It was an early spring morning, cold and windy despite the clear sky and unhindered sunlight. Ino took the keys out of her pocket and inserted it into the door lock to her flower shop, fiddling with it a bit before she heard the click of the mechanism. Inside, she flipped the store sign to say 'Open', the bells on the doorframe chiming with each movement. She peeled off her windbreaker jacket, bundled it up, and threw it carelessly into a lone chair, dragging tired feet as she went to a hook which held her apron. Fingers fumbled as they tried to tie a ribbon at the back, and Ino finally settled for a messy knot that would take ages to take out later.
The back of the store was had a small greenhouse, where Ino kept her flowers and other plants, routinely checking them everyday, although the shop was only open three days a week. The small front of the shop had potted flowers off to each side, in front of glass fridges containing even more flowers, creating a path straight to the counter where Ino would sit.
The shop hadn't been hers originally. In fact, money hadn't even been involved in the switch of possession, and there was no paper stating that she and her team owned the building. But no one cared to own or put leases on rows of abandoned buildings: shops which had gone bankrupt or owners who decided to move due to a failing economy.
Ino sat herself on a foldable wooden chair, counted the money in the cashier register, and placed an open magazine in front of her, hidden by an old gardener's book. She was ready for the workday ahead, preferably staying awake.
By noontime, only a handful of customers had come in.
They would smile as they ordered and bought their flowers, saying it was for a loved one or to congratulate a friend. Some would pull out the coins in their pocket and bargain with her, wondering what they could get with the money they had. Ino would put on a smile too, helping the customers as they needed, thanking them, and wishing the customers the best of anything. She would give them tips on caring for or drying out their flowers, and she knew flower language like a spider knowing to spin a web, as if it was natural. Skills and dedication, some might say. Memory and facts was all it was to Ino.
At 12:30, it was lunch break. Immediately, Ino hopped off her chair and went to the front door to switch the shop sign to 'Closed', using the attached plastic clock to show she would be back at 1:30. she opened the cashier register and pulled out a few hundred yen for her lunch and made her way to the back to retrieve her jacket. The consequences of creating the messy knot kept her a few minutes, and by the time she had freed herself, the familiar tinkling of the hanging doorbells floated into the backroom. She looked back at her apron and the matching, heavily crinkled cloth ties. Curse this, she thought, and curse those who can't read a damn sign! She was not about to put on that apron even one more time than necessary in a day. At times like these, she really questioned the reason she kept this shop. It was becoming more like a burden than a source of luxury.
Ino shrugged on her jacket, not caring about her shopkeeper appearance, and turned her direction to the front, reluctant on facing another client when all she wanted to do was eat and sleep. She walked out and stood beside her counter, a lanky boy in her line of vision, whose brown eyes darted around seemingly nervousness.
"Hi," Ino started politely, "I'm just about to go for lunch. Would you mind coming back in an hour or so?"
"I—I'll be quick! I promise. I just," the boy stammered, "I just have to get some flowers for someone." He watched her, waiting for an answer. Inwardly, Ino cringed. He looked like he could cry if she said no. She sighed softly and gave in, pasting on a professional smile and artfully hiding her annoyance.
"Alright," she said. "Who are you getting them for? A special girl? Family?"
"Actually, I'm here to pick up roses," he informed her. "A dozen, I think." He reached into his pocket and brought out a slip of paper and handed it to her. Ino took it and scanned it over. She smiled, almost triumphantly.
"I have what you're looking for. They just cam in the other day." She took a pen and signed her name on the slip of paper and gave it back to the boy. "Wait here. I'll go get them for you." She disappeared to the back, only to reappear with twelve deep-red roses in her arms, green water-capsule fixed onto each stem.
"Would you like them wrapped?"
He nodded his head enthusiastically. Brown locks fell over his face as he watched her hands skillfully wrap the roses in cellophane and coloured tissues, lastly tying hemp string around it with precision. She presented the bouquet to him, which he took gratefully. The boy shifted the roses into one arm and held out an envelope in the other.
