of major events in history. They were usually the ones that supplied many of them with the information needed to put a small idea into a concrete action. That was during their ruthless years as I called them. This was when my grandfather was running the organization. He died when I was only five but as my father put it ‘he was a man who put his family and work ahead of him. He was a loving father and husband but an extremely fearful man to work with.’” Zurui let his shoulders shrug again “I wouldn’t know but it was my grandfather essentially stabilized the family as they are today and they haven’t been involved in any of the shinobi events for seventy years now.”

He was ready to question the validity of that statement when he decided that it was best to leave that comment as it was and go on his word. Keiro leaned back in his chair “You didn’t come and discuss your book. You said you talked with the client.”

“Oh. Yes!” his face lit up when he was reminded of his original intention “He did say that he was interested in our services. Now, I must ask you this: Have you ever been involved in breaking and entering and or Armed Robbery?” The question would’ve been ridiculous if this was a part of the requirements to get hired at a business but in this case, this was the only exception.

“I’ve been involved in sneak missions during my time in Konoha. I suppose the only thing that I’ve ‘stolen’ was Intel on a certain group or village. Asking that would be like asking a corporate lawyer if he’s taken any courses in criminal law.” Keiro didn’t know how to answer that really. He figured the only option was the honest route and be blunt about it.

“So you have the necessary skills to perform the task?” Zurui continued

“Necessary enough for me to get in and get out without anyone knowing, yes I can perform the task.”

Zurui clapped his hands together “Excellent!” He said with a bit more enthusiasm than he wanted to show. Maybe he was too excited for Keiro at the moment. He cleared his throat “Yes! Well, I’m glad that you are capable but another question is: Are you willing?”

Keiro didn’t feel the need to answer with a simple yes or anything really to confirm it. He only said “I’m a man with nothing to lose.” With Keiro saying that, it made Zurui clap his hand once more only this time not as enthusiastic as before.

“The client wishes to keep himself anonymous” Zurui explained “For reason that you’ll be able to figure out.” There was a pause for Keiro to speak but he didn’t take the cue. Zurui continued “His line of work involves a lot of espionages that could either make or break whatever it is that he’s involved with. Whether it be a company, a family, a shinobi unit, anyone is not far out of his grasp.

“This client, however, has found out that there a certain rival that has information that could break him. He doesn’t know how this particular rival was able to access information his line of work and transactions between certain mafias in different countries.” “I didn’t ask for all the details. He simply wants his information back and out of the hands of this man.”

Some sort of noble Keiro thought. A noble or a political leader. A noble’s worst fear is scandal and controversy. “What is the rival’s name?”

“Osada, Koijime. He’s a well known local Mafioso in this region of the country. He’s not the brightest man but he has very effective methods. Very brutal and crude but in what he deals with, it’s good enough. I know if I had the same methods as him if I ran a mafia like that, my father would have a fit.”

“What type of operations does he handle?”

“He handles the local drug market. There is a particular type of plant that is only grown in Rain Country. It is said that this particular plant is as abundant as the plant where people smoke hashish but ten times more effective than heroin. No other mafia has been able to bring this particular man down. Larger, much better organized families can’t seem to even touch this man. I wouldn’t know why. His methods are, as I said, crude and his entire establishment is built on a rocky surface. But he runs it with an iron fist.”

“Doesn’t add up” Keiro said. “Sounds like someone else is running the show while he’s just the figurehead.”

Zurui nods his head then folds his arms on top of each other “I would dive further into it but I have to respect our client’s wishes and focus on the objective of retrieving this folder of information.”

“Where would this information be?”

“It’s in one of the safe houses in the village. If you travel about eight miles east of this location you’ll reach into a district in the village that have not seen the light of day for over fifty years; n old harbor that was use a hot spot for fishing. One of our client’s scouts had pinpointed the area to a large red warehouse in between all the other warehouses.”

“Security? How many men? What exactly am I looking for?” Keiro said without a moment’s pause “I just want to clarify it all and know what I’m getting myself in.”

“Understandable. Yes, there is security. How many, I can estimate that there are about ten men all together, local men that are just paid to stand and watch. I doubt they are shinobi but I’m sure they can handle someone in a fist fight if they combined their efforts. Like I said, the amount of Nukenin has decreased in Ame so the local mafia can only hire local thugs. And what you are looking for is a small manila file no thicker than a romance novel. Anything else?”

“Just a few more. Does the client care if I kill anyone if necessary? You say it is a robbery but if something were to go wrong or if something was in my way of my objective, would he care?”

Zurui looked puzzled by that question and had a look on his face asking why Keiro would ask such a question. “If a box is in the way to the door to the bathroom, do you walk through it or move it out the way to open the door? Does that answer your question?”

Keiro nodded, understanding fully that he didn’t have to hold back on that matter. “Just one more. You said that the false storage door went into the underground pipes. You said that they have very deep connections within all of Amegakure yes?” Zurui confirmed by nodding. “So would those pipes allow me to travel to this location without anyone seeing me from the outside?”

Keiro studied Zurui as he saw his eyes wander as if he was searching for the answer on the wall in the room or on the top of the dresser. “I suppose you can use it that way. I would say not to use though because you’re new to the village. If you haven’t travelled in the pipes before, you could get horribly lost along the way. Granted, you could find a grate that would lead you out to the outside but it may sidetrack you in the process.”

Keiro looked at the clock. It was closing in to three o clock in the afternoon. He could assume that he was going to rob this warehouse blind at night. What options did he have besides the first two? He had time to get a good general grip on the pipelines. It was already pointed out that the pipes are like a maze and without having prior knowledge to move through the pipes effectively would bring horrible results towards their service. Even if he did get the gist of the pathways the pipes formed, he would be too focused on the pipes rather than the mission. He would have to agree with Zurui for now.

“I hate clichés but I’ll strike when it’s darker out. I don’t think I would be very effective if I were to rob them in the daytime. I’m good but I’m not that good.”

“That’s fine” Zurui said. “The client would like to have his files tomorrow rather than next week. I was going to suggest that he gives a few days but then I thought about the amount of business we would get if people knew we took our time with their problems.” He stood up from the bed. He then noticed how Keiro had on the clothes that were left in the closet “Well if the guards were women, I would see that you could easily distract them with your good looks. I like what you’re thinking but I doubt it’ll do you good in those clothes.”

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Zurui agreed to wash and dry the clothes. He took the pile of clothes and said he will return with them when they were ready. He suggested to Keiro to sit and relax and focus on the mission. Keiro intended he told Zurui and returned to the biography of the Sasayaki family. He continued reading after Zurui left.

“Proponents of the Sasayaki family would argue the case against their cause for simple wealth and stability. They claim the Sasayuki had aims on causing the world to be dipped into a time of instability and anarchy on the account of how much money was spent into different groups-“ one part of the passage said. Keiro wondered if this was the same family that his father was speaking of long ago. He spoke on the subject at dinner at one point or another but the memory just wasn’t coming to him. He set the book down on the table and walked over to the bed where he laid flat on his back and closed his eyes. He slept without dreams.

“Wake up” Zurui’s voice echoed in Keiro’s mind. He opened his eyes to find Zurui standing beside the bed with his clothes folded up in the palm of his hand. He was grinning at him, the sort of grin that could scare little children out of their sleep. Keiro eyebrows twitched upward then he sat up off the bed and stood up where he put both hands at the pile of clothes. Before he took them, he saw that the time was eight eighteen on the electric clock. He wasn’t tired when he fell asleep, not entirely. He felt rested when he rose up this morning but he was able to sleep for five hours? He found it hard to believe that was him that fell asleep for that long. He took his clothes and set them on the table. The market district was lit up outside and with a good deal of people still walking around on the streets still buying goods from the vendors.

“The rain had picked up not twenty-five minutes ago but now it settled over here. The front is heading over to the east side where it’ll be pouring heavy amounts of rain onto the harbor. It’ll give you a bit of silence as you go to the warehouse.” Zurui said this. Keiro was changing right in front of him, taking off his shirt and pants and putting on the black compression shirt and shinobi pants that looked like a combination of the pants the jounin wears in Konoha and long athletic pants. Zurui kept on speaking as Keiro was looking for his little pouch of kunai “I suggest travelling on the rooftops. If you reach the harbor when the storm reaches, you’ll be able to get and get out without anyone noticing. Got it?”

Keiro found his back right behind the dresser. His foot must’ve kicked it when he was walking around and strapped it behind him. “I got it.” Keiro spoke and started to walk out of the room and towards the stairs. Zurui was following behind him “As I said before, ten guards in this location. If they aren’t an obstacle, don’t worry about them….” Keiro walked down the hallway and into the front of the room where his cloak was still hanging. He unhooked it and wrapped it around him. The long drapping cloak, now dry, had the off smell of rainwater and sweat. He turned to Zurui who had a solemn look on his face “If they are-don’t hesitate.”

