A Normal Day. What's With This Man?

[Shiranui Genma]

Hidden in the shadows, a man stood in an alleyway, a sigh escaping him. The years were getting to him. Shiranui Genma knew the years were coming faster. He knew that Tsunade was getting older. Hell, he was getting older. And, what he saw was trouble. Usually, he was able to take command in dire situations. He was at the prime of his game a few years ago. Genma didn't even need to be asked to go on a mission to know that he would be on one soon.

But, lately, Genma was thinking. Thinking about things that had happened since Uzumaki Naruto had been born. Prior to that, things had been calm, relaxing. After that, Genma realized there had been a lot of pain, suffering, and unusual appearances. It may have been a coincidence, but Genma thought the kid was a bad omen. He personally had nothing against Naruto, he was a good kid, but things were ominous around him. Something seemed to always go wrong.

Genma sunk down to the dirt floor of the alleyway, his head bowed as he relaxed in his crouching position. There was a feeling in his stomach that said something bad was going to happen soon. His hand made a fist, and he bit down on his senbon. Maybe he should consult Tsunade-sama to get some news. He had a feeling that the Godaime was keeping something secret, and that only certain people knew about it. That woman always had something under her sleeve.

He heard a rustle in the trash cans. Genma looked up nervously, ready to spit out his senbon in the direction. A small kitten popped it's head up from the trash can, mewing at the ninja. Genma, having a soft spot for cats, let out a sigh of relief, and smiled weakly at it. The kitten looked no older than a half of year old, and the poor thing looked abandon. Genma stood, approaching the kitten, and pulled it from the trash can. "Here we are, little buddy ... heh. You need a home, don't you?" Genma spoke softly with his deep voice, showing that he was a man of compassion. More like, a man who was desparate for compassion. "Well, I'll take you home. And you can meet Ginger, Hojo, and Yume."

The Special Jounin turned, and began to walk down the alleyway to go back to his apartment.

[Arakaki Raxas]

It was quiet lately. Just a tad too quiet for Raxas' taste. For some odd reason, part of her thought something bad just might happen, but she tried to push those thoughts aside, but they kept resurfacing and it irritated the female. She hadn't felt this way for a long time. Not since she couldn't get over her brothers death, and that was many years ago. A light sigh passed her pink tinted lips as she walked down one of the many streets, humming lightly to herself. She had to find something to do.

Several moments passed as she approached the alley way where Genma was and stopped when she saw him crouched down. Was he hurt? Was there something wrong with him? Or was he just being his odd self? Quickly she backtracked and pressed her back against the nearby wall and took a gander down into the ally, seeing him speaking to a kitten. Sweatdropping, the female shifted back and glanced around like she wasn't spying on him or anything when he walked out and started in the oppisite direction of her. Watching him, she soon took off after him, leaving a space between them as they walked. "Oh look....It's the cat man." Spoke the silverette from behind, chuckling lightly. Well, now she had found her entertainment...for now.

[Shiranui Genma]

"Oh look....It's the cat man."

Genma stopped walking once he heard the greeting. He shook his head to himself, and looked down to kitten that was curiously glancing up at him. He gently stroked its fur with his thumb. "That's what they apparently call me." This tone of voice was a more stern, strong level. One that he usually used when addressing his fellow ninja. By the voice, he narrowed down his choices of who he would see when he turned around to a good three women. Genma knew it was not Shizune; she was not so cruel with the way she spoke. That left two women. That woman ANBU that had been Hayate's lover, or Kakashi's girlfriend.

And for some reason, the thoughts were more toward Kakashi's girlfriend. That's how he clearly addressed her. She did not have a name in his name, being branded by the one of her lover. Not that he had anything against Kakashi. He just thought the guy had bad taste in woman. Or so he thought.

" ... Beautiful day, ain't it, Hatake-chan." And that was how she was addressed.

Genma looked back toward her, wearing a very fake smile on his face. The senbon in his mouth was pointing upward. The kitten in his arm mewed and looked to the woman. Its head tilted slightly, then it looked down to its soft, gray fur. The kitten began to groom itself from the garbage it had been in. "What brings you around here?"

Genma didn't exactly live in the prettiest part of Konohagakure.

[Arakaki Raxas]

Raxas walked up next to him, glancing over. She came up to his shoulders about, being such a small woman. She felt even shorter standing next to Kakashi. The kunoichi looked to the little gray kitten in his arms then up to his face. "Mh, I guess so... Kind of quiet...and boring." Her brows furrowed together as a light blush made its appearance on the bridge of her nose at the nickname he had given her. Oh joy. A light sigh passed her lips as she saw the smile, she could tell it was fake...she wasn't dumb. Maybe she had been just a little too cruel to call him the cat man. That was Raxas for you, always making some sort of mistake.

"Oh, me?" She looked around then back to him, "Just wandering...I guess." Shrugging her shoulders her right hand rose up to her hair and brushed it through the long silver locks, "Uh, Genma, right?" She asked quietly, sort of having an apologetic look upon her features. She didn't really know a lot of the shinobi in the village, sure, she saw them time to time but never really got to know them, since she was still pretty timid and tensed up half the time.

