Naruko woke up with a yawn, slowly sat up, and looked around, seeing that only she and Setsu were left in the bed.
Naruko panicked for a moment before the door to the Wheelhouse opened, and Medios stepped back inside as she dried off her wet hair.
"Good morning Naruko," Medios said, smiling at the younger girl.
"Good morning, Mistress. I apologise that I wasn't awake to help you take a bath, Mistress," Naruko said, looking at the floor.
"It's okay. There are plenty of other girls to help me," Medios said, not sounding angry.
Naruko gave Setsu a nudge with her foot, hoping to wake the girl up, but she just turned around and continued to sleep.
"Leave her to sleep. Come, let's get you dressed," Medios said, gesturing for Naruko to come over to her.
Naruko stepped out of bed and then looked down, realising that she was completely naked. Her arms instinctively covered her chest before she remembered where she was and what she was now.
Naruko slowly put them down, feeling a little self-conscious about her body. Still, Medios had seen her naked quite a few times, so the feeling had faded somewhat.
"Hmm, I am thinking purple today?" Medios said, pulling out a simple-looking purple dress and holding it up against Naruko.
Naruko just stood still as Medios started pulling out a few different colours and seeing which one she liked. They were not different from the white dress she wore when she first became a slave.
One of the older slave girls had told Naruko that they would be allowed to wear more expensive dresses when they were shown off to a potential buyer. But while travelling, it was a waste of money to risk them getting damaged.
A part of Naruko was looking forward to it. It would be the start of her new life, and she had never worn expensive clothing before.
"Hmm, yes, a light purple works well," Medios said, handing the dress to Naruko.
"Thank you, Mistress," Naruko said as she grabbed some underwear and then got dressed.
After getting dressed, Naruko walked to the sitting area of the Wheelhouse and was relieved to see that there was some food laid out and that it looked quite good as well.
Naruko picked up a bowl of rice porridge, something that she was used to eating as it was cheap enough for Naruko to buy a lot of it with the little amount of money that she had. She scooped some fruit into the bowl as well and dug in.
Halfway through the bowl, Naruko felt the Wheelhouse start to move and wondered what the capital of fire looked like.
Would it look like the Village Hidden in the Village?
That was all that Naruko could imagine when it came to what places looked like. She was aware that villages looked different, but having never seen any other ones, she couldn't paint a picture of them in her head.
"You won't be allowed to explore the capital, im afraid," Medios said, seeing how excited Naruko looked.
Naruko pouted a bit before she calmed down.
"Maybe your Mistress or Master will take you for a quick look around," Smiling at the girl.
With nothing else to do, Naruko picked up a few leaves and started to stick them to her body with chakra. So far, she has been able to attach a total of 7 leaves to herself.
In order to try and make it more difficult, she was trying to attach leaves to parts of her body she wouldn't normally, like her elbows or thighs and nose.
She wasn't sure if it would help her get better control over her chakra, but Medios said that was her main problem. She had so much chakra that when using a Jutsu, she used too much or too little.
That didn't matter for something like the Transformation Jutsu or the Substitution Jutsu, but for the Clone Jutsu, it did, and that was why she couldn't do it.
Naruko spent the entire morning sticking leaves to herself as Medios seemed content to read.
Medios looked out the window before she looked at Naruko. "Go wake your friend up. We will be at the capital soon."
Naruko stood up excitedly. "Yes, Mistress," Naruko said, walking back over to the bed, surprised that Setsu was still asleep.
Nevertheless, Naruko shook Setsu awake, who woke up with a yawn looking a bit confused.
"Mistress said you need to get up. We will be at the capital very soon," Naruko whispered to Setsu, who didn't seem as excited as Naruko.
An hour later, Naruko got her first view of the capital of fire. And it looked nothing like what she had imagined. She had expected it to be surrounded by trees like the Hidden Village.
But there was no forest anywhere near it. It sat on a large raised section of land that Naruko guessed was done via Ninjutsu. Around the edge was a study-looking wall, and a river snaked around one-half of the wall.
