A tall figure was walking down the muddy road, rain coming down in sheets. He knew he'd have to stop soon, since the weather showed no signs of improving. The man saw a light up ahead, indicating that it was some form of shelter. Upon closer inspection, he realized it was a tea house. Figuring that the weather would have kept down the number of people on the road, he determined that the tea house wouldn't be very crowded and quickly ducked inside.
His suspicions were right; there were only three people in the building, and one of them was an elderly woman cleaning the tables. More than likely, she owned the place. "Hello deary," she said in a cheery tone, a smile on her face. "What can I get you?"
"Hot tea," the man answered, sitting down and sighing. He half-expected a voice to yell at him to get something to eat…but no, he was alone. A fact that tore into his heart with each passing moment.
"Here you go." He blinked as a steaming mug of tea was set down in front of him.
"Thank you," he muttered, picking up the mug and waiting for the woman to depart so he could think in peace. To his surprise, she sat down across from him at the table. "Problem?" he asked, curious about the woman's actions.
"Forgive me deary. I'm an old woman who's too nosy for her own good. But, I've been working in this place for years, and I've seen just about everything and every type of person there is. It makes me sound pompous, but I think I'm pretty good at reading people. And right now, I can see that you're a person with a problem that's weighing you down. Wanna talk about it?"
The man blinked in surprise before looking around the shop. The other two people didn't look threatening; a hunch figure with his back turned to the duo, and a middle-aged woman who appeared to be knitting, probably only here to wait out the storm. Feeling reassured, he turned back to the woman. "Can I trust you to keep a secret?"
"Certainly."
"I just want to be clear. Should I find out that anyone hears what I've told you, the results will be…most unpleasant."
The elderly woman merely smiled up at the giant of a man. "Deary, you've no idea how many times I've heard that or similar threats. I may be old, but I know how to keep my mouth shut. These ears of mine are for listening to problems, not picking up gossip and telling it to anything with a pulse."
"Um…are you a homophone?"
"I'm old, sweetie, but not intolerant." She raised a brow. "This a love problem? Go ahead and spill."
For some reason, the elderly female's words reassured him. In all honesty, he just wanted to get his problem out in the open, maybe even get some advice or information about what to do. "Ma'am-"
"Call me Dee, hun."
"Alright, Dee. My name's Kakuzu, by the way." He sighed and pulled down his mask, taking a quick sip of the steaming beverage before pulling it back up. "You're right about the whole problem thing. It's in the form of a demonic, psychotic, foul-mouthed zealot. Who also happens to be the love of my life."