Cleaning The Birdhouse

Kaguya, Arashi would make his way to the tallest peak located within the well protected confines of Kumogakure's Heavenly Gates. The young man was still fighting off a hangover from the previous night, which had been an eventful one to say the least. Having gone to The Drunken Kage Bar on a whim to escape the tremendous heat he had discovered that the establishment had been very short staffed. Offering his assistance, Arashi had made an agreement with one of the head bartenders that for his help he would get his drinks for the rest of the night for free. The bartender had been a man of his word, and Arashi discovered just how dangerous free drinks for someone with a taste for alcohol could be.

'Ah, well. At least the aviary attendants won't be able to tell.' Arashi thought to himself as he adjusted his signature sunglasses to better obscure his eyes from onlookers. 'I just hope the messenger falcons aren't too loud.'

Arashi was, in fact, referring to his newly assigned mission; cleanup duty at the village's aviary. It was small time work, and something that Arashi couldn't help but feel that he was far beyond, but he was still just a Genin, and for better or for worse, it was his own doing that he was still getting assigned these easier than could be missions. He had been a Genin for the past few years, but this was solely by his own design. He had wanted to ensure that he was at the peak of his game before moving on up the ladder, and he felt that someday real soon he would be able to get the promotion that he had long desired.

As Arashi neared the aviary the squalls of the falcons within echoed, piercing the young man's ears loudly and making his head split. He would have to push through, knowing all the while it was his own fault for drinking so heavily the night before, and he waltzed into the building in stride. He was greeted with a small entrance hall, square in design, and to his left was a small desk where a man dawning a Kumogakure headband and flak jacket sat while sifting through some papers.

"Welcome to the Kumogakure Aviary. What can I do ya for?" The man said, not bothering to lift his head as he continued looking over the paperwork before him.

"Kaguya, Arashi." Arashi replied coolly. "I'm here for the cleanup mission, man." The man raised his left arm to his side and pointed with his index finger towards the wall on the other side of the room. Arashi followed the man's finger, revealing a mop, shovel, and a bucket. Next to the assortment of materials was a heavy metal door and a sign on it that read 'CAUTION; DO NOT ENTER WITHOUT PRIOR AUTHORIZATION' in bright red and bold lettering. With a nod Arashi would make his way to collect the cleaning tools, but he realized that there was no form of protection for himself whatsoever. He turned his attention back to the other shinobi. "Hey, brother, ya got any gloves and a mask for me? I ain't tryin' to get sick from inhaling all that bird shit in there."

The man closed his eyes and let out an irritated sigh. Setting down the papers he would open the drawer of the desk and remove a pair of gloves and a mask, tossing them over to Arashi.

"Take 'em and get to work, kid." He said with a sharp tongue. "And make it quick. I've got a lot of correspondences to send out."

Arashi would not waste time responding. Instead he would simply put on the protective gear before gathering his tools and entering into the bird enclosure on the opposite side of the metal door. Despite the fact that he wear weqring the mask, the smell of rancid feces and other scents would meet Arashi’s nostrils, making him gag and his head hurt even more. Irritated now, he would fill up the bucket with a hose attached to the wall and set to work.

To be fair, it would not take him all that long to finish. The birds had been locked away so that Arashi could do his job without the worry that they would continue to make more of a mess as he worked, and all was going smoothly despite Arashi’s hindered self. That would be, however, until he felt something warm and wet hit his shoulder. Confused he would take his gloved hand and wipe at the spot, pulling his hand back to reveal a mushy white substance. Looking up he could see one of the falcons perched above him. It seemed to squawk away at him in a laughing manner.

"Now that ain’t cool, baby. Not cool at all.” Arashi said as he walked over to the hose to run some water on the glove and his shoulder. Meanwhile the fqlcon began flqpping its wings before removing itself from the perch and diving down towards Arashi. The young man was rwady to spray the bird away with the hose, but decided not to as the little beast plopped down on his shoulder. It cooed and rubbed its soft little head against Arashi’s, successfully calming down the little mishap of a situation. Arashi chuckled, setting down the hose slowly so as not to disturb the bird before rubbing its head softly with the back of his index finger. The bird seemed to like this, and it's cooing grew slightly louder and more content. "Ah well, shit happens, I guess. Now come on, baby, we gotta put ya back in your cage for now.”

Arashi would walk back to the falcon’s cage, petting it all the while. As they approached the bird would flap its wings again and dislodge itself from Arashi’s shoulder, making itself back at home in the cage. As Arashi closed the metql chqin link door he took note of the falcon’s nameboard, which read ‘Achihaku’. With that he would go about continuing his work, and in due time he would be all finished up and heading on towards home, where he was sure his mother would have something good cooked up qnd ready to eat for dinner. All the while though Arashi just could not take his mind off of Achihaku. He felt deep inside his soul that the two had developed a sort of lasting bond.