The Daimyo

by EyeWasBored

In which a Daimyo decides to become more proactive. O/C. Rated M for violence, and blood. AU.

20. Chapter 20

'Thoughts/Signing/Written Words'

"Speaking"

"Seal Symbols/Words"

Flashbacks

Disclaimer: I own nothing from Masashi Kishimoto.

A/N: It's been a long time. I've been struggling with the direction of the story as of late with a very large writer's block. Nonetheless, I hope you still enjoy.

Chapter 20

Sora stirred awake when she felt small fingers poking her cheek. Hesitantly at first, but it quickly grew insistent as she felt a warm tiny soul flicker with faux bravery and determination. Groaning softly, she opened her eyes. Once they were adjusted to the low lit room, a pair of large doe eyes were scowling down at her. Short spiky hair drooped slightly over their forehead as they remained crouched above her. She could feel Crow's soul flickering in amusement nearby. The rest of Team Ro's soul felt awkward and unsure as to how to proceed.

"Quit hugging aniki," the young three year old boy demanded. His nose scrunching down at her in distaste as his gaze shifted from her to the arm she had wrapped around the sleeping Itachi.

"I'll just have to hug you instead then," Sora declared as she let go of the older sibling. Reaching up to tug the boy down on top of her, she squeezed him into her chest.

The toddler let out a yelp of surprise before thrashing around to free himself. When one of his kicks nearly hit Itachi, she softly mumbled, "Careful. You'll wake up your brother."

The boy stopped moving immediately and turned to look at his older brother. She could feel his soul flickering between awe and guilt. Reaching up to run her fingers gently through the younger Uchiha's hair, he turned towards her with wide eyes, surprised by her sudden touch.

Sora gave him a sleepy smile. "Sleep allows the body to recover from many things, little one. And your brother needs it." Pulling her fingers back from his hair, she gave him a serious gaze. "So, you could either choose to allow him to sleep, or risk waking him up. The choice is yours."

The young toddler looked at her in thought before turning his gaze back at his older brother. After a few more seconds, he looked at the civilian woman curiously. "Who are you?" he asked, deciding that this strange civilian woman might be a weirdo, similar to his new blonde 'friend' he had met at the market the previous day.

Resuming running her fingers softly through his hair, she answered softly, "A friend of your brother's. You may call me Sora. And you?"

"Uchiha Sasuke," the boy stated proudly.

Sora gave him a grin as she tucked the younger sibling to lay between her and Itachi. Once he settled down, she gave him a small squeeze and muttered tiredly, "Go back to sleep, Sasuke-san. It's much too early to be up."

The young three year old toddler's eyes widened at the honorific. "You're weird," he concluded as he snuggled into the warm arms wrapped around him.

Sora lips quirked at his statement as she tucked herself around him as sleep consumed them both.

The next time Sora woke up, she felt someone's hand shaking her shoulder softly. Then a familiar voice.

"Nee-chan," they had said softly.

Sora nuzzled into her pillow one last time before opening her eyes to see a pair of black eyes staring down at her.

"You should let otouto go. He needs to use the bathroom," Itachi informed her.

Sora looked over at the three year old beside her, who had nodded with pink cheeks. "I really, really have to go."

Sora chuckled. "Sorry," she said as she untangled her arms from him.

She slowly sat up as the young toddler made a dash off the bed and out the door. She blinked when the door shut behind him. Turning to the nine year old boy beside her, she gave him a grin. "You're right, 'Tachi-kun," she said. "He is quite cute."

Itachi gave a nod in agreement, glad to see that she had thought the same. Sora gave him a soft flick on his forehead in greeting, which resulted in his cheeks flushing slightly before he quickly looked away. Giving him a small chuckle, Sora began stretching out her arms as she looked out the window. The sun had begun to just barely rise over the horizon.

"What's the plan for today?" she asked him, as she got off the bed to walk towards her luggage bags.

Itachi sat on the edge of his bed as he watched her open one of the bags. "Hokage-sama has assigned me to another Genin team. I will be meeting them today," he answered.

Feeling how his soul had flickered in anxiousness, Sora turned around to look at him. "What time?"

"In three hours," he answered, giving her a questioning look.

"Just enough time then," she muttered. "Accompany me this morning?"

Itachi looked at her curiously before giving her a nod.

Sora beamed him a smile as she turned to open the unzipped luggage bag. What she saw made her fingers twitch. "How am I supposed to move in these, Ma-san?" she mumbled to herself.

"Nee-chan?" Itachi asked as he came up beside her. He had heard her grumble earlier, but not quite catching her words. Upon glancing at the clothes in the luggage bag, his only response was, "Aah."

"Aah indeed, Tachi-kun," she said in agreement.

The clothes that Masamaru packed were not just any regular kimono, but kimono that women in feudal courts wore. They were extremely restrictive and cumbersome to put on, unlike the ones she typically wore. Taking in a deep breath, she rummaged through the bag. The feel of the fabric against her skin told her that every single kimono was made of silk, which made her groan in frustration. Silk was the worst material to run around in. She paused when her fingertips brushed against cotton at the very bottom of the bag.

"Aha!" she exclaimed, pulling out the kimono.

Her triumphant smile turned into a frown as she opened up a navy blue kimono. Displayed on the back bottom of the kimono were large golden outline of mountains. The same mountains on a painting hung right behind the Daimyo's seat back at the Capitol. She let out a soft sigh as she ran her fingers across the simple golden obi that was placed in between the kimono layers.

"Masamaru, you dum dum," she muttered, knowing the blacksmith's intentions behind this particular kimono. He was trying to make it as painless as possible for her by ripping the bandage fast, rather than peeling it slowly off. "At least I can run in it."

Feeling his questioning stare, she turn to give Itachi a small but warm smile. "Let's get ready, Tachi-kun," she said as she stood up with her kimono. "I can't make you late to your team meeting."

Itachi gave a nod as he led her to the guest bathroom. After a quick shower, Sora made sure her back was facing away from Fox when she put on the golden inner kimono layer. After putting the rest of the kimono on, Sora quickly wrapped the golden obi around her waist and formed a bow. Seeing her sightly damp locks of hair, she withdrew two simple golden metal clips from her sleeves and clipped her hair out of her face.

Once done, she gathered her things. Opening the bathroom door, she paused to see the Uchiha matriarch standing in front of her. "Good morning, Uchiha-sama," Sora greeted with a bow.

"Good morning, Daimyo-sama," Mikoto said as she gave a slight bow. "I'll show you to the guest room. Itachi-kun has already placed your bags inside."

"Thank you, Uchiha-sama."

As she followed Mikoto, Sora ignored the discrete side glances from the dark haired woman as they came to a door at the end of the hall.

"Daimyo-sama, Itachi-kun had informed me that you'll both be leaving soon," Mikoto said as she opened the door.

The guest room was a simple traditional Japanese room with a single futon and blanket laid out in the center of the room. A small coffee table set alongside the length of the futon. On the wooden surface was an ink stone and an ink brush. Beside a large window overlooking the courtyard was a dresser with it's drawers opened. Her luggage bags were placed in front of it.

"Yes, Uchiha-sama," Sora confirmed as she entered behind the dark haired woman. "I had wanted to take him somewhere before his team meeting."

Mikoto said nothing as she watched the ruby haired woman put her things back into her luggage bags. "I hope this room is to your liking, Daimyo-sama. You are more than welcome to put your belongings inside the empty dresser."

Sora looked up to give Mikoto a smile. "Thank you."

Mikoto watched as Sora shuffled through her bags. Before she could offer to help the young Daimyo, her son's voice from the hallway stopped her.

"Fujiwara-san," Itachi said, making both woman look towards the entrance of the room. Itachi was standing there fully dressed with a black shirt and pant. Bandages were wrapped around the bottoms of his pants to keep his shins protected. The typical shinobi socks and slippers completed his look. "Let me get my gear then we can head out."

Sora nodded. "Take your blades too," she reminded.

Itachi looked at his mother than back at Sora before giving a nod and leaving. He had caught the analyzing look his mother had given Sora when she mentioned his blades. While he had an inkling that his father knew of his friendship with the ruby haired girl, he's never told his mother about meeting her in the frontlines all those years ago. Not even Shisui, his best friend and cousin, knew of her.

'I'll have to introduce them as soon as Shisui gets back,' Itachi reminded himself.

When Itachi left, Mikoto gave Sora a smile, though it looked a bit strained. "If you need anything, please do not hesitate to ask, Daimyo-sama. My husband left to attend a meeting, so please excuse his absence."

Sora watched as the Uchiha matriarch left the room. Once she was the only one in the room with Team Ro, she internally sighed. 'I hope this weird tension subside soon.'

Whether or not it was because she had entered the house with Itachi asleep in her arms, or not disclosing her status, Sora wasn't sure. All she knew was that Mikoto's soul had flickered between confusion, suspicion, and envy. Reminding herself to ease the tension in the future, Sora reached into her luggage bag to pull out a pair of white socks. Something fell onto the floor making a small jingle sound. Bending down to pick it up, Sora recognized it immediately. It was a silver anklet with small bells attached throughout the metal chains. Debating on whether or not to wear it for a few seconds, Sora sat on the floor. Carefully rolling up her kimono slightly, she sat down to put on her socks. Keeping her knees bent, she wrapped the anklet chain around her right ankle.

Hearing footsteps walking towards the entrance, she closed the locket around the chain and looked up to see Itachi in full gear. Resting against his left hip were two tanto blades, while a small pack was on the other hip. In his right hand was his katana. The broken leather strap attached to the sheath was gathered into a bow as it dangled off to the side.

"Ready?" she asked him as she got up.

Itachi nodded. His eyes paused at the silver anklet but did not comment. As she stood up, the bells on the anklet softly chimed away as they both entered the hallway. In the waiting room, they saw Mikoto standing near the entrance to the house.

"Will you be joining us for dinner, Daimyo-sama?" Mikoto asked.

"If nothing comes up and if you'll have me, then I'll be happy to join," Sora answered with a grin.

Mikoto's eyes widened slightly before she recollected herself. "Of course you're more than welcome to join, Daimyo-sama," she declared with a genuine smile. Looking at her eldest son, she asked, "Will you be back in time for dinner too?"

"Yes, Hahaue," Itachi answered as he watched the interaction between the two woman, relieved that the tension had disappeared somewhat. Not wanting anything to happen just in case, he looked at Sora and asked, "Shall we go?"

"Take me too," a little voice cried out from behind them.

Everyone turned around to see a stumbling Sasuke who was trying to put on his socks while running at the same time. His tiny feet stumbled over one another as he began to trip forward. Itachi was in front of him in seconds as he caught his younger sibling before he could fall. Righting him up, Itachi pulled Sasuke's socks up before flicking the boy's forehead lightly.

The way that Sora's eyes sparkled in fondness did not go unnoticed by the Uchiha matriarch.

'That's where he gets it from,' Crow thought as he watched his younger cousins interact.

Sasuke gave Itachi a scowl, used to the forehead flicks by now. "You can't come with me today otouto," Itachi said softly.

Sasuke's eyes widened before looking behind his brother to scowl at the ruby haired woman standing near the doorway. "You're stealing him away," he accused.

Itachi's eyes widened at his younger sibling while Mikoto gaped at her son's boldness. Before either one can say anything, Sora was crouched down at eye level in front of the three year old toddler.

"Sasuke-san," she said firmly. Placing her hands on her lap, she continued, "No one is stealing Itachi-kun away from you." Seeing the wobble of the young boy's chin, Sora's gaze softened, but kept her voice firm. "Your brother is accompanying me to Masamaru's Weapons Shop to fix his sheath. You're much too young right now to enter the shop."

Everyone in the room looked at her in shock, including the small toddler in front of her. Most adults would've given a child his age a white lie, but she had told him the truth.

Ignoring them, Sora continued, "When you become a Genin, Sasuke-san, come find me. I'll get you fitted to your blade, the same way I got Itachi-kun fitted to his tanto blades."

Sasuke's eyes widened at her words. She didn't say if. She said when. Like she wholeheartedly believe that he would become a Genin. With determination in his eyes, he gave a nod. "I will."

Sora's smile widened. "I'll be waiting for your visit then."

Sora got up to stand as she turned to exit the Uchiha main house. Neko was to her left, while Itachi settled on her right. The rest of Team Ro followed behind them in the shadows. As they walked into the streets, Sora could feel Itachi's glances. Without looking at him, Sora reached down to grab onto Itachi's smaller hand as they walked towards a civilian district instead of towards the weapons shop.

"Penny for your thoughts?" she asked the quiet boy by her side.

Itachi looked at her before giving her hand a squeeze. He muttered, "You speak to otouto the same way you speak to me. As if he is an adult, instead of a child."

Sora gave his hand a squeeze at his statement. "Sasuke-san would not have appreciated it if I were to treat him like I would other children his age." She gazed softly at him as they continued walking, "Despite being only three, he already wants to be treated as an equal. Someone who's own thoughts are valued and respected." She gave him a pointed look, "That remind you of anyone?"

"Aah," Itachi muttered, knowing exactly who she was referring to. Himself.

Sora's lips quirked at his response. "Children tend to emulate those that they look up to, 'Tachi-kun."

"Otouto is otouto," he stated matter of factly.

"True," Sora said in agreement. "Sasuke-san can only be the best Sasuke-san he can be." Looking down at the nine year old boy, she added, "However, he doesn't understand that yet. But that's why he has you there by his side."

Itachi turned his head to look at her. "You too."

Sora's gaze softened at him. "Always," Sora promised. Giving his hand one last squeeze, she said, "Come." Pulling Itachi further into the street, she continued, "Let's grab a quick bite. I've been meaning to take you here since they've first opened."

Sora stopped in front of a civilian house. The sweet smell of baked mochi wafted out of the house and into the streets. A small sign was placed outside next to the bench that read, 'Mochi Donuts'. A child's painting of small mochi balls decorated the bottom of the sign. Pulling the nine year old boy alongside her, they entered the small shop. An elderly man was standing behind the register counter with a five year old sitting on a stool. Next to them was a display case displaying mochi balls formed into a ring. There were so many different types of flavors, such as cherry blossom, peaches, and taro. Behind the glass display was an elderly woman, who was prepping empty bakery boxes with parchment paper.

Seeing who had entered the shop, the elderly woman exclaimed from behind the display case, "Sora, I mean, Daimyo-sama! Good morning."

Sora grinned. "Good morning Chi-san," she greeted back. Looking at the elderly man and the child by his side, she continued, "Muta-san and Aku-kun."

They greeted her back. Seeing the young Uchiha heir by her side, they gave him a smile. Muta chuckled at Sora. "Brought us another customer?"

Sora grinned as she tugged the nine year old boy closer to her. "This is Itachi-kun," she said. Looking at Itachi, she continued, "This is Muta-san and Chi-san. They're the owners of Mochi Donuts. Aku-kun is their grandson."