“I’ll try and avoid a scene” Keiro coolly said. His mind was ready to drone out on anything that was going to be said by Zurui so if Zurui had anything else to say it would be wise for him to say it.

He didn’t. When Keiro turned around, Zurui was already behind the bar and into the back room. It was just him alone in the finely carpeted room. He looked towards at the window. The blinds had covered the large window for no one to look inside. He looked by the opening of the door and found the sign that said “Yes, we are open!” turned his way. The bar was closed for today. That has to be a benefit of owning your own business Keiro thought. He didn’t want to go out through the front door but it seems like he had no choice. He crept over to the blinds and pulled one individual blind down to see if anyone was walking by. There was a crowd of people by one of the vendors on the other side of the street and two people had crossed by the window unaware of Keiro’s eyes closely following their movements. He pulled his fingers away from the blind and decided it would be best to go out the second floor window.

He performed a lazy vault over the bar went through the back and runs mildly down the hallway. The door to Zurui’s office was closed, presumably locked with no way of Keiro to communicate with him. He didn’t have the time for second thoughts or second options in this matter. Zurui gave him his objective and what he had to do; nothing else had to be said. As he reached up the stairs and into his room, he found that book on the table was gone. Zurui must’ve snatched it up while he was looking for his kunai pouch. He wondered why. He remembered before he fell asleep that he didn’t mark where he last left off. He set the book down on the page that he was reading and laid down for that quick nap he had planned.

Would it matter if you knew the answer He didn’t think so. Maybe there was something in the book that Zurui didn’t want Keiro wanting to know or possibly hinting on that would lead to further questioning. Either way, Keiro would ask about that later. The curtains were already pulled back. He slowly opens the window. The smells of the village came rushing into the room filling his nostrils with different types of food, the bitter smells of the factory smoke and the heavy amounts of rain. It was sensory overload but Keiro adjusted quickly. Pulling the hood of the cloak over his head, he got on the ledge of the window and pulled down the window closing it off from him. There was a long pipe that traversed upward to the roof. He grabbed onto it and monkey his way up to the top of the roof. He saw the large entity that this village was for the first time. Viewing it, he saw that this was not the partly cloudy village that Konoha had once been to him. Konoha once stood for the way he gave life to those in the village and those around the village; it was a burning flame that spoke life into the world. If Konoha was life then the Rain Village was purgatory. It was a village that was not hell per se but simply something that the hearts of men fear the most: Nothingness. The nonstop rain where the clouds kept overcastting the village did not spark hope in the hearts of men. Despair was the name of this village and Keiro was standing in the middle of it. His eyes viewed to the east. As Zurui said, the front was moving its way towards that location. The clouds were fully black, demonic even to those of the religious background. Lightning flashed in the center of the clouds transforming the color of the cloud, for a split second, into a blinding grey light. A second later, a large boom of thunder comes roaring out of the clouds.

Time was of the essence. Keiro made his way parkouring his way from rooftop to rooftop over to the harbor. Zurui was right about another thing, it was slow moving and he had plenty of time to reach over to the harbor.

Break

It took him fifteen minutes to reach to his destination. High above the rooftops he travelled from building to building scaling the walls and performing Parkour esque skills to reach to his destination as quickly and as effectively as possible. There were a few things that did add a bit of time from point and to point b. The rain did slow him down a bit for one. While the boots he wore had water resist avoiding water seeping into his boots, he no longer had the gloves he once wore that helped him hold onto slippery objects such as wet bars and pipes. He did cause him be very cautious with every jump, vault and wall hang he performed across the rooftops. The second was the fact that there were older buildings with broken pipes and collapsible roof tiles. He’ll have to get a better understanding of the village later on if he wished to arrive on time or get to point a to point b quickly.

Keiro was one building away from the large warehouse. He bent down low and moved slowly on the roof. When he got to the edge of one of smaller warehouses, he bent down till he was sitting and placed himself against the small ledge. He peaked over to view anyone that was near his location. He looked down and saw no one, not a single guard outside patrolling.

“They’re thugs. Paid minimally to get by. Sense of duty…on the low side.” He said this aloud. “No need for me to worry about guards on the out if their as committed as three years are committed to algebra.” Keiro got up and vaulted over the ledge but had one hand grab at the ledge so he could wall hang. He turned his head around and estimated the jump to the next ledge. It was twenty-five feet over. He knew he could make it but it was a matter of getting a good grip on the other ledge. The last resort was to use chakra grab a hold. He wanted to conserve that if had the chance. He needed to push off with his foot without losing his grip. The exterior of this building was metal. His feet were sliding just a bit on the sidings. He had little to no grip and doing this wrong would not only hurt him but he’ll also lose a good amount of time. If he didn’t jump, however, and tried another way to get around, he would most likely to be seen from the outside. Even if there wasn’t anyone inside watching from the windows, he would still lose time.

He shimmied to right till he was vertical from the building. He estimated the drop. It was good six stories of falling, tumbling onto hard concrete that would at least break a few bones in his legs if he didn’t roll right or if he slipped as he landed from the rain. The rain was pouring harder now, lightning lit the blacken clouds followed by loud, roaring thunder after a second or two. Keiro looked up and saw the movement-or lack thereof-of the storm cell. It was hard to tell of the clouds were moving or not. Zurui was right to say that he could reach the front in a matter of minutes.

“It’s now or never” he said. He took in a deep breath. He felt the muscles in his legs tighten up. The adrenaline in him was making him wanting to jump the gun. He had to time it perfectly or else he was going to be in a world of pain.

There is a no pain. It was his father speaking again. His deep voice lecturing him in his mind like a song put on repeat. His voice kept on saying the words ingrained in Keiro’s mind. It is pain in which we learn, it is pain in which we understand the true nature of ourselves. If you know not pain then you cannot understand the meaning of the philosophy.

He pushed off with his feet. He let go of the ledge and twisted his body so he could be facing forward toward what he was looking to grab. He thought he lost grip with his feet, he thought that his foot had slipped. It didn’t. He pushed hard enough so the metal sidings had indented inward, creating a small ‘loop’ for his pushing foot. He had ascended upward a bit to create a small falling window for him to land and prepare. When he was four feet away from the warehouse, he extended his legs out so when he did land, he tucked and rolled. He rolled for a good two feet before he came to a stop. He had kneeled low and paused, keeping his breathing at a low. He felt his heart race, beating faster than he wanted it to beat but there was no helping it. It had been awhile since he performed a move like that. He was a bit out of practice on slippery slopes but this just proved to him that something like this would happen again, he could overcome it easily.

He got up off his knee and saw that there was a large metal vent that curved into the building. He saw immediately that there was a metal grate covering the vent. From the size and width of it, Keiro could fit easily through and slide down slowly. He had no concerns of the grate however. He examined it slowly seeing if there were any screws that he could take. He wondered what he would use as the leverage to unscrew it. A kunai could work depending on what type of screws they were. He found there weren’t any on the outside. He then wondered if he could pull the grate off. He examined the grate again. It wasn’t a grate after all but just large metal flaps that made it look like it was a grate from the distance. This realization made him snap his wet fingers.

I wonder if I could crush the flaps then. He touched the flaps. It was made out of a thin sheet of metal. If he could’ve weighed it in his hand, it would probably weight no more than six or seven pounds. He found that his hands were big enough that he could grasp it without straining the muscles in his hands or stretch it so he could grasp it. There were a total of six flaps. With each flap, he used both hands and grabbed at each end of the flap. He would then slowly begin to crush the metal. It made a metal creak sound before the half inch thick of metal would be pinched together at the ends. Each flap looked like a large, metal candy wrapper holding a small treat inside every time he did this. He would then wiggle out the flap and set it on the ground making as little sound as possible. The heavy rain was pouring onto his cloak and visibility was at zero at this point. He repeated this process until all six flaps were pinched and removed. He then lifted himself up till he was sitting inside the vent. He didn’t have to bend his head or anything. Maybe if he was eight inches taller he would have problem but there he was the right for him to sit comfortably.

He looked down into the vent and saw that it was a fifteen foot drop. He would have to bend low when he got to the bottom but he wouldn’t have to crawl. This was good for Keiro. He could move quietly in the vents until he had to leave out of there.

He then scooted in the vent. He had to move slowly now. If he were to take the fifteen foot drop, the noise of the metal from his landing would probably cause a stir. He had no idea of the layout of the warehouse so it could be a high possibility that he would land and roll find but someone would take notice of the noise of something in the vent. There weren’t many animals in the world, particularly rain country, that would just slide through the grates and land into the ventilation system.