Naruko started to fidget as they got closer and closer to the capital. Once they arrived at the gate, Medios showed a pass of some kind, and they were let in.
It was a shock, given how everyone that came to the Leaf was searched very well, and all their belongings were searched as well. So just being let in felt odd to Naruko.
As the caravans made their way down the long street, Naruko looked at all the shops and buildings as they went by. She was a bit disappointed that they were not any different from the buildings in the Leaf, but it shouldn't have been that much of a shock, given they were in the same country.
The size of the place, however, was a shock. The main street they were going down was large enough for 4 wheelhouses to go down side by side, and there was still a pathway for the public to walk on either side of the road.
And the sheer amount of people was mind-boggling for the young girl. She was sure that there were more people on this entire street than the whole of the Leaf.
Everyone was smiling as they went about their business, and the entire place just felt more relaxed than she had ever seen the Leaf. Maybe it was the lack of ninjas coming and going, Naruko thought.
"Come sit down, Naruko. I don't want you falling out the window," Medios said, making the girl bush at how childish she was acting.
With some reluctance, Naruko sat back down on the couch as the Wheelhouse started to slow down.
A moment later, the Wheelhouse came to a stop, and Medios stood up and made her way to the door, with Naruko and Setsu quickly following after her.
Stepping out, Naruko saw they were on a side street across from a large manor-like building. Naruko looked over at Medios only to see that she had already started ordering some men from the house to start unpacking everything from the Wheelhouse.
"Come on, follow us," Alexia and Sierra said to Setsu and Naruko, leading them into the house.
"Is this Mistress?" Naruko asked as they were led up a large flight of stairs and down a hallway.
"Yep, she has a house in a few of the capitals makes it easier to show off the slaves she had for sale in a more relaxed way.
"Don't we get sold at auction?" Naruko asked, confused.
"Yes and no. If you were buying a concubine, you would at least want to talk to them, or they may be a bad fit. Or if you're buying a bodyguard, you would want to get to know them, given you are putting your life in their hands," Sierra said.
"I guess that makes sense. I hadn't really thought about it," Naruko said as her eyes followed Sierra's and Alexia's tails going back and forth.
"Right here we are. This room is empty, so it can be yours while we stay here."
"Thank you. Do we need to meet up at some point or something?" Setsu asked.
"Just for food, but we will come and get you when it's time for dinner. Other than that, feel free to explore the grounds. However, you are not allowed to leave the grounds," the two demi-humans warned.
"We won't," Naruko promised.
The two demi-humans raised their eyebrows before nodding and leaving the two girls on their own.
"So, want to look around them?" Naruko asked.
"Sure, let's go," Setsu said, smiling at Naruko.
Naruko and Setsu spent the next few hours looking around the large house and the grounds that it was on. They were careful to not go anywhere near the boundary of the property.
Unfortunately, there wasn't much in the house. There was a large greenhouse on the grounds that had more types of flowers than Naruko had ever seen.
They also learned that there were some house slaves. They lived in the house all year to keep it clean and looking nice. The slaves that were in charge of the garden and greenhouse told them that the flowers were for flower arrangement classes.
Something that Naruko and Setsu should have been able to guess as Medios seemed to only really sell to nobles, and things like flower arrangement would be something that a concubine should know.
After all, Naruko did kunoichi classes at the Academy, where she learned Flower arrangement, Tea Ceremony, Music, Dance and how to be a hostess.
After thanking the girls in the garden, they went back to the house to look around. Unsurprisingly they found a room full of vases and snipping tools for trimming flowers.
Another room had musical instruments, a room full of teapots and jars of tea leaves and another room with a large stage that Naruko was sure was for dancing and singing or maybe both.
The last room they found was a large bathroom. All the other rooms were bathrooms or the kitchen.
"Ah, there you two are. Come quickly. We need to get you dressed," Sierra said, grabbing Naruko's hand and pulling her along.
"What is wrong? Did we break a rule?" Naruko asked, worried.
"No. Mistress went out an hour ago and bumped into a friend she hadn't expected to see, and she is optimistic that she will be interested in you," Sierra said as she pulled Naruko into their room.
