The Family Friend

[PureWillPower]

It was the middle of the night in Sunagakure. Kenjiro, as always, was asleep in his bed next to the window of his room. He had a little trouble sleeping tonight. The image of the Tidal Wave rushing over his village has kept him awake for most of the month. As he slowly sat up in bed, sweating from the vision, he heard a tap of a rock on the window. Looking out of it he saw his neighbor's wife waving frantically to him. As he opened the window he could clearly hear her calling him for help. He wrapped his legs with the Puppetry strings and hurled himself out the window and over to her window, landing gracefully. She said she heard some one at her front door trying to get in. He moved like a puppet downstairs and opened the door. With no one in sight he stood on her front stoop. Fortunatly it was summer and the night air was warm, cause he was just in his dolphin boxers.

"Ichibashi-san. It's safe down here." He turned around and looked to her. The elderly woman was looking at him with a slacked jaw. She knew her neighbor was paralyzed from the waist down, and right now he was walking. As she approached him, his legs started to quake. "Buggers." The strings broke and ken went crashing down to his rear and back. The woman came up to him and pulled a chair over for him to get on. She knew she couldn't help him up.

Ichibashi pulled up another chair next to him as he rested. She was the oldest friend of his parents that he knew about. She was the one who watched over him most of the time after his parents died. Even though she wouldn't allow him to, he considered her like an Aunt then an elderly neighbor who just woke him up after hearing noises. "Thank you Ken-chan. Since Satoru left for Konohagakure to negotiate the trade of restaraunts, I've been hearing noises around here at night. It might be someone trying to break in."

Ken looked at the ground behind him and noticed some footprints in the sand. Good thing about living in a desert, it was virtually impossible to move around without leaving some trace for the next ten minutes. "Well I will stay here tonight in case they try it again. you got rest, restaraunt isn't going to open itself tomorrow morning." She just smiled and stood up. Knowing she was in good hands now, she went back upstairs and went to bed.

After a bit, ken had enough rest to use his strings on his legs again. Just enough to get within range of his chair though. He made a couple quick leaps to in front of his door and took a seat. His strings was then extended out upstairs and on a path of least distance until it made contact. He knew his house like the back of his hand and was able to tell precisly where everything was just by memory. Guiding his chair down the hallway, down the stairs, and to him, he pulled himself into the chair and wheeled himself back over to his neighbor's yeard.

Most of the night was pretty clam. Much of Sunagakure was asleep. There was the occasional Chuunin patrol down the streets. With the sun about to rise. Ken had sat there for six hours with not so much as a mouse threatening her doorstep. He noticed Shu coming down the street and called out for him. "Hey Shu. Can you do me a favor?" Shu stopped and nodded. "Ichibashi-san had someone try to get in last night. She will be awake in about thirty minutes but I can't stay up another second. Mind taking over for me?"

Shugorei hopped the small wooden fence and walked over to him. "Sure thing bub. Go get some rest."

Ken smiled and rolled past him a little. "Oh let her know I will be rested up and in position before the sunsets tonight." Seeing Shu nod once more in agreement, he tiredly rolled home and after locking his own door, he just fell asleep right there.

[PureWillPower]

The next evening, Kenjiro rolls over to Ichibashi's house and knocked on the door. Since he wasn't asleep immediatly prior to this, he was more prepared for surveilance. He had snacks and drinks to last him the entire night and a back up rifled tube, since he was going to ditch the chair upstairs, he was going to need a tube to snipe the guy out. As the door swung open he saw The Elder Ichibashi standing there in a old fashion Suna Drapping meant for storm season. Come to think of it, Today was the first day of storm season.

She stepped aside to invite Ken in. He rolled in with a nod. Moving a towel over his wheels he wiped off the dirt and soil from outside and did a practiced hop with the chair to enter the living room. "Make yourself at home Ken-chan. I have to run to the store to get a fish for dinner tonight." Ichibashi closed the door behind her as she left. Ken rolled over to a window and picked up the rifled tube, following her until she was out of sight.

Rolling back he tapped the communicator hidden in his forehead protector that was hanging around his neck. "She's heading to the market. Deploy your eye." Across the way was Testu and Ryo. The two entered thier sand mode and created eyes through the village to keep track on her, make sure nothing happened.

while the twin were keeping an eye on surveillance, Ken rolled his chair back to the stairs and grabbed hold of the hand rails. With practiced pulls and yanks, he pulled his chair up the 27 stairs until he got to the top. Even though he was tired, there was no resting for now. He rolled his chair to the bedroom and over to the window.. Using his chakra strings, he carried his grappling hook up and over to a exhaust pipe hooking it tight to it. He then pulled himself out of the seat and up the rope to the roof. Fortunatly, she didn't have the typical dome shaped houses the rest did. She liked the square style houses from Iwagakure and had hers rebuilt in that fashion about twelve years ago. Laying flat agarinst the roof he kept a look out through the small railing that caused sand sotrms to ebb over the exhaust fans.

An hour later, the woman returned home and Ken was through with his first soda. The rifled tube now resting next to him. The sun was just past the horizon in front of him so now he wasn't getting the glare of the buring ball or orbital death hovering above thier world. The night air was cooler. Much Much cooler. As the hours ticked away so did his snacks and sodas. He has been told time and time again soda wasn't the best for stakeouts and missions, but he didn't care. He had other medical problums to worry about before he worried about slowly perserving himself.