He pressed his back on side and his feet on the other and carefully moved down. He didn’t have to stretch his body too much but it felt like a child performing the crab walk only instead of moving backwards, he was moving downward. He took it one step at a time, making sure he wasn’t sliding because of his cloak and making sure he didn’t hear anything other than his breathing. Each step was pause, then listen. Step, pause then listen. There was no movement or noise that couldn’t be distinguished from the rain outside. He finally made it to the bottom and bent down low. The rain outside was now a distant voice in the wind, the heavy pitter patter of it had soften to and low wroosh on the rooftop. Now all he heard was a hollow noise that sounded like wind moving through. He felt warm air brush around him in a circle. The warm air made him feel comfortable, as if he was wrapped in an invisible blanket. He shook off the feeling quickly with the mission in his mind now pressing him. He slowly crept his way in the vent.

He could see that there were three paths to take; three paths that could inadvertently lead him into more paths that could set him off course. This presented a mild problem for Keiro. He didn’t think anyone could hear-or rather, he knew that no one could hear him. There was not a sign of alarm, no sign of any feet movement from what he heard. He may not be near any floors at all and may be sixty feet above them. He could be in the hangar. But he couldn’t stay in the ventilation system for long.

I’ll have to listen he thought perceptively. If he listens then maybe he could decipher where he was at the moment. He would have to clear the distractions around him. Right now, all he could hear was the soft whispers of the rain, the low howl of air moving around him and there was a small humming noise in the background. Humming? Where was the humming coming from? It was a low sound, almost inaudible because of the two former things mixing together but Keiro swore he was hearing a low hum. Maybe he wouldn’t have to listen; maybe if he followed the humming it could lead him somewhere.

He didn’t have much of a choice. Listening closely may bring him results but time was of an essence. He was aiming to move along side with the storm. The storm in itself was unsettling. The amount of lightning coming out of the clouds can tap into the primal instincts of a man. Maybe not a professional or someone like his father but low level thugs who were really hired off the streets not three months ago would be shaken just a little by the storm. It was slow, Keiro knew that much by how fast he was able to catch up to the storm, but it wouldn’t be in the vicinity for long. Once it moved, the guards would’ve calm down and be a bit more attentive but how long a person returns to that homeostasis varied from person to person.

Keiro began walking towards the humming noise. The noise was coming from the path on the right so Keiro turned accordingly. He kept on moving, crouch walking slowly as he kept on hearing the humming noise. There were a few more pathways that were leading to the right and to the left. The noise was moving to the left so Keiro decidedly made a left like a duckling following its mother. When Keiro took that left, the pathway was brighter. He saw an open vent letting in some light in the vent. He moved a bit quicker to the vent and then got on his stomach and moved his way slowly to the vent.

He peak his head over the vent. The humming he was hearing was a large generator, about twenty feet high and twenty feet long, whose turbines was rotating at a surprising rate. Keiro’s eyes scanned the area viewing if there was anyone human down there. He saw immediately that there were twenty men working on a conveyor belt, all of them dressed in what looked like construction uniforms, all of them wearing safety glasses and different color hard helmets moving what looked like coal. No, not coal…it was too shiny to be coal but it was as black as midnight. From the distant, he estimated it had to be at least fifty or sixty feet upward, the conveyor belt was going to a large furnace. There was a wide opening that led the substance into the furnace where all he saw was smoke rising from one of the openings on top.

I want to say that’s obsidian but…why would this place have obsidian? A better question was where in the world did a place like Amegakure find a large amount of obsidian? He didn’t believe there were any volcanic regions in Amegakure nor was it believable that there was a slight possibility that there might be volcano. Either way, Keiro saw this out of place element strange to him. He looked to the left and saw more conveyor belts and furnaces of the same nature, all with obsidian moving into a furnace. He didn’t believe there was anything else over there besides more of the same thing. He turned his head right and saw what appeared to be a large sections of offices. There was a stairway that led up to said offices. There was a man standing by the door. He had to be six foot three, 200 pounds of packed muscles was blocking the door. That was definitely odd. Why would there be a large bodyguard in front of the door to the office unless they’re trying to hide something? Keiro bit his lip. He then smiled deductively, seeing that this is where he needed to go.

Bingo. If there is a file to look for, thar she blows. He got up back into a mild crouch and began back tracking to where he made the turn. From the vent, there was a large ringing noise. The humming continued as the sound of the wheels of the conveyor belt still moving but there was slow movement of shoes stepping on cement. Keiro crouched back over to the vent where he saw groups of men moving down the aisles and down the left side of the warehouse. He saw a group of men leaving and another group moving past them to the spots that the men had moved from. The shift was changing. He was guessing the men getting up were the afternoon shift and these guys were the evening shift. He looked down and saw a conveyor belt was directly underneath the vent he was looking from. This gave him an idea, probably something that would be considered doggone black trickery if done properly.

“Changing shifts will mean that the men will have to clock in and out. The men moving are tired, distracted about getting home and out of the storm. The men replacing them are a tad bit out of it too; the storm is unsettling them as well. These aren’t guards but men who have families to feed and are in need of money.” Keiro reached both hands behind him and pulled out three kunai and three explosive tags. He wrapped a tag around each one of the handles and looked at the large generator that was still turning.

Let’s cause a bit of chaos. He was to lift this grate off and with mild precision, Keiro swiftly threw each kunai at the generator, each one of them having the force enough to pierce the large red metal of the generator. It didn’t have to be accurate but it did have to have enough power to pierce that generator. He looked around seeing if anyone saw the kunai or if anyone noticed his hand grabbing at the grate and pulling it up.

At this height? Keiro thought it may be possible but there was not a single person paying attention to the vents. It was the last thing on the workers and the one guards mind. Keiro gave a witty smile and put the grate back on opening. He got up and then back tracked his way to the path. He was chuckling dryly like an old man trying to laugh but failing.

He moved to the direction in which he visualized the path that led to the office. He knew that it was at the end of the warehouse on the right side and it was in the left hand corner. The little complex was probably as long as the warehouse itself only sectioned off. When he made his first dead end, he retraced and moved back some where there was a path to the left. He turned here and made his way to the path.

He’ll need at least five minutes. During those five minutes, he’ll track down the records and use the explosion from the generator to cause pandemonium with the workers and the guards. But he couldn’t do it now, not when he was in the vent. The generator was too close to the vents themselves and if he made them to explode now, the vents would most likely be destroyed and his pathway to escape would be cut off. As he made a right down another vent towards the offices, he saw another vent that letting in light. He looked down and saw that he was standing above the guard. The guard had his big beefy arms crossed as he looked straight forward. His bald head could reflect a man’s image and the glasses he was wearing made him a man in black. He appeared to be a statue rather than a man by the way he just stood there guarding whatever it is he’s guarding. How tempting it was for Keiro to spit on his head. He had to refrain himself from doing that, not only for it blowing his cover but it was downright childish.

There was a path not two feet away from him that made a left. This would take him to the office area. He continued the path towards the office by making that left turn. There was a difference in air temperature as he was moving into the vents in the office. It was much cooler to him, not by much in reality but to a person who was in was in a warm current for five minutes it did make a difference. Keiro continued to move his way slowly down the path into the office area. He said there were at least ten guards in this area. Ten guards can cover this entire area of the warehouse with much hassle. If they had to cover the entire warehouse it would be difficult. I wonder if they stay in the same place.

He made a right and found another grate letting in light. He slowed up immensely moving at a crawl towards it. He bent low to the ground and peek his eyes through. He saw a bald headed man, no bigger than five foot five walking past the grate. He was one that had that ‘off the streets’ feel to him. He did appear like a guard like the man who was in front of the door, the black suit, the tie, that entire look of professionalism but his manner was resonating a man who just wore a suit and tie for the sake of an interview rather than being on duty of guard watch. There was a large roaring boom of the thunderclap above him. He halted right above the grate as if someone had a knife to his back and he had caught, for a brief second, his own breath in his throat. The storm settled then letting loose another little thunderclap, this was off in the distance. The man let out a soft sigh “Shit…” he said soft but unsteady voice “Hate working the night shift.” He continued walking past the grate and disappeared out of Keiro’s sight. Keiro slowly lifted up the grate and slid his way out like a snake coming out of a hole. He looked down both ways of the short hallway. It was a three foot drop to the carpeted floor but he had a hand holding on the brim of the opening. He didn’t hear any footfalls of any person but he doubt that silence would last long. He let go and fell to the floor landing softly. He moved at a steady pace and set his body against the wall. The hallway didn’t turn right, only left, so he wouldn’t have to go that way. He peeked over to see if any guards. There was one guard who was leaning against the wall with a toothpick in his mouth. It bobbled up and down as his tongue was shifting it casually. This man was taller than the guard he saw walk past but still had the same outlook, someone who didn’t want to be here. He didn’t seem to notice Keiro which was fine. Then again, he didn’t seem to notice the guard coming towards him.