"I was told this would be your payment." He placed it on the counter and slid it towards her. He smiled. "Don't do anything stupid." He thanked her, and left the shop.
When the sound of the boy's footsteps faded out of hearing], the kind smile Ino had worn changed into a knowing smirk. She grabbed the envelope and untucked the flap. The feel of valuable textured paper under her fingers was heaven. She took out the thick stack and counted.
¥6,000,000 exact was the total. (AN: ~56k US, ~72k Can)
From that, she removed ¥200,000 and deposited it into another envelope and slipped it into the inside pocket of her jacket. Her share.
Ino took the original envelope and licked and sealed it. In her nicest writing, she wrote 'Congratulations' on the front. Next, she put together a simple bouquet of spring flowers and wrapped it, taping the envelope to the cellophane. She folded a cardboard box into shape and placed in the bouquet, cushioning the sides with Styrofoam fill. After closing the box with a clear sealing tape, she filled out an address form and stuck it on. She took a step back to study her handiwork, and grinned.
Ah yes, this is the reason I have this shop. She picked up the box and walked out the door to the post office, the bells chiming happily behind her.
"It's just like the old days," the old postman said. He stamped 'Fragile' and 'This way up' onto the box and continued talking. "Flowers were a main attraction in this village. It's wonderful that a young girl like you has decided to continue it." He had to admit, since she had started her shop, his business had improved with all the flower delivers she made. He smiled at Ino, who was sitting in her regular spot on a chair at the desk, her chin cradled in the palm of her hand. "You must be getting real rich."
Ino nodded and hummed in agreement. "The profits are a lot better than I expected." She got off the chair and headed out the door, waving over her shoulder. "Have a good day."
The sun was setting. A short girl with blue-purple eyes silently walked down steps leading below ground level and glanced over her shoulder every so often in case of followers. Her mind kept track of the number of steps she took; it was a safety caution if she was inhibited from seeing her pathway. Once at the bottom, she stood facing a wooden door painted slate grey, a strange attempted to make the warped wood look metal.
Hesitantly, she curled her hand into a loose fist and knocked, quickly, but in a pattern. The muffled movements of feet warned the girl to move back, unless she was willing to receive a cracked nose from the outwards swing of the door. The girl cast her eyes to the side and chewed her lip. She was late. She hated being late, and she hoped no one would be mad at her. She hated it when people were mad at her too.
The door opened a sliver, then widened enough to let the recognized guest enter. The boy with shaded glasses on the other side of the door gave a curt nod and left it open for her. She ducked through and followed the boy, pushing the door with the heel of her foot to close it. The girl took a turn and immediately entered a doorless room. Situated inside was a single light bulb dangling from the center of the ceiling over a round table where two people, a woman and a boy, were already sitting.
"You're late, Hinata," the woman said sternly. The boy who had let her in took a seat in one of the two unoccupied chaired. The girl squeezed her eyes shut and bowed.
"Gomen nasai!" she said desperately. In the back of her mind, she wondered that if she was late enough times, she would be thrown out of the group. Or she would be forced to clean people's shoes and weaponry like in the ninja school, keeping someone weak like her out of the way of 'others who want to attain their goals'. Maybe she would be beaten too. Other outrageous thoughts flitted through her head before she forced herself to quell them. Kurenai-sensei would never do that.
When silence met her, she opened her eyes and uncertainly looked up. Kurenai looked at her in the eye, assessing her. Then, she smiled, a simple quirk of the lips, which stated 'you-are-forgiven'. Hinata let out a breath she did not realize she held, and smiled back. She straightened and fixed herself and took seat in the last foldable chair.
"New contacts?" Kurenai changed topics conversationally. a second passed before the subject clicked in Hinata's mind. She gave a nod and blushed. Her contacts were coloured and this time matched the shade of her hair. The pupil was black, but it worked something like a one-way mirror. Using contacts was a lot easier than keeping a henge nearly 24/7 to hide white eyes that screamed shinobi.
"Well, let's start the meeting," Kurenai turned to the boy with the glasses, Shino, and crossed her arms and leaned back into her chair.
