Awaking in a Haven (Open)

Shizen awoke from his sleep in the middle of the day with the sun beaming down on him. There were many people scurring below him and a few kids were apparently attracted to his gleaming sheath of his sword and were jumping to try and get it from hanging down where he was sleeping but they weren't able to because of lack of height. He jumped down from the tree and kindly told the kids that the sword wasn't for sale before they ran away to play more. He hadn't noticed before he fell asleep but there was apparently a bunch of shops growing out of the trees he had passed. This village was very odd, but not in a bad way. He continued to walk through the mob in the market area just browsing around and eventually found a bench to sit at with a hole in the canopy right above him. He sat in the bench and leaned his head back, staring into the sky. This village was beautiful, he couldn't have picked a better place to visit, even if it was sort of a forced vacation.

Ai smiled brightly as she walked down the path that lead through the market place. She loved coming down here. The smells of the food, the sounds of the people, the sights of the different wares being sold... it truly was a sensory extravaganza. Even though she had grown up here, it never got old to her. This market was as alive and as fresh now as she remembered it as a young girl. She bent down to smell some fresh flowers that were for sale outside of one of the shops. Her brown hair fell down covering her face as she stooped. She quickly pulled it back into a short pony tail and wrapped a yellow ribbon around it to keep it in place. "How much are the flowers?" The vendor stopped and gave her a smile of recognition as he quoted a price that was higher than she could afford right now. Ai was disappointed. "Well, perhaps another time then," she said with a polite smile. She gave a small wave to the shop owner and then continued walking down the path.

The scene in the market was quaint, beautifully, and perfectly serene. The birds chirped, and the wind danced with the leaves on the trees in perfect sync. It was truly the most relaxing scene ever. That was, until a crash from an old and dusty tavern was heard, and the sound of some old guy swearing at somebody. The sound was so rambunctious that everyone looked at the pub. And soon the sound of someone walking towards the door, and strangely someone singing very badly. The door swung open and a huge bouncer could be seen carrying a man, who was singing, and soon threw him out of the bar. The man was thrown with so much force that he crashed into the flower shop the young Ai, destroying the beautifully dainty flowers, nearly crashing into Ai, and launching a flower pot towards the head of the relaxing shizen. Since he was looking at the sky he would not notice, unless of course he heard the commotion and looked, but still the speed at which that flower pot was going was insane.

The owner of the bar yelled "And stay out ya fucker!'

The man groaned, and slowly got up. He wore a red coat and black underclothes, and had on a fedora. On his left eye was a black eye patch, and his right eye was red and glazed over from being way too drunk. He had on a wide smile and his cheeks were as red as the roses he had just crushed with his drunken body. He wore no headband, and seemed as if he was just a normal drunk. He turned to Ai, and spoke, his speech slurred.

"Well hallo thuur! Nice too meech ya!"

The man turned around to see Shizen, who at this time would have either dodged or been hit by the flower pot.

"And allo thuur!"

The man took out a flask from his side, and began drinking more. The smell of alcohol rose from his body, and even shizen could smell it. This man was a drunk in every sense of the word.

Shizen's head snapped up as he heard loud noises coming from nearby and instantly his paranoia kicked in and he stood and at the same time drew his gold colored katana just in time to notice the flower pot careening towards him. He slashed upward cutting the pot in two and then noticed it was just a drunken man who caused the commotion. He looked a bit like a hardened ninja but had such a potent smell of alcohol coming off of him that he could smell it from where he stood about 10 feet away. He sheathed his weapon and said to the man's slurred speech, knowing not to provoke a drunk man, "Um...Hello Sir, I'm Shizen Giso, are you okay?" He slowly walked towards the man keeping his guard up in case he decided to throw another item at him, while at the same time waiting for him to respond.

Ai jumped as a man came flying into the flower shop stand, barely avoiding being hit. She watched as a pot of flowers was launched into the air, soaring toward a young man who was sitting on a bench. Ai looked at the shop keeper, who was standing with a look of shock clearly evident on his face, and then back to the man on the ground. Ai could tell he was drunk. Not only did his appearance give the impression of a man who lived in a bottle of sake, but he also smelled like a bar storage room. Worse than a bar storage room even! Ai held her nose to block the smells that assaulted her nostrils. As the man stood, his feet wobbling under him, Ai took a step forward, as if to help him stand, and then thought the better of it. She did not know this man, and so chose to keep cautious. She took note of his eyepatch and lack of a headband and for a moment, played with the idea in her head that he may be some sort of bandit. His clothing didn't match the type worn by any known bandits around the village so she brushed the thought from her mind. Still, she felt there was something about him that made her stay reserved in his presence.

"Well hallo thuur! Nice too meech ya," the man said, turning to Ai. His speech was slurred and a new wave of liquor stench wafted from his mouth with each word. Ai forced back the urge to vomit.

