Rain poured down from the sky above Konoha, soaking anything unfortunate enough to be devoid of shelter. It was as if every body of water on the earth had been evaporated and moved to this very spot to rejoin the rivers down on the earth. They seemed intent on making a river there in the Leaf Village's territory.
Kaito Inoue was soaked through and weary despite standing under the leafy branches of a silver maple. His hands were shoved in the pockets of his shinobi vest to keep from the cold. The rain was anything but warm. Or dry. Kaito shook his head to free it from the water, dark brown hair plastering to his forehead above deep, midnight blue eyes. He huddled against the trunk, kicking a stone out from in front of him. What lousy luck that he was assigned to keep watch here during the torrential downpour.
Loyal to his village's missions, the chunin, hurried from his silver maple to under an elm, pressing against the bark to hide from the cloudburst. Kaito had been assigned to patrol a quarter of the perimeter, and he had already accomplished half of that so far. But he still had another eighth of the circumference to go, and the rain wasn't helping.
Dashing from shelter to shelter, the older teen was able to keep relatively dry; which wasn't saying much considering the competition. By now, nearly everywhere he stepped was a puddle, and the Inoue boy began to long for the gates to Konoha where his patrol ended. Even keeping a close lookout, Kaito failed in spotting anything unusual. Eventually he stopped being scrutinous, focusing more on keeping as try as possible. Because of his lack of focus, he nearly stumbled on the two figures.
In the middle of the pathway to Konoha laid two humans. The larger of the two was a male in his tender teens, the other a girl seven or so. The older of the two was a tall boy with dirty blond hair and a narrow face. The girl was facedown in the mud, her auburn-brown hair trailing everywhere. They appeared to be siblings or friends, for there was no sign of struggle. The two must've been traveling together, but there was no sign of supplies on either of them. Perhaps they had been mugged, Kaito pondered, still staring. They both seemed rather thin, so the mugging would've had to occur long ago; they had been without supplies for a few days at least.
Kaito stared at them for a good minute until a bubble appeared in the mud next to the girl. He snapped out of his frozen trance, realizing that at least the girl was alive and that she'd drown if kept in the mud like that. Dashing to her side, the chunin raised her head from the muck and cleared her mouth and nostrils. The girl sucked in a huge breath, then went still, breathing faintly. Kaito checked her pulse; slow, but definitely there. He breathed a sigh of relief, placing the child face-up against the nearest tree.
The Leaf Village shinobi turned to the boy next. He pushed the golden-brown hair from the boy's face. Both of the travelers were so young and malnourished. They'll have to get medical attention back at the village.
The Village!
Kaito had clean forgotten about everything besides the mysterious intruders, even the rain. The remembrance seemed to bring the downpour to pummel him harder, punishing him for forgetting it. He stood up to his full height - rather tall for a seventeen-year-old - and grabbed a branch. He swung himself into a tree, climbing higher and higher. He was reluctant to leave the unconscious pair, but he had to see how far the village was from their current position. Even with the rain clouding his view, Kaito knew he'd be capable of seeing the village's huge gates from anywhere nearby. No rain, no matter how vicious, could blot out their presence.
Pushing soaked hair from in front of his face, Kaito focused on the direction of Konoha. He was nearest the northern entrance, so he faced south. It was obviously south, for a special ninjutsu showed him the direction. Sure enough, the magnificent walls of Konoha were visible through the gloom quite clearly. They weren't too distant either, as Kaito noticed with pleasure. He quickly descended the tree to find the duo exactly as he had left them, although the girl's face was cleaner. The chunin dismissed it as an act of the rain and turned her over. She was wearing a plain yellow T-shirt and black pants with the tattered remains of a black rain cloak wrapped around her. Her left shoulder was exposed slightly, and Kaito was shocked to find light, aqua-ish blue skin underneath.
Moving more of the cloak to the side, Kaito revealed an intricate tattoo designed in an unfamiliar pattern. The colors were nearly indistinguishable in the rain and mud, but the chunin knew that whoever had dyed this girls' skin must've been a master. Some details were so fine that he couldn't tell where the tattoo ended and the actual skin began. Of course, the current conditions weren't helping.
Restoring the garment to her shoulder, Kaito pulled some invisible wire from his pack. He tightly bound the girls' hands behind her back, knowing that the Seventh Hokage wouldn't have expected anything less, but left space for the girl to have circulation and so the wire didn't cut into her skin. He was a bit less lenient with the boy, tying him with the last of his cord.
Kaito sighed. Now he'd have to drag them back to Konoha in the rain. Suddenly he noticed it, and it was amazing that he hadn't noticed it before. Although it appeared to be raining just as hard as ever around him, the rain seemed to have lightened above him. Sure, it was still raining steadily, but none of the skin-pounding raindrops he had experienced earlier. Thanking his stars, Kaito set to work dragging the pair back to Konoha.
It was tedious work, but luckily the two travelers had collapsed on the path. It would've been devastating to drag the pair through the forest and undergrowth. Kaito couldn't think of any jutsu to use for this particular dilemma except Shadow Clone Jutsu, which he hadn't yet mastered. Sighing, the shinobi continued dragging his find towards the looming presence of Konoha.
After what seemed like hours in the puzzling rain phenomena, Kaito reached the gates to Konoha. He pounded on the door angrily.
"Hey! Ayame-chan! Let me in!" Kaito bellowed. He continued pounding for a further thirty seconds until the door finally creaked. Slowly they rolled inwards, eventually coming to a grinding halt. Kaito sighed in relief, hurrying to pull the bound travelers under the roof of the gatehouse.
A blond-haired figure with pink streaks leapt down from the gatehouse office. Her pink and lilac outfit shone with a blast of color as the chunin twirled a kunai. "State your name and business please," she ordered with authority.
Kaito just glared at her incredulously. Did she not see his load? "Kaito Inoue, as you well know, Ayame-chan. As for my business, I found these two lumps outside unconscious in the rain. I'm planning on taking them to Taiki-sama so he can decide what to do with them."
Suzuki Ayame stuck a manicured fingernail in her mouth, as if pondering. "Sorry, Kaito-kun. Hokage-sama is busy in a meeting with Osamu Siyame, Feudal lord of the Village Hidden in Embers."
Suddenly the golden-brown haired boy shuddered. His eyes cracked open, revealing grayish eyes. "V-Village... Embers... no... stop... get away!... Run, mother!" He slumped against his sister, unconscious once more.
Ayame was staring at the boy as if just noticing him. Suddenly she snapped out of it, returning her gaze to Kaito. She sighed, twirling a lock of lemony hair around her index finger. "I suppose we should get them to the medics. We'll explain to Hokage-sama later." She turned to the tinted windows to the gatehouse office. "Tayuchi-san, watch the gates. I need to take care of this."
"Sure thing," called a faded voice from behind the windows. Ayame turned to Kaito.
"Come on then," she ordered, grabbing the boy, "let's get to Miyuki-san and get these two fixed." She lifted the boy up almost effortlessly, dashing out into Konoha. Kaito was taken off guard, but grabbed the girl and ran after Ayame. He glimpsed her tattoo once more, and some aspect of it caught his eye. Where have I seen that symbol before? He wondered, standing stock still.
"Come on, Kaito!" Ayame's voice snapped him from his ponderings. Shaking away the thought he dashed after Ayame, trying to keep from brooding over the feeling as he brought his find to Miyuki and the other medic-nins.