“Hey.” The voice coming deep from the hallway said. The man on the wall glanced over to that direction looking at whoever called out. “What’re you doing? There aren’t any breaks till midnight.”

Keiro saw another guard in a suit walk over. He appeared just like the man outside the door, large and had a look of professionalism that held its weight. He was wearing tinted glasses as well. They must’ve been the ones who were looking out for the little guys, the thugs on the street looking guards. Keiro pulled his head back and just listen to the conversation unfold.

“I just posted here.” This was the man with the toothpick voice talking “I was going to move in a minute or two.” He sounded as if this was the obvious but the guard from the right didn’t believe so.

“You new guys think this is some easy job getting you some easy money. It ain’t. If I were you, I would step up your game if you want to keep a well paying job like this.” Keiro couldn’t be more certain by the way this man was talking that he was probably the one who was running this. Not exactly the client’s rival himself but someone who works for the rival.

The man with the toothpick let out a sigh that could express many emotions in one. Sarcasm was definitely one of them that came out but also a feeling of mild annoyance and distaste for the guard’s uptight personality. “Yessir.” The man digressed. Keiro felt the wall creak as the man leaned off the wall. He heard their feet matted down on the carpet and moving away from his location. Keiro swiftly turned his head down the hallway he came from and still no one was coming from that direction. He didn’t know the exact layout but he knew he couldn’t stay in one place. He got off the wall and turned down the hallway the two men were conversing. He peeked to the right and then to the left. No one. He saw on the right that there was a closed door that probably led into an office. What if it’s locked? If it’s locked then I’ll have to bust in. He wasn’t thinking of the moral consequence, that ship of having morals now have long since sailed. He was more concerned about leading a trail of someone breaking in which could hamper him if he couldn’t find any documents. He would have to chance it; he didn’t have much of a choice anyway. Keiro moved down that path swiftly, light on his feet to the door. There wasn’t a hallway that turned left or right so that man would have to have come from that room. He stopped in front of the door looking back to see if anyone was coming. He did hear footfall but it was from afar and not towards this direction. Ten guards, not a big area. He guesstimated that he had a minute or so before someone else would walk pass. He grabbed the knob of the door and began turning. There was no resistance as he turned it; the guard had not locked it. He let out a mental sigh of relief. He pushed the door in and quickly moved into the room closing the door with swift but quiet movement. The latch of the door locked in softly, if anyone saw that he had closed the door he would be discovered. If this was the case, he’ll have to perform a quick assassination of whoever was coming. If it was one man he could swiftly overpower him. The room he was in was dark and the person who would run in would be distracted by said darkness. The first aim would be to turn on the lights in the room; a light switch would be close to the door. Keiro would grab his hand immediately as the guard was reaching, definitely crushing the bones of his appendages.

Suppress the person from screaming by punching the larynx, cutting off voice box. Pull him in by grabbing his arm. Dislocate shoulder by pulling at his arm with a quick jerk, the guard who be in immediate shock still from the crushed hand and punched throat, wouldn’t need to worry about him yelling. Position self behind him so my body can lean against the door and close it. Swiftly grab his head and twist his neck break apart the C1 of the vertebrae. Initial course of time: eight seconds.

He stood there waiting to hear quick footfall towards the door but none came this way. There was nothing on the outside that was moving, nothing there on the outside moving. It was all quiet in the office. His heartbeat was racing as blood was pumping into his muscles, the nerve endings ready to release its electrical charge through each passing synapse for him to react. He was aiming to calm his breathing down. Nothing happen. He waited another few seconds before deciding that no one was coming. This time he let out a quiet sigh.

His eyes adjusted to the darkness but it was not enough for him to look around. He was looking around to see if there was a smaller light source that he could use. His eyes glanced over at the office desk. It was similar to the one in Zurui’s office just shorter. His eyes could make the details of two file desk behind him. To his right was a shelf that contained knick knacks that Keiro couldn’t recognize in the darkness. He looked back over at the desk walking towards it. He placed a hand out so he wouldn’t stumble in front of anything. His hand touched the edge of the desk, it was metallic in texture, cool to the touch. He viewed over at the desk seeing a small lamp. He reached over and felt for something to push or pull. There was a soft clanging noise that against the metal of the lamp when his hand grabbed the metal part of the lamp. He let go of the lamp and found a switch to pull. The room was then filled with dim yellowish light that left shadow spots around the corners of the room. This was fine for Keiro. As long as there wasn’t any light that would reach the door, he was content. He walked around the desk and started moving papers that were piled messily on the center of the desk. Zurui said that it would be in a manila folder similar to one he had in his hand when he was discussing it. If that was the case then he would have to look for a manila folder. There was nothing like that on the desk, just stacks of paper. They looked like transactions of some kind. He looked down and peered at the payment numbers

“5,000,000 ryo for each transaction.” He looked at the numbers again to see that he was reading it right. For obsidian? It’s a glass element, hardly anything that is could be considered worthwhile. The numbers on the paper surely said otherwise. He put the few sheets back down on the table and retrieved another stack of papers. He again looked for anything that could be remotely related to the politician and his transactions but the transactions listed on the paper were made to companies-Keiro assumed dummy companies-for certain amount money for an x amount of substance which was obsidian. He set the sheets down. He had the urge to slam his hands on the table but two things stopped him. One was the fact that he was not in a safe place to do such a thing, one loud noise could bring trouble to the room. Second was that his immediate agitation turned into concentration.

Had Zurui lied to me? Did the informant lie to Zurui? Keiro thought back to when Zurui was talking to him about the task. He had sat down on the bed, looking at him with curiosity among them. He asked the question whether or not he had committed anything like this. Keiro replied he had the necessary skills but never that involved retrieving documents for hiding a scandal. That must’ve clicked something with Zurui. If Zurui wanted to trick him, and the more Keiro thought about it, the more it made sense, he would’ve gave him directions so that he could research a little more on the true location of where the information is located. Zurui couldn’t hire an employee without truly interviewing him, could he? That would be bad business, and Zurui doesn’t do bad business. The Sasayaki clan was not those who used abilities like the shinobi but rather used their wits instead.

Keiro looked past the desk and to the bookshelves. He immediately knew that there would be nothing there for him to look that would be helpful. He turned around and viewed the unopened metal filing cabinet. Again, nothing in there would be helpful. If anything, this man wouldn’t leave anything behind that would trace him back. When he looked at the papers, the company itself, Wani Mining Company, had the appearance of a legitimate active company that was operating at a three country scale. Keiro couldn’t prove that it wasn’t real nor did he have any intentions of proving it to be real. Right now, he had an objective to find information.

He wanted to look in one more place, just one more to satisfy his curiosity in hopes that he wouldn’t have to continue on searching for information on the location of these files. He had to check the drawers in the desk. He began pulling out the drawers one by one and in a fashion that not only was silent but quick as well. He used his strength to slightly shift the drawers out of place. Not a lot, if he did it too much he would definitely bounce the draw against the sides creating a banging noise. There were six drawers all together, three on each side. He opened up the ones on the left first finding just larger stacks of papers. There was one drawer with a few pens, paperclips, filing tacks and a little newspaper article. He pulled out the article and set it on the table. He next went on the right hand side and began pulling out the drawers the way he did with the left hand drawers. The third draw on the bottom he pulled there was another newspaper article cut up. He set that one right next to the he pulled from the left side of the drawer.

In the light, he saw both clippings to be that of a young seventeen year old girl, highlighting both her skill as a writer and the beauty that has been bestowed upon her. He was skimming through one of the articles hoping to find a name, maybe leading him to where his next objective would be. Keiro saw underneath the picture that the girls name was Fukada Ayako. Fukada, Fukada, the name rang in Keiro’s mind for a minute seeing if he knew anyone around that had the name of Fukada. Hopelessly, he didn’t. This was becoming a bit of a pain, dragging on was not Keiro’s style but at least he had a last name. It was better than having no name at all. Fukada. He was looking for a person who was related to Ayako. The question would be why in the world a person would keep an article of a young writer unless they are either related or have an undying crush that would lean towards perversion. He thought that if this was perversion then he would see more articles on Ayako. She was strikingly beautiful from the picture. She had a young face that bordered between that of a young teenager and a young woman. It appeared that whoever told her to wear that blouse would obviously get the reporters attention towards the chest. It did its job of it. They were ample and round that had everything a man could look upon and get wild from. Keiro could see how this seventeen year old girl could bring attention of the media if writing a bestselling novel plus her additional beauty would draw in a large media storm. Keiro eyes slipped to the other article. This appeared to be another article including the girl but someone was standing beside her. In the captions, it was Koijiro Fukada, the owner and C.E.O of Fukada industries. They were a large building company that had created different buildings for different corporations. They were the leading construction company in the world at the moment; no one could compete with them without being stuck in the mud behind the fast wielding Fukada corp.