At about four in the morning, a guy in kuroko garb, dressed head to toe in black, crept up to the door. Was this guy serious? A ninja wearing all black and covering his entire body? What good was that going to do in combat? As Ken reached for his rifled tube, a loud roar ripped from behind him. The 12 pack of colas had done thier work and the gas bubbles inside ahd built to a boiling point. Without control over his gluteous maximus to hold it in, Ken ripped a very large very long, very noticeable bout of flatuence. HTe guy looked up directly to him and then ran away.

As the sound died down, Ken dropped his head in shame. his best chance to catch this guy ruined because he had to drink when he's bored. However the torture was not over yet. The gass had rose while it was warm, but cooling in the night air, the methane and carbon dioxide became heavier and decended on him, causing his to cough and gag from his own scent. Rolling onto his back, his hands coverd his nose and mouth to avoid breathing it in. However it only served to cause a terrible stinging in his eyes. With no other recourse or escape route coming to mind he quickly formed the rat seal and flickered away into the living room, still on hsi back. He took a deep breath of clean air in. Ishibashi looking at him from the stair well. "Well he won't be back tonight. I'm just gonna lay here. you cna go back to bed.

[PureWillPower]

Another day another attempt. Kenjiro rolled over with his gear again. Ichibashi’s husband was supposed to come home tomorrow night about midnight so he wouldn’t have to guard long. This time to avoid the embarrassment of yesterdays he only packed juices cans. And that was only to stave off sand mouth. This time he was going to cut off the Kuroko’s escape path. Instead of rolling inside, he stopped at the side in the sandy area and nodded to Tetsu. The young Genin had a body that he could easily convert into sand and he can control large quanties by mixing with existing sand.

Testu came up and looked around. “No one in the area. So what did ya need?”

Kenjiro pulled the rifled tubes up over his shoulders. “I need a small dune around me. Hollowed so I can breath with a small slit so I can see out at the path way. “ Tetsu grinned , shifted to sand and mixed with the sand underneath. After tripling his body mass in sand he stood up and and washed over Ken like a tidal wave, bloating out and compressing the extra sand into the structure described so it seemed like a perfect dune. After looking at the dune he created, he figured it would seem odd for such a dune to appear from no where. So he made a quick sign and stuck it in front of it.

SAND FOR SALE

As Tetsu walked away, Ken opened up his first can of juice taking a drink to get rid of the sand in his mouth. The inside of the dune was cool, protected from the heat of the outside. This time he had a seat and snacks. After a while, sure enough the man returned. However before he could get to far down the path he noticed the slit in the sand and took off running. Not wanting to let this guy get away, he summoned out his Kikou armor and barreled through the sand chasing after him. The kuroko making good speed down the path.

Shu was sending out streams of water trying to guide or debilitate the man in black. But he was too quick for any decent shots, at least not without the Gintama. But he didn’t want to kill a man for being a pervert. He was moving too fast for his strings to snatch him, plus he was probably strong enough to break the bonds if caught.

As he rounded the corner into an alley way between two tall buildings, Ken stopped dead. There was noone down the alley. He disappeared, just a swirl of trash in the center. So perhaps this guy was a ninja, but why did he just run away? He was going have to set a better trap to catch him.

[PureWillPower]

Today was the day her husband came home. He would need to keep an eye on the abode for just a few hours. This time, he was going to try and trap him in the strings. He had a plan set, he was fairly confident in that the guy wasn’t very strong because he ran, and he had not had one cola all day. He was going to catch this guy for sure today. He had his hands taped up. A face mask moved over his face. Goggles over his eyes. His forehead protector tied tightly across his forehead. Rolling out to the front yard of the Ichibashi residence, he laid down in a small holed to surprise the pervert as he walked up to the house. The string laid over the dirt that would bury him so as soon as he stepped down he was caught and trapped.

It was a few hours of time before he heard the foot steps. He soon felt a foot press onto his chest, the strings cinching onto him and rendering the kuroko immobile. Sitting up from his grave position, he sent the human puppet hard into the door several times before causing him to face plant into the ground next to him. Turning the man over he grabbed the hood from his face just as the woman he’s been protecting arrived. The kuroko that has been trying to get into the house for the past four day was……Ichibashi-san? Her Husband.

Seeing this brought him a great deal of embarassment. He just beat up a 75 year old man who has taken care of him since he was little. He also chased this man from his own home for three straight nights. Helping the husband into Ken’s chair, he pushed him inside with the puppetry strings and then walked himself inside, switching out his boots for slipper. “I am so sorry Jii-sama. I didn’t know that was you, but why were you trying to sneak into your own house?”

The old man leaned back and took a few deep breaths. “Well just a bit south of Konohagakure, Our caravan was attacked by common theives. They knocked me out and took everything but my pride. That was taken the next morning when I was found naked by a passing kabuki troupe. They offered me some clothing, but the only extra outfits they had was the kuroko outfits. Because they were traveling non stop, we got home early, but since I didn’t have the key I had to try to trick the lock open.”

Ken really felt embarrassed now and bowed his head, then something popped into his head. He looked up with a quizzical brow. “But why were you wearing that black mask all the time. If you pulled it up I wouldn’t have attacked you.”

The old man rubbed the back of his head. “Kuroko never reveal their face.” Ken just took his chair back and silently walked out of the house and back to his, not believing his Jii and Baa.