3 AM in Kumogakure

Thunder and lightning were commonplace in the dark skies of Kumogakure in the late twilight hours. On nights like these, heavy rains often casted an incessant downpour on the mountainside village. This was how it always had been. The bustling nightlife comprised of drunkards and insomniacs, civilians and shinobi alike, had never been deterred by the weather. Numerous bars and cafes stayed open late into the night and laid scattered across the village.  There were plenty of options for any enthusiastic alcoholic or insomniac to explore. The sleepless streets of Kumogakure were long revered by both the locals and the passing merchants alike. Strolling in the rain, one could only hear the beating drums of the endless rain, but as one entered one of the taverns, the endless chatter of the crowd could be heard much louder. In one such sleepless tavern, waiters scrambled to serve towers, pitchers and pints to the loud insatiable tables whose intoxicated occupants constantly banged on them to get the attention of the busy servers.

Seated at one such table in the corner, under the light of an orange bulb, was a peculiar young man. He was an alcoholic, an insomniac, a foreigner, and a local all in one. He was trying his luck with the ladies, but tonight he was without his wingman. However, it would appear that he was doing just fine. Dressed in a clean white long sleeved hoodie and bright blue pants adorned with a starry pattern (and a knit cap to match), his blonde hair and icy blue eyes were the object of admiration to at least a couple of attractive ladies in the tavern. A fair maiden in a blue dress with flowing blonde hair was seated on his lap feeding him from a bowl of prunes while her friend, a stunning girl in red with matching red hair, was busy pouring three rounds for the group. It was at this moment when a raven that had entered the tavern through one of its open windows landed on the table carrying a browned scroll in its beak.

"What do you want? Get outta here, ugly ass, scram!"

Saturn Sentobi tried to shoo the bird away, but then saw the scroll in its beak which read his own name on the outer side. Begrudgingly, he snatched the scroll and squinted at the messenger. "Hey, I know you! You're that bird from the aviary!" He recognized the raven from when he had taken up a mission to clean up the filthy aviary where the messengers were groomed and raised. He petted the bird as he opened the scroll and peered into its contents. He skimmed through and let out a disgruntled sigh. A shinobi gone rogue by his own intoxication, a couple of blocks down at the Drunken Kage Bar, he's nagging the bartender and needs to be taken care of and taken home before the situation escalates. Damn it. A Ninja's Woes? I'll woe them! Saturn clenched his fist and looked up at the ceiling in disdain at having to leave the damsels behind to carry out his duty as a Genin. "I have to attend to an urgent matter. I'm afraid I'm going to have to leave you ladies alone for a moment. You two don't be shy and order as much drinks and food as you'd like to have, alright?" He would smile at his two companions, making them pout first at news of his departure but them gleam up upon hearing the words that followed. Their verbal replies fell to deaf ears as Saturn stood up and made his way towards the exit, the messenger perched on his shoulder after he petted it to submission. As he passed the bartender, he leaned in and whispered carefully, pointing to the table in the corner. "I don't know those girls." Before borrowing a large black umbrella by the entrance and walking out into the rain.

Barging into the much too familiar Drunken Kage, the ambience was slightly different. Perhaps the famous bar was even declining in popularity as new ones seemed to bloom all the time like Jofuku flowers in spring back in Fire Nation from where Saturn immigrated many long Suns ago. Even from the entrance, the problem child was obvious. A man was at the bar, being obnoxiously loud, slurring incoherent speech. Most occupants of the surrounding tables had stopped their chattering to stare at the loud man who seemed to be about 30 years old. He was of a short stature, about four whole inches shorter than Saturn, and had dark hair above his receding hairline. Spit shot out from his stinking mouth as he yelled at the bartender. His eyes were wide and elated. Standing at the door, Saturn folded his borrowed umbrella and stood still looking down, as the eyes on the messenger raven on his shoulder rolled back into its skull[1]. Soon after, the bird made its flight to the bar, landing on the counter in front of the man before cawing at him.