[Shiranui Genma]

Genma saw the apologetic look, and sighed through his nose. He could feel the tension in the air dying down. He averted his eyes away from her, and looked to the floor. There seemed to be a very sad atmosphere around this guy.

"Very quiet. I'm glad I'm not the only one who noticed." Genma said in an almost murmur, as he continued to stroke the kitten. The poor thing stunk like garbage. He could only wonder what the other would think of him. The senbon ninja raised his brow, and found himself looking to her again, this time, more curiously when she spoke his name.

"Hai."

Then, he frowned, also feeling a bit apologetic for the way he addressed her. However, he did not know her name. Unfortunately, he had never heard Kakashi say it. "Forgive me, but I do not know your name."

[Arakaki Raxas]

Crimson hues shifted to the kitten, seeing the pieces of garbage and other things stuck to its fur. She frowned lightly at it, wondering where it came from. Poor animal. At least Genma has rescued it and would probably give it a good home. She was a softy for animals, she always had been. Adverting her eyes back to the shinobi, a nervous chuckle left her lips, "Oh, it's Raxas. Raxas Arakaki." Her head bowed lightly to the elder, a faint smile on her lips. "It's nice to meet you, sorry for how I acted earlier...It's just how I am sometimes." Her hues glanced away from him and focused on something in the far distance.

"So, where did you find that kitten?" Raxas asked quietly, looking back over at him after a few moments. "It looks a tad in bad shape.." She tilted her head and moved closer to the kitten, and scratched under its chin lightly, now being able to smell the awful garbage smell in its fur.

[Shiranui Genma]

Genma nodded his head to her name, storing it in his "names" file in his mind. Hopefully, he would remember it next time, and the time after that. "Ne, don't worry about it, Raxas-chan. I'm, well," He paused, thoughtfully looking down to the kitten. A soft frown filled his face, before it quickly changed into a sad smile. "Used to it."

Then, he listened to the question about the kitten. "I found the poor thing in a trash can. I decided to take it with me because I'd hate to see it suffer. As soon as we get home, I'm going to feed him and wash him ... And show him some love, like apparently, he didn't have. I'm sure the others will like him. They're always looking for some new person to play with." And he smiled genuinely, looking down to the green eyes that the little kitten had. It looked at Raxas and blinked, then nuzzled its nose against her hand, purring to her touch.

"He likes you." Genma smiled. He always felt better when he talked about the little cats he had. He had developed a strong bond with his feline friends.

[Arakaki Raxas]

In response, Raxas frowned a little herself. "Oi, oi. There's nothing wrong with you liking cats. Well, not to me, that is." She honestly didn't care, even though she was indeed previously teasing him. She only meant it to be playful but it was a little too serious. She looked up to him as she continued to pet the kitten, giggling lightly when it began to purr.

Raxas listened to the other speak, nodding her head. "I always did have a way with animals. I'm a large animal lover myself. Poor thing... people need to have more responsibilities with animals. I hope this kitten wasn't abused or anything." She cooed sweet nothings to the kitten, giving it another small scratch before standing upright again.

[Shiranui Genma]

Genma managed a smirk. That wasn't what he had meant, but it was all right that she didn't understand. Maybe this sad act was going a little too overboard. Genma didn't really want anyone to know what he felt. He didn't wish it upon a single soul. But, the way this woman talked to the kitten, made his heart warm. It was nice to see that someone had respect for living creatures. "Ne," He began, "I don't think the kitten has been beaten. Feeling over it, there's no broken bones. And it's only a few months old. If it had been beaten, there would be big disfiguration."

Genma nodded his head as-a-matter-of-factly.

"I'm still thinking on what I'm going to name him." The senbon was pointing to the sky as he thought. "Tenchii-kun? Maybe. I was tinking of going into a pattern, with Ginger-chan, but Hojo's name was out of the blue ..." It seemed he was talking to himself for a moment, but he looked back down to Raxas. "What do you think?"

[Arakaki Raxas]

Listening intently as the male spoke, she nodded her head in agreement. Yeah, the kitten would be in a lot worse of a condition than it already was if it had been beaten. It would have been a lot more timid also. As he spoke of naming the kitten, Raxas crossed her arms over her chest and crimson hues glanced skyward in thought. "Mmm..." Gray fur, friendly personality, curious, lucky. She really wasn't sure what would be a good name for the young feline.

Adjusting her eyes to the elder shinobi infront of her again, she parted her lips to speak, "What about Amaranth? If it's a male, that is." Shrugging her shoulders, her eyes glanced down to the kitten. She wasn't the best with coming up with names. "Or maybe, Honore?" She smiled faintly at the second name, it was a cute name and it fit the kitten.

[Shiranui Genma]

Those were good names, too, Genma thought, but he'd have to discuss it with the others. The others being the other cats. Genma scratched the back of his head, looking down to the gray, beautiful kitten in his arms. A smile filled his face again, and then he looked to the other, who was rambling out names. He couldn't help at smile at her, too. She was true to her word, hell, she looked like she loved animals. Suddenly, a name popped into his head, and he looked to Raxas with wide eyes.

"How about Lucky?" A stupid grin filled his face, one Genma pulled off comically. His free hand went to pet the furry friend again, as it mewed, and attempted to rub its back against him.

[Sponsored content]