"Good morning," Itachi greeted softly.

They all grinned. "Good morning, Itachi-san."

Pulling Itachi to the display case, Sora muttered, "Feel free to choose whichever flavor you'd like to try." She pointed to the cookies 'n cream mochi donuts, "This one's my favorite."

Itachi gave a nod as he looked at the selection while Sora took a step back. Turning to look at the Anbu member next to her, she gave him a smile. "What flavors would you and the others like to try next, Neko-san?"

Neko blinked at her before stepping beside the Uchiha heir. As he peered at the display case, the rest of his team appeared. His captain, however, decided to stay back with their client.

Sora gave Hound a glance before pointing to the mint green mochi donut rings. "If the original glazed one wasn't to your liking, you can try the matcha flavored ones." Looking up at him, she continued, "It is less sweet."

Hound gave her a look before giving a nod to Neko.

As everyone told Chi their orders, Sora felt a familiar soul approaching them from a distance.

"Chi-san, can I also get a medium box of your assorted flavors, as well as a small box of your mango mochi donuts?" Sora asked as she walked towards Muta.

"Of course," Chi replied with a grin.

As Sora paid for everyone's orders, she said her farewells to the trio. Walking towards a bench across the street, she gestured Itachi to sit down as she placed the three boxes down. On top of the boxes was a bundle of disposable chopsticks. Handing one to Itachi and keeping one for herself, she gave the rest to Neko, knowing that he'd pass them to the others. Opening the top small box, she gave it to Neko first. As he grabbed his peach flavored mochi donut, he circulated the box to the rest of his team. Returning the box back to her, there were two rings left: one cookies 'n cream, and one adzuki bean. Sora took her set of chopsticks, snapped it cleanly apart, and proceeded to separate some of the mochi balls.

Itachi parted his chopsticks and separated his balls too, understanding that Sora intended to share her flavored mochi balls with him. Placing an adzuki bean mochi ball in his mouth, his eyes glazed in wonder. It was crispy on the outside but soft and chewy on the inside.

Sora gave him a grin as his eyes lit up. "Good?" she asked, popping a cookies 'n cream mochi ball in her mouth.

Itachi gave a nod. "It's not the same as dango," he admitted. "But it is good."

"Try some of the cookies 'n cream ones too, Tachi-kun," she said, giving him a wink.

Nudging some of her mochi balls towards Itachi, she grabbed another one. As she ate, she felt the familiar warm soul hide in a tree behind the bench. The same location Hound was currently at. Quick flickers from their souls let her know that they were having a conversation. Paying them no mind, she looked down to see that Itachi had eaten the rest of the mochi donuts.

She grinned at him. "Shall we go?"

Itachi nodded as she placed her chopstick into the empty box. Itachi did the same before she closed it. Picking up the remaining two boxes of mochi donuts, she threw away the empty one into the trash nearby. As they resumed walking, Sora ignored the curious flickers of the soul from the additional person jumping alongside Hound in the tree line.

When they neared Masamaru's Weapons Shop, Sora felt multiple souls coming from inside. Two were upstairs, and ten were in the Training Floor. Seven of which she recognized as some of the Career Genins from yesterday. Knowing that the shop wouldn't be open for another two hours, she went around the side of the shop towards the alley. She paused when she saw an older man with gray hair and mustache grumbling to himself. His soul was flickering in frustration, desperation, and hopelessness. He was exiting a boarded cement building that was for sale.

As he walked away, Sora turned her attention to Itachi. "Have you've been inside here yet?"

"Not this one," Itachi answered. "Genin are not allowed to enter."

Sora blinked at him surprised. "Who made that a rule?"

It was his turn to look surprised. "But Minzuki-sensei had said that there were strict protocols that the shop owner had instilled, especially for Genin."

"To protect both staff members and our customers, including Genin," Sora nodded in confirmation as they entered the alley between the shop and vacant building for sale. "But never anything about banning Genin. The only ones we do ban are Academy Students."

"Academy Students?" Itachi asked, confused.

Sora nodded as the cobbled pavement turned into a dirt path. "They're not ready to wield a chakra induction weapon," she said as she led the group to the Testing Grounds and Warehouse. Seeing the open doorway into the shop, Sora grinned at Itachi.

"Welcome to Konohagakure's Masamaru's Weapons Shop, Tachi-kun," she said.

As soon as everyone entered into the sitting area, the entrance immediately got smaller until it was just a wall. Giving the surprised entourage a wink, she continued, "You get to be the lucky few who gets to enter the staff quarters." Grinning at Itachi, she gave him a smile. "You should visit the front once the shop opens. Feel free to bring your team too."

Itachi nodded as they walked up the stairs and entered a small kitchen. Only pausing to set the boxes of mochi donuts on the small circular dining table, she went out towards the adjacent room. "Come."

As they filed into the room, everyone blinked to see a wall covered in multiple sharp tools. Rolls of leather, black fabric, and wire were strung high along the top of another wall. A small desk was placed in the corner of the room with a sewing machine placed on top. In the center of the room was a large metal table with a built in ceramic rod along one edge. On the opposite edge was an embedded ruler.

Sora walked towards the wall covered in sharp objects to grab a small snipping shear. She watched how Team Ro spread throughout the room, each one gazing at the wall with sharp tools warily.

"This is our sheath making room," she informed them. "Most of our customers order customized blades, which require a custom made sheath."

Team Ro all looked at her and gave a nod. Everyone stepped closer towards the wall with the tools while Neko stayed close to her. The familiar soul that was accompanying them earlier kept themself hidden in the corner of the room with a Genjutsu.

Pulling out a stool from underneath the metal table, Sora asked, "Unsheathe your katana for me?"

Itachi blinked as she sat down before giving him a patient grin. Taking his blade out of its sheath, he handed the sheath to her.

Sora took the sheath from him and studied it for a bit. "I'll only fix the strap today, since the integrity of the sheath is still strong despite our spar from last night." She then turned the sheath to show Itachi the wooden seams bound together by hardened glue. "However, once you start seeing cracks appearing on the sides, you should get your sheath replaced altogether. Visible cracks makes the blade susceptible to the elements, which can cause rust to occur."

Itachi gave a nod in understanding.

"One of Io's blade," a voice commented from the entrance.

Everyone except Sora looked over to see Ai entering the room. The dark brown haired man was wearing a navy blue kimono with the same golden outline of the mountains on Sora's kimono. Except, his had the addition of tall pine trees along the ridges of the mountains.

Feeling the questioning looks from the shinobi in the room, Ai nodded towards the katana in Itachi's hand. "A fine blade for one who is just learning," he commented. Seeing the pair of tantos on the boy's hips, he continued, "Very different from the brother blades you have, yes?"

Itachi straightened up then looked at his tanto blades. "Yes," he admitted softly. "Learning the katana takes some adjusting to."

Ai gave a nod before glancing over at Sora, who was in the process of undoing the broken leather strap tied around the sheath. "Yet, I see that the sheath was not treated with the proper respect it deserves."

Ai stared momentarily at the young Uchiha who was standing at the end of the large metal table.

Feeling Itachi's soul flicker slightly in guilt, Sora looked up. "Ai-san, this is Itachi-kun." Looking at Itachi, she said, "This is Ai-san, Itachi-kun." Pulling gently on the leather strap to free it from the wooden loop, she placed both items down on the metal table. "Ai-san is responsible for providing sheaths for Ninja Weapons Shop."

"Sheaths play another importance beyond protecting the blade from the elements?" Fox asked curiously as she stood beside Itachi. In all her years learning kenjutsu, no one has ever mentioned the sheath. It was always about the blade.

Ai looked at Fox momentarily before retrieving Itachi's sheath from the metal table. "Anbu-san," he said, placing the sheath in front of them. This gathered the attention of the rest of Team Ro as they walked towards him, intrigued.

Sora glanced at the small circle forming around Ai as she got up to walk towards the roll of black fabric. Feeling eyes on her, Sora looked to see that Neko was keeping watch on her all the while listening to Ai. Giving him a knowing smile, she reached up to pull down the black fabric towards the large metal table. Tucking the end underneath the ceramic rod, she gave the fabric a sharp tug as it spread out flat against the surface of the table. Locking the ceramic rod in place to hold the fabric down, she pulled on more of the black fabric. Walking towards the edge with the embedded ruler, she pulled the fabric flush against the guide line.

"If you ask any blacksmith, they can tell you anything about what they believe what a sheath is capable of," Ai said, unbothered by the attention from the Anbu members, "For blacksmiths from Fujiwara's Guild, however, a sheath symbolizes a home. Without a home, the blade can easily be lost, forgotten, or abandoned." Ai looked at Fox before he continued, "Sheaths from Masamaru's have additional uses beyond being a home for its blade."

Fox could only watched the blacksmith in confusion as he set the sheath back onto the metal table. 'He's speaking in riddles,' she thought, not quite understanding his words.

Ai turned his gaze towards Itachi. "Come, child." He gestured towards a circular platform behind the group. "We'll get you prepared for Sora-sama."

Itachi looked at Sora, who gave him an encouraging smile. The duo went to stand underneath the roll of wire. As Itachi stood on the platform, Ai pulled down some of the wire. Crouching down in front of Itachi, Ai wrapped the wire around the Uchiha's heir's waist, being mindful of the blade in the young boy's hand.

"Would you like to keep your old strap, child?" Ai asked.

Itachi turned to look at the leather strap Sora had placed at the end of the metal table next to his sheath. "Is there a reason why?"

Ai paused in what he was doing to stare at the boy. "You are a Genin, correct?" Seeing Itachi gave a nod in confirmation, Ai unwrapped the metal wire from the Itachi's waist. Bringing the end of it for Itachi to look at, Ai asked, "See anything particular about this wire?"

Itachi looked at the man's coal eyes, then back at the metal wire. His eyes widened. Regular metal wires sold were reflective. The metal wire that Ai was shifting back and forth did not reflect any light. This could only mean one thing.

"It's a chakra conductive wire," Itachi answered in awe. Not many places sell chakra conductive wires, including Ninja Weapons Shop.

Ai gave him a nod. "Correct, child," he said as he continued wrapping it around the boy before snipping it with shears he had pulled out from his kimono sleeves. "While strong on its own, it becomes stronger when encased in the proper materials."

As Ai handed Sora the metal strip, Itachi stepped off of the platform. Sora gave Itachi a teasing grin at the look of wonder in his eyes as she lined up the wire with the edge of the fabric.

"With your old strap," Ai informed Itachi, "just a tiny bit of chakra on any portion will cause it to elongate. Leather makes it great in that it can be used as an emergency rope."

"Is that what makes Masamaru's sheaths special?" Fox asked as she watched Sora grab a circular blade from the wall. "It's accompanied by chakra conductive straps?"

"Fox-san, normal wooden sheaths would be broken upon impact with a well maintained blade," Sora said as she made the last strip of black fabric. "The sheaths provided to Ninja Weapons Shops have the capability to defend. They will never be able to cut through an opponent. The sheaths of Masamaru's Weapons Shops, however, have the capability to do both."

Team Ro tensed at this information.

Making sure the pieces were the same length, she glanced at the group. Feeling their souls flicker in confusion, she stated softly, "Chakra have the capacity to change things in your favor."

Ai nodded in agreement. "However, it comes at a great cost to those who do not know how to properly wield it."

"Which is why Masamaru's Weapons Shop bans Academy Students," Itachi recalled from their previous discussion.

Sora gave a nod in confirmation. "The chakra coils of Academy Students are still developing. As for Genins, they must pass our assessment before purchasing any chakra induction weapons."

"Assessment?" Itachi asked.

"A chakra assessment test," Ai answered, seeing how Sora was about to begin assembling the new strap. "It used to be done with Sora-sama, but now it's-."

"With me, squirt," a voice spoke from the entrance.

Everyone looked to see Masamaru leaning against the doorframe with a cup of steaming coffee. He too was wearing a navy blue kimono. Instead of pine trees, however, there were golden outlines of rivers running along the mountains. His wavy locks of gray hair shifted as his honey colored eyes glanced at the blade in the boy's hands.

"Io's?" he asked.

Ai hmmed in confirmation.

Masamaru gave Itachi a grin. "Not bad, kid." He then turned to look at Sora, and balked at her.

In her teeth, she was holding the wire tucked in between three strips of black fabric. Her fingers were moving quickly as she braided the strips of fabric down the length of the wire.

"Ra-chan," he groaned out as he walked further into the room. "We have so many free hands here. No need to be so barbaric."

Finishing up the braid, she removed the end she had kept in her mouth. Grinning at him, she said, "Ai-san was passing important information that I didn't want to interrupt."

Ai let out a sigh as he turned to look at the young boy, who was staring at the newly formed strap with recognition.

Masamaru huffed at the ruby haired woman as he tapped the side of the ceramic rod to unlock it from the metal table's edge. Reaching up, he began to roll up the black fabric. Taking a sip of his coffee, he glanced at the Uchiha heir. His gaze stayed on the pair of tanto blades resting on the boy's left hip.

"Ra-chan explained to you what those straps can do?" Masamaru asked, as he took a sip of his coffee.

Itachi followed the older blacksmith's gaze down to his tanto blades. Wrapped around his waist were two black straps. The same one that Sora had just finished making. He looked at the blacksmith and gave a nod in confirmation. "Essentially," Itachi recalled, "the cloth becomes a flint when separated from the chakra conductive wire. However, when both fabric and wire are combined with chakra, it can be used as a makeshift whip. Each time the tip touches a surface, a three feet radius explosion occurs."

Masamaru grinned as he peered over at the ruby haired woman who was attaching the new black strap to the sheath. "I quite like this squirt, Ra-chan. Let's keep him."

Sora chuckled at Masamaru as she went towards Itachi. "Itachi-kun is one of a kind, Ma-san. But, I believe he's spoken for. You'll have to ask Uchiha-sama for her permission to adopt him." Kneeling down in front of the nine year old boy, she gave him a smile. "Don't worry about the sheaths too much, Itachi-kun." She began to tie the strap around his waist, ensuring that the katana rested beside his hip, above the two tanto blades. "If someone notices the extra utilities of the sheaths, then they notice it. If they don't, then that's okay too."

"A shinobi should know all the resources they have on hand in order to properly plan," Itachi argued softly.

Masamaru chuckled at the boy. "Spoken like a true shinobi," he said. Taking another sip of his coffee, he glanced at the Uchiha heir. "Io is fully aware of what the sheaths are capable of. If he doesn't explain to his customers what they do, then that's on him."

Sora rolled her eyes at Masamaru's retort and gave Itachi back his old leather strap. "Most of Io-san's customers are not aware of what our sheaths can do because we only provide sheaths specifically for tanto and katana blades for his shop." The nine year old boy reached out to accept the broken leather strap from her. "If you find yourself in a situation where you only have your sheath for protection, it's almost always a fight to the death, Itachi-kun," she said seriously.

