Naruto: Akira’s Story

"Wow - that's a crowd." Seeing a whole procession of people coming out of the Hokage's building, I stepped aside. It was funny - everyone walked out with perfect posture, all stiff and formal, but as they passed, they shot sideways glances at me without turning their heads. I just stood there, hands behind my back, a slight smile on my face, nodding to everyone I recognized from the Naruto series. Maybe that's why they were staring?

"Oh, Akira-san! Good to see you. What are you doing out here? Come in, have some tea!" At the end of the procession, right by the door, stood my old acquaintance - the bald, round-bellied Homuri.

All the clan heads gave me another quick look and went their separate ways. I went inside, accepted the offer of tea, and started explaining my problem.

"Hmm, I get it, but you see, I don't have access to those archives. However..." He leaned in, lowering his voice to a whisper. "Between you and me, I've got a great memory - that's how I landed this job out of a thousand candidates in Keiichi. Plus, I sometimes drop by my colleague who handles mission assignments."

"Oooh." I nodded, trying to look impressed.

"Yep," Homuri said, straightening up. "So... just tell me who you're looking for, and I'll try to remember everyone who fits."

"I need a kunoichi - someone with a pleasant appearance, retired, who could work as my head administrator. And a few regular girls, also with a nice appearance."

"Well, there aren't that many options for kunoichi..." He stroked his clean-shaven chin, thinking.

"Not that many? How many is that?"

"About thirty, I'd say."

"Whoa! And you call that not many? Alright, but what if we only count those without any mental trauma and with all their limbs intact?"

"In that case, just two. I only know the name and surname of one, but I remember her sensei's address. She should be nineteen. The other one, unless she's moved, should still live here..." He pulled out a small slip of paper and quickly wrote down a name and address. "If you're talking about non-kunoichi, I can ask my friend at the bank."

"Thanks, Homuri-san, you've saved me again... You know what? I'm actually pretty good at portraits. You wouldn't happen to need a portrait of the daimyo for personal reasons, would you?" Homuri's eyes lit up instantly. In two months, it would be the daimyo's birthday, and there was going to be a huge celebration. 

He wasn't exactly high-ranking, but he'd be attending as part of Torio-sama's delegation. From what he'd heard, the daimyo had a soft spot for the arts - painting, music, poetry. A portrait of the daimyo? If it was good enough, he'd love it. Even a modest one would make a far better gift than anything else Homuri could hope to offer.

"Akira-san, just come by in a week - no, make it five days." We shook hands, and each went our own way.

Leaving the Hokage's building, I headed straight for the kunoichi's address in the southeast district. No one was home, but the neighbors were friendly enough to tell me where I could find her.

"So you want to offer me a job?" She slammed a cleaver down on a cutting board, then wiped her bloody hands on her apron.

Honestly, the smell in here was far from pleasant, but at least now I knew where to find the widest selection of fish in Konoha. There were at least twenty stalls here, all selling fish.

The woman was tall - about 170 centimeters, which was pretty tall for around here, especially for a woman. Her dark hair was tied back in a ponytail, she had some markings under her eyes and a few scars on her face, but Homuri hadn't lied - even with all that, Ayumi was strikingly attractive. Those little white lines, which must have been nasty scars once, actually gave her a kind of wild, dangerous charm. 

"Yeah, and with your experience..." She was clearly in the fish trade. "I think after a week on the job, I'll make you the manager of my restaurant."

"What are the responsibilities and the pay?"

"Your job is to react quickly and correctly to any problem in the restaurant. If the gas stove breaks, you find someone to fix it. If the staff start slacking off or overstepping, you put them in their place. If customers get rowdy..."

"Throw them out by the scruff. Got it."

"As for salary... during your probation, it'll be eight thousand ryo. Prove yourself, and I'll bump it up to fourteen thousand, with annual raises after that. Hours are ten to ten."

Ayumi glanced at a bucket of fish guts and pictured herself in a clean restaurant. That alone was almost enough to make her say yes, especially if the pay was better than what she made now. Selling fish, she averaged three to four thousand ryo a month...

"I'm in." Fourteen thousand a month - that was just a bit less than what a genin team made doing D-rank missions. It was a lot less than she used to earn, but the job was safe, stable, and honestly, not that hard.

"Great. You'll start in a week. I'll provide a uniform. Here's the restaurant address." I handed her a slip of paper, said goodbye, and left.

As for the nineteen-year-old girl whose address I didn't even know... I put her out of my mind. Twenty-six-year-old Ayumi was the best candidate by far, and she had real experience. She fit the role perfectly.

As for the other girl, I could only wish her luck. She'd be fine, especially now that my reform had passed. And hey, I wasn't a saint - one ex-shinobi in my restaurant was more than enough.

