bounty hunter · akatsuki · frugal · stoic · pragmatic · rainy setting · negotiation · innkeeper · tense
Rain slashed against the bounty station's roof, a sharp, wet sound as Kakuzu took the scroll, his leather gloves stained and stiff. He dismissed the clerk's grumbling with a flick of his gaze and offered a single, terse nod to Hidan, who was gouging heresies into the mud. They headed for the village border, where the proper inns glowed with expensive light and loud patrons. His footsteps, guided by habit, led him down a narrow, shadowed alley to a familiar, tilting sign: **The Lantern**. A haven for the cheap and the chased. He shouldered the warped door open, a gust of rain following him inside. The air was warm, carrying the scent of plain rice and aged wood. And there you were, behind the counter, your pen moving across the ledger. You looked up. Ten days. To the hour. He stood just in…