In the picture, both Koijiro and Ayako were standing in front of their house. The house he could recognize easily as it had the feel and look of a large hotel. Keiro snapped his fingers at this. There were very few places in this village that could have such a nice place without it attracting a bunch of attention and blend in with the neighboring buildings. Hide in plain sight the saying went and Koijiro made it perfectly clear to do so.

Keiro had an idea as to where to search for this house now. He had a good idea as to where a hotel looking house could reside without it being notice. He took the newspaper articles and withdrew his hand into his cloak so he could place it into his pants pocket. His hand pulled the switch on the lamp and the room with pitch black. Keiro stood there for a few seconds letting his eyes adjust. He saw the light coming from the bottom of the door. Keiro’s eyes followed it to the door. He pressed his body against the part of the wall where the light switch was. He felt the switch press into his arm but he didn’t feel it at the time. He was listening outside to hear any footfall that would be coming down the hall. He knew that someone would have to have found the opening from the vent. He had no way of closing it back up without causing too much of a fuss on his way down into the hallways. His hand grab hold of the doorknob and twisted the knob pulling the door the open just a crack. He had one eye swiveling back and forth to see anyone. There was one guard standing there, the same lackadaisical one who was leaning against the wall again. His head was kept down as if he had fallen asleep. He didn’t appear to be paying attention. Keiro developed what he called a cool timing phase. His body would see an opportunity, the tiny window that people can see but didn’t take the chance in order to go through. The window at the moment was wide open but rather than cease the moment right there and then he had to find a correct means of interrogating him quickly and without hesitation.

He pulled out a kunai from the back of his pouch and spun it with his finger in the loop. He swiftly open the door and dashed forward to the man on the wall. The man was too slow, too slow to react, too slow to yell, too slow to do anything. By the time he had lifted his head up, Keiro’s hand had grabbed onto his mouth closing it from reaching out and the kunai was on the man’s throat. The man’s eyes were wide with fright and terror. The man that came out of the door had a cloak over his head that didn’t reveal much on his image. There was only darkness that shrouded the man.

“Don’t move” Keiro’s voice whispered “Don’t scream, don’t resist, don’t even breathe heavily.” This was easier said than done on the man’s part. It felt as if Keiro had not only grabbed his jaw but the breathing pipe as well. This may have been his way of panicking as the quick distress signals were ringing in his head sending messages all over his body to lock up. Keiro shook the man’s head with his hand “You panic and I’ll break you. If I release you, you better not run or I’ll slit your throat…” he said this all coolly, all of it that lacked even the slightest of emotions. The man looked at Keiro, not able to see his eyes, not knowing what it is this man had plans on doing “Nod your head if you understand.” The man did nod his head slowly. He didn’t want to upset this man anymore than he already was.

Keiro took his hand off of the man’s mouth but didn’t remove the kunai from his throat. The man wanted to swallow but felt that his Adam’s apple would be cut in the process. He looked down at his hands, they were still free to move. He had a chance to maybe punch Keiro on the stomach. Keiro saw that gleam in his eye and decided that it would be best to set an example. He slightly pressed on his throat. Blood trickled down onto the kunai and began dripping down onto the carpet. The man immediately tightens up. Keiro was pleased with this reaction. “W-what do you want with me?” the man’s wavering voice whispered.

Keiro was also pleased with the voice. He placed fear in it, showing that Keiro was the one in control crushing the man’s hope of trying to fight. “Information. Fukada. Fukada, Koijiro. Do you know where he resides?” He leaned forward with his head almost touching the other man’s forehead “Time is of the essence.”

“Fukada? What do you-“ the man stopped short, seeing that his options were limited as to what he could say as the blade sank a little more into his throat or so he thought. “He lives in the business district north of here. It’s where a lot of the entrepreneurs resides, both young money and old money.”

North, maybe four miles from his present locations. He was pleased with this answer. He drew the blade off of the man’s throat, not quickly however. He didn’t want the man to think that he was in an entire rush but slow enough that when he drew the blade off of his throat, the blood would smear on the man’s skin and on the kunai itself. The man’s hands immediately went to it as if the blood was gushing out. Just a flesh wound Keiro thought to himself. He’ll live another day. The man peered at him with a flicker of fear in his eyes.

“You came in from the front?” Keiro had no intentions of leaving out the same way he came in, not if he had the option to leave another way.

“N-no, we have a guard’s entrance” The man pointed down the wall “It’s to your left. You’ll see a door and it’ll lead out to a stairwell…” Keiro cut him short by grabbing at his neck and dragging him on the floor. The man’s was ready to scream what it was that Keiro was doing but Keiro’s hands had ceased him from speaking as he swung the man’s head into the wall. It created a large bam and splat as some of the blood smeared on the white walls. Keiro could not care less as to the sound he was making. He raised his other hand up into the tiger seal. He turned the corner, not caring if there was anyone behind him. He smiled “Boom babeh.”

Posts : 760

The door was kicked open, the door coming off the hinges. The door flew into the rain flying off of the stairwell and onto the ground splitting in half when it landed. Keiro lifted the unconscious man over his shoulder, knowing that he’ll need at least one hand to do what he was about to do. He did a swift look behind to see that there were two guards, not the guards like the ones in the tint glasses pointing at him and yelling something. He couldn’t hear them clearly, every sound was combined together in such a way that the pouring rain, the twisted metal from the explosion, the flaring fire that was making its way to the front entrance of the place unknowingly to Keiro.

The kunai set in the generator had conducted a large sum of heat. The generator was not producing too much thermal energy at the spot where Keiro had thrown. If Keiro had thrown the kunai towards the center where the motor had been running, the kunai would’ve eventually generated enough heat fast enough and set off the explosive tags. The distance of the metal plus the thickness of the metal plates gave the kunai a good enough placement so that it would generate a perfect amount of energy. Like goldilocks and the three bears, it was not too hot, not too cold but just right. When Keiro activated the seal on the explosive tag, the kunai didn’t necessarily explode. The handle of the kunai did, yes, the force was great enough to cause the metal to shatter during activation. It did cause the blade part of the kunai into the center of the generator. All three kunai went into the generator itself destroying the insides of it like a bullet would do when it moves its way into the brain of a human being. The kunais ultimately got caught in the gears causing it to stall and causing the generator to explode. The explosion would then cause a chain reaction not only sending metal like shrapnel towards anyone in that general vicinity, it would also lead it way towards the furnaces feeding them too much fire and sending them ablaze as well. Keiro’s original plan was to cause a minor accident so that he could escape easier where speed was more of a concern rather than stealth. What he got was an random event that spiraled out of control.

Keiro could see that the guards were not necessarily worried about getting Keiro now as the fire was spreading. Keiro didn’t have to know that there was panic in their eyes as they were cramming their way in the hallways. They’re like pigs Keiro said as he turned his head around, pigs about to go the slaughter and I’m the one who lead them. Keiro held onto the man and ran over to the railing where he vaulted off. It was a two story drop and he judged that his body would handle the landing. He landed on the door, shattering it completely, the wooden door now crumbled beneath his feet. He was down a long stretch of alley that would lead him towards the river. If he turned around, he would have to face the exploding windows from the heat that was generating from the inside. He would definitely be facing also the workers and the guards who had escaped. Although there would be many that would not take notice, caring an unconscious man on the shoulders and wearing a cloak that obscured his face wouldn’t sit well, panic or not panicked. He had no other options but to take the long way. He went into an all out sprint, leaving almost an afterimage of himself as he ran down the stretch. As he was making the turn, he twisted his body like a vehicle drifting down a sharp turn and sprinted down an even longer stretch. He was passing other warehouses, viewing them not as buildings but as blurs and objects on the side of his visions. Keiro had not ran like this in quite awhile, sprinting in a fashion that would make all the other speedsters he knew quake to their knees. One thing he was glad was that the hood was good protection from the falling rain. He would’ve been annoyed to have rain caught in all of his openings on his face. He had to keep his head low but seeing that there was nothing ahead but a straight path, it didn’t matter if he was looking or not.

