Tsukuyomi's Watch [O]

[† arashi]

It was a serene night in the town of Tanzaku Gai . The moon had a reddish-orange hue to it as it floated casually in the heavens, observing the sleeping lands of the Fire Country. A large canal snaked along sluggishly, providing water to the entire province. Not many houses were around this area except for a lone residence. It hugged the canal bank, and a waterwheel churned silently on the side of the building.

The inside of the home had a much more modern feel than the outside. The house's electricity was generated by the waterwheel and the walls were painted a pinkish beige. Simple handcrafted wooden furniture adorned the living room and kitchen area & a step in shower were situated toward the back of the home. Their were only two other rooms besides these, which were both bedrooms.

The first bedroom was empty. A lavish cot rested in the corner of the room. A bronze lantern flickered lazily on top of a small nightstand stood next to bed. The room had a large television and the only piece of decoration in the room was a small white-pine bonsai tree that sat in the windowsill. The old tenant-lord that usually rested there was absent-- most likely out gambling & drinking. The second room, the tenant bedroom, was also empty.

Several small hills adorned the landscape. Arashi sat atop a lone hill a few hundred meters from the house along the outskirts of Tanzaku. His legs were folded "indian-style" and his eyes centered on smoke clouds being produced in front of him. His demeanor was placid, although his mind was slightly anxious.

He held his sheathed nodachi casually on his left shoulder and tapped impatiently at the scabbard's chape. Held artfully in his right hand was a simple wooden pipe. Purple fumes crawled from the pipe's chamber and dispersed lazily into the air. The shinobi surveyed the smoke keenly as it trailed into the night's sky, toking the pipe for the umpteenth time. He seemed to be waiting on something or someone...