'You've had too much to drink, old man. Don't have anymore. Go home! Go home!' [2]

The drunkard heard the bird speak to him, and gasped, stumbling back from his stool and falling on his behind. "Did you all hear that? The bird, it's talking!!" He shrieked in a raspy, cracking voice, the ends of his sentences tapering out into an incomprehensible vocal blur. The raven remained on the counter and its eyes rolled back down before Saturn made his way to the panicking man, leaning over to touch his shoulder[3]. "Are you alright?" He smiled at the troubled man, his own breath stinking of the rum that he had always been fond of. His dreams had been stranger - darker - as of late and he had been drinking more than usual to cope. "The bird, it spoke to me, I- I-"

Saturn tapped the counter to instruct the bartender to pour a round for him, before taking the older shinobi's glass and handing it to the man on the floor. He looked back up at the Genin, puzzled, but Saturn held his own drink out telling the man to clink glasses. As expected the man agreed and they both downed their shots.

"Drunkard! Drunkard!"

"There it is again!! Did you hear that? It's not just me, is it? Tell me I'm not crazy."

"Yeah, the bird, it called you a drunkard and told you not to have anymore. It told you to go home too. That's funny." Saturn replied nonchalantly, staring coldly into the man's soul.

"So you can hear it too! Youre right. That is funny!"

"It's funny, isn't it? Ha, ha.. ha ha ha." Saturn laughed slowly, cracking up a little.

"Ha.. ha.. ha.." The man followed his laughter, unsure at first.

"Hahahahaha"

"HahahHAHAHAHAHAHAHA"

"HAHAHHAHAHAHHA"

"HAHHAHA- -*THWACK!*

The man's laughter was interrupted by a loud brutal slap to his cheek with the valor of every citizen in attendance, marking it with Saturn's palm on their behalf. He was invigorated by the rum in his blood, and did not care for a rebuttal. "You should have listened to the bird if you can hear it then, idiot."

Infuriated, the man sprang to his feet and grabbed Saturn by the shoulders of his clean white hoodie.

"What's the big idea, punk?"

Saturn stared back into his fellow drunkard's eyes, grabbing the wrist that was placed against his body.

"Orihime..." Saturn stated a name, staring into the man's eyes, grinning ominously in his own drunken faze.

"What did you say?"

Saturn leaned in by the man's right ear and the older shinobi's grip on his hoodie weakened with each word as he whispered calmly. By the time Saturn stopped talking, the man looked terrified. Six feet of space had been created between the two alcoholics.

"What are you... How.. I... Impossible.."

The man was on the verge of tears, before his lightheadedness caught up to him and he collapsed on the wooden floor, giving in to his intoxication. He was blacked out. "Saturn! Saturn! Saturn!" The pub roared in endless cheer in unison, exclaiming joyfully. It seemed that the man's popularity was on the rise. The night was young. The music turned up to the loudest volume and crowd jumped and raved as they sang the words to the Kumon hymns that were sung.


Dragging the passed out body to the entrance, Saturn grimaced at the thought of having to take this man home as per the instructions in the scroll he had received. The raven took its leave as Saturn opened the door, and he bumped into another man, a familiar face. "Hey, don't I know you from somewhere?" He slurred, the world was a spinning abstraction in his mind at this point in the night. "You're a Genin, aren't you? Here, take this man home for me. You will get rewarded for your duties as a Genin, and I'll buy you drinks next time we see each other." He handed the mission scroll to the man in front of him - an assist to his kumon compatriot. On the ground, the man was speaking gibberish and weeping, a shell of the brave man who had held the bar hostage before having bestowed upon him the misfortune of meeting the fortune teller. "Hey, stop it right there, where do you think you're taking him?" Two of the drunkard's friends approached the newcomer, visibly panting after struggling to find their friend in the crowd amidst the chaos that followed his blackout. Already out of the door and placing his fingers on his forehead to claim his intellect as he passed the young man, Saturn Sentobi walked off into the night in the pouring rain, leaving the newcomer to deal with the next batch of troublemakers.

WC: 1634

2x Mission rewards with Beloved Presence; 20 AP, 4000 ryo

10 beach tickets