Chapter 1: Dim Changes
Ibiki Morino got to his office around noon that day. At the sight of his overwhelmed desk, he began to analyze just how much paperwork he would have to deal with this time. The pile of application forms from potential newcomers to the service should be his first priority, along with the sheets of directions for the examination coming up, but there were so many; the pile threatened to topple over the stack of reports he had neatly arranged on the side of his desk. During that period of uncertain times and political tensions, they were crucial documents, but he had absolutely no patience to take care of those rags all over again.
Paperwork was definitely not for him, but it came with his responsibility in the Interrogation Department, and he certainly couldn't pass it on to his minions. He stole a glance in the direction of the people working for him. Indeed, they were now looking deliberately occupied so as to not get stuck with filing the mess in their boss' workplace. He thought of them as honorable people to work with, but had also painfully discovered that they had developed over time an undeniable air of indifference when he barked orders (which normally would make people recoil in fear) along with the ability to find loopholes and excuses in order to avoid any additional work.
Still, familiarity had set in between he and his subordinates for some time now and it was not a disagreeable work environment, although he did suspect a romantic relationship between Tanaka Midori and Morimoto Youji, and was not sure that that would be something he would allow.
He straightened his colossal frame, as if it would impress the pile of damned scrolls, or rather his coworkers, so that they would take care of it for him, but alas, it remained there, as if taunting him. So, instead of ordering someone else to do the paperwork, Ibiki sat down at his desk and started to work.
Before long Anko barged in, banging the door behind her against the wall and making the hinges creak in despair, loud and intruding, as usual.
"What do you think of that?" she shouted excitedly, dropping a light yellow folder in front of him, successfully making the pile of forms tumble all around his desk. Silently sighing, Ibiki went to open it, but before he could read any of the content, she spoke again.
"They're adding personnel to every government department of the Fire Country, so that there is 'better communication between our services and the hierarchy'," she said in her patented mocking tone, raising her hands to mimic quotation marks.
"I hope this won't be like the last time they tried to modify the system, when they divided the department in order to be more efficient. The whole administration was a mess and the hierarchy between offices hardly works now," Ibiki replied, his deep voice reverberating through the office, making the others look up with curiosity, wondering what his conversation was about.
Anko, nodding approvingly, added that with the new system, they had also been moving people from one office to another.
"But the good news is that you shouldn't have to look at these applications forms now," she said, gesturing to what now littered the floor.
"All I hope is that you will not be transferred here. You're already a handful to manage for the chuunin exam; I don't need to hear you shouting from morning to night."
Closing his eyes, he knew his joke would annoy her. He had long ago given up on intimidating her, but at least he now knew that teasing her made her lower the volume of her voice. And he was right; instead of arguing, she just shrugged her shoulders, grinning.
"Better having me than a stranger, wouldn't you agree? You should brace yourselves," she directed to the whole of the office, "Your new helper is arriving tomorrow morning, at nine o'clock."
And with that, she stepped onto a ledge and disappeared out one of the windows.
"Oda Fujie?" a young genin asked a red-haired woman reading a book on a bench in Konoha's park.
"Oh, come on, this is my day off," she moaned, letting her head drop, "Don't you people ever get your information right?"
She opened one eye to see what kind of person she was dealing with. "Go tell your boss that. Only if it's urgent can you come back."
Seeing him hesitate, she thought for a moment that what had she said was enough to send him back to where he came from.
"T-the orders come from above," he stuttered, "I was told to give you this," he added, trying to sound firm.
He handed her a crimson scroll displaying a blue seal, saluted her respectfully and disappeared in a puff of smoke. She muttered under her breath something about him failing the upcoming exam, before she broke the seal and saw the contents of the scroll. She paused. Reading the message again, she let it fall onto her lap.
"Is this a joke? This will be twice the amount of work I normally do!"
Fujie got up and started her way back to the new apartment she had acquired a few days earlier - a reward for her 'good services', as the Hokage had written in the letter that had held the apartment's keys.
While she liked that this one was bigger than her old one (which was the main reason why she accepted the apartment) she didn't quite feel at home yet : the hot water still wouldn't turn on and the neighbor upstairs had little kids running back and forth on the hardwood floor all day. She lived on the fourth floor though, giving her a perfect view of the park next to her building, and as soon as she had completely settled in, she had decided to get at some point a personal window garden.
She smiled in content at that thought, climbing the stairs with some effort and arriving on her doorstep slightly out of breath. She took out her parrot keychain, which held a dozen keys, some her grandfather's, but mostly her own; there were so many that it was difficult for her to find the one she needed, every time. Finally, the door was opened, and Fujie stepped into her new home.
The place was still a bit odd to her, after having lived first in a studio near the outskirts of Konoha, and then moving in for a couple of years with her grandfather. She took care of putting away all of her winter equipment in her coat closet, before going to the kitchen to fix some lunch, not bothered by the fact that it was actually three in the afternoon. While doing so, she thought about meeting the neighbors on her floor. She knew she wouldn't have to worry much longer about the lady upstairs and her children, because when she had gone up one flight of stairs to complain, she had seen a few moving boxes. A loud 'thump' from above punctuated her thought.
Letting her thoughts stray, she wondered about the next day, what kind of people she would meet, how well they would get along, precisely what kind of work she would be doing...she snapped back to reality when the doorbell rang.
"Hello? My name is Koyama Sado; I live down the hall. I'm out of tea and I have guests… Do you mind if I borrowed some of yours?"
Fujie opened the door to reveal a tall dark-haired man smiling apologetically, wringing his hands. She grinned back, inviting him in so that she could give him some spare green tea she had.
"It's in the cupboard, up there. I can't quite reach it…" she laughed, blushing at the difference between their heights.
"You're welcome to join us you know. It's just a small get together with some of my friends, Miss…?"
"Oda Fujie. But please, call me Fujie, we are neighbors now."
"Yes, I couldn't help but notice all the boxes. Did you move in not recently?"
"I arrived on Monday," she answered, seeing him reach for the top shelf effortlessly, "I would love to come, but as you can see, it's a mess here, and I start work tomorrow, so I have to unpack while I still have some free time…" she trailed off, glancing at the piles of boxes set in every corner.
"You start work on a Thursday? Odd, but we'll see each other another time then," he said charmingly, his grey eyes smiling.
"With pleasure, Sado-san." she replied, accompanying him back to the doorway and giving him a small wave.
She closed the door and slumped against it. Then, she tried to motivate herself, rolling up her sleeves and turning some music on her phonograph. She began cleaning surfaces, opening boxes, putting her belongings away. By the end of the day, when she dropped onto her bed, a futon mattress set on the floor, she fell asleep immediately, still in her dusty clothes.