Village Gates

Like a majority of shinobi villages, Arashi is surrounded by a protective wall. There appears to be no one guarding the entrance. Who would want to stand outside in the rain all day after all?

[[ Arrive from Wave Break Tavern ]]

It did not take long for Kazuhiko to wander over to the gates. No one had really led him hear as he looked for the source of the commotion. He just had that very strange feeling that he should check her first before searching anywhere else in the village. It turned out that his instinct may have been correct. As he walked closer to the village's entrance, he could see a silhouette on the ground as he peered through the now heavy rain.

As he moved closer, the jounin had come to realize that this shape belonged to a young girl. It was quite shocking to him, actually. Her feet had been bound into the earth, as if someone wanted to keep her in place. The blond had also counted three arrows that were pierced into her body. There was a pool of blood below her, mixing with the rain water that had just decided to pick up.

The Utatori shinobi knelt down next to the body and placed his fingers on the girl's wrist. He bit his bottom lip as he tried to feel around for even the slightest pulse, but there was nothing. The girl was dead.

"Poor thing..." Kazuhiko said solemnly as he looked at the corpse's face. He found her eyes still open, and he placed his palm over them to close them. He then looked down afterward, wondering who could have done such a thing.

Upon further inspection, Kazuhiko found the shinobi headband that signified where the girl was from. The metal plate had the symbol of Suichuu engraved onto it, which the jounin thought was slightly strange. What would this girl be doing all the way out here?

Before long, the blond could sense two people approaching from two directions; one was coming from the village, but the other was coming from the shores. He turned toward the outside of the gates first, where he saw a dark-skinned man coming with a spear. As he drew closer, Kazuhiko could see the forehead protector wrapped around the man's head. The symbol on it indicated that he was from Hinote; a village located far across the great mainland. The Arashi jounin thought that he was pretty suspicious. It was rare for visitors to come to the Tornado Islands, let alone the Storm Village. It was pretty difficult to get there, and no one really liked the rainy weather.

Coming from inside of the village was someone Kazuhiko already knew pretty well; The wonderful Okami Kyoko. For some reason, the woman was always angry with him. He did not know why since he simply adored her. Then again, some women do not need a reason to be infuriated...

The two shinobi approached him at the same time, while both asking about what had happened almost in complete unison. Kazuhiko only looked down for a moment, watching the blood of the corpse before him get washed away in the rain.

"You know what..." he finally began. "I really don't know..."

He sighed to himself and stood up from the ground. Although he had dried off at the tavern earlier today, his clothes were completely soaked again. However, his head was fine thanks to the bamboo hat he wore.

He turned the the Hinote shinobi with a serious look on his face.

"So, what brings you here? Your journey must have been long a difficult."

[[ OOC: Gah~ Hope! Dx ]]

"Vacation, huh?" Kazuhiko replied. If this Okibi man was telling the truth, then he had arrived at the village at a very bad time. The foreign shinobi probably had no idea of how suspicious he appeared to be at the moment--arriving right after the corpse of a female was found and all.

The blond noticed the slight goofiness in his smile that made him look very innocent, but He could never be too cautious. However, despite his suspicions, Kazuhiko decided to trust the man for now. Besides, if Okibi decided to cause any serious trouble, te Arashi jounin would know exactly how to handle it.

"Utatori, Kazuhiko." he said in his harmonious voice. He shook hands with Okibi before gesturing over to the living female beside him. "And this would be the very lovely Kyoko-chan."

Kazuhiko simply nodded in agreement to the two of them.

"That is true... However..." he sighed quietly before continuing his reply to Okibi. "As a shinobi, what is there to expect?"

He looked down at the corpse before them again, the brim of his hat dirpping countless drops of water as his head tilted forward. He kept silent for a moment, not expecting his retorical question to be answered by either of the two. Then he looked toward the village gates with his arms crossed.

"But Kyoko-chan is right. Someone should carry the body back into the village so we can have someone take a look." The jounin signaled the two to follow him, expecting the visitor from Hinote to pick up the corpse. "C'mon."