Itachi eyes connected with hers as he nodded at her words.

Sora gave him a grin and tugged on the strap. "Too tight, or too loose?" she asked in a lighter tone.

Itachi shook his head no. "It feels a lot easier to move around in, compared to the leather strap," he said.

Sora gave a grin. "The black fabric has more give," she said. "Leather is stiffer so it makes it difficult to maneuver, but a great way to keep the blade close to you. It's the preferred material for beginners until they get used to the feel of having the blade attached to their hip. You, however, used more force than necessary when unsheathing your blade last night."

Itachi's cheeks tinged, making her laugh. Grabbing onto his hands, she gave them a squeeze. "Come. I'll walk you out."

As Sora put away the supplies she used, Itachi said his goodbyes to Ai and Masamaru. Giving a farewell nod to Team Ro, he followed Sora down the stairs and towards the front entrance of the shop.

When Sora opened the door, Neko looked at it in bell above the door did not ring, despite him witnessing it move.

Gently flicking Itachi's forehead, Sora beamed him a warm smile, "Have a great day, 'Tachi-kun. I'll see you later."

Itachi looked at her in wonder before nodding. Sora watched as he disappeared into the streets.

Locking the door back up, she went upstairs and into the kitchen with Neko following her. "Don't you two have a meeting to go to?" she asked as she stared at the two men hovering over the boxes of mochi donuts.

Masamaru and Ai both froze and looked at one another. Masamaru sagged as he let out a loud sigh. Ai crossed his arms and leaned against the counter as the rest of Team Ro appeared into the small kitchen.

"Why can't you go instead?" Masamaru asked, taking a sip of his coffee. His eyes staring longingly at the box of mochi donuts.

Sora gave him a grin. "Cuz I'm not the one they requested."

Ai huffed at their antics. He too was glancing at the box. His breath hitched when Sora reached out to grab the larger box from underneath the smaller one. Handing it to the dark brown haired man, she grinned at him. "An ice breaker."

Masamaru glanced at the box with glee as he took the box from her before the slender man can take it. He then placed his cup of coffee into Sora's empty hand and walked out of the kitchen. Ai clicked his tongue as he quickly followed the gray haired man.

"Have a great day you two!" she chuckled out as she watched them leave. Both of them waved their hands without looking back at her.

Sora sighed as she peered into the cup in her hand. It was still half full of coffee. Taking a sniff, it was pleasing to her nose. Taking a sip, however, she cringed as she sputtered slightly. "Still too bitter," she uttered out.

Walking towards the coffeemaker, she looked at the Anbu member standing near her. "Would you and the others like something to drink, Neko-san?"

Neko watched as she poured some creamer and sugar into her cup. Taking a spoon from a drawer, she gave her coffee a stir. "If coffee isn't your brand of caffeine, we do have tea as well. There's also herbal tea if you'd like to forgo caffeine altogether."

She reached up to reveal the cupboard of clean cups and coffee saucers. Walking towards the stove, she saw that the tea kettle was still hot.

"Otouto never got to make his tea," she muttered as she looked at the cup with loose leaf tea still inside the tea infuser. She internally winced. Ai was not tolerant of stupidity without his morning tea, especially during meetings. "I hope aniki can reign him in."

Placing a cup cover to prevent any dust or dirt from falling into the tea cup, Sora turned around to see that each of the members of Team Ro had a cup in their hands. Seeing that Fox wanted tea, she moved to the side to let her get to the kettle.

Once everyone got their chosen drink, Sora took a sip of her coffee and sighed. After a few more minutes of enjoying her mostly cream and sugar with a hint of coffee mix, she set her cup down on the table. As she reached out to the box of mango flavored mochi donuts, a gloved hand came to rest on top of hers. Sora looked up to see a familiar Anbu mask of a bear standing across from her. She gave him a look of amusement when he tried to push her hands away from the box.

"You already sensed me approaching," Bear stated. Team Ro paused to look at their Commander but continued making their drinks.

"I did," Sora admitted as she moved the box of mochi donuts towards her, and out of his reach. "Can you deliver a message for me?" she asked, ignoring his scowl.

Bear glanced at her. "Only if you answer some questions."

Sora nodded as she went to take a sip of her coffee. Her other hand was still on top of the box of mango flavored mochi donuts.

"Hokage-sama wants to know where you'd be touring today," Bear stated as he studied her.

Sora quirked an eyebrow at his emotionless tone. Not questioning it though, she replied, "Jounin."

"Jounin?" he asked, wanting clarification. Jounin was a rank, not a place.

"Jounin Standby Station, to be more specific," she said, taking another sip of coffee. "I have to meet with the Jounin Commander first so I'm not quite sure the exact time I'll be at the Jounin Standby Station."

Bear blinked at her. "For?" he asked.

Sora took a sip of her coffee. "To ask a question."

"Why not me, Morino, or even Hound?" Bear asked, curious. His fingers itching to take the box from her. He internally growled when she pulled the box of mochi donuts closer to her.

"Because they and you are not the Jounin Commander, Bear-san," Sora answered. After a few seconds, she asked, "So, can you deliver that message?"

Bear crossed his arms in front of his chest. "I'm not done," he stated, flatly.

Sora gave him a chuckle. "Of course not," she said as she grabbed a stool beside her and gave it to him. Walking around the table, she took a cup and saucer plate from the cupboard and placed it in front of him as he sat down. "Tea or coffee?"

"Tea," he answered, his voice losing it's emotionless tone. He ignored the stares he was getting from Team Ro.

"The usual?" Sora asked, without turning around as she grabbed a spoon and tea infuser from the opened drawer.

"Sure," he stated.

Sora placed the spoon on the saucer and the tea infuser inside the cup. Walking over to the side of the counter to grab a glass jar with loose tea leaves, she placed it in front of Bear. Grabbing the kettle and a bamboo coaster, she placed the kettle beside his cup. Retrieving her coffee, she pulled another stool to sit directly behind Bear. Keeping her face forward, she blinked when the members of Team Ro shifted. Hound was now standing in front of her, rather than Neko. In his hand was a steaming cup of tea. Ignoring them for now, she hooked the bottom of her sandals against the wooden stool legs as she took a sip of her coffee.

"So?" she asked, letting Bear know that she was listening.

"How did you know that it was Koorogi who entered your house?" Bear asked as he poured some of the leaves into the strainer with the provided spoon.

Sora sipped her coffee before giving a response. "You want the short version or long version?"

"I want the truth," Bear answered as he poured the hot water over the leaves.

Sora rolled her eyes at his answer. "Well it started when I was out in my garden tending to my roses when out of no where, three random strangers fell from the sky and into my-."

Bear tensed slightly before he stated, "Not that detailed."

Sora gave a snort before sipping her coffee again. Cupping the warm cup in her hands, she peered into the light brown liquid. "It's cuz you guys always show up injured one way or another."

Bear faltered slightly in lifting the tea infuser before catching himself. Lifting up the cup from the saucer, he put the dripping infuser onto the saucer plate.

"I'm not a medic nin, Bear-san," Sora continued. "Yes, the Healing Pool can heal your injuries and I can remove poisons in your body, but there are limitations." She gazed turned back to look at the wall behind Hound. "I caught on pretty quick that my house was used as an emergency pit stop for Konoha shinobi. After all, why else would an abandoned house that was stocked with medical supplies and weapons be used for? Anyways, when the third squad showed up, there-." Sora paused as she took in a shaky breath as she recalled the sight she saw in her living room. "There was so much blood that I didn't even know if they were going to make it," she admitted softly. "Since then, I figured that it'll be safer for everyone if I started keying you guys into my security system."

Bear took a moment to think over her words as he moved his mask to the side. Bringing the cup to his lips, he took a sip of his tea. Letting the soft calming taste of lavender and chamomile linger in his mouth, he swallowed before asking, "Keying?"

Sora gave a hm in confirmation. "Their chakra signature is keyed into the security system. Once keyed in, they have access to the Healing Pool without me having to physically be there. If poison was in their system, it'll trigger a notification seal." Running her fingers against her cup, she continued, "If they're being pursued, two seals get activated simultaneously. One is a notification seal, and another allows them to activate the protection seals I've placed throughout the house."

"And what does your protection seals do exactly?" Bear asked.

Sora placed the cup on her lap. "It depends on which seal is activated. The strongest one is the one Koorogi-san activated. Essentially, the seal acts as a barrier. But if I'm too far away, I can't reinforce the rate in which the barrier can withstand attacks before it starts to crack."

"And the protection barrier you placed on me before the explosion, is that a seal too?" Bear asked.

Sora shook her head no, forgetting that the Anbu Commander wouldn't be able to see it. "It's… something entirely different."

Bear noted how she had paused when she had answered. "What is it then?" he asked.

Sora pursed her lips in hesitation. "I," she paused, trying to find the right words. "It's hard to explain in words."

Bear's eyebrow furrowed as he took a sip of his tea. "Is it easier to show?"

Sora nodded yes, but paused and shook her head no. "It's a bit more complicated," she muttered.

"Try," he urged gently.

Pursing her lips, she moved her stool to sit right beside Bear. "Give me your hand?"

Bear glanced at her outstretched hand before placing his inside her smaller one. He watched as she turned his palm face up at the same time placing her coffee cup on the table. With her now free hand, she placed it on top of his opened palm.

"I warned you, Bear-san," Sora muttered softly. As she lifted her hand up from his, a familiar pink glow began to hover above his palm. The glow disappeared to reveal a small pastel pink butterfly resting weakly in his palm. "Despite saving her, I told you not to let her touch you."

Bear's eyes widened as he remembered small soft fingertips resting right above where his bandaged chest was. One that was too small to belong to an adult. It definitely did not belong to the younger ruby haired teen at the time, because he was diligently watching the teenage Sora patch up his teammates. No. These fingertips belonged to viridian green eyes filled with warmth and innocence.

"She can't be no older than five, Sora," Bear muttered in shock.

"In human years, yes," Sora muttered. "My summons are unique, Bear-san. Each one having their own personality and capabilities," Sora smiled softly at the butterfly in his palm. Reaching a finger to rub the butterfly's small head, she cooed at it. Sora continued, "That night, she tied herself to you. Something she was not supposed to do, but she did it anyways because something in you mattered to her. Not Bear, the Anbu Commander, but the person behind the mask." She ignored how his soul flickered in dread as she continued, "Anytime you cannot protect yourself, she will use her powers to ensure you live to see another day. But some actions are more costly than others."

Sora watched as Bear hesitantly brush his finger against the small butterfly's head the way she had done. "She is young, even by normal standards. Creating a protection barrier of that size for someone her age should have killed her. Instead, she drew power from my chakra reserves and was forced into a slumber." After a pause, she risked looking up at him. Keeping her eyes on his and not on the revealed portion of his face, she said softly, "Bear-san, by tying herself to you, she'll die when you do."

Bear let out a choked sound, being careful not to jostle the butterfly in his hand. "Can it be reversed?" he asked weakly. Being a shinobi is already dangerous. Add the title of Anbu Commander and it's not something he wants to drag a young five year old child around, summon or not.

Sora gave him a stern gaze. "No," she said, making him tense. "Once it's done, its done." Gaze softening at him, she gently closed his fingers around the butterfly as it glowed pink.

Bear let out a small gasp as something warm spread deep within him as the pink glow disappeared, taking the butterfly with it. Reaching out to down the rest of his tea to gain a sense of reality, he ignored Sora's sound of disapproval. The way the hot water burned his tongue and throat made him recollect himself. "How come you didn't let me know beforehand?" he asked.

Sora reached out to take her cup of coffee. "She told me not to say anything. As her summoner, I'm duty bound to fulfill it."

Bear gave a nod in understanding. Summoning contracts were finicky that way. He would know. His own father had one after all. Looking at her, he asked, "As her summoner, can't you take her back?"

Sora glanced over at him from the edges of her cup. "She's safer by your side Bear-san."

"How do you know that?" he asked, unconvinced.

Sora gave him a smile full of warmth. "You saved her."

"Yeah, cuz she was going to get eaten by a freakin spider," Bear retorted.

Sora snorted. "She wouldn't have had tied herself to you if she didn't believe in your capabilities, Bear-san." Her gaze softened at him. "I trust you to keep her safe."

Bear froze. "I trust you to ensure she remains safe, Ku-chan," he recalled an older ruby haired woman telling him. Her hand was softly rubbing her round belly.

Bear clenched his fists and looked away from her. 'Don't say that,' he thought to himself. 'I don't deserve to hear those words.'

Feeling his soul flickering in sadness, Sora leaned her shoulder against his own, making his eyes widened. "When she's strong enough, I'll introduce you two then."

Bear could only nod stiffly as he swallowed the ball of momentary fear. He asked softly, "Who's your message for?"

"Koorogi-san," Sora answered before taking a sip of her coffee.

Bear's fingers twitched against the table. "And the message?"

"If I were to do it again, I wouldn't change a thing. The decision to destroy my house was my decision alone. Not his," Sora said.

"Even though he led enemy shinobi to your house?" Bear asked, not at all surprised by her message.

Sora shrugged behind him. "I figured it was going to happen sooner or later. I just thought I had more time to have a fully fleshed out back up location."

He ignored the look from Team Ro as he slipped his mask back into place. He knew as well as they did that they were witnessing him break Bear's strict persona. However, at the moment, he could care less.

'They'll learn soon enough that Sora respond better with genuineness rather than manipulative tactics,' he thought as he stood up.

Patting the tops of Sora's head, he muttered, "I'll pass it on."

Sora smiled as she pointed to the small box of mango mochi donuts behind her. "If you ask Koorogi-san nicely, I'm sure he's willing to share."

Bear's lips twitched. Before he could grab the box, Sora tugged on his flak jacket. He turned around to give her an inquisitive look.

"Here," she muttered as she reached into her kimono sleeves to pull out a blank white scroll. The word 'Neutralize' shimmered along the side of the scroll. At his questioning look, Sora gave him a pointed stare. "You asked if I've seen the self destruct seal before." Ignoring how he had stiffened, she warned, "Just don't remove them outside of the boundary lines. I do not think Konoha is ready for another drill to occur so soon."

Bear stiffened as he took the scroll from her. "How many?"

"Eight," Sora answered. "First one was a month ago."

Bear narrowed his gaze at her. "When you were first nominated."

Sora gave a single nod in confirmation. "Figured whoever was giving the order wanted to either keep me monitored or gather information." Looking at Bear, she continued, "Information that you and the others haven't already reported, I suppose."

Bear gave her a wry look. "Is there information to be told?"

Sora shrugged and gave him a cheshire grin. "A girl's gotta keep a secret or two."

Bear only hummed in disapproval before placing the scroll in his side pack. "You incapacitated them all by yourself?" he asked, studying her.

Sora grinned up at him. "Aniki did most the work. They just got stuck."

