“Man, I really hate rain.”
Kazeashi Yokoi sat on a small perch on the Great Tree Yygdrasil, keeping an eye on the plains and fields in front of him. It was his day to spend the night on lookout duty, to keep an eye out for any dangers to the Village Hidden in the Roots, Negakure. For the past four hours it had been raining constantly, making his lookout duties more difficult, as well as being just plain uncomfortable. Thankfully, his girlfriend Kei had made a thick leather coat for him for rough weather like this, which was helpful, but even the coat didn’t hold out all of the water. Kazeashi let out a frustrated grunt, and shifted closer to the trunk of the Great Tree.
“Something wrong? You look a little irritated.” A familiar voice called out. Kazeashi turned, and saw Kei smiling at him, standing sideways on the trunk, chakra glowing from her feet while she held an umbrella upward. It was an odd sight, and Kazeashi couldn’t help but chuckle.
“I’m better now that there’s someone here to entertain me. What are you doing out here, anyway,” he asked, “I thought you were feeling sick?”
Kei shrugged her shoulders innocently. “Nah. I’m not really sick, I was just tired.”
“I see.” Kazeashi replied. “Well, come over here. If someone sees you standing like that, they may think you’re insane. Well, more so, anyway.” He shifted over, and patted on the perch.
“Yeah, insane for hanging out with you!” Kei joked back.
“Wow” Kazeashi scoffed, “And here I thought MY comebacks were bad.” Just get over here, will you?”
Kei walked to the perch, and sat down. She gazed out into the dark expanse, obscured by rain and the lack of moonlight. Her head slumped onto Kazeashi’s shoulder, and he put his arm around hers. She was getting damp from his rain soaked clothes, but she wasn’t going to move. It wasn’t often they got time alone like this, so she cherished every moment they had together. It wasn’t long until she started nodding off, but something unusual caught her eye. “Kaze?” She called to Kazeashi by his nickname, “Did you see that?”
Kazeashi yawned loudly, “See what?”
Kei pointed out to a thicket a distance away from the Great Tree. “Over there. I saw something move.”
“It was probably just a deer or something. Don’t worry about—“
Kazeashi pushed Kei’s head down, as well as his own. A fraction of a second later, something hit the bark with a splintering thump. Kazeashi turned to look at it. It was an arrow. By the time he looked back to the thicket, dozens more were already flying straight for him and Kei. “Move it Kei!!” He screamed, and shoved her off the perch.
Everything was moving too fast for Kei. She was still half asleep by the time Kazeashi pushed her off the perch, and adrenaline was just now starting to flow. She centered chakra to her feet, and maneuvered to the tree. She barely managed to connect her feet, and began to run straight down the trunk at breakneck speed. By the time she reached the ground, she was exhausted, and dropped to her knees, panting heavily. Her heart was pounding, her lungs ached, and her mind snapped to attention. Kaze!!
She quickly turned back towards the perch. “Kaze!!”
For a moment, there was no answer. As she breathed in to shout again, she felt a blast of air hit her with incredible force. He was alive. Standing on the edge of the perch, numerous arrows circling him, floating aimlessly, suspended by wind. He released his hold on them, and leaped off the perch. Just before he hit the ground, he swung his arm towards the ground, and another powerful gust cushioned him, placing him softly onto the ground. He kept his eyes on the thicket, but called out, “Are you alright, Kei?”
“Uh… Yeah. I-I’m fine, just a little shaken up.”
“Then go to the village, tell everyone that there’s an intruder. Be quick.”
Kei couldn’t move. Though he wasn’t looking at her, the intensity in his eyes was incredible. She had seen him fight on missions plenty of times, but this seemed different. Usually, Kazeashi took battles in a light and sarcastic tone, but he seemed wholly focused, ready to strike in an instant. Her legs slowly listened to her, and she stood, and forced herself to look away and run for the village. She had her work to do.
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Story notes: Yeah, the title sucks, but I'd rather spend more time on the story than the title.