He did have to look up and slow down when he was long and far away from the warehouse. He stopped running. He jumped high up and landed on one of the last warehouses at the border to the next district. He viewed the warehouse from afar, seeing the smoke rise from the building. The storm was still booming overhead, lightning struck not too far from Keiro’s location, too close for comfort from the distance. Keiro didn’t mind it however. His mind was far away from the storm as he saw the smoke rise out from the warehouse.

I did that Keiro thought. The moral confliction came upon him hard now that he was away from danger, the calamity was behind him and now he was seeing it from the view of a watcher, one who was visualizing the scene in his head as it unfolds. I was the one who did that to those people. Those men, they weren’t a part of my objective. They were just regular men, sons, fathers, cousins, uncles to a family. Some were just trying to support themselves in these rough times. I didn’t mean-I mean, I didn’t want to do all that. It was an accident…

But another voice, one more calculated, more rational, one that lacked emotion spoke in a quiet, almost cool sounding voice. It was a part of the mission. The task was to find information and you needed to escape. Things happen-and if things escalate farther than it need it, it’s better to take care of yourself rather than others.

Keiro looked at the man over his shoulders. He thought he had killed him when he slammed his head against the wall. He just wanted to knock him out; he didn’t expect that his strength would amass to such head trauma. The man was breathing, it was shallow breathes, coming from the longs and not from the diaphragm. He set him down on the warehouse rooftop to look over the man. He had created a gash on the side of his head and down to his cheek. The gash was deeper on his head. He wasn’t necessarily bleeding, it was slow and irregular. The blood clot was beginning to form. But he needed medical attention, that gash was something that needed to be looked over.

Not your concern the rational voice spoke. The mission first.

The hell with the mission Keiro said but it wasn’t confident sounding in Keiro’s mind. It sounded weak to him. Keiro knew that if he were to abandon his mission for this man’s wellbeing then what good was he then to other criminals? But the problem still remained: Wasn’t he a criminal too?

“I’m an exile.” He spoke aloud this time to drone out the rational voice “There is a difference. I’m a man cast out of my country for the wrongdoing of another group.”

Regardless, you are a criminal by the shinobi’s standards. Even if you were falsely accused, what’s good that’s gonna do when you’re being attacked by eight men who only see you as a good price for play money or to feed their mouths. A criminal is still a criminal in the eyes of the world.

Keiro knew that this voice was speaking all out of the knowledge it had developed during his time in prison. In prison, this voice came to be as one who made sure that he would not lose his mind. It was the lynchpin that kept it all together despite the turmoil many other minds in that facility was going through. He heard that many men would lose it not two years in and then there was no way they could be brought back. They were, as the prisoners put it, irretrievable lost. This voice was in it for survival and sacrificed moral codes the moment everything went black for Keiro. It was the voice that Keiro listen to when he escaped prison, the voice that old him to keep going down south so he would reach Rain Country. It was the voice that told him that they were in it for the long run and there would be no one else to help them.

Keiro looked at the man. He was still unconscious but he seem to be letting out soft groans of pain. He was breathing was still shallow and he knew that this weather would ultimately kill him if he didn’t do anything about this man’s condition. Keiro grabbed a piece of his cloak and ripped it into a long piece of cloth. He wrapped it around his head tight so that no more blood would spill out. Even if he had little medical experience, he could still wrap something up pretty well. The bleeding would stop eventually but that would only stall the inevitable.

“I’m an exile, a criminal in the eyes of the shinobi, but that doesn’t mean I have to act like a scared animal and look after myself all the time.” Keiro grabbed him and placed him over his shoulders and then dropped down to the ground. He ran his way towards a house, any house with lights on. When he found one that looked like someone was home, he knocked on the door. He laid the man on the porch of the house and nodded his head satisfied as to what he was doing. It would be off of his hands now. He disappeared and was long gone before the people of that property open the door to find the unconscious man who had a dirty cloth wrapped around his head. The man would wake up later telling the middle age couple that he doesn’t remember anything, only that there was a figure who appeared like a grim reaper. The man would be haunted by the Keiro’s hooded image for years to come.

Perhaps in every corporation, there is an owner that doesn’t want a lot of attention drawn to them. Their idea of reaching a goal would be to accomplish it without having someone trying to hound after them every second of their precious time. People who wish to live in solitude have a tendency of understanding the fine mechanics behind living and hiding in plain sight. Such masteries is what Koijiro Fukada has developed over the many years of his life. At the age of fifty-eight, Koijiro had intent of retiring in his thirties. He was a young businessman at the young age of twenty-five, using methods that would get him rich quickly. He wasn’t for the long road like his father and his grandfather had done during their lifetimes. He had every possible idea to find out to become rich so that when he had a family he would spend time with them. His simple idea constructed the company that would be high top among the construction companies around the world. He had intent on selling it to a person he could trust and he would just be a consultant for the man running in charge. He was spending time now with his wife and his daughter who was showing talents in writing. He had always had a passion for writing but he never had the imagination to create such vivid worlds and develop characters anywhere near what his daughter could form. After his retirement in his late thirties, he did everything in his power so that his daughter could excel in her skill as a writer

The problem arose in Koijiro’s life when that same man had gain access to the mafia and their assets. There was another business, a rival towards their company that appeared to be competing against his business. The mafia driven company that Koijiro developed had to change tactics, both legally and illegally. When business was beginning to look down on them, the man who Koijiro left in charge had left out in a hurry taking a sum of money with him and escaping leaving the business open for destruction. When Koijiro was informed of this, his sadness had swallowed him as he saw the company, a child in his eyes that he cared for, now being swallowed up in turns that Koijiro had not expect the company to do. When Koijiro returned, he didn’t feel as if he was the boss running around. He felt more of a figurehead, one who just looked good at the meetings and at certain openings of certain buildings. The mafia had gain entire control over the company and it was soon long that Koijiro would be swallowed up in it as well, whether he liked it or not.

Time passed, he got older, and he became more and more of a workaholic trying his hardest to find time for his wife and daughter. Whenever they wished to do something, he was exhausted from the day and had to recuperate so he would have energy for the next day. The mafia was beginning to threaten him, telling him to make his tactics more aggressive, relentless. Not doing so would lead in serious consequences for him. What was it they could do Koijiro had no intention of finding out. Their resources, both financially and military, were far deeper than any connection that Koijiro could ask for. He had to accept it for now, just following orders now rather than running an honest business.
Koijiro was lying on his back, restless from what he just received not two days ago at his own home. When Koijiro received disturbing information on his rival at his home, he looked at the file and then at the messenger who gave it to him. The man’s face was expressionless, not holding in any sort of honor in doing what he did. It was just a job to the man. Nothing more, nothing less.

“Why are you-“ Koijiro was about to say but the messenger interrupted him in a low, hollow tone.

“The group wishes to expose the man in the file for the wrong doings he is causing. He wants you to give this to the media so that their company will begin to fall.”

“This information-“ Koijiro said, his voice was slowly filling with anger “this is personal information that does not concern me or the business. What they are asking is not something I can do.”

The man looked at him, his expression not changing, and continued to explain “The group understands that this company is a rival and will cause further decline in money because of the way they are marketing themselves and their advertisement is far superior than ours.”

“Then let’s up the adverts and start a new marketing plan. How is that hard to do? Its competition. You can’t just-pull a fast one so you can get ahead in the game. What they’re asking-“

“What they are asking is that you put the information out for the world to see. They could care less as to how you do it; just make sure it is done. You know what will happen if you don’t.”

He knew what they would do. He knew exactly the actions would take place. They wouldn’t put him in financial ruin, no, that would be too easy. They knew he still had powerful outsourced wealth in places that they could not locate. They would turn to his family, crush them slowly. They would make his family suffer, his ex-wife, his daughter. They knew where to hurt him the most. They wouldn’t have to worry about him financially when his downfall would be his family.
He turned his head to the empty pillow beside him. His wife was long gone now, divorcing him after years of marriage. Her resentment of him was reasonable Koijiro thought, he wasn’t able to hold it because he had to pay attention to his business. He could understand the rage that she had only hiding the true sadness that their love had faded-more so burned in a heavy fire of neglect. It wasn’t a surprise to him when it happens, when she said that she wanted a divorce. His heart dropped knowing that moment would come but he was not mentally prepared for it all. It just seem like it was all sudden to him. At the time, nothing made sense; nothing at all made him want to continue living for the love that he once cherished had slip through his hands.

His daughter was one thing that kept him going, kept him moving and made life bearable knowing that she was happy. Knowing that she was making it well in the outside world and not in the harsh business that he had taken, he was satisfied by it all. She was a successful writer created from a lifelong talent she had developed early on as a child and it blossomed into something she is making wealth out of. He couldn’t be happier than he was with her success.