She opened her mouth to speak, to say hello back, but was cut off before she could.

"And allo thuur!" Ai looked up to see that the drunkard was addressing the young man from the bench. She wasn't sure how he had avoided the pot she saw flying in his direction, as her attention had been on the inebriated man in front of her, but he appeared to her to be unscathed by the event.

"Um...Hello Sir, I'm Shizen Giso, are you okay?" Ai watched Shizen as he approached. She could tell he was also staying on guard with this stranger.

"And I'm Ai Takahashi," she said after a moment. "Are you ok? Can we get you some help?"

The man lazily looked at the approaching person, a person who introduced himself as Shizen. The man's eye's widened when the light reflected off of the beautifully golden ordained blade that was now in its luxurious sheath. The man then quickly snapped his gaze towards the fair women trying to help him up, who introduced herself as Ai. The man then came uncomfortably close to Ai's face, the alcoholic smell nearly pouring off his breath and assaulting Ai's nose.

"Ain't chu a preety yung thang? Betcha all duh men go krazy!"

The man let out a loud laugh, and again the light that was reflected off of the blade hit his eyes.

"'at's a good blade dere! Lemme see!"

The man moved so fast, he seemed to vanish to the two Genin that were next to him. In almost the next instant the man was five feet away from him, holding Shizen's golden blade. The man pointed his arm outwards, causing those around him to back off. A drunk with a blade was never good news.

"loo' at me! Ah'm uh legendary blades-man!"

The man began to spin with the blade out, slashing up nearby wooden stalls and causing people to flee. It was all in harmless fun, but someone was about to get hurt if this man didn't let go of the blade.

Shizen looked over at the drunken male as he began to hit on the girl nearby and the anger began to well up inside him, he hated when drunken slobs did that to woman. He was just about to say something to him before the man moved at an amazing speed and he felt a wind pass him and then saw him standing five feet from him with something shiny in his hand as he began spinning, and slashing stalls. He checked his sheath and his sword was missing and his eyes instantly widened and he began shaking with rage as he realized that the sword the man was using was the very sword his aunt had protected him with, and that with her dying breath she gave to him, and it was now being swung around carelessly by a drunkard...He went blind with rage. He looked down and his voice became shaky as he said "Give...it....back....now..." His eyes had become void of all emotion as he lost himself in rage and began doing handseals, this became personal to him now.

The stranger stood up as he addressed Ai.

"Ain't chu a preety yung thang? Betcha all duh men go krazy!"

The man's breath was horrible and Ai took an instinctive step back as he leaned in close to her. She had dealt with drunks around town before, but the way this man carried himself was different. Even drunk, Ai got the distinct feeling that he knew how to handle himself. A flash of light off to the side got both of their attentions. The man from the bench, who introduced himself as Shizen, had a sword he was carrying in a sheath. A sword that was reflecting golden light into their eyes from the parts of the metal still outside the covering.

'at's a good blade dere! Lemme see!"

Before Ai even knew what had happened, the drunkard was gone from in front of her and was instead 5 feet away holding the golden sword Shizen had been carrying.

"What... what are you - "

She didn't even get to finish her sentence when the inebriated man began swinging the sword around, chopping wooden stalls and sending people running for safety.

"loo' at me! Ah'm uh legendary blades-man," he yelled as he spun.

Ai looked to Shizen. His eyes had become void of emotion. He lowered his head and said something Ai couldn't make out over the screams of the crowd. Still, she recognized handseals when she saw them. Looking frantically around her to the fleeing people and scared faces she knew what she had to do. Her first priority was the safety of those around her. She wasn't going to be able to do it alone though, there were too many people.

"Well, this is the first time I'll get to use that jutsu," she said to herself as she began working her own handseals.

Spoiler:

Pucko was out on his routine grocery shopping when he heard a disturbance from off in the distance, it was still light out and the village was usually peaceful at this time of day. He handed his bags off to the maid tailing him and instructed her to go home before wandering over in the direction of the disturbance. He couldnt help but smile faintly as he caught sight of a drunken man swinging a blade around, despite the destruction he was causing, there remained a drunken happiness to his movements that Pucko found amusing. After a moment's pause he noticed the other two people who hadnt fled the area in panic, a cursory glance showed the pair were preparing to use jutsu, and that the young man forming handseals had a scabbard for the sword held by the drunk. Pucko could see this getting out of hand quickly, and a full blown confrontation in the markets would only cost innocent civilians money. Preparing his own handseals Pucko readied a jutsu to try and control the situation, as he strode toward the drunk man he spoke to himself.

"Theres always something wrong, isnt there."