"So I need to get dressed, put on makeup etc," Naruko asked as Sierra let go of her wrist.
"Of course not. Your main selling point is that you had ninja training, and Lady Yoruichi almost only buys slaves that can work as a ninja."
Naruko was shocked at what Sierra had just told her. She had honestly expected to be a concubine of a noble or maybe a bodyguard to the wife of a noble. She hadn't expected that she might still end up as a ninja.
"Right, we have half an hour before Lady Yoruichi and Mistress are here, so I shall give you some background on her and her country, and then you can get dressed and ready to meet her," Sierra said as she pulled a plain black outfit out of the wardrobe.
"Okay, im ready," Naruko said as she calmed herself down, ready to listen.
"Okay, Lady Yoruichi comes from the Land of Iron. The land of Iron is ruled by the Diamio, just like all other lands.
The current Diamio is called Mifune, and the former Diamio is called Genryusai Yamamoto, who is now the head of the military.
I don't know anything about their military for obvious reasons, but it does have a shinobi unit under Lady Yoruichi." Sierra explained.
"Okay, got it. What about noble families?" Naruko asked.
"There are 5 great noble families and 11 lesser noble families, and Lady Yoruichi is not only from one of the 5 great noble families but is the head of the Shihouin family," Sierra explained, giving Naruko a focused look.
Naruko swallowed nervously. She was a little worried about meeting such an important person from the land of the Iron. Sierra nodded, seeing that Naruko could tell how important Lady Yoruichi was in the social hierarchy.
"I know that Lady Yoruichi is in charge of the shinobi of the Land of Iron, but not much else. As for Lady Yoruichi..." Sierra paused momentarily as she thought about how to best describe Lady Yoruichi.
"Every time I have met her when not in public, she is very laid-back and even quite playful with the people that she has brought. Just warning you, oh, and she also only drinks milk," Sierra said, standing up.
Naruko nodded, finding it a bit odd, but she would probably prefer a master or Mistress that is laid-back compared to one that was super stern and demanding.
"Right, get dressed, and then I will take you to the entertainment hall, where we will await Mistress and her guests."
"Wait, err, do I need to call Lady Yoruichi anything special due to her rank in the Land of Iron?" Naruko asked.
"Nope, just stick with my Lady for everyone other than your mistress or Sir if there are any men," Sierra said as she left the room for Naruko to get changed.
Stripping down, Naruko pulled on the new clothes prepared for her. The first layer was a skin-tight black bodysuit that hugged her body tightly, leaving nothing to the imagination.
Thankfully there was a white robe that went over the top. Naruko wasn't sure what it was called. It had long sleeves and came down to her mid-thighs but was split on each side, showing off her legs as she walked.
Around her waist, it was fastened with a white obi, and she had some thigh-high black socks to wear on her feet. Once dressed, Naruko looked in the mirror to see what she looked like.
She was happy with what she saw. The white and the black went well together, and her red hair was clearly prominent as it cascaded off her shoulders.
With that, Naruko left the room to find Alexia, Sierra and Setsu all waiting outside.
"Doesn't Setsu need to get changed?" Naruko asked the two older slave girls.
"No, Lady Yoruichi will only be interested in you. Since Setsu has no ninja training Lady Yoruichi wouldn't buy her," Alexia said as they all started walking down the corridor.
Naruko couldn't help but get more and more nervous with every step they took.
What if Lady Yoruichi didn't like her? What if she was disappointed she couldn't use the clone Justsu?
Naruko jumped when she felt a hand on her back before realising it was Sierra.
"Relax, I told you Lady Yoruichi is very laid back," Sierra said softly to Naruko, who nodded back.
Alexia and Sierra led them back to the room she and Setsu had found with the large stage.
Unlike before, though, now there were lots of people going in and out of the room, bringing tables and tea sets into the room and musical instruments.
As they walked past, all the other girls gave Naruko small smiles and looked happy for her. That alone boosted her confidence and brought a warm feeling to the nervous girl.
Walking into the room, Naruko could see the music players sitting up on the sides of the room as some girls were dancing on the stage. In the middle of the room was a table with four seats.