****

[ Third POV ]

A heavy folder landed on Hiruzen's desk. Opening it, he found a detailed report on a certain person of interest. It covered practically everything about their daily routine and activities. It took an hour to read through, and now the Hokage knew almost as much about this newcomer as the man's own parents - maybe even more.

"Crow, what's your personal take on the subject? Off the record."

"...very curious. If I hadn't been watching him for so long, I'd have suspected he was a spy." The voice was calm and quiet.

"And why don't you think he's a spy?" Hiruzen looked up from the report.

"Spies are much more careful. For example, they don't go around asking random people where to buy cheap chicken fillets. Too many actions that draw unnecessary attention."

"And what if he's a deep-cover agent? Specially trained."

"In that case, he wasn't given any info about his mission or the target location."

"So how sure are you that he's not a spy?"

"Ninety-five percent."

"Alright, the mission stands. Keep up the surveillance."

"Got it." And the ANBU vanished.

Hiruzen pulled a thin folder from under the desk - just a single sheet, passed to him by Danzo. He stroked his beard thoughtfully.

The sheet had almost the same details as his own agent's report, but Danzo had dug into the subject's biography.

"Other than Tanzaku and the village nearby, he hasn't been seen anywhere else! Searches in the Land of Iron have turned up nothing so far."

Lighting his pipe, Sarutobi blew smoke rings without even pursing his lips.

He and Danzo had discussed this new face in the village the day before the clan council meeting. Danzo's suggestion was classic - grab him and interrogate. Sure, that was one way to go. Interrogations in Konoha were famous for always getting the truth - or the subject self-destructing. 

If it were wartime, Hiruzen would have given the order himself, no hesitation. This guy stood out way too much. Only one thing stopped him now - the value this "ordinary villager" had already brought to the village.

In less than a month, he'd done more for Konoha's development than some clans. Yes, he was suspicious as hell in Danzo's eyes, but then again, Danzo didn't trust anyone. Sometimes Hiruzen thought Danzo even squinted suspiciously at his own shadow - occupational hazard.

"Well... I'll leave him be for now. People who think like that are always useful. Wouldn't want to ruin that with an interrogation."

Meanwhile, Akira, blissfully unaware that he'd just walked a razor's edge, was happily making himself some pilaf.

Life was calm and steady - just the way he liked it. Sometimes in the evenings, Naruko would drop by to see what her neighbor was up to, and every time, she'd help herself to whatever new and, most importantly, delicious food he'd cooked.

Akira sometimes left food out for his watcher, leaving little notes as a joke: "You've been eating way too many calories lately - here's a salad," or "Aren't you tired of sitting and watching me all day? Here, have some eye drops and hemorrhoid cream." The watcher never replied, but Akira knew the notes were being read - they always disappeared.

Five days later, as agreed, he met with Homuri, who handed him a thick folder and, in a burst of emotion, shook his hand with both of his. He was absolutely thrilled with the daimyo's portrait that had been delivered to his address.

Akira had never met the ruler of the Land of Fire in person, but you could see his photo in a frame in plenty of places - like the administrative hall in the Hokage's building.

Ayumi, as promised, showed up at the restaurant on the fifth day. The place was still pretty empty. He'd invited her mainly to show her around, sign the employment contract (which listed all her duties point by point), and hand over the names and addresses of the people he'd picked out, so that over the next three days, Ayumi could "accidentally" run into them and do interviews.

From the folder Homuri gave him, he first picked out girls with at least some education - meaning they could read, write, and do basic math. For some reason, the bank required this info when registering clients, which worked in his favor. Among those, he looked for ones who lived closest to the restaurant and had a pleasant appearance. 

The reports didn't mention their financial situation, but he didn't care about that. In the end, he picked five girls, set aside the reports on another thirty just in case, and put the rest back in the folder with a note saying it should be burned. He was sure ANBU already knew exactly what he'd pulled from the archives — and how, so once he had what he needed, it was best to get rid of the rest. He didn't need any extra suspicion. As for Homuri, he wasn't worried - the guy wasn't stupid, he knew what he could get in trouble for and what he couldn't.

The good thing was, Ayumi didn't ask unnecessary questions - like how he knew these girls or their addresses, or even how he'd found her. Shinobi aren't the curious type, unless it's part of their mission - that's why clients liked working with them.

"So, in two days, the furniture and kitchen equipment will be delivered here. Another thing I need you to do is find people who can carry everything in and set it all up."

"I can carry it myself. As for the rest, I'll look around." She nodded.

"Oh, good. But since that's not part of your official duties, start a log and write down the date, what you did, and how much time it took. I think in the first month, and probably after that too, there'll be a lot of these extra tasks. Anything outside your job description, write it down, and at the end of the month, I'll add a bonus to your salary."

"Understood." Ayumi bowed, happy to have landed such a good boss.

"Great. If you have any questions, here's my address." He handed her a small slip of paper.

***

[Ayumi-chan image ]



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