Spoiler:

Katsumoto just finished his meal and headed toward the commotion. There he saw the crowd dispersing. Some civilians were cussing out loud, some were screaming, most were trying to keep out of the way of a drunkard with a sword. As Kastumoto drew nearer he saw that a Man, a Woman, and another Man who was in the crowd was heading towards the center trying to keep the drunkard under control.

Sadly Katsumoto couldn't allow any of them to attempt to harm the man due to the fact that Katsumoto's honor stated that he would have to repay all who help him. The drunkard did by buying him food in the market place earlier that day. "Oy! Please don't attempt to hurt that man!" I will calm him down, he's only had a bit to much to drink." Katsumoto then remembered when the man downed two cups of sake at once. "Yeah this is going to be harder then I thought." Katsumoto mumbled.

Nami was with Katsumato when the commotion began weather he had know that or not. Nami was just a little faster in reacting to what was going on around him he now sttod before the drunkard and what appeared to be an enraged teen. Nami notice more people and a couple performing handseals, he wouldn't bother with them right now if anything they would be helping him. Nami would be the first calm person to approach Raleth he motioned for Katsumoto to follow sense he did say he would calm him down. Now getting within the swords range Nami would wait for Katsumato to appear by his side so they can begin in taming the man and the enraged teen who would become a threat if not dealt with properly "You got my back man?".

Shinobu sat atop a building that was located 80 feet away from the violent seen that was about to unfold. It seemed as if Raleth had the situation completely under control so there was no need for him to get involved. His sharingan was activated as he studied each of the of the people that had arrived. There was about six people there and they were all shinobi. Some clearly more powerful than others. There was one man that was way above average height and by the way his chakra flowed and the density of his chakra, it was clear that he was atleast an A ranked inja. There was then ofcourse Raleth and a B ranked shinobi who seemed to be on raleth's side. Then there were the three genin, 2 of which were about to engage Raleth. Their chakras were...pitiful to say the least, but this was to be expected of genin leveled shinobi.

Shinobu could tell by the positioning of each shinobi that this was about to be a four on two fight. And ironically, the two genin were on their own against two extremely highleveled shinobi, an above average one and a shinobi n their own skill level. Shinobu chuckled to himself for this would prove to be quite the show. He was interested to see when and how Raleth would take off the training wheels and reveal his true power to the two genin. He would wait to see how this would play out.

Shinobu was however curious as to why these ninja would be assisting Raleth without having any knowledge on who he was. Did they know that he was one of the three legendary Sannin? Only time would tell. He sat back and continued to view the seen, his scarlet eyes glowing in the sunlight.

On the outside the man continued to act drunk and wave around, despite the increasing presence of ninja coming towards him, and the funniest thing was that they all seemed to come to his aid despite him being the one causing all the ruckus and destroying the market district with his antics. Yet in his mind, something different was going on.

Raleth, though drunk, was in control of every movement. The years of drinking had caused him to be even more self aware then sober, and it is this reason why he is known, out of the other three Sannin, as the Drunkard. As his body moved and flailed, his mind began to pick up the senses. Him being a master Ookami, he would be able to tell the different ranks of each ninja. Yet there was one ninja he was most interested in, one that made him come all the way to the village. Shizen, the young Uchiha who thought he was sly by giving him a wrong name. It seemed he had forgotten that Raleth was once apart of his village, and has seen him around it a few times. Besides, his scent was unmistakable. He could tell an Uchiha just from the scent. There were others that were there, others that didn't need to be there. Though one that had caught his interest was Ai. She seemed to be ready to jump into a battle. Perhaps she could be apart of the plan....

Raleth's sensed that Shinobu was watching from a rooftop, and from his accurate sense he could tell he was close by, so he must have been watching. Good, Raleth thought, he's watching. Alright, I just need to get these people away.

The man began to spin rapidly with the blade, so fast that his red coat began to flap. Soon a huge scroll could be seen and the man did a an aerial towards the two genin, causing the scroll's strap to be come loose and out of the jacket, and fit across his shoulder. The man's fedora fell as well, and out popped two wolf ears. The man landed, his back facing the now gathered audience and facing the two genin. He gave a wink at them and turned around, showing his back to the genin. The genin would see the red coat marked with the kanji "wolf" in a much darkrer red, and a huge scroll across his lower back horizontal. He threw the blade in the air, towards Shizen, and was able to aim it so it fell into the sheath almost perfectly. A wolf tail was also seen poking its way out of the jacket. The man then put his right foot forward, and spread his arms out, slowly rotating his head. He then spoke as he did this, in a very loud and almost show-boating kind of way.

"Introducing, the legendary, the gallant, the powerful, Raleth of the Golem!"