In the centre of the table was a large circle of sand with charcoal neatly arranged. On the other side, there was a group of girls who were getting the tea ready to be brewed.
Alexia and Sierra turned to look at Naruko. "You will be the host for Mistress and Lady Yoruichi tonight," Alexia said, shocking Naruko.
"Me?" Naruko said, her mouth feeling very dry.
She had learned how to be a proper host in her kunoichi classes at the Academy, and she had been the most to Medios on their journey here several times.
But now she would have to do it for a group of people she had never met and would be expecting perfect service.
Both the girls gave her encouraging nods, and Naruko walked over to the table and stood by its side.
She took another look at the charcoal and the table setting to make sure she was happy with it and then went back to waiting.
Soon the room fell quiet as everyone was in place, and Naruko was sure everyone could hear her heart pounding.
Thankfully it wasn't long before they could hear Mistress Medios and her friends coming down the hallway.
Everyone stood that bit straighter and more alert.
A few seconds later, the door to the room and three people entered the room. First was their Mistress Medios, and then was one of the most beautiful girls that Naruko had laid her eyes on.
She has dark skin, golden irises, and purple hair that came to her waist that was tied into a ponytail. She was wearing a sleeveless and backless black robe whit a white Hirori overtop of that.
Behind her was a girl around her own age who was also wearing a black robe, something that must be common where ever they were from. She was also dark-skinned with the same purple hair and golden eyes.
If she had to guess, Naruko was sure they were related, most likely sisters.
As she was the last person in the room, all the slaves gave a bow before greeting them. "Welcome back, Mistress. Welcome, guests."
Medios and her two guests walked over to the table before taking a seat.
"Tea?" Naruko asked after they got seated.
"Milk for me," the dark-skinned woman said, and Naruko guessed this must be Lady Yoruichi, given that she was the oldest.
"Tea," the other two asked.
Naruko walked over to the tea station that was set up and started to make two cups of tea while the guests started talking to each other.
"So this is your brother, then?" Medios asked.
Naruko nearly stumbled when Medios asked her question as she was sure that they were sisters. After all, the boy was very girly looking and was wearing pink sleeves.
"Yep, I normally bring my bumble bee, but I thought he should come along, given he will no doubt have to make some trips like this in the near future," Lady Yoruichi said.
"Im not sure why you dislike it?" Yoruichi's brother said, sounding confused. "We have spent the entire time relaxing on the boat or the wheelhouse."
"No, you spent the entire time relaxed. Everyone else has been waiting to be attacked the entire time," Lady Yoruichi said, rolling her eyes.
"I was ready to defend the entire time," Lady Yoruichi's brother protested.
"Sure," Lady Yoruichi said, smirking.
Naruko returned with the drinks, placed them in front of the three guests, and went back to moving the coal around. With everything set up, she laced a wire rack over the coals and fetched the food.
Naruko placed the starters in front of the three guests, who picked up chopsticks and started to eat.
"Medium rare?" NAruko asked as she started to season the steaks.
"Medium rare," Lady Yoruichi and Medios confirmed.
"Medium," Lady Yoruichi's brother said.
Naruko gave the three of them a nod and placed them on the wire rack to start cooking.
"So this is who you were talking about?" Lady Yoruichi asked, looking at Naruko.
Naruko paused for a moment before she continued to cook their food, doing her best to concentrate on her job. Something that was easier said than done when someone was talking about you.
"Yep, this is her. She has ninja talent, but due to lack of chakra control, she didn't pass the ninja exam,"
"Ehh? how bad is her chakra control?" Lady Yoruichi's brother asked, sounding shocked.
Naruko felt her eye twitch and had to mentally count down in her head to calm herself.
"She just needed some training, and I have had her work on it for the past month," Medios said, unbothered by Lady Yoruichi's brother's comment.
"Hmm?" Lady Yoruichi's said as Naruko felt her staring at her.
"Yūshirō can spar with her later," Lady Yoruichi said.
"Sis! I am at the level of a chunin. She can't possibly beat me or come close to matching me?" Yūshirō said in an almost pitying voice.