Bear's eyes narrowed at her, knowing exactly what she meant by 'stuck.' Having been ensnarled in one of her immobilizing seals before. "And this 'aniki' person is?"

"To remain in the shadows until they've deemed you worthy of an introduction," Sora chirped as she got up to place her cup in the sink. "Aniki's words. Not mine."

"Of course," Bear muttered exasperatedly as he stared at her. Getting up to pick up the box of mochi donuts, he glanced at Hound. "Sora," he warned. He watched as she turned around to look up at him. "Team Ro is not aware of your habits, unlike some of us."

Sora scrunched her nose at him. "I'm aware," she said, turning to look at Hound. "I'll try my best to prep them before I act. Though, if I suddenly flee from a room, they should flee as well then ask questions later."

Bear's gaze sharpened at her before giving her a nod. Giving one last glance at Hound, the Anbu Commander disappeared with a poof.

Sora coughed as she accidentally inhaled the smoke, waving her hands in front of her. Once the smoke cleared, she was able to breathe a bit more easily. "Not cool, Bear-san."

Feeling someone's stare, she turned around to see Hound intensely looking at her. Quirking an eyebrow at him, she muttered, "You know you can just-."

"Who incapacitated them?" Hound asked emotionlessly.

Sora continued as if she hadn't heard his question, "-take a picture, Hound-san. It lasts longer. No need to stare at me so hard."

Hound stiffened at her words before glowering at her, understanding that she wasn't going to answer his question.

Sora chuckled at him as she walked past him to exit the kitchen. As she went down the stairs, she ran her fingers along the wooden side rails. When her feet landed on the last step of the stairs, a trap door triggered open. The stairs continued down into a well lit hallway.

Seeing Team Ro tensing up immediately, Sora gave them an amused grin. "Let's see what the others are up to."

Team Ro looked at one another then back at her with trepidation. Sensing no ulterior motives from her, they followed Sora down the stairs. Their eyes widened at what they saw. There were mountainous regions in certain parts of the area, as well as a very large lake. Little small craters and weapons were littered everywhere. Oddly though, high above them was a wooden ceiling. The only evidence that they were even actually underneath the weapons shop.

Sora watched the group of ten sparring close to the lake. It was a team spar: five versus five. Mei and Maki were teamed up with three Career Genins who were part of the team to open the water faucets. Ko was teaming up with four Career Genins. Two were from the group that Mei had led with the medics, while the other two were from Maki's group who directed the civilians in District Z. As Sora walked closer to them, she noted that her staff members were the only ones who kept track of the movements of the entire opposing team. The rest were only focused on who was directly in front of them.

"Switch one!" Sora had called out.

Ko, Mei, and Maki immediately shifted their positions to their right once, only to bump into their friends. Their friends had all froze in shock at the voice. After a few seconds, everyone registered who had called out as they all quickly turned to look at Sora. Her arms were placed behind her while grinning at them accompanied by the same team of Anbu.

"B-Boss?" Maki stuttered out, gaping like a fish.

"This is the Training Floor, is it not?" Sora asked her staff members. Her eyes twinkled at them. "It's purpose is to be used for training, no?"

The three quickly collected themselves as they gave her a grin. "Of course, Sora-sama," they all said in unison.

Sora gave them a nod. "Switch one," she repeated.

Ko looked at how he and his friends were currently standing and groaned in realization. At his friends' curious gazes, he explained, "Sora-sama realized that we're sparring one on one rather than five against five. That's why she called out switch one."

Seeing their friends' eyes widened, Mei added, "Switch one makes us think quicker on our feet due to the change in fighting styles."

Maki nodded in agreement. "It's also a great tactic for quick momentary confusion during combat, especially when coupled with a kawarimi tactic."

"Kawarimi?" Hound asked, making the group turn to look at him.

The trio nodded as Ko answered, "Another common game we play here. It's basically a game that has one person replace an item with something else, very similar to a substitution jutsu. It's a great way for us to catch customers who are behaving oddly in the shop."

'Or a great way to steal an item of interest unnoticed for a mission,' Hound thought as he gave Sora a glance before he heard one of the Career Genins exclaim out in shock.

"That's why you guys were telling us to perfect our substitution jutsu," a young black haired boy declared.

The trio grinned as they looked at their friends. "Let's do the switch one and see how it goes."

Soon enough, they were facing a different person from the other team. As they resumed sparring, Sora noted that the other Career Genins were using the basic kunai and shuriken weapons, unlike her staff members. Mei preferred the katana, Ko the tanto, and Maki the chigiriki.

"Hmm," she muttered to herself. Seeing a pile of pine cones that were frequently gathered throughout the Training Floor, Sora picked one up. Throwing it up in her hand a few inches, she caught it while continuing to watch the group. Compared to her staff members, the others were constantly moving around to engage their opponents. Her staff members kept themselves grounded while using just enough energy to shift their body to attack or block.

With another toss of the pine cone in her hand, she called out, "Heads up!"

Ko's, Mei's, and Maki's eyes widened before yelling out, "Dodge!"

Everyone's eyes widened as a pine cone went soaring through the air, landing exactly where Maki would have been if he hadn't jumped. They all turned to look at the ruby haired woman standing next to a large pile of pine cones. She gave them a small wave before tossing multiple pine cones straight at the group. This time, the group was ready as they dodged. Some even used their weapons to slice the cones in half. However, they were all acting as one big group now.

Sora gave them an amused glance. "Did you all forget that you were supposed to spar as well?"

Everyone quickly looked at one another. They all have been focused on dodging the pine cones that they forgot.

"Ah, Sora-sama," Ko stated, "I don't think the others are ready for-."

Ko stopped talking as soon as a pine cone landed directly onto his chest. While it didn't hurt like a punch would, Sora still had a very strong arm. He gave her an exasperated look.

"You were saying, Ko-kun?" Sora asked as she threw the pine cone in her hand up and down. "From where I'm standing, you're friends are more than ready."

At her words, Ko looked over at his friends to see that they were indeed alert and ready. All of them showed a variation of excitement. Seeing this, he gave his boss a look of determination.

Sora grinned at the group. "Keep sparring. Expect the occasional pine cone."

They all nodded as the group began sparring. Every so often, one of them would call out switch. Each time someone lingered too long on their feet, Sora threw a pine cone. If they kept constantly moving around, consecutive pine cones were thrown at them. When someone left themself wide open, she threw a pine cone directly at that spot. After an hour of switching opponents and dodging pine cones, Sora grinned.

'They're learning,' she thought. Some of her staff members' friends began to cover their teammates' blind spots. Others had just managed to learn how to keep their feet on the ground long enough for a necessary attack or block.

Deciding to stop tormenting them, she yelled out, "Break time!"

At this, the entire group collapsed to the ground, huffing and puffing. They were extremely sweaty and tired, but there were accomplished grins on their faces. Sora approached the group and grinned.

"Not bad," she said as she looked down at them. "But you'll immediately regret sitting like that. Pair up and stretch out."

The group groaned but did as they were told. Sora approached the youngest duo and crouched near them. "Gently," she said softly, showing the black haired teen how to coax his partner's shoulder muscles to slowly relax. "Do it too fast and you'll just end up harming your partner."

The black haired boy nodded as he followed her instructions.

Grinning at him, she got up to walk behind Ko. He was sitting down with his partner. Their legs spread out with the soles of their feet pressed against one another. His partner was pulling him forward to stretch out his lower back and legs. Ko was taller than his partner, so Sora gently pushed on Ko's shoulder.

Leaning close to his ear, she muttered, "Before the shop opens, sync up the ear cuffs. Keep them on until the shop closes. Let your friends know about the trade?"

Ko glanced at her and nodded, understanding that they needed to get the unregistered chakra infusion bo staffs out of circulation as quickly as possible.

Giving him a smile, she eased off of his shoulders so that Ko can pull his partner forward.

After thirty minutes of watching them stretch, Sora grinned at the group. "Now then," she said looking at her three staff members, "for your punishment for sneaking your friends into the Training Floor without approval."

The entire group immediately stood up. All at once, her staff members were apologizing, while their friends were defending them. Most of her staffs' friends were placing the blame on themselves and for her to punish them instead. A few also used her previous statement on if the purpose of the Training Floor was to train, then they should be allowed to use it.

Sora held up her hand to silence them. Everyone quieted down immediately, eyes looking away from her.

"Look at me," Sora said firmly.

All eyes turned to her.

"I'm glad to hear that you're all willing to take ownership of your actions," Sora stated. "As such, the punishment will be carried out by everyone involved. Not just Ko-kun, Mei-chan, and Maki-kun."

Everyone straightened as they kept their gaze on her. Some of them even have their fists clenched. They had thought that their friends' boss was nice. They had thought that-.

"You are all welcome to use the Training Floor anytime," Sora said.

This made everyone short circuit, including the three individuals that had let them in, in the first place.

"But as punishment," Sora continued, "Ko-kun, Mei-chan, and Maki-kun will be creating and overseeing both individual and group training schedules for each of you. You have three months." Looking at the Career Genin, she stated seriously, "I expect everyone to dodge every single pine cone I throw at them the next time I see you. For every single pine cone that lands, remedial training will be added onto your new training schedule." She gave them a small grin, "Remedial training will be done with Ai-san."

Ko, Mei, and Maki both winced at the thought of remedial training with Ai, their blacksmith sensei.

Seeing their reaction, Sora gave them a wink. "Train hard Genins," she said to the group. Nodding her head towards the lake, she said, "Hit the water before you leave. It'll help cool off your muscles."

The group of Career Genins could only nod as they watched her walk back the way she came from.

Sora smiled in amusement as she heard the bombardment of questions aimed at her staff members. 'I'm sure of it now,' she thought as she exited the Training Floor with Team Ro.

As soon as they entered the sitting area, the trap door closed back up. Seeing the entrance to the Testing Grounds again, Sora grinned and exited the weapons shop. "Time to officially start the day," she said.

As soon as the group stepped out onto the Testing Grounds, the entrance disappeared. Walking back towards the alleyway, her cheek's flushed in embarrassment when her stomach growled.

"Maybe lunch first," Sora said as she entered the street. Not looking at them, she muttered, "If you have a preference, speak now or forever hold your peace."

None of the members of Team Ro said anything as they followed her into the busy main road. Sora kept walking until she came across a restaurant with a banner that read 'Grand Opening.' Grinning in excitement, she walked into the shop with Neko by her side. The staff of the shop looked up immediately but stared at the Anbu member a few seconds longer.

"Welcome to Stir the Fire," a hostess greeted. She was wearing a white blouse with a black skirt. Her short heels clinked against the wooden floor as she walked towards them.

Sora smiled, noting the pair of pigeon blood ruby earrings the hostess had adorned. "Can we get a table?"

The hostess nodded. "Of course. Follow me this way."

Sora followed the hostess towards a table that was right in the middle of the shop. Sora pulled out a chair to sit then gestured towards Neko to sit next to her. Once he sat down beside Sora, the hostess set their menus in front of them.

"A staff member will be right with you to take your orders," the hostess said.

Thanking her, Sora opened the menu not bothering to look at the hostess as she left. Keeping her voice low, Sora asked, "Would the others like to join?"

Neko did not give an answer. Instead, the rest of his team appeared in the remaining seats around the table.

Sora noted how they were all tense. Looking at them from over the top edge of her menu, she saw that the team's backs were to the kitchen and the exits.

'This place was not built with shinobi in mind,' she thought as a waitress came by with a tray with cups of water. Sora blinked when something tiny flashed red as the waitress passed the window. As the waitress got closer, she could see another pigeon blood ruby. This time in a form of a small button that peaked out from the underside of the collar of the waitress's blouse. 'Or this table was chosen for a reason.'

As the waitress walked towards the table, a couple of rambunctious customers sitting nearby had scooted their chairs back to dare one another to chug a large bottle of beer. This caused the waitress to trip on one of the chair's leg as she lurched forward and landed face first between Neko and Sora. All of the cups crashed over the table top, spilling water everywhere.

The waitress gasped. "I'm so sorry," she exclaimed as she frantically got up. "I wasn't watching where I was going."

Sora grabbed some dry napkins that were preset on the table and began to dab the front of the waitress' shirt to help soak up the water. "It's okay," Sora reassured her. "Are you hurt anywhere?"

The waitress froze for a split second before quickly stepping away from Sora. "I'm okay," she said with a bow. "Let's move you all to a different table."

"Of course," Sora said as she got up. The used napkins still in her hands.

The waitress said, "You can leave the napkins there, ma'am. We'll take it with us when we clean the table."

Sora nodded as she placed the ball of wet napkins on the table. As she followed the waitress, she realized that they were heading towards a table near the entrance. The furthest away from the kitchen.

The waitress bowed. "Another staff member will be back with your waters. I'm so sorry. I'm such a klutz."

"It's quite alright," Sora assured her again.

As the waitress scampered off, another waitress had appeared with a new tray of water. She was dressed the same as the previous waitress and hostess, all black with a white blouse. But she was much older. Sora gave the older waitress a smile and thanked her for the water. The waitress gave a smile of her own.

'How demure,' Sora thought as she watched the waitress bend across the table to distribute the waters to the others.

Sora noted how the waitress kept her back straight. Each of her movements were purposeful, with just the right amount of energy required to place the cups in front of them. Each cup was placed in the same exact spot. Sora then spotted something red sparkling underneath the waitress' hair. 'A small pigeon blood ruby hairpin this time,' Sora thought as she opened her menu.

"Hm," Sora muttered as she peered over the texts.

The waitress rose to look at Sora and gave the ruby haired woman another smile.

Sora looked up at the waitress from her menu. "I was wondering if I can ask a question before we order," Sora squinted her eyes at the waitress's name tag, "Uh, Sotsuki-san."

The waitress's smile faltered slightly before quickly plastering on another smile. "It's just Tsuki, ma'am."

Sora blinked at her surprised. "I apologize. I didn't realize that there was a space between there, Tsuki-san. It's quite small."

So Tsuki, the waitress, nodded. "I'll be sure to let our boss know," she said, not noticing the glances from Team Ro.

"Please do," Sora said with a grin. "Putting the names to the faces of staff members will help your customers build a connection to the business."

Tsuki stiffly nodded. "Right." Taking a moment to gather herself, she asked, "What was your question?"

Closing her menu, Sora interlaced her fingers in front of her. Leaning a bit forward, she gave Tsuki her undivided attention. Sora noted how the older waitress had stiffened briefly before relaxing.

"This is the first time I've even heard of or been to Stir the Fire," Sora said with a grin. "So, I wanted to know if there was a dish that this establishment specialize in."

Tsuki nodded as her tenseness eased away. "We have five dishes that we specialize in. Three are beef stir fried with different vegetables from different nations. The other two are chicken stir fried with noodles."