Shino stood up, pulled out a scroll from his coat, and unraveled it onto the tabletop. The scroll contained the schematics diagram for a house. By measurements, the house was small and simple. A bungalow, one level. But its seemingly poor size was deceiving, as its occupant was a stingy old man who gave nothing to the village and kept whatever he had for himself and bought everything on discount. A penny-saver. And a paranoid.
The diagram was courtesy of Shino and his bugs working in arms. As it had been for the last two years or so, Shino's bugs would make themselves at home in the victim-to-be's house and collect data, reporting it back to their owner to draw out quite accurately.
An eye-catching blue 'X' told of where the safe in the house was. Good, a safe meant riches were concentrated into one area.
"The lock is a 5-number combination, but it's pretty basic." He turned to nod at Hinata. He continued on his explanation.
"The stairs and wood flooring creek loudly here." He circled a few areas with his index finger. "Stepping there would easily alert anyone in the house." Then, he pointed to the windows closest to the safe and further away from the most frequented rooms. "No one opens these. There are traps attached to them." Figures, they all thought, amateurs would try the most direct route. Unfortunately now, all the routes that were left were front windows that were painfully easy to see, or a kitchen door on the side of house.
"We could take the same house route he does, since there aren't any traps the way he goes. That would also be unexpected for him," Shino offered. His voice indicated there was more to be said. "Then again, Akamaru watched the daily routines of the man and the housekeeper." Shino turned to nod at Kiba.
Kiba continued for Shino, who sat down. "The housekeeper arrives in the morning around 7 o'clock and leaves by five, every day except Sundays. Old man here goes off every evening doing who knows what for an hour or so, comes home, checks his safe, and goes to bed." He smirked. The meaning was clear: attack when no one is home. A simple in and out robbery.
This was probably one of the easiest burglaries they've had.
"Do we smash the windows and break the door? Or should we leave it for the grinch to have a heart failure from surprise?" asked Kiba with a mischievous gleam in his eyes.
Heart failure. "I think we should—um, leave everything as it is," opinioned Hinata. Three eyes shifted in her direction, which caused her to duck her head and blush.
"I second that," said Kiba's voice. Kurenai and Shino just nodded their heads.
"So," cut in Shino. "Kiba will keep guard. I'll pick the locks, and Hinata will open the safe. Got it?" His teammates nodded. "Two nights from now, 8 o'clock." Another nod from each person confirmed it a yes.
Kurenai sat in the background and watched her students taking charge of the meeting, and smiled a small smile. They were growing up. "Good. Let's dip into our funds."
On another side of town, Team 7 sat in their living room. Rather, one napped, another one was leaning against the wall, and the last one was sitting on the couch and fighting heavy lids. The battery-operated lamp was close to needing replacements, and the temperature was cold from the lack of electric heating.
Team 7 had been waiting for hours, and finally, unable to go out anywhere in case of missing the person, they had run out of things to do around the house and collapsed together in the living room. Minutes more passed and the napping blond woke up, grudgingly rubbing his eyes and scowled at the fact he, Sasuke, and Sakura were still waiting for the god damned late sensei.
Suddenly, a dark blur and a slice of gray whizzed through a somehow opened window and settled itself in the middle of the room. Instantly, they recognized the figure.
"YOU!" Naruto and Sakura pointed their fingers accusingly at the intruder in unison. "YOU ARE LATE!!"
"aaa…konnichiwa," the man scratched the back of his head and smiled nervously.
" 'konnichiwa'? Dammit!" Sakura told off, "It's practically the next day!"
"Well, you see…there was this pregnant woman and--"
"LIAR!"
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Erp…so yeah, the chapters are kinda short ^^;; and I can't really do creative writing..so I have a deficiency in this area (La la la la la) Things might be moving really fast because I can't think of many in-between scenes to add.
Thnx for those who reviewd (or even just read)! It was, and is, very much appreciated. =D
Konnichiwa = a greeting to say in the afternoon time, often between 12 and 5pm (= good afternoon/good day.)