Lady Yoruichi didn't say anything, with her mind seemingly made up. Naruko did her best to focus on the cooking, but the feeling of worry built up in her.
She had to agree with what Yūshirō said. There was no way that she could fight or beat Yūshirō. So then, why did Lady Yoruichi want her to fight him?
Naruko took the food off the grill and served it to the three guests, and she took a step back and waited for them to finish. In the meantime, she thought about her upcoming fight.
Naruko wouldn't deny that she wasn't book smart. But that didn't mean she was stupid. There was a reason that she had been able to get away with all her pranks, including pranking Anbu.
Since she couldn't beat Yūshirō, then why was Lady Yoruichi having her fight him?
Chances were that she didn't care about the result of the fight but maybe her skill at fighting and her determination? The more she thought about it, the more she was sure that was the reason.
"Well, she would be a good cook if nothing else," Yūshirō said happily as he ate.
"We have plenty of cooks already. You don't have a concubine yet, do you, Yūshirō?" Lady Yoruichi asked with a smirk on her face as her brother was drinking.
The question clearly startled Yūshirō, and he started coughing as he blushed.
"N...no need, sister im still young," Yūshirō said, his face glowing in embarrassment.
After a moment, Lady Yoruichi broke into laughter with tears forming in her eyes.
Naruko blushed as she thought about being this girls boys concubine.
"It seems that Naruko doesn't mind the idea," Lady Yoruichi said, seeing Naruko blushing and laughing again.
Naruko did her best to ignore the other people that were looking at her.
"Right, let's have you two spar before we leave," Lady Yoruichi said, standing up and looking over at Naruko, who swallowed nervously, her face still red from the teasing.
"Let's go to the garden so my room isn't destroyed," Medios said, standing up.
The four of them left the room with Naruko showing the way through the house and to the back garden. Once there, Naruko and Yūshirō walked to a large open space and stared down at each other.
"You ready?" Yūshirō asked, sounding reluctant.
Naruko could understand why she wasn't going to be a challenge for him to beat.
Naruko just nodded as she got ready to fight.
"Then begin!" Lady Yoruichi declared.
Naruko wasted no time rushing at Yūshirō, who just waited for her to get close. Once she was two arms lengths away from him, Naruko jumped forwards and went to punch Yūshirō.
Yūshirō took a single step to the side, making it so that Naruko could hit him before she kicked her in his chest, sending her flying.
Naruko crashed into the dirt and started wheezing as she tried to get her breath back. She hadn't ever fought against a Chunin and was surprised at how fast he could attack.
She hadn't even had time to use substitution jutsu.
Naruko attacked over and over, and Yūshirō easily kicked her away or threw her to the ground over and over. In less than ten minutes, Naruko was aching and had several viable bruises.
With shaking arms and legs, Naruko got to her feet again.
"You can't win. Hell, you can't even hit me. Just give in," Yūshirō said, shaking his head.
Naruko took a deep breath as she took a step forward.
"That's enough!" Lady Yoruichi called out.
Naruko collapsed a moment after Lady Yoruichi called an end to the fight.
"Why do we go talk Medios and have some slaves tend to Naruko here?" Lady Yoruichi said.
"Sure," Medios said, looking at Naruko with a little worry.
"Yūshirō carry the girl till we find some slaves to look after her," Lady Yoruichi said as she turned to leave.
With a sigh, Yūshirō walked over to Naruko, gently picked her up, knowing she was covered in bruises, and walked after Medios and his sister.
Yoruichi PoV
Yoruichi followed Medios into an office-like room with her brother right next to her and took a seat as she looked at Medios.
"So what do you think?" Medios asked.
"She doesn't know any Ninjutsu?" Yoruichi said bluntly.
"That's the Leaf's fault. They only teach the 3 basic jutsu in the Academy," Medios said with a shrug.
"But she is of a good age and has good stamina and a good amount of chakra. With a small amount of effort, she can learn Ninjutsu," Medios said.
Yoruichi fell quiet as she weighed the pros and cons of buying Naruko. It was mainly pros. Slaves with the talent to become ninjas were very rare to come by at her age.