Sora watched as the waitress stepped around Crow to open her closed menu. As Tsuki pointed out to the dishes that she mentioned, Sora caught a whiff of an overly sweet scent being masked with the smell of garlic and ginger before Tsuki stepped back.

Sora scrunched her nose at the menu in thought as she gazed at the items that the black haired waitress had pointed to. "It's hard to choose. They all sound appetizing." Sora closed her menu again and looked up at the waitress. "Surprise me, Tsuki-san," Sora said with a grin. Not looking at Team Ro, she continued, "Please take their orders as well."

Tsuki looked at the ruby haired woman a second longer before nodding as she looked at the four shinobi wearing painted porcelain mask. "What would you like?" she asked, trying to keep her voice steady.

As they give her their order, Sora took this time to let her gaze wander. She blinked when something in the corner of the room glinted red before disappearing back into the kitchen. 'That was the hostess,' she thought.

Sora blinked when she heard a whisper from two tables behind her, pulling her from her thoughts.

"I heard the old man desperately wants to sell the place," a male had whispered. "We might even be able to low ball him."

"Are you sure?" another one, a female this time, asked.

"Yeah," the first male said. "Word on the street is that he's in desperate need of money to take care of his sick granddaughter."

"Are there any others interested?" the female asked.

The male let out a snort. "No one's been interested in that shitty place ever since it went on the market. It's right next door to that weird shinobi weapons shop so that's probably why. We'll be fine."

The female grumbled before asking, "When is the open house?"

Sora picked up her cup and brought it to her mouth, but paused before her lips could touch the glass. She heard the male answer, "In thirty minutes. We got plenty of time still so chill."

Placing her untouched glass back on the table, she watched as a waiter and waitress exited from the kitchen with trays of food. As they placed their food in front of Team Ro, Sora noted that it was the same waitress that had tripped earlier. Trying hard to keep up with her was a waiter. In fact, he seemed nervous and was shaky. 'Like it's his first day on the job,' she thought, as the brunette waitress left, leaving the teen to fend for himself. 'Reminds me of Maki-kun when he first started interning.'

Once the teen waiter placed the last plate of food in front of her, Sora leaned towards him. "I'm sorry to ask this," Sora said in a low voice, "seeing as how we had just gotten our food. But, is it alright if everything is placed in to go containers. I've seem to have lost track of time and have elsewhere to be."

The teen waiter looked at her in surprise before nervously looking around for one of his coworkers. His eyes kept glancing warily between the Anbu members then back at her.

Seeing this, Sora gave him a soft smile. "I just need five to go containers, five disposable chopsticks, and a couple of bags."

Relaxing slightly at her words, the teen waiter nodded. "O-Of course," he said. "Let me grab them." He quickly added, "Ma'am."

As the teen waiter scurried off to the counter, Sora noted how the hostess had glanced at their table. A frown appeared on the hostess's face briefly before it disappeared. The teen waiter came back and gave the containers and bags to Sora

"The chopsticks are inside the bag, ma'am," the teen muttered nervously.

"Thank you," Sora said as she placed the items on the table in front of her.

Once the teen waiter left, Sora focused on the task at hand. Carefully taking each of the plates in front of the members of Team Ro, she began pouring the contents into the containers. Glad that she didn't need to use silverware to guide the food, she closed the containers and placed them into the bags. Grabbing them, she walked to the counter to pay for their meals. The only items left on the table were cups full of water, empty plates, and unused utensils. As she exited the entrance, she felt three souls flicker in frustration.

'I thought so,' Sora thought as she entered the main streets.

Carrying the bags into the busy market, she saw an older craftsman selling bamboo woven baskets with two straps. The baskets even have lids. Eyes sparkling in delight, she walked over to him and bowed. "Excuse me, how much are you selling these for?"

The old man looked up and stared at the ruby haired woman. "500 ryo," he said gruffly.

Sora nodded as she shifted her bags to reach into her sleeve. She then deposited the money into his outstretched hand as she went to select a woven basket. The old man's eyes widened as he opened his hand. Seeing that she was about to leave, he quickly stood up from his stool. "Wait ma'am. This is double the price that I've asked for."

Sora shook her head no when he made a show to give the money back. "I know perfect craftsmanship when I see one, sir." Placing the bags into the basket, she continued, "These particular bamboo hail from the Land of Rice Paddies. Not only is it difficult to get to them, it takes a lot of manual labor to cut down the bamboo stalks, strip them, then dry them before manually braiding them into baskets." Placing her arms through the straps, she carried the basket on her back. Grinning at the old man, she continued, "The competitive rate of a bamboo woven basket like this is 700 ryo. However," Sora pulled the black straps forward, "the materials used to make these are from the Land of This. The nation is known for using silk from their silkworms and wool from a ram native only to their country to create their fabrics. This type of quality bumps up your sale price to 1000 ryo."

The old man letting out a deep laugh at the high number. Gazing at her, he muttered, "No one will be willing to buy a woven basket for that price lady."

"Not if you keep selling them for half the price," she said. "If anything, your customers are already getting a discount. Outside of Konoha, the normal price of these items when sold separately is a thousand each."

This time the old man's mouth dropped as he gaped at her. Sora gave him a bow as she continued walking along the market. She then came across a small stand selling multiple cups with one goldfish each. Sora walked towards the booth and peered into one of the cups. While it swam away in fright, the scales of the goldfish did not shine under the sun light.

Her eyes crossed as she looked at another goldfish. "Are you interested in one, lady? For your younger sibling, perhaps?" the seller asked.

Sora peered up at the man as she straightened up. Giving him a grin, she said, "I'll take five."

The seller blinked at her before grinning in glee. "Of course," he stated. He leaned forward and gave her a wink. "I usually don't do this," he said, voice low. "but just for you, you can choose which ever ones you'd like."

"In that case, those five please," Sora said as she pointed to the five small fish with the brightest orange and white coloring compared to the others. They were swimming energetically and hidden behind rows and rows of other goldfish that were barely moving at all.

The seller stared at her about to protest but paused when he saw an Anbu member standing behind her. How he did not notice them before, he wasn't sure nor did he want to know as he retrieved the selected five. "Here," he grumbled.

After Sora paid for the fishes, she placed them carefully into her bamboo basket. Closing the lid, she wore the basket and continued walking down the streets towards a familiar road. As she turned the corner, something reflecting the sun's light attracted her attention. She turned to catch a glimpse of the end of a sheath dipped in gold before it had disappeared around the corner. Sora resumed walking not at all bothered by what she saw.

"T-thank you for c-coming," Sora heard an elderly man said.

Sora paused in her walk to see the same man from this morning. He was standing in front of the vacant building that was for sale next to Masamaru's Weapons Shop. Standing in front of him was a man and a woman. The man had dark auburn hair, while the woman had long lavender hair. They were wearing civilian clothes that were common in Konoha, but Sora blinked when she saw that underneath their yukatas was a burgandy inner lining. This was common amongst civilians from Land of Earth, not Land of Fire, which was normally white.

The elderly man opened the door to the building, "Let me give you a tour."

As he turned to walk in, the woman clutched onto the man's hand as they followed the elderly man inside. Before the doors closed, Sora slipped in with Neko by her side. He noted how the soft chimes of the bells of her anklets had stopped making noises. He shared a quick look with his team as they dispersed. Hound followed them while sticking close to the shadows. Fox and Crow scaled the walls to find another entrance. This was to ensure that there were nothing amiss on the second and third floors.

The small group walked past a column of stone pillars that led to a wide open space. Most of the tiles on the floor were cracked and faded. However, the walls were unblemished and covered in painted cherry blossoms and small butterflies. Standing in front of the mural, the elderly man and the couple had their backs to Sora and Neko.

"This was used as a lobby," the elderly man said. "The late Lord Seiji and his wife, Lady Tomoe, painted these cherry blossoms and butterflies themselves."

As the couple oohed and aahed, Sora smiled sadly at the mural. She could feel the seals embedded inside each brush stroke.

"Let's go upstairs," the elderly man said enthusiastically as the three began climbing the stairs towards the back center of the wall.

Sora followed them not making a sound. She looked down the wooden steps as some boards had tiny holes, while others were missing a few nails. Even the varnish on the wooden rails was chipping.

Once they were on the second floor, the elderly man began opening multiple doors. He stopped at another entrance towards another set of stairs.

"Lady Kikyo had aspirations," the elderly man said. "These rooms were built with that in mind. However, we never knew what Lord Seiji's intentions were for these rooms before he passed."

As the elderly man went up the stairs, the couple paused at the last door discussing something. Sora peered into an opened room as she walked through the hallway. Multiple rows of large desks were staggered on an inclined facing a single wall.

'They're classrooms,' Sora thought as she let out a soft hmm.

The noise scared the couple in front of her as they turned back to see a ruby haired civilian followed by a lone Anbu shinobi.

Huddling closer, the lavender haired woman growled out, "I thought you said no one was interested."

"I did," the dark auburn haired male whispered back.

"Tch," the female responded as they went up the stairs to the third floor.

Sora paid them no mind as she walked up the stairs after them. Once at the top, Sora's eyes widened as she entered a single room with a large window that looked out directly to the Hokage Mountain.

The woman pulled the man's arm towards the only non-boarded window. "Look at the view darling. You can see the streets from here," she exclaimed. "Imagine what we could do to this place with my boutique and your art studio."

Sora blinked at the duo as she watched the elderly man give them a hopeful look.

"You have a boutique?" the elderly man asked as Sora moved silently to the window. The trio still haven't noticed her or Neko.

"Why yes!" The woman exclaimed. "I make these beautiful kimonos for the Fire Country's Royal Family." Clutching the man's arm between her breasts, she continued, "My husband is a painter. The Fire Daimyo himself commissioned him to do a piece at the Capitol."

The elderly man's eyes widened. "Wow," he muttered. "Which art piece did he create?"

"Why," the woman answer, "the Golden Mountains of course."

Sora whipped her head at the woman so fast at that answer. Ignoring how Team Ro's souls had flickered in alert, she narrowed her gaze at the couple. Pale sky blue eyes studied every physical aspect of them. Her gaze sharpened at the small tattoo of a rose on the insides of their wrists that was peaking out from both of their sleeves.

"Will we be able to purchase the property right now?" the man had asked, excited.

The Elderly man's eyes widened. With hope, he grinned and said, "Wait right here while I retrieve the paperwork, sir."

Sora watched as the elderly man left the room. He didn't even notice her as his footsteps made loud thunking noises against the wooden floors.

When the sound of the front door shutting echoed to the third floor, Sora asked, "What medium did you use for that painting?"

The couple, who was talking quietly amongst themselves, froze when they heard the question. They turned around to see the ruby haired woman looking at them.

Sora gave them a smile. "I've always been curious every time I hear about the piece."

The couple chuckled nervously as the man answered, "Acrylic paint."

Sora hmmed in thought. "How were you able to replicate the shine of gold on the painting?"

The man stiffened before rubbing the back of his neck nervously. "It's not a replication. It is actually made of thin pieces of real gold placed there by an adhesive."

Sora quirked an eyebrow at him. "How interesting," she said. "I was told that it was actually a mixture of pigments that the painter created themself. When the sun's rays hit the painting at a certain time of day, the light reflect off of the pigments giving the illusion of gold."

The woman scoffed at Sora. "I don't know who told you that, but they're obviously lying. My husband is the painter who made that piece and he just told you how it was made."

"I'm glad he remembers his older pieces then," Sora said, not at all bothered by the lavender haired woman's snubbed tone. "I recently heard rumors during my time at the Capitol of a woman claiming to own a boutique selling kimono's made of the finest silk, only for them to actually be made from the fur of a field cow."

The female flinched. A squeeze from the man's hand made her relax.

"Her accomplice was her husband, who was a con artist that made fakes of real known artwork, including The Golden Mountains."

This time the male stiffened as he stared wide eyed at the ruby haired woman.

Blinking at them, she asked, "You haven't heard? This was the latest gossip amongst the civilians back at the Capitol."

The couple let out some tension and shook their heads no. "We haven't. Sorry," the man stated. "We just recently arrived to Konoha from Tanzaku Gai."

Sora nodded. "I see," she said. "I heard that the Fire Royal Family had demanded for the couple's heads when the fakes were discovered." Looking at them, they froze at her gaze. "Everyone associated with them are considered accomplices and will receive the same punishment." She then gave them a smile, "So please spread the words to your friends. I wouldn't want them to be caught up with the trouble the couple had caused. After all, it is quite common for those who work in similar careers to come across one another."

At this, the couple nodded as they both unconsciously gulped. The sound of heavy footsteps made them turn as the elderly man entered the third floor out of breath. The couple's attention were averted from the ruby haired woman and back onto him.

Not at all bothered at being forgotten once more, Sora peered down into the streets. She blinked when she saw two people dressed in black kimono with silver prints of wisteria plumes. A blue satin obi was wrapped around their waists as they each were riding on top of their horses. The white cotton veil surrounding the rim of their bamboo uchikatsugi hats hid their faces from view. One was slimmer and taller than the other, while the other was shorter with broad stocky shoulders. The taller one had a large cleaver blade on their back, while the shorter one had a metal spear.

"A million ryo? I don't think we have enough money to buy this place, darling," the man stated to his female companion.

The elderly man looked at them with despair.

Sora ignored the three as the couple began to bargain for a price for the building. Her focus was on the duo on the streets, who were maneuvering their horses pass civilians and wagons. Walking beside them were two shinobi. One was none other than the T&I Commander himself, and a shinobi who's soul had belonged to Tanuki. The shinobi had brown shoulder length hair and was wearing his forehead protector like a bandana. Something flickered near the man's mouth, catching the sun's rays.

'A senbon?' Sora thought curiously. She hadn't seen Tanuki with one when she was at the Hokage's office when she first arrived.

The woman humphed. Their argument have now ceased as she exclaimed, "This place is shitty anyways. Who would want to have the view of a stupid mountain with some old geezers' faces on them?"

The elderly man gaped at the female in shock. "Those are the faces of Konoha's Hokage's you've just insulted."

The woman froze, realizing what she had just done.

"I think you both should leave," the elderly man said, not pleased. "I will not do business with those who've disrespected our esteem leaders."

The couple's cheeks flushed in anger as they stomped towards the exit.

"I forgot," Sora said. Her voice being heard by everyone in the room.

The elderly man had looked at her with surprise. This was the first time he's seen her. 'She must've arrived after I left to retrieve the paperwork,' he thought.

Without looking away from the window, Sora continued, "You can identify the couple by the same tattoos of a small rose on their inner wrists." She turned around to look at the duo who froze. "Just thought you should know in case you do run into a couple who fits that description."

A flash of fear showed on their faces. The man was the first to recover. "Like I said, we haven't come across a couple like that. But thank you for telling us. We'll be sure to keep a look out."

Sora gave a single nod as the duo left as calmly as they could. She frowned slightly when she felt familiar souls arriving quickly to the building. Deciding not to think about it, she heard the elderly man curse softly at himself.