But the business still kept him up at night, like tonight. He heard thunder from afar. He got up from the bed and stepped over to the window. He could see from his townhouse that there was a large, black front over the warehouse district. Lightning seem to leak out of the clouds rather than come out of it randomly. The black clouds just seem filled up, ready to burst out and the lightning was the byproduct of the burst.

There was something black, however, that was rising up from the ground level. He could tell that this was smoke, the difference it being that the smoke was rising higher and higher in the air melding with the black clouds but some of it escaping the clutches of the blackness. Something was on fire and the fire was spreading fast in that area. Koijiro didn’t take a second glance at it. He turned around and faced the door where there stood a man in black looking at him. He couldn’t tell if the man was looking at him but his face was looking to his direction. Koijiro looked at him, amazed at himself that he was not scared of this figure coming in. It was if this man was about to bring death and he would gladly accept it.

Koijiro smiled “Have you come to take me away…?”

-Minutes earlier-

Keiro had reached the second tier of buildings that would essentially be the second business district of Amegakure. This district was more centralized towards larger, developed companies that were centralized towards the corporate world. It was a small district in honesty; Amegakure was far from being a giant like Konohagakure’s different districts. He could say that Ame was maybe a half if not a third the size of Konoha. This side of the district seems to still be growing from Keiro’s perspective. There were maybe eight or nine skyscrapers alongside the pipes that were intertwine among them. Amegakure’s piping system was still dominating and even if the contractor had decided to create a building here, she would have to go with the flow of the pipes and not destroy it otherwise the entire foundation. Such was the ingenuity of the creator of Ame.

The penthouse was between two skyscrapers. It was right to assume that the penthouse could be mistaken as a hotel. The entire layout of the building was design to be like a hotel. What it made it stand out as not one was the entrance. In most entrances, there wouldn’t be any guard post placed across from each other in front of the entrance. He could see one man sitting in their post, looking at book perhaps or a television set Keiro could care less. He saw that he wouldn’t have to worry about them. He would have to worry about getting inside. He was standing on a building that was five stories shorter than the penthouse. But the distance for him to jump was much shorter and he wouldn’t have to have a running start. He instead made a long leap towards the building and rolled when he landed on the roof. He made sure he muffled his sounds the best he could. Unlike his previous entry, there was not a vent he had to squeeze into but there was a door.

Why is there a door here? Keiro looked around the rooftop. It did have a patio type design didn’t it? He could imagine that whenever there was a clear day (if that was possible in Ame) that someone could come out here, sit on a outstretched chair and lay on it to read or soak up…the clouds? Keiro didn’t want to think too much on it. He just needed to get in and finish this up.

He walked over to the door to find the door didn’t turn. Locked, of course it was locked, why that would be stupid if it was unlocked. Keiro looked at the knob again, pinching at it to see how long it was. How much force would he have to apply on it to force it open? He was testing it, feeling the weight of the lock. Just a bit of oomph is all. The muscles in Keiro’s arm tensed up, finding the good amount of strength and forced the knob to turn. The latch made a click then the metal inside the door snapped like a piece of twig being broken. At least he didn’t break the entire door on this property. Something about doors today, he couldn’t figure out what he had against them.

He pushed the door slowly holding onto the handle. He slid his head through the crack and peeked in. He saw that there was a stairwell that leads downward. He couldn’t see any further due to the ceiling above the stairs. He slowly crept in and closed the door-in the best way he could close a broken door-and tip toed his way slowly down the stairs. He listen, listened carefully for the footfalls of someone walking by. He had a feeling this place had a few guards that were on duty. Not as many guards as there were in the warehouse but enough for protection. They would be top of the line, none of the small thug bullshit he saw at the warehouse. He would have to perfect in timing and in seeing the movements of the guards and the footfall of them.

He reached the hallway and quietly moved about. When there was a corner where it leads to another hallway, he would press his body against it just like he did at the warehouse and did a quick peek. He looks to find that there was a guard standing with his back face to him. He saw that he was carrying a flashlight. The light was swiveling back and forth in the man’s hand. Keiro crossed over before the man could turn around and spot his light at his direction. The man was walking down the hall and turned his head flashing his light to the left and to the right. Keiro had disappeared around another hallway.

Keiro got low, crept slowly against the wall as he heard footfall coming towards his direction. The steps was creeping from another hallway not from the one Keiro had turned from. Keiro had peeked an eye out in the corner. He got a quick glance of the man, just a seconds worth of information that he would have As it got closer, Keiro prepared in his head he had planned on doing.

The man is five foot eight, 194 pounds. Mildly-wait a minute. Why am I doing this? Fuck that. When the man was coming around the corner, he back handed the man in the throat so he couldn’t let out a yelp then grabbed his head and headbutted him. Keiro’s harden skull cracked the skull of the guard, Keiro did not just heard it but rather felt it. Keiro quickly got around him and put a hand on his mouth so muffle the groan. He then gave a quick twist of his head snapping the neck. There was a muffle crack within the man’s neck and his body went limp instantly.

I didn’t have to kill him, no there was no need. But I want to make sure that no one knows of this image. He didn’t risk the image of a human grim reaper walking around Amegakure. He carried the body over his shoulder until he found a broom closet and dumped the body. Someone would find the corpse. Soon, he hoped. Keiro continued moving on the top floor making his way to the room of the man in charge. It was a good place to start looking around to find the transaction. Another man’s secret is usually treasured by the opposing side not wanting anyone else to know of their secrets beside themselves.

Keiro didn’t find any guards down this hallway but he couldn’t stay long in this position, not when there was a dead man lying in a closet. Keiro would have to find this man’s room quickly and take whatever it is he needed to take.

Listen to the little things the rational voice spoke. The footfall of not of a guard, but of a sleeping man. It isn’t pouring hard here; it’s light rain so let’s assume that you know what that sounds like.

I’ll need to listen like I always do. Keiro moved at a stalker pace, listening for little things that wouldn’t be the quiet and alert falls of a guard but someone else. Find it, seek it out Keiro. The voice whispered in his head. To find a man, one must not listen to all things-one must…dive deeper into the heart of it all.

Yes Keiro agreed. Suddenly, all the worries of killing the man blew past him. The voice, the tempting and rational, the cunning and clever voice spoke in such a clear tone that he thought the voice was right there beside him, as if a living being was breathing down the back of his neck. This is how it should it be, this is how I should find where he is.

His body was moving, creeping slowly against the walls. The light from the windows caught a brief glance of the grim reaper walking down the corridor. If the window had a voice, it would’ve shouted to the guards saying there he is! There is the man who had killed that guard! He is in the closet right now, hurry before it is too late! But the windows kept their silence. The moment he walked past, he became an enigma, disappearing into nothingness.

Keiro listen. He listened not as hard as he could. There was no need for him to listen hard. The person he was looking for would be asleep-maybe awake, who knows whether or not the man was sleeping soundly or restless. Keiro saw another guard down a hall that was moving to his direction. The light hadn’t shown in his face and the flashlight just missed Keiro’s cloak as it moved past. The guard raised an eye in confusion. What was that just now? He wanted to say it was somebody but the figured had disappeared like a the feeling of someone was following right behind him. Was it his imagination? He went down the corridor and flashed his light to the right and to left seeing if anyone was there. There wasn’t. He said to himself that it was in his head and he continued patrolling.

Keiro had opened the door to a room in which there was a large window overlooking the business district. From the way it looked, he was on a floor lower than he originally started out from. But how could that be? How could he have gone down a level when there were no stairs other than the stairs from the rooftop? Had he gone down an incline? He hadn’t gone down any other stairs; he had made his way crossing through hallways avoiding guards as they were walking past on their patrol. He had not seen one stairwell since his entering and now he was on another floor. If so, then this was one weird penthouse.

A man was standing in front of the window. How Keiro didn’t see him was beyond him. The night was getting longer he supposed and he still getting accustomed to it but he didn’t think so. His eyes hadn’t adjust to the lighting in the room but he didn’t think that was the case. He believed the man didn’t even hear him come in and there was a moment where both people didn’t even realize that they were not alone. The man stood there, looking at Keiro without even a second’s glance. He was an older man, even with the small lighting coming in. In his mid-fifties going into his sixties perhaps, his hair faded away long ago. It was now bald with wrinkles that pinched at his head. He wasn’t exactly a threatening man, not by the very least. He couldn’t be described as underwhelming either. He was what a man would develop after spending their years sitting in an office and stressing over the things that truly matter in a company for it to thrive. The man did not scream out, he did not shake or hesitate when he spoke finally in a soft voice “Have you come to take me away…?”

“Take you…” he said without it sounding like a question. He was generally confused for a second then realized what he meant. Keiro shook his head “No, I’m not here to take your life…if you make it hard; however, I may have to if you refuse to give what I came here for.”