And she was resilient, as shown by how she kept getting back up after being taken down over and over.
"She is an Uzumaki as well. So teach her Fuinjutsu and have her make seals to sell. You will get your money back in 4, maybe 5 years, and she is still fertile, so you can have more Uzumaki ninjas down the line," Medios said, seeing that Yoruichi wasn't sold on buying her yet.
"Why did she sell herself?" Yoruichi asked.
The biggest reason that Yoruichi was so unsure about buying Naruko was that it seemed like a trap. A way to plant a spy or assassin.
She doubted they were the target if she was a spy, given that she hadn't planned on buying a slave on this visit. But it was well known that Medios only sold to nobles and other high-ranking people.
She had bought other slaves with Ninja talents, but all of them were older than Naruko and far less gifted. Naruko just seemed too good to be true.
"Im not sure. She seemed to have a bad life in the Leaf, and she failed the ninja exam three times due to a lack of chakra control. I can ask her and Setsu in the morning and get back to you?" Medios offered.
"Can I borrow her in the morning to conduct some more tests?" Yoruichi asked, standing up.
"Okay, but im showing her to someone else in the afternoon," Medios said, standing up.
"Thank you, see you tomorrow," Yoruichi said as she left the room with her brother.
Yoruichi and Yūshirō walked out of the house quietly and made their way back to the hotel they were staying at.
"Are you really not going to buy her?" Yūshirō asked.
"Hmm, as long as she isn't a spy, I will buy you your little concubine," Yoruichi said teasingly and smirked at her brother.
"I don't want a concubine!" Yūshirō protested, blushing.
"What, you don't think she cute?" Yoruichi asked.
"That's not the point," Yūshirō said petulantly.
"Ah, so you do think she is cute then," Yoruichi said, smiling.
"Sis!" Yūshirō said, embarrassed.
"In truth, I really do want to buy her. With training, she would be a good ninja. After her ninja years are up, she could make seals as a form of income for the clan, and her children would make good ninjas as well," Yoruichi said.
"Then why didn't you buy her there and then?" Yūshirō asked, confused.
"Why did the Leaf let her go. They must be able to see the same as I can, yet she somehow ended up as a slave?" Yoruichi said.
"Maybe she ran away for some reason?" Yūshirō suggested.
"I will find out tomorrow. If she means to harm the land of Iron, then she will be dealt with," Yoruichi said, her eyes flashing coldly.
Medios PoV
"How is Naruko?" Medios asked Sierra, who had just walked out of the girl's room.
"Some bruises but other than that, she is fine, and she is fast asleep now, Mistress," Sierra said.
"Hmm, go get some bruise cream and apply it for her," Medios said as she left to go sleep in her room.
"Yes, Mistress," Sierra said, bowing.
Naruko let out a groan as she woke up. As she slowly sat up, she let out a moan. Her body felt sore all over, no doubt from the ass-kicking that she had received.
Naruko looked down, expecting to see her body black and blue. She was pleasantly surprised to see that her body looked normal. Thinking back on it, she always healed very quickly compared to others.
If she had to bet then, she would no doubt guess that it had something to do with the Nine-tailed fox sealed inside her.
With that, she slowly got out of bed, looked around for some clothes, and saw the same clothes set out for her on the bedside table as last night.
She slowly got dressed, exited the room, and went to the dining hall. Naruko was a little surprised that Setsu wasn't in her room and that she didn't wake her up.
"Naruko comes here," Medios called as she entered the room.
Naruko saw all the food on the table, and her belly rumbled as she hadn't had any food last night.
"Mistress," Naruko greeted Medios bowing.
"Good morning. Are you feeling okay?" Medios asked warmly.
"Yes, Mistress, thank you," Naruko said, glancing at the food again.
"Okay, quickly get something to eat Lady Yoruichi will be here soon to pick you up for the morning," Medios said, dismissing Naruko.
Naruko was surprised that Lady Yoruichi was coming to take her way for the morning. However, she decided that food was more important and fast walked to the table and piled food on her plate.