"What am I going to do now?" the elderly man muttered, momentarily forgetting the ruby haired woman.

Sora glanced at him. The elderly man was rubbing his hands across his face in devastation.

"How much are you selling this land for?" she asked.

The elderly man looked at her in surprised before narrowing his gaze at her. Gone was the tired elderly man. Instead, standing before her was an elderly man who made it a habit in scrutinizing someone's worth.

"You said land. Not building," he stated. His warm tone gone.

"I did," Sora said without hesitation.

The elderly man stiffened when he saw that she was serious. 'For someone so young to understand the difference between the two terms,' he thought as he kept his gaze on her. 'Properties, such as buildings, can be seized, while a land have to be bought back by the village.'

"Two million ryo for the land," he stated.

Sora hmmed in thought as she returned her gaze to look out the window. Just as the couple had exited the building, three Anbu members she recognized as Otter, Beaver, and Newt appeared before them. They exchanged a few words before the duo tried to run. The Anbu members reached out to take the duo's arms and disappeared with a poof.

"1,500,000 ryo for both the land and the original proof of ownership contract," Sora stated as she saw the two veiled individuals coming closer to the building with their escorts.

The elderly man looked at her, surprised at what she said. 'She is good,' he thought. 'To have the original contract means that she could do what she deems fit to the land without asking for Hokage-sama's permission.'

"If you prefer," she said as she turned to gaze at him, "we can go through the bank instead. Though, this route will take a year to process."

The elderly man's eyebrows furrowed. 'We cannot wait a whole year,' he thought with clenched fists.

Jaws clenching slightly, he asked, "You have that much ryo on your right now?"

When Sora nodded, his mouth dropped opened. Gathering himself, he internally cursed in thought. He knew a good deal when he heard one, especially since no one was willing to buy this place for the past year. Not the civilians in Konoha because it was too close to shinobi. Nobles weren't interested at all because it was right next to Masamaru's Weapons Shop. The shop put many nobles on edge because despite being a weapons shop, no noise of any metals being forged could be heard. However, he has witness shinobi flocking in and out of the shop regardless of the lack of noise. It was strange. Even Ninja Weapons Shop made some noise on the daily basis, mainly due to Io's odd weapon inventions he would create for shinobi.

Letting go a sigh, he nodded. "You have a deal," he said.

Sora followed the man back down to the first floor. He reached into his own sleeve to reveal a scroll. Opening it, he signed it before giving it to her. He watched as the ruby haired woman took her time to read the contract.

She turned the scroll around and pointed to the bottom of a passage: building rental is immediately owed to Konohagakure on the next billing period. "This is a contract to purchase only the building. I am purchasing the land in its entirety, including any and all buildings. The building's rental rate shouldn't apply until I decide what to do with the land."

The elderly man frowned at her words. "Indeed you are correct," he grunted out as he reluctantly took out a different scroll and signed it. Giving it to her, he asked, "Are you planning to demolish the building?"

After reading the scroll over, she finally gave him an answer. "It's a possibility."

The elderly man clenched his fists in anger. "This building contains a history of Konoha during the Nidaime's reign, ma'am. I advice you to rethink-."

Sora casually signed her name while interjecting, "You should've thought of that before putting a place of great importance up for sale."

The elderly man clenched his jaws in fury. "The intention was to sell the building, not the land," he growled out.

"And yet you've agreed to my offer despite clearly understanding the difference between the two terms," Sora reminded as she rolled up the scroll. "A copy will be delivered to your office in three days, Council Member Zenjiro."

Zenjiro's eyes narrowed at her. 'Of course she would know who I am,' he thought as he followed her outside. 'But I do not know who she is.'

Once they were outside of the building, he locked the doors and reluctantly handed her the keys. "I hope you do this place justice," he grunted.

Sora took the keys from him. "Council Member Zenjiro," she said, "Just looking at the state of the stairs tells me that no one has maintained the building for a long time. Until I look at the foundation, the possibility of demolishing the building is there."

Zenjiro's eyes widened. "Look at the foundation?"

Sora nodded. "There is evidence of termite damage, Council Member."

At this, Zenjiro's gaze saddened before he gave a bow. Termite damage is a cause for concern for any building made of wood. If it was bad enough, the building would have to be demolished regardless. "I apologize for my brash assumptions."

Sora accepted his apology with a nod as he walked away.

"What is that, Sora-sama?" a feminine voice asked.

Sora turned to see the two individuals dressed in black kimono with silver wisteria plumes standing in front of her. They were holding onto the reigns of their horses. Both Ibiki and his partner, who indeed did have a senbon between his lips, were watching from the sidelines.

"A recent acquisition," Sora answered as she placed the keys into her sleeves. "Spread the word?"

"Of course, Sora-sama," the duo said in unison, understanding that this building was now tied to Fujiwara's Blacksmiths Guild.

Sora made her way in between the veiled duos to give their horses pets. Sora smiled when they let out soft grunts in greeting. Frowning softly at how both were breathing a bit faster than normal, she addressed the duo. "Stay for the night."

The duo looked at one another before looking at the ruby haired woman between them. Before they could protest, Sora gave them a grin, "You can return in the morning. Enjoy the sights."

"If you insist," the shorter one said quietly in a masculine voice.

Hearing the brief excitement in his tone, Sora smiled as she petted the two horses. "The kids are at the shop if you want to greet them. Masa and Mizu are currently attending a meeting with Ma-san and Ai-san."

"The joint investigation," the taller female recalled.

Sora gave a nod as she cooed softly to the horses. Glancing at the two, she said, "You're both free to visit your friends. I'll be around if you need me. Until then, follow Hidden Village Protocols."

The duo straightened. "Of course, Sora-sama."

As she stepped away from the horses, the shorter veiled individual reached into their hakama pockets to reveal a small black scroll. "A report from Korra-sama."

Sora reached out to take it as they walked their horses towards the alleyway that led to the back of Masamaru's Weapons Shop. Undoing the knot tied around the scroll, she said, "I'm surprised you're both still here, Morino-san and shinobi-san."

Ibiki gave her a grin. "When a blacksmith from Fujiwara's Blacksmiths Guild enters Konoha, one can't help but be curious. Now there's four. Imagine what the others would think if they heard."

Sora rolled her eyes at him. "I know that my guild members are quite special, Morino-san. However, not enough to be viewed like rare specimens. They're regular humans after all." She then glanced at the brown haired man standing beside the T&I Commander. "I don't believe we're acquainted, shinobi-san."

The senbon in his mouth flicked left and right before casually giving her a smirk. "Genma. Shurinai Genma."

Sora gave him a grin. "Nice to meet you, Shurinai-san. The name's Fujiwara Sora." Unraveling the scroll, she continued, "Most people just call me Sora."

Her eyes frowned at what she read.

Location K remains undisturbed, courtesy of The Caretaker.

"Morino-san," Sora stated as she closed the scroll back up. "What time does the meeting of the joint investigation end?"

Ibiki gave her a curious look. "Why?"

She looked at him and asked, "If I were to attend the meeting halfway, it would cause a commotion, would it not?"

Ibiki's gaze sharpened at her. 'Is Hokage-sama there?' was her question.

"Yeah," Ibiki said in agreement. "Fugaku will not be pleased at the interruption."

Sora looked at him as she placed the scroll into her sleeves. "Can you tell them that the owner of Masamaru's Weapons Shop has invited them to a demonstration?"

Ibiki studied her carefully. "A demonstration?"

Sora nodded her head. "In four hours at the Warehouse," she said.

"Can I come?" Ibiki asked.

Sora blinked at him, confused. "You're staff members are being invited to the demonstration, Morino-san. I'd be surprise if you didn't show up."

Ibiki shrugged. "Figured I'd ask just to make sure."

Sora chuckled as she said, "I'll see you in four hours, Morino-san."

As she walked passed him, Ibiki immediately poofed away. Once again, Sora sucked in a mouthful of smoke, making her cough. "What is with you and Bear-san," she muttered out as she waved her hands to disperse the smoke.

Realizing that she was now standing next to Genma, she blinked at him. When he made no movements to leave, she stated, "You're not planning to go away anytime soon, are you."

Genma blinked at her. "Nope," he said as he flashed her an amused grin.

Sora internally sighed and looked at him. "What rank are you, Shirunai-san?"

"Jounin," he replied, curious to see where this conversation would go.

Feeling his soul flicker slightly in a half truth, Sora ignored it and walked towards the streets. "You can take me to the Jounin Commander then."

Genma's eyes widened as he gaped at her. Easily catching up to her, he asked, "Whatchu want with the Jounin Commander anyways?"

"Do you normally carry a senbon around via mouth?" Sora asked.

"What?" Genma asked, as he stared at her.

"I thought we were both verbally expressing the first question that popped into our head, Shirunai-san. My mistake."

Hearing this, Genma's grinned widened. 'Who knew a Daimyo would have so much sass,' he thought. 'Definitely not the prim and proper princess I thought she'd be.'

Glancing down at her, he said, "I'll answer yours if you answer mine."

Sora stopped walking to look at him. A flash of irritation appeared on her face. "Are we really doing the 'I'll show you mine if you show me yours' deal? What are we, Shirunai-san, five?"

Genma blinked at her retort. "Just trying to make conversation," he admitted.

Hearing this, Sora sighed as she resumed walking. "I apologize, Shirunai-san," she muttered. "I have a lot of things running through my mind. Some things are more, for lack of better term, troublesome, than others. But that doesn't mean it was right for me to take it out on you."

'She's genuinely apologizing,' Genma thought in shock.

Giving her a shrug in response, he said cheerily, "It's all good. No harm, no foul."

Sora gave him a small smile. As they continued walking down the streets, she said, "Other than the Hokage, when it comes to representing Konoha's shinobi force as a whole, the Jounin Commander has a similar responsibility. There was something I wanted to ask before the tour."

Seeing this as an olive branch, Genma asked, "Such as?"

Sora shrugged. "Konoha is due for new uniforms. I was going to ask the Jounin Commander if it would be a good idea if different ranks wore different flak jackets instead of having everyone wear the same one. But by doing that, it poses inherent risks. From what I've seen, only those who are ranked Chunin or higher wear flack jackets. I haven't seen any Genin wear one, which is understandable. Unlike higher ranked shinobi, who typically have more field experience, Genins are still vulnerable, so their safest strategy is to blend in unseen amongst civilians."

Not skipping a beat, she continued, "In a squad composing of both Jounin and Chunin, the differing flak jacket might even make one an easier target than others during missions. So there's that problem too. However, from a civilian perspective, having flak jackets be the same makes it difficult when determining who to speak to, and how reliable they are. Most civilians, including nobles, make their judgement of a person within the first ten seconds based on appearance alone. Depending on how the uniform looks, it may or may not affect the rate in which Konoha receive mission requests. For example, why would a farmer hire a team of Jounin to guard their fruit stand from large rodents, when that can easily be given to a team of Chunin or Genin. Most civilians throughout the nation are still illiterate, with only some able to do basic math. So, they wont be able to read the words in a contract, or understand the difference in ryo between a D-rank mission from a C-rank mission."

Not noticing the stares she was receiving, Sora continued, "Besides that, most civilians lump all shinobi together under one category instead of from different villages despite the forehead protectors. This amplifies the already prevalent problem of intervillage mission theft. Using the previous example, if this were to happen, the farmer will have to pay the other hidden village instead of Konoha, whom they've sent their mission request to. Imagine what would happen if this were to happen to a noble who allied themself with Konoha. It would cause an uproar amongst the feudal courts with fingers pointing at one another to place blame. This is what I had wanted to discuss with the Jounin Commander."

Hearing silence, Sora blinked as she looked around her surroundings. They were no longer in the streets. Instead, they were back inside the T&I Building. All of the staff members were staring at her with wide eyes. Confused, she turned to look at Genma, who looked at her with the same look as everyone in the room. Gobsmacked.

She asked, "Did I misspoke?"

At her question, everyone quickly resumed their duties and Genma gathered himself. Letting out a soft cough, he flicked his senbon. "Not at all."

'I just didn't expect all of that to come out,' he thought as he led her to a wooden door. He was aware of the intervillage mission theft happening as of late from the many meetings that Minato had to attend about them. He wasn't aware the Daimyo also knew of this. 'Well, she's the Jounin Commander's problem now.'

Genma knocked on the door. When there were no response, he opened it to reveal a sleeping Nara Shikaku. His arm was tucked underneath his head as he dozed peacefully on his desk. Underneath him was a small pile of closed scrolls. As they quietly filed in, the door closed softly behind them, which didn't wake up the veteran shinobi.

Seeing Genma reach out towards the Nara Clan Head, Sora tapped on his wrist and shook her head no. "Nara-sama must be extremely tired if he has to sleep in his own office rather than in the comfort of his own home," she whispered.

Genma blinked at her incredulously. It was a well known fact throughout Konoha how lazy members of the Nara Clan were. Most preferred to nap, rather than do actual work. The Nara Clan Head was no different.

Turning to look at Genma, she gave a bow, "Thank you for escorting me to the Jounin Commander, Shurinai-san."

Genma gave a nod, not moving as she rose from her bow

"You're not leaving, are you." Sora restated.

"Nope," Genma said with a toothy grin. His senbon flicking back and forth. Originally, he was going to leave, but thought better of it when he saw Hound switch with Neko.

Sora let out a sigh. "Why am I not surprise," she muttered to herself.

Ignoring the amused look he gave her, Sora looked around the Jounin Commander's office and debated on what to do. She didn't want to wake him up, but at the same time she couldn't wait anymore. She spent a good ten minutes monologuing her thoughts to Genma already, plus she was running out of time.

Deciding to let the Nara sleep, Sora walked behind his desk and set the bamboo basket down beside the chair he was sitting on. Grabbing the bags of food containers, she placed them on the floor beside her. She then proceeded to take out the five cups with fishes inside and lined them up in a row in front of her. Sitting down, she lowered the sides of the bags and placed one food container in front of each fish, forming another row.

"Are you actually going to eat behind his desk?" Genma asked in a hushed tone, shocked at her actions.

Opening a food container, she grabbed a pair of chopsticks and mixed the contents together. Team Ro recognized it as a beef stir fry dish with eggplants. A dish that Hound had ordered.

"If I am, Shurinai-san?" Sora whispered back. "We didn't get a chance to eat our meals earlier. Besides, if the smell of food wakes Nara-sama up, better this than someone being loud."

Genma blinked at her response. "You've got a point," he muttered. No one wanted an irritated Jounin Commander.

Sora gave him a grin as she turned her gaze at the plate of food in front of her. Picking up a single grain of rice with her chopsticks, she submerged it into the first cup. The fish swam away in fright, but hesitantly returned. Realizing that it was food, it ate the grain of rice. Sora placed the used chopstick back into the food container and closed it. She repeated this for the next three containers.