The man tilted his head to the side, not out of confusion or bewilderment. Rather, a gesture he did that said “oh?”. The man shook his head “No, no that would be too easy wouldn’t it? Asking for someone to take my life-foolish.”

“I’m here simply for the files. That is all. I didn’t think anyone was here in this room and I intended to leave quietly. I still have plans on leaving quietly so let’s not make this a hassle.”

“Tell me.” The man walked towards the bed. Keiro’s hand immediately drew back to his back pouch to grab a kunai. His hand was itching around the handle of a kunai ready to throw into the man’s chest or throat. But the man did not make any sudden movement. He just sat down, resting his hands on his knees and turned his gaze at the window “Do you think it would be right if I kept on to the files?” He asked the question but it wasn’t directed to Keiro, not from what Keiro saw. It seem to be a question he was asking himself. Keiro’s hand kept hold onto the kunai, slowly drawing it out of his pouch. The man continued “Initially, I would destroy the man’s reputation if I kept it. It wouldn’t be too much of a hassle to give to the media and they would just soak it up and explode.” He pointed to the clouds over the warehouse district “Like that storm over there. I keep on thinking that it is about to explode. It just looks like it’s about to burst into something horrible. I think if I keep onto it and do as what they tell me to do, the person who will be exposed won’t be the only ones who feels like shit.”

Keiro kept his distance. He felt that he should lock the door behind him. Would that make a clicking sound if he did? What if someone was walking past them and heard that latch? Would they question it? Keiro was inching his way to the bed, not sure whether he should take action or not. The man did not seem to notice nor did he stop with his monologue. “I debate whether or not doing this or letting someone take it would be the right thing. These decisions, they would change my path. Ultimately, changing me.” He turned his head around facing Keiro. His eyes were just distant; not the losing of his mind but rather his mind was off in a place that was close to being irretrievably lost.

“What do you think I should do?” the man spoke.

Keiro was not ready for that question. He wasn’t ready for a lot of things and most people, who are put in a situation where they are suppose to go to point a and retrieve objective a, they thought of choice had not been a part of the repertoire. Keiro had planned on saying “My job is to retrieve the information that was stolen from my client. Whether I get it or not does not matter upon you. If you get in my way, I will eliminate you. I care not whether your morals are blocking your choices.” He seemed like a reasonable thing to say, especially in a situation that involved him breaking and entering. He found this surprisingly odd, not even realistic as to find a man who just saw another man, wearing a cloak that hid his face wearing nothing but black in his room. Was this man sane in any case? He was expecting the man to be panicking, if not fighting. Do that Keiro was asking, just fight back. Don’t make this easy for me.

But was it easy? This man was telling him that if he were to take the information, he would ultimately be giving this man a death wish. If Keiro didn’t take it, he wouldn’t know the outcome of the ordeal with Zurui and the client but he guess it wouldn’t be good on his part. The rational part spoke in these instances saying to look after himself. It was the rational thing to do, the most logical and just made damn sense. Why should he care about this man’s worries and be morally conflicted by his obligation to keep a hold of the information. It shouldn’t be Keiro’s problem to care.

What Keiro did say however, surprised him. He said in a voice that didn’t seem like his say “We make choices every day. These choices direct our path. It’s up to you to decide which choice to make and what path you take. I’m not the one to tell you what you should take. I’m just here for what I was sent here to do…”

The man-Koijiro, seemed satisfied with this answer. He didn’t respond to what he answered but he had a resolving aura “It’s on the table.” He pointed at the table that was seven feet from the bed. Keiro walked over and found the manila folder. He opened it up and saw the information. This was it; this is what he was looking for. “I’ll say a burglar came in and took it during the night. I was asleep…didn’t hear a thing.” He directed Keiro’s attention to the window “There is a latch that unlocks the window. Use that way to get out.”

“Why-“ Keiro couldn’t believe this was happening, more over he was surprise that something like this could be happening. He was left speechless for the moment.

“I realize now that if I were to make this decision, I would not live with myself well. I will have days where I couldn’t sleep and days where I would ponder the decision I made. Think of yourself as the one who removed such a choice from my options. Or rather…you gave me another option.”

Keiro didn’t answer. He kept his silence and that was an answer enough for him. Keiro went to the window and looked over to find the latch on the side. He lifted the lever and the window made a soft ‘too doof’ as air escaped in. The sound of the rain was more apparent now; it’s soft pitter patter on every surface. Keiro looked back at the man. Koijiro had lay back on his back and looked up at the ceiling, eyes drifting into nothingness now. He looked as though he was about to fall asleep whether Keiro had left or not. Keiro opened the window and got on the window ledge. He then jumped onto the rooftops and went his way back to Zurui’s bar.

Posts : 760

Keiro opened the window to his room. He didn’t worry about rain coming inside so he slowly stepped onto the floor with the haste of a man walking in quicksand. He felt his muscles creak and his body almost wanted to fall over on the bed and just close his eyes so he could dream. He was tired. Not the tired of working in the fields on a farm or coming from a mission. It was the same tiredness he would get when he came out of the academy after a long day. His mind was mentally challenged and whenever he had the patience-and the determination-he would amply go by and give his all for the mental work that he was performing. Keiro could easily do the work without much strain but there were days where he decided he wanted to challenge himself. Those days when he did however, he would always end up in a type of mental exhaustion. It was like his mind wasn’t condition to do such things for long periods of time.

This was the same feeling if not more so. He had killed many today, men who were innocent, men who were just doing their jobs and not really in the plan that Keiro devised in his head. He wanted to avoid as many casualties as he possibly could but that didn’t seem like that was a viable option.

He remembered that his mentor, his sensei as a genin, would say that even if the plan was well devised, had been thoroughly being checked in the mind repetitively as to find faults and mistakes and correcting them and seeing all possibilities, there was always something that’ll happen and it would change the way of the plan. It didn’t matter if Keiro had planned it a hundred times, a thousand, even a million times in his head as to how he wanted the plan to work. The balance between theory and practicality was a rocky one. It was hard to balance the two as one gives a scenario to maybe three or four things that could happen and then when it put into practice, the game would change entirely.

The door opens into his room. It was Zurui, that charming smile rising on his lips and his hands were out as if he was about to hug Keiro “So, was the mission a success?”

Keiro pulled out the manila folder, somewhat wet from the rain that dripped into his cloak. Zurui took it, immediately opening it and reading the content. He smacked at the file and let out a joyful yelp “This is it! This is what our client was looking for. I’ve waiting all night for this bad boy to pop into my hands.” He patted Keiro on the shoulder “You did a very good job.”

Keiro kept silent. He moved away from Zurui’s hand pulled off his cloak and his wet shirt, setting it into the bathroom where the shower was. He should feel cold, almost shivering but his body had lost sensation of feeling. Steam was rising off his body, the sweat somewhat evaporating off of him. Zurui hadn’t notice him moving away. He just kept on reading the papers, moving from sheet to sheet. The contents had to been quite enthralling for anyone to look at it with such hunger Keiro thought. He sat down on the bed and let out a long breath. It felt like he kept hold of his breath the entire time, not releasing it until he felt safe on a bed somewhere.

Zurui seemed pleased, not with Keiro but with himself. He looked over at him “Man, you look exhausted. Was it harder than you imagined?”

He knew. He knew I had to go digging. He I knew I had break into the warehouse and retrieve information to get to the true location. I would call him out on this but I’m too damn tired. Keiro shook his head “Just a little bit more work than I anticipated. Nothing I couldn’t handle.”

“Good. Glad it wasn’t a hassle. Say, you didn’t so happen to blow up the warehouse did you?”

“What made you say that?”

“Well, I heard reports on a large explosion that happen at that factory. Ten men were killed, fifteen of them were injured. Such a sad day for that factory and for that business too! That must suck if you ask me.”

Keiro made silence his answer. He lay across the bed “I’m tired Zurui. I really am. Do you mind if I rest up for the tomorrow. I’ll explain then.”

“Sure, sure. No prob my friend. Rest up. You had a long night today and I’m sure our client will be most pleased with this tid bit of information.” He pat on Keiro’s back “Good night, Keiro.” He went off and closed the door behind him. His footfall disappeared almost immediately after he closed the door.

Keiro could feel himself falling slowly to sleep. The one thing that came to mind was the matter of choice. It was a matter of choice of the man giving him the files over, even if it meant that his life was at stake. It was a choice for Keiro to come to Amegakure and get hired by the man known at Sasayaki, Zurui. There was no illusion, as most people say there is. No matter of illusion of free will. He chose the path he was taking and no one else was directing him otherwise. He wondered now what his path would take him next.