The people around them all gasped, it was Raleth, one of the legendary Sannin! Those who were charging and preparing jutsu would sure stop now, else they would fight the Wolf King. Raleth spoke again

"Yes it is I! Raleth! The Drunken Sage, the Wolf King! I do apologize for the mess I have caused, but me and my pupils," Raleth motioned to Shizen and Ai, "were training! Though I guess it got a bit out-of-hand! Do not worry, I will personally pay for any damages. Though we must be going, and do not want to damage this fair village any further"

Raleth beamed and turned around, his cheeks still rosy red, yet his actions and speech were crisp and clear. He walked up to Ai and Shizen, and yelled.

"Come on Ai, Shizen! We need to continue training!"

Raleth had said this very loud, loud enough for Shinobu to hear it. Raleth then came close to Shizen and went near his ear, speaking so soft only he could hear it.

"You can't fool me Uchiha. Come with me"

Raleth then looked at Ai, and whispered to her.

"You come as well. One, to continue the image, and two: It's not every day you get to train with a Sannin"

Raleth waved at everyone, then made eye contact with Shinobu and nodded. Raleth then locked eyes with Pucko, and he motioned for him to follow as well. Perhaps the Sannin want another apprentice? He started walking away, hopefully with Ai, Shizen, and Pucko following.

Shizen continued to chant the phrase as the man began pulling out a scroll and landed in front of him, Shizen, still not noticing the sword in his sheath continued with handseals until he realized there was nothing in the man's hand any more. He checked his sheath and the sword had been returned to him. He seized handseals and shook his head as though he had just gotten out of a trance and his personality returned to normal. The man seemed to announce himself as a sennin and wolf sage, he had heard stories of the sennin but wasn't sure to believe them until now. After the mans flashy entrance and for some reason he was calling him and the woman who introduced herself as Ai his students. The man then got right in shizens ear, the smell of alcohol still apparent in the air and his heart sank when the man called him an uchiha. How did this man know? And why did he bring it up? Did he work for his father as an assassin and was just sent to hunt him down? So many questions were running through his head but all he could muster up and say half-hearted "How...How did you know." As he began walking he felt his body just instinctively follow him, even though he was terrified by what the true intentions of this man might be.

As Pucko strode toward the crowd he noticed the drunk had all but recovered from his loutish outburst, he now seemed perfectly clear headed and showed no signs of the influence of alcohol except for his rosy cheeks and jovial tone of voice. Pucko couldnt help but crack a grin as the drunkard proclaimed his true identity as one of the sannin, and he couldnt help but hold back a laugh as the man announced that Ai and the swordsman were his apprentices. Pucko wasn't a fool, he knew that the swordsman would have resorted to violence had his blade not been returned to him, but understood Raleth's need to downplay the situation to avoid a panic. As Raleth, as he called himself, finished his speech he threw Pucko a look and motioned him to follow. Out of curiosity and reverence Pucko decided to follow him, it wasnt every day that a sannin beckoned to a lowly genin. Knowing that the crowd of civilians was growing bigger Pucko finished his jutsu and raised his hand above a head, clapping them together. The sound was loud and carried over the crowd, to their eyes several dozen clones of Pucko started moving through the crowd, reassuring people that everythign was normal and that there was nothing to see here. After a moment the crowd broke up and Pucko strode over to Raleth.

"After you, sir"

(New post order is Pucko before Ai)

Ai froze, letting her hands drop to her sides. She stared at the man with a confused expression as he introduced himself. She had never seen him before, but he said he was a Sannin. Ai couldn't tell if this was a bluff or not. Afterall, the square had suddenly filled with ninja drawn by the commotion. To announce yourself as a Sannin would definitely cause your opponents to pause. Still, when he announced that she and the man with the sword, Shizen, were his students she was even more surprised. Still, Ai looked around and it seemed that people were buying his story. Shop owners were starting to clean up their wares and others were going back about their business.

"Come on Ai, Shizen! We need to continue training!"

Ai began to protest, "But I - ". This "wolf sage" was not listening though. He moved to whisper to Shizen, Ai couldn't hear all of what was said, but she thought Raleth mentioned the "Uchiha". Before she could ask questions though, his eyepatch covered face drew close to her and he whispered in her ear.

"You come as well. One, to continue the image, and two: It's not every day you get to train with a Sannin"

Ai could still smell the alcohol on his breath and it was still strong. Ai could tell from the stench that he had drank a lot of alcohol. The fact that he was as in control of his body as he was gave credit that he was telling the truth about his identity. Could he really be a Sannin? Ai wasn't completely sure why, but as Raleth started to walk away, she began to follow him. More from curiosity, she told herself, but if he was telling the truth, he was right. Training from a Sannin really didn't come every day.

Before Katsumoto could reach the Man with the eye patch he called out that he was a Sannin and a Legendary one at that, then the crowd calmed down and went about their business. Seeing nothing wrong and that the situation was defused, Katsumoto started walking towards the Sannin and his "Pupils" yet keeping to the crowd.

-----> EXIT