Genma, who had peered over the desk, asked, "What are you-?"

The doors slammed open as a voice called out, "Nara-sama!"

Said Nara immediately sat up straight. He blinked in confusion when he clearly saw a familiar ruby haired woman sitting down beside him despite not sensing her. Standing in front of him was one of his best friend's ex-student, Genma, and one of his staff members. In her hands was an armful of scrolls. The dark blue haired Jounin promptly stacked them on top his desk with the rest of the scrolls he had already signed.

'I'll have to sort through them,' he thought. 'What a drag.'

"You can't be sleeping at a time like-," the newest Jounin paused, just now noticing Genma. She gave a small bow, "Hello, Shurinai-san."

Genma flashed her a smirk before flicking his senbon to the right. 'She should've been able to sense me,' he thought. 'I wasn't even masking my chakra.'

The staff member returned her attention to the Jounin Commander, "Like I said, you can't sleep at a time like this, Nara-sama. The-." She paused again as she took a sniff. "Did you eat lunch in here?"

Shikaku blinked. 'So she can smell the stir fry but didn't notice Genma until she was literally standing next to him,' he thought in confusion.

"I just finished it a bit ago," Shikaku answered.

"Really?" the Jounin asked. "It smells really good. Where'd you get it?"

Glad that the trash was actually underneath his desk beside his feet, he answered, "One of the newer places. I forget the name."

The smell wasn't something he recognized, which was saying something. As one of his best friends, Chouza made it a point to force him and Inoichi to try all of Konoha's restaurants at least once. Though, they almost always return to get either Yakini Q or Shushy-Ya. Both were staffed by Akimichi clan members.

The Jounin's eyes lit up. "Aah, it must be Stir the Fire then. How was it?"

Shikaku shrugged in response.

The Jounin laughed as she stepped closer to the desk. "Anyways, the Fire Daimyo was seen entering the building with-." She turned to gaze at Genma. "you. Where is she?"

"Bathroom," Genma answered. He had picked up on how the Jounin Commander was lieing to one of his subordinates. "She needed a break."

The dark blue haired Jounin gave a huff, returning her attention to the Jounin Commander. "Anyways, you need to make your list of tour guides, Nara-sama," the Jounin had stated. The ire appeared in her voice. "I don't understand why she wants a tour at the Jounin Standby Station. What does she get out of this? If anything this seems like a tactic to gather intel. I don't like it. If you'd like, I can give her a tour myself, just in case."

Shikaku let out a yawn as he discretely looked at the ruby haired woman being hidden by his desk. 'She doesn't sense the Daimyo,' he concluded. 'If she did, she wouldn't have had spoken as freely as she's doing now.'

"I've already taken care of it," Shikaku said. "Shurinai is going to be her tour guide."

The dark blue haired Jounin's eyes widened. "What about the other nine tour guide candidates," she asked.

"We don't have enough Jounin to spare," the Nara said. Seeing at how she was about to protest, he continued, "And you still have that report your have to write up. Shurinai was free so it works out. You're dismissed, Hinoto."

Hinoto let out a tsked as she exited the office, closing the door behind her.

Genma shared a suspicious glance with the Jounin Commander at Hinoto's behavior as a soft voice from behind the desk muttered out, "My apologies, Nara-sama." Shikaku glanced down to see her feeding a piece of noodle to the last fish in a cup. "It was either I do this here or at the Jounin Standby Station."

'She's apologizing for feeding the fishes human food in my office rather than defending herself,' he thought.

"You're not denying her accusations?" he asked her.

Sora gave a shrug as she closed the food container and placed it down. "Everyone is entitled to their own opinions."

Shikaku studied her as she brought her knees to her chest. She was staring intently at the rows of fishes. He then noticed the particular way she had laid out the cups of fishes and food containers. "You're testing for poison," he stated.

Hearing this, Genma and Team Ro began to surround the Jounin Commander's desk.

Not taking her eyes off the cups of fishes, Sora nodded in confirmation to Shikaku's statement. "Lord Todiyori had said once before that his shinobi guards often test for poison by eating it before he did. I didn't want to risk Team Ro testing it for me."

Shikaku's gaze sharpened at her. "Why not?" he asked as Hound crouched down beside her.

Sora watched the five fish swimming around carefree, not knowing what had been fed to them.

"It's quite common for a Daimyo to be assassinated via poison," she said. Ignoring Hound's cold stare, she continued, "Unlike shinobi, who prefer poison that cause instantaneous death." Tugging her knees tighter to her chest, she continued, "Members of the feudal courts prefer slow and silent ones that mimic common illnesses first before they kill. These normally take months to take affect. However, a single dosage for a grown adult like me is enough to kill a fish of this size within a short amount of time."

Shikaku watched as one of the fishes floated up towards the surface. The food container innocently laying closed. A small strand of noodle poking out from the side revealed who's dish it was. Hers.

Hound immediately went to grab it, only for it to be taken by Sora herself. Ignoring his glare, she quickly dumped it inside the trash by Shikakau's feet. Grabbing the plate of food Hound ordered, she handed it to him instead.

"Why test everyone's food?" Shikaku asked, watching their interaction a bit bemused. He noted how she was quite comfortable being around the Anbu Captain and his team when most were wary being near Anbu in general.

Seeing how Hound wasn't going to accept the food container, Sora let out a soft huff and set it on the floor. "A habit I've developed," she admitted softly.

Shikaku noted the vulnerability in her voice. 'She must've lost someone when she was younger,' he thought. 'Or someone had taught her to be careful.'

Instead of asking her about it, he stated, "There are those who oppose you being the Daimyo."

Placing the food containers back into the bag, Sora gave another shrug. "Some more than others. It's to be expected."

Shikaku watched how as she rose to stand, she kept her body in front of the trash to ensure that Hound couldn't get to the poisoned food. Pushing his chair out from his desk a bit, he asked, "Lord Todiyori's son, Toshiyuki?"

Sora let out a chuckle of amusement and shook her head no. "Yuki-kun has no interest in becoming Daimyo." Turning her gaze away from Hound, she unconsciously stepped to the side closer to Shikaku. "If he did, he would be here instead of me."

Hound took this opportunity to forcefully bulldoze his way across from her to retrieve the entire trash can. Sora gave him a half hearted glare and clicked her tongue in irritation.

Shikaku watched the interaction with mild amusement. "You two are close," he concluded, making Hound freeze momentarily until he forced himself to relax.

Sora smile softly at Shikaku, not denying his statement nor clarifying whether or not it was Hound or Toshiyuki she was close to.

"Nara-sama, Konoha can't get involved," she said as she crossed her arms in front of her. Seeing how the Jounin Commander was about to protest, Sora continued, "The feudal court still hold a lot of influence, especially economically. With Konoha still recuperating from the last shinobi war, it's better if I deal with this myself without the village getting involved."

Hound stiffened and looked at the Jounin Commander, who was studying the ruby haired woman.

"Team Ro are your guards, Daimyo-sama," Shikaku warned. "It automatically makes Konoha involved."

Sora gave him a shrug. "It'll be taken care of by tonight." Hound stiffened while the Jounin Commander narrowed his eyes at her. Seeing this, she quickly added, "I'm not going to confront the culprits, Nara-sama."

Shikaku gave her an unconvinced look. "What are you going to do then?"

"Meet up with a friend," she replied.

Shikaku looked at her. "This friend is going to confront them?"

Sora shook her head no. "No one's confronting anyone, Nara-sama."

"You're just going to let them go then?" Shikaku asked.

Sora looked at him. "Yes," she answered.

Shikaku's narrowed his eyes at her. "Why?"

"Because they gain nothing by killing me," she stated.

"They're target is Lord Todiyori's son," he concluded.

Sora gave a nod. "If I die, he becomes the next Daimyo. That was the condition Lord Todiyori gave 'Yuki-kun when he suggested for a nomination to be held for the next Daimyo. If 'Yuki-kun dies though, there will be no Daimyo next in line. They're forcing Yuki-kun to step into a role he does not want."

Shikaku tensed with wide eyes. "What a drag," he muttered out.

Sora lips quirked at his trademark phrase.

"Fine," the Jounin Commander said. "But we're keeping the poisoned plate of food."

Hound relaxed his hold on the trash can when Sora gave a nod in agreement. He gave the Jounin Commander the trash can, who placed it back underneath his desk.

Feeling two cold souls drawing near, Sora looked at Hound. Without looking away from the Anbu Captain, she asked, "Nara-sama, can I leave the four baby Kohaku koi fishes here until after the tour?"

Shikaku blinked at the swift change of topic. He went on full alert immediately when all of Team Ro had immediately disappeared, leaving only Genma and her in the office with him. A glance at Genma told him that he too was ready to engage in combat if needed. 'It's almost like she sent a warning signal,' he thought.

"Kohaku koi fishes?" Shikaku asked. "Are you sure?"

Sora gave a nod and crouched down to pick up one of the cups. Shikaku's eyes narrowed when Genma quickly signed, 'Unwanted ears.'

Remaining calm, the Jounin Commander looked at Sora as she gave him one of the fish.

"I got them from a vender selling goldfishes," Sora said. "But the patterns of the scales are definitely Kohaku koi fishes. He was probably meaning to give them to his original buyer. One Kohaku koi fish is worth two million ryo on the black market."

Shikaku gaped at her upon hearing the price of a simple pet fish. Apparently, an extremely expensive pet fish. He looked at the small fish in his hand to see it looking back at him. "Are you planning to keep them, Daimyo-sama?" he asked.

Sora turned to gaze at him. "Would you like to adopt two of them?"

Shikaku quickly shook his head no. "Not me," he said. Lifting the cup towards the light, he continued, "But I know someone who'd be interested."

"Akimichi-sama?"

Shikaku blinked at her and nodded. "How'd you know?"

Sora chuckled. "Momo-san and Mato-san speaks highly of the koi fish that they've helped raise for the clan's rice paddies." Grabbing the second cup with a koi fish, she gave it to the Nara. Beaming him a smile, she said, "I'd be more than happy to give two to the Akimichi clan. They'll be happy there. The pond behind oji-san's yard isn't big enough to house all four anyways." Picking up the remaining two, she asked, "Can these two stay here until I retrieve them though?"

Shikaku gave a nod, surprised that she was friends with two Akimichi clan members. "Your oji-san lives in Konoha?"

Sora blinked at him and nodded. "Yeah. He's my legal guardian."

"Legal guardian?" Genma asked, curious.

"Yeah," Sora said with a nod. "Hatake Sakumo is my legal guardian. Technically, my Godfather, but when Mama passed away, all parental rights went to him."

Both Shikaka and Genma looked at her in shock.

"Troublesome," Shikaku muttered.

Sora gave him an inquisitive stare before shifting her eyes towards the ceiling briefly in worry. She had felt Fox's soul flare up in surprise.

'A sensor?,' Shikaku thought curiously.

Hoping to distract her, the Jounin Commander said, "Hokage-sama mentioned that you might have a few questions for me."

Sora's eyes lit up and nodded. "I do actually," she admitted as she reached into her sleeves to reveal a journal.

Shikaku nodded as he moved the scrolls on his desk to the side. He then directed her to sit at the chair across from him as he placed the cups of fishes on his file cabinet. Once she sat down, she placed the journal in front of him and flipped through the pages until she stopped. Genma peered curiously over at the journal as well.

Sora gave him a nod as she flipped through more pages. "Are you aware that the designing of the flak jackets is part of the Fire Daimyo's duty, while the actual manufacturing of it belongs to Konoha? It was the predecessors way of bonding with one another during a time of warfare."

Shikaku blinked as she stopped flipping the pages to reveal a detailed diagram of a flak jacket.'[ There were notes of the best materials that could be used, including the thickness of each layer to provide optimal movement and protection.

Looking at her in shock, he admitted, "No."

'Does Minato even know?' Shikaku wondered.

"It's not common knowledge," Sora said unbothered. "The only person who decided to attempt to fulfill this duty was Lord Seiji, with the aid of his wife, Lady Tomoe. I'm picking up where they left off. I just need your opinion about the idea of having different flak jackets for each rank, except for Genins of course."

As Shikaku peered over to read the journal, Sora leaned back into her chair and pointed to a bunch of boxes placed in the back corner of his office. Stamped across the boxes were the logo for Tree Leaves.

"Hound-san," Sora siad, "in the box, up two rows, third from the left are fully stocked up medical kits. Its either this, or immediately to the hospital."

The Anbu Captain stepped out from the shadows to retrieve the box. Quickly slicing the tape with his kunai, he opened it to reveal the same medical kits that were provided to the tenants at his apartment. Setting the box on the Jounin Commander's desk, he pulled one out.

As Hound opened it, Shikaku's gazed into the kit curiously. He picked up a small circular jar with the label, 'Healing Salve.' Moving it caused a familiar medicine container to shift. Reaching over to it, he shifted the container to read the label, confirming his thoughts.

"These are chakra supplement pills," as he gave a questioning look at Sora.

Sora shifted her journal to the side to give Hound more room as he began opening the packs of bandages. "I know what they are, Nara-sama," she said, giving the Anbu Captain a once over.

"You are not shinobi," Shikaku stated, realizing that she was checking Hound for injuries.

"Obviously," she muttered as she glanced at the rest of Team Ro who had stepped closer to them. Her eyes locked on the bleeding injury on Fox's side. Reaching into the kit, she pulled out a small squeeze tube containing antiseptic and gave it to Hound. "Who do you think provides ingredients to make these?" she asked the Nara.

Shikaku turned the vial to see the label that listed five ingredients. Three of which came from the Nara, Yamanaka, and Aburame Clans. The other two came from one sole provider. "You're that Fujiwara."

Sora flashed him a grin before turning her gaze on Fox. She frowned in disapproval before picking up a colorful small box, and tossed it towards Crow, who immediately caught it. "Make sure she eats four to keep her blood sugar from dropping further."

Crow tensed and turned to look at his teammate. He quickly opened the box to reveal individually wrapped square candies in a variety of flavors. Unwrapping one, he immediately gave it to Fox, who was trembling slightly while her Captain took a look at her wound.

Seeing Fox giving her a curious gaze as she ate the candy, Sora said, "Some of my staff members are diabetic, including some guild members. I recognize the signs when it's been too long in between meals or snacks. You can keep the candy. As soon as I'm done here, we're having lunch. The tour can wait until after."

Fox was about to protest, but the look from Sora made her stop. The Anbu member could only nod her thanks as Crow handed her the box of candies.

Looking at Shikaku, she continued as if she hadn't just paused to ensure Team Ro was okay. "As per agreement, batches of chakra supplements are regularly sent out to me. Since I don't use them, I usually just keep them inside medical kits and give them to my tenants."

"Tenants?" Shikaku asked.

"The apartment near Shushy-Ya," Sora said with a grin. "Every now and then, I make some medical kits to be sent to the Anbu and Jounin departments. For some reason, individuals in those particular departments have an odd aversion to the hospital."

