I own no one and nothing

Please do not sue me

I'm poor anyway

Chapter Nine

"One, two, three, heave," the line of men and women pulled with all their strength. Slowly but surly the wall was hauled into place. Teams of genin danced around the framework, placing nails as quickly as possible to secure the structure.

When Hiraku had accepted the position of Otokage this was one problem he had not anticipated. His previous forays into the Hidden Village of Sound had been quick, in and out. At the time it had been a very bad idea to linger longer than was necessary. That was how he had missed something that was now blatantly obvious.

The shapeshifter's new abode was not in the greatest condition. True, Hiraku had an excellent fighting force, even if it was a bit smaller than he liked. The shinobi areas of the village were fine for the most part, the civilian, not so much.

With very few exceptions, Orochimaru had regarded his men like fodder. In the snake sannin's eyes, their only value was what they could do for him. If that meant sacrificing his own men for power, he would do it in a heartbeat. His fight against the Third Hokage had been proof enough of that.

Orochimaru's regard, or lack there of, was even more extreme when it came to the civilian population. They were basically slaves. The only reason he had bothered with them at all was that his ninja needed to eat. None of the legitimate suppliers had been willing to deal with the renegade ninja.

It was a rare non-ninja in the Hidden Village of Sound that had a proper home, not to mention other basic supplies. The only reason most of them hadn't run off was fear of the possible consequences. The powerful shinobi hadn't been one to cross. That, and they had nowhere else to go.

Hiraku had set about fixing the problem immediately. When he said things were going to change in Oto, he had meant it. The civilians were part of the village too. He and Akira had sacrificed their own funds in addition to dipping into Orochimaru's treasury to temporarily put a stop to missions outside the village. The new Otokage had instead put his ninja to work rebuilding parts of the city and helping their counterparts prepare for the coming harvest. The medics had set up a free clinic, treating illnesses and injuries that had gone unacknowledged for far too long.

It wasn't simply the physical they were fixing either. It was the people too. Though conditions were harsh, everyone appeared to be in fine spirits. A shinobi thanked a young woman who offered him a glass of water. A group of teens were showing the academy students how to pull the husks off corn. Everywhere people were talking, laughing. For the first time many of them could remember, the village felt like a real home.

The shapeshifter watched it all, a soft smile on his lips. It was a good start. His hand shot up on reflex to catch a small object that had been thrown at his head. He blinked, looking down at the item; it was a rag.

"Hey Hiraku," his partner teased. "You going to use that hammer or should I do this myself." It was obvious, to Akira at least, that the other's mind had been else ware.

Hiraku rolled his eyes, reaching down to grab another nail. Of course he was going to help. After all, he lived here as well. As they worked, the shapeshifter was oblivious to the looks of respect that were being directed his way. That the violet-eyed man was actually doing something, as oppose to standing around watching, was a point in his favor.

Akira however did notice, and he approved. In his opinion, the younger man would make a great leader. The poison-user was glad his partner had accepted, and not only because he could see Temari more often. Quite frankly, Hiraku's talents had been wasted as a missing nin.

It would have surprised the brunette to know that Kyuubi agreed with him. Plus, the demon fox was hoping the addition of a stable home and a family would help calm his host down some. He was getting way too old to deal with this shit, never mind that the bjuu were immortal.

Not for the first time since learning of his friend and partner's past, Akira shook his head at Konoha's foolishness. How had they let such a treasure slip through their fingers? Oh well, he supposed it didn't matter. After all, Leaf's loss was their gain.

The poison-user hid a grin as an awe-struck youth held up a bucket of nails for Hiraku, who was now a good four feet off the ground. A quote he had heard once came to him then. If your people fear you, they will fight for you. But if they love you, then they will die for you. From what Akira could see, his partner was well on his way to belonging to the later category.

Omake

"Akira, could you hand me a wrench." There was no answer. Frowning, the shapeshifter turned to look at his partner.

The brunette was staring off into space, a blank look on his face.

Hiraku took a few steps forward in concern. It wasn't like the ex-grass nin to space out like this. "Yo," he waved a hand in front of the other's face. "Earth to Akira Dokuzo."

Green eyes blinked. "Huh?"

"What's up?" the shapeshifter asked. "You looked like you were a million miles away."

Akira shrugged. "Just a thought."

"Go on."

"If you are here, who is doing all the paperwork?"

Hiraku stared at his partner as if the other was insane. "Now why would I do that when I have perfectly good shadow clones to do it for me?" Else ware a number of other powerful ninja, and one kage bushin, sneezed before returning to the mountains of paperwork that still awaited their attention.

Only one of them knew why. The clone glowered before signing another document. Hiraku would pay for this, it promised itself. Somehow.

RtFRtFRtF

Just a few more days of freedom before I have to go back to school

What a bummer

On the other hand, I will no longer need to share a computer

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