Shikaku's lips quirked at that remark as he continued looking at her list of pros and cons about having different flak jackets. She even included solutions for some of the cons. 'She's observant for a civilian,' he thought. 'Which, I don't know if it's a good thing or not seeing as how she's the Daimyo now.'

"Flak jackets are visual representations of the achievements that an individual has accomplished," Sora recalled. "Which is why the Daimyo is given a voice when it comes to promoting a Genin to Chunin from their respective villages." Looking at him, she continued, "Would it be a smart move to make a different flak jacket for those who are a Chunin, Jounin, and Anbu?"

Shikaku blinked at her. "I understand Chunin and Jounin, but why Anbu?"

Sora cocked her head at him. "Have you've seen their uniforms? They stick out."

Shikaku froze at her blunt honesty. "How so?"

"Every time one moves," she answered, "the material used for the current flak jackets reflects light, including at night. Though, if that's the reason why they wear the flak jacket, then we can scratch out the budget reserved for giving Anbu new flak jackets."

Before she could reach for the ink brush, Shikaku quickly grabbed it out of her reach. "Maybe we shouldn't act so hastily," he muttered. "At least not without the Anbu Commander's input."

Sora blinked at him before giving him an amused smile. "You just don't want the Anbu Commander to come after you when he learns that you were the reason why his subordinates didn't receive new flak jackets while everyone else did."

Shikaku sagged slightly but did not say anything to dispute her.

"So, what do you think of the idea?" she asked.

"I'll have to run it with Hokage-sama," he said honestly. "It's his decision. However, from a shinobi point of view, the idea is sound. Especially when the materials suggested to be used are made of non reflective material, and the colors blend in well with the natural surroundings of Konoha. But, I don't know if it's feasible."

Sora nodded in understanding. "I'm not sure what manufacturing companies Konoha have contracts with, so I can't give my opinion on them."

"Despite being the owner of Masamaru's Weapons Shops, who sells kimono and yukata to our shinobi force?" Shikaku asked.

Sora let out a genuine chuckle. "Somehow I get a feeling that you and the other Commanders get along quite well, Nara-sama," she said cheekily. "But yes, even if I am the owner of a shop who provides those items with those particular fabrics."

"That's too bad," he muttered.

Sora only hmmed in faux sympathy as she reached over to retrieve her journal. Standing up, she placed it inside her sleeves.

"That's all the questions you have for me?" Shikaku asked, half surprised, half relieved.

"I think I've overwhelmed you enough for today, Nara-sama," Sora said as she stepped away from the desk. "Will you be joining us Shurinai-san, or should I meet you outside the Jounin Standby Station?"

Genma looked at the Jounin Commander. "I'll meet you in front of the Jounin Standby Station, Daimyo-sama. I've already had lunch."

Sora gave him a nod and turned towards the door. She paused to look at Shikaku. "If you need another's opinion about what to look for when it comes to manufacturing clothes for shinobi, you know where to find me."

Shikaku's studied her for a bit. "How soon?"

Sora scrunched her nose in thought. "Hmm. I'm planning to drop by the orphanage in the morning then there's tomorrow's tour. So we can talk it over around three?"

Shikaku gave a nod in confirmation.

"I'll see you at three," she exclaimed as she opened the office door. She paused to look at him. "Be prepared to be put to work tomorrow if all goes well, Jounin Commander."

Genma and Shikaku could only gape as Sora left the entrance. Seeing the desperate gaze turned towards him, the Tokubetsu Jounin quickly poofed out from the office not wanting to be dragged into tomorrow's 'work'.

Realizing he couldn't get out of it, Shikaku immediately leaned forward across his desk. "If this is how she is, the budget meeting is going to be the longest and most interesting meeting we've had in a long time," he grumbled. He folded his arms underneath his head and let out a sigh.

Hearing a knock against his door, Shikaku looked up to see his one of best friend grinning at him.

"We heard Daimyo-sama ramble to Genma-kun about the possibility of getting new flak jackets when they entered the building," Chouza informed him. "She seemed pretty concerned about it. Didn't realize where she was until after she was done speaking."

Shikaku tucked his head back on top of his arms on his desk. "What a drag," he muttered.

Chouza stared at his long time friend. "The idea wasn't good?"

Shikaku looked at him, "The idea is good. Fool proof even. She covered all her basics. Even recommended the best materials and cuts needed to ensure the safety of the person wearing it." With a low voice, he muttered, "She's only in charge of the design. It's the rest that's troublesome."

Chouza noticed the alertness hidden behind the relaxed gaze within his friend's eyes. "Shall we have dinner together with Inoichi tonight?" he asked. "He might be able to provide more insight."

Shikaku's eyes widened and looked at him. "Chouza, you're a genius."

Chouza grinned. "He's currently in a meeting still," he said.

Shikaku rubbed the back of his neck "With the blacksmiths from Masamaru's Weapons Shop."

Chouza nodded. Grinning at him, he bent down and whispered, "Let's have lunch. I know that you haven't eaten yet despite what Hinoto had said."

At the mention of lunch, Shikaku remembered what had occurred in his office. "That reminds me. Chouza," he asked, "are Kohaku koi fishes really worth two million ryo on the black market?"

Chouza's eyes widened in shock. "Yes," he exclaimed. "It's due to the perfect ratio of white and orange scales. Both colors are extremely radiant if they're well taken care of. Why?"

Shikaku scratched the side of his head. "I may have volunteered you to adopt two of them."

Seeing his old time teammate's eyes lit up in excitement, Shikaku took one of the cups of fishes from the cabinet's surface. "Daimyo-sama said that she got them from a vender selling goldfish. She said that she'd gladly give two away to the Akimichi clan. Apparently, she's close to Momo and Mato."

Chouza's eyes widened at the information before tenderly reaching over to look at the fish. "Shikaku," he muttered. "These aren't just any old Kohaku koi fishes." He placed the cup on the desk. "These are specific to a single pond in Konoha." Looking at the Nara Clan Head, the Akimichi continued, "The very same pond that reside within Lady Kikyo's Palace. No one is allowed to enter without approval. There hasn't been any visitors into the palace since her passing."

For the umpteenth time that day, Shikaku slouched over. "What a drag," he said. Looking at his old Genin teammate, he said, "Let's go take a walk before lunch."

Understanding why he said that, Chouza nodded as the two exited the office.

—

When the group exited the T&I building, the rest of Team Ro disappeared leaving Fox with Sora. Ignoring but internally appreciating her worried looks, Fox asked, "Have you've been to Yakiniku Q before Daimyo-sama?"

Sora's eyes lit up at the name of the restaurant as she nodded. "I've been there a few times," she said.

Fox nodded. "Will it be alright to go there?"

Sora grinned. "Sure thing, Fox-san."

As the duo walked towards a restaurant with windows placed up high, they smell of barbecued pork greeted them when they opened the doors. There were booths along the walls with green seats. Spread throughout the rest of the restaurant were floor tables with green cushions surrounding them. At each table and booth were built in grills. Many of the customers were grilling their own meat over the charcoal grill. Fox lead the duo to a booth in the corner. As Sora slipped in to sit beside her, the rest of Team Ro appeared.

As they waited for a staff to take their order, Sora looked around and spotted a large group of men across the room. They were eating and drinking loudly around two of the floor tables. Each of them were wearing the same clothes. A dark burgundy yukata with black hakama pants, followed by white socks and slippers. But it was the youngest one in the group who caught her eye. Poking out underneath the loosened collar of his kimono was a gold medallion of a crest that she recognized.

Internally sighing, she blinked as a waiter came over to take their order. As Team Ro ordered, she saw how one of the older men had leaned into the youngest man's side and placed their hand over their shoulder. This shifted the younger man's yukata, blocking the medallion from view.

'At least one of them caught it,' Sora thought. 'But it's a little too late now.'

"What are Imperial Fire Guards doing in Konoha?" Sora heard someone whisper.

Her gaze flickered two tables down to see a trio of older teens. They were wearing brown flak jackets. 'Recent Chuunin most likely,' Sora thought. 'Most would've known better and activated the privacy seal underneath the table.'

The oldest of the teen quickly shushed the one who spoke. "It's common to run into them throughout Land of Fire. They serve the Fire Royal Family."

"You think a member is in the village?" the youngest ask.

The two shrugged.

"I heard the Daimyo was in the village," the second youngest murmured.

The oldest shook his head no. "The new Daimyo was nominated. No relation to the royal family."

The trio gazed at the two floor tables again with the Imperial Fire Guards.

"Maybe they're here on vacation," the third teen whispered. "They seem to be enjoying themselves."

"Sure looks like it," the second oldest said. "But to use up two floor tables?"

"Imperial Fire Guards are known to travel in larger groups than shinobi," the oldest said. "They're still civilians after all."

"I guess so," the second oldest murmured.

The three froze when they caught the eyes of the oldest Imperial Guard sitting at the table. When he gave them a grin and a wave, they quickly nodded in greeting before looking away.

At her own table, Sora sipped on her tea as she waited for the meat to cook on the grill. Keeping her head down, she heard the group of men cheer out followed by clinking of glassware.

Seeing a few pieces of meat being placed on her plate underneath her gaze, she nodded her head in thanks and began eating. Humming in ecstasy at the taste of juicy pork ribs, she closed her eyes in bliss. 'I'll never get tired of an Akimichi's cooking,' she thought.

Team Ro looked at one another when they felt something warm and soothing wrap around them again. Hound, who was sitting next to her, watched as the younger members laughed loudly as they talked amongst one another about visiting Konoha's famous onsen. His gaze was pulled away from them briefly when he heard a content sigh from Sora as she continued eating. The warm and soothing feeling intensified, putting everyone in the restaurant at ease, including the Fire Imperial Guards.

Seeing Sora push her empty tea cup towards him, Hound internally rolled his eyes at how he was now reduced to play as a maid. 'Though, I suppose it's a good thing she trusts me enough to not poison her food,' he thought as he filled up her cup before picking up his own cooked pork ribs and began to eat.

It wasn't long before the group of Fire Imperial Guards finished eating.

"As the youngest, Katsuro-kun has to pay," one of Imperial Guards had declared.

Said Katsuro had balked at his comrade. "Daijiro-san!"

The entire group laughed out loud in amusement as he reluctantly handed the golden ryo coins to the waiter.

The oldest Imperial Guard placed his hand on Katsuro's shoulder. "I'll pay your entrance fee to the onsen."

Katsuro stared awe struck. "S-senpai!"

The older Imperial Guard laughed and guided his youngest kohai out of the restaurant first.

'He wasn't their Captain then,' Hound thought. 'Lieutenant perhaps?'

While he wasn't familiar with the chain of command amongst the Fire Imperial Guards, he knew enough to know that there was usually two leaders assigned. The Captain, who was responsible for the squad as a whole, and the Lieutenant, who usually branched off into smaller cells.

'I've never heard a Lieutenant be referred to as senpai before,' Hound thought. 'Maybe they really are on vacation.' However, his gut told him that this wasn't the case.

Looking at his teammates, they gave a nod letting him know that they were done. Looking at Sora, he touched her shoulders.

Sora looked up to see no more raw meat in sight. Nodding in approval, Sora flagged a waiter down to pay for their meal before leaving. Once outside, she blinked to see Genma walking up to them from a wall that was across the popular barbecue restaurant.

"Is everything alright Shirunai-san?" Sora asked as she walked up to him. "I thought we agreed to meet up at the Jounin Standby Station."

Genma gave her a flirty grin. "I was on my way there when I saw a group of interesting people exit from Yakiniku Q."

Sora blinked at him then let out an amused laugh. "I hardly think Team Ro and I are that interesting, Shurinai-san."

Genma briefly gave her a calculative look before it was replaced with another flirty grin.

Before he could say anything, she began to walk away from him as she said, "Next time, just join us for lunch instead of being a creeper."

Genma winced. "A creeper?" he mumbled.

"Yeah," Sora said. "You were leaning against the wall when we exited, as if you were waiting for us to finish eating. If that doesn't describe the actions of a creep, then I don't know what does."

Genma's mouth dropped at her. He blinked when he caught the weird looks he was getting from the people around him.

"W-wait!" he said as he quickly followed after her. "It wasn't like that at all!"

When he finally caught up to her, he saw her teasing smile. "That was a bit cruel, Daimyo-sama," he grumbled jokingly, as he flicked his senbon to the left.

"Then don't be a creeper," she said.

Beside her, Genma slouched a bit at her words. "I wont be a creeper next time."

"Good to hear that you have self reflected on your actions," Sora said with a grin.

"Daimyo-sama," Genma whined, which made her chuckle out loud.

When they were standing in front of the Jounin Standby Station, she gave him a grin, "Let's start the tour, Shurinai-san."

Genma sighed and opened the door. As soon as he did though, their eyes widened at what they saw. Standing on sofas, tables, even on the ceilings were Jounins with their weapons drawn. In some of their hands were boxes with Tree Leave's logo. Those not holding a box went after a person holding a box they were interested in. Those holding the box dodged or blocked the incoming attacks. A Jounin with his pony tail shaped to mimic a bull's horn had even fled up the stairs with a box. A few seconds later, a Jounin with short dark hair and a beard came running down the stairs with the same box in his hand.

Sora quirked an eyebrow at the Jounins in front of her behaving like children, instead of the adults that they are. "And here I thought you've never received the boxes," she said with amusement. The group of Jounin froze and stared wide eyed at the ruby haired woman. "I believe you guys have the capacity to share, yes?"

"But Sora-chan," declared the short dark haired man with the beard. "Some of these are only limited editions. You don't even stock up on them at your shop regularly enough for a trade to occur."

Sora looked at the box in the Jounin's hands. She recognized it as one of the two boxes that contained small bags of pastries she had made from time to time. When they were put up in her shop, they were usually gone within the first three days. "Sharing is caring, Mimura-san."

"Yeah, Hamaki," the Jounin with bull horn hair piped up as he quickly reached into the box to snag a bag. There was a small goatee on his chin. "You heard her."

"Suzuka!" Hamaki declared as he moved the box away from the their. Seeing the bag in his hands, he yelled out, "Give it back Nara! That's the only bag that has the pumpkin tarts."

Hearing this, the bag quickly disappeared from the Nara's hands.

"These are quite good," Genma replied. Everyone gaped. In the Tokubetsu Jounin's right hand was the same bag that Suzuka was holding. In his left was a pumpkin tart he had taken a bite out of.

"Shurinai!" the duo yelled out in anger

Genma gave them a grin as he quickly sidestepped the weapon they had begun to throw at him. When one flew too close to Sora, a gloved hand immediately reached out to grab onto it.

"Sora," a deep masculine voice stated, not at all pleased.

Sora flinched as she looked up to see the back of Hatake Sakumo in front of her. Standing beside him were his three wolf summons.