"Lord Danzo," a man said, kneeling before a man shrouded in shadows.
"What is it?" Danzo asked as he flicked through some intelligence paperwork.
"We are unable to find the Jinchuriki," the masked man stated.
"Have you checked everywhere? Given that she can't become a ninja now, she may be avoiding everyone," Danzo asked.
"Yes, Lord Danzo, we have checked everywhere she normally hides."
Danzo paused his paperwork for a moment.
"Get everyone looking for her now!" Danzo ordered as he stood up.
"Yes, Lord Danzo," the masked man said with a bow and vanished from the room.
Danzo quickly placed all the documents away and reactivated the seal on the drawers. If someone forced them open, then they would explode, destroying the documents inside and, hopefully, the person trying to get them.
Danzo left his house and made his way through the village to the office of the Hokage quickly. Walking through the Hokage's building, he ignored the receptionist that greeted him and walked straight into the Hokage's office.
"Danzo?" Hiruzen asked.
"Naruko has gone missing?" Danzo stated.
"Missing? Are you sure that she isn't just sulking somewhere?" Hiruzen asked.
"My Root says she isn't in any of her normal places. Haven't you seen her since she failed the exam a few days ago?" Danzo asked.
"No, I have been busy with Mizuki, who tried to steal the Forbbiden Scroll. It turns out he was a subordinate of Orochimaru. I had planned to see her tonight. I still hadn't decided if I would allow her to be a ninja or not," Hiruzen said.
"She failed the exam, and not to mention letting her perform dangerous missions isn't worth the risk," Danzo stated.
Hiruzen waved his hand, and Anbu appeared before him.
"Take a single Anbu team and look for Naruko. Work with the Root agents that are already looking for her. When you find her, ensure she is safe and report back to me," Hiruzen ordered.
"Yes, lord Hokage," the masked man said, vanishing.
"You are not really thinking about letting her be a ninja, are you? Let me remind you that if she doesn't have any children, then we don't have a next generation of Jinchuriki," Danzo said.
"I don't know yet. Let's wait for Anbu to find her first before we talk about her future," Hiruzen said.
Danzo let out a hmph and went to sit down on the couch. With Anbu and Root working together, it wouldn't be long before she was found.
It was only 1 hour later that both Anbu and Root Body Flickered into the room.
"Lord Hokage, there are no traces of Naruko in the village, and no one has seen her in the last three days," the Anbu ninja reported.
Hiruzen jumped to his feet, shocked.
"What! Are you sure?" Hiruzen asked.
"Yes, Hokage-Sama."
"Get every Anbu ninja out looking for any traces of her now!" Hiruzen shouted with some panic in his voice.
"Lady Yoruichi," Medios greeted.
"Medios, is she ready to go?" Yoruichi asked.
"Of course," Medios said, pushing Naruko towards Lady Yoruichi.
"Lady Yoruichi," Naruko greeted with a bow, her mouth feeling dry.
"Let's go. I shall bring her back in a few hours, Medios," Lady Yoruichi said, turning around and leaving.
Naruko quickly followed after Yoruichi.
Naruko wasn't sure if she was meant to make some kind of small talk with Lady Yoruichi but decided to leave it up to her in case she caused offence.
"We will talk when we get back to the manor," Lady Yoruichi said as they walked.
"Yes, my lady," Naruko said, unsure if that was the right way to reply.
Naruko started to look around the capital of fire. Naruko found that it wasn't as interesting as she thought it would be. The buildings looked the same, the shops were the same.
Naruko nearly missed it when Lady Yoruichi turned off the main street and onto a side street and then stopped outside a very upper-class-looking hotel.
"Come on," Lady Yoruichi said as she walked inside and led Naruko to their room and stepped inside.
Naruko couldn't help but feel awkward. She felt like she should be doing more and making herself more helpful. But Lady Yoruichi didn't ask her for any help.
"Come sit. Let's have a chat," Lady Yoruichi said, gesturing towards a table.
Naruko walked over to the table and took a seat, feeling even more uneasy. After Lady Yoruichi took a seat, Naruko spoke up.
"What would you like to talk about, Lady Yoruichi?" Naruko asked.
"Im sure you can understand that as a noble family of the country of Iron and the person in charge of the intelligence division, lots of spies try and make their way into my division," Lady Yoruichi said calmly.
"I..." Naruko said before Lady Yoruichi held up her hand to stop her.
"Im not saying you're a spy. All I ask is that you answer my questions truthfully, and no matter what is said, it stays in this room between you and me, okay," Lady Yoruichi said, placing a cup of tea in front of Naruko.
"Okay," Naruko said, taking the cup of tea.
"So why did you sell yourself?" Lady Yoruichi asked.
"I had no future in the village. I was given a monthly payment while at the academy, but since I failed all three times, I will have nowhere to live or any money," Naruko stated.
"You could have gotten a job?" Lady Yoruichi suggested.
Naruko figited in her seat. She wasn't sure if she should tell Lady Yoruichi about her being a Jinchuriki. But on the other hand, she was worried about how she would react if she found out later on.
"Everything stays in this room?" Naruko asked as she built up her courage.
"Yep, everything stays in this room," Lady Yoruichi promised.
"Everyone in the village hates me. I didn't know for a long time, but I found out a few days before I left the village that im a Jinchuriki," Naruko said quietly.
"I see," Lady Yoruichi said.
Naruko waited for a few moments expecting Lady Yoruichi to kick her out of the room or be disgusted by her presence. Naruko looked up, surprised that Lady Yoruichi hadn't chased her out of the room.
Lady Yoruichi was lying back, looking unbothered by what Naruko had just told her.
Naruko found herself feeling confused and unsure how to react about how calm Yoruichi was.
"Yes, I could see that getting a job as a Jinchuriki would be very difficult," Lady Yoruichi said.
"I... The ramen shop may have given me a job since they didn't shoo me away, but then I think people would boy cot the ramen shop," Naruko said, unsure how to respond.
"Well, would you like to go to a BBQ restaurant then?" Lady Yoruichi asked.
"Im kinda poor at the moment," Naruko said, blushing.
"Nonsense, Yūshirō has wanted to visit one, so we can treat it like a date," Lady Yoruichi said, standing up.
"Come on," Lady Yoruichi said, seeing Naruko still sitting.
Naruko quickly got to her feet, not wanting to make Lady Yoruichi upset or angry at her and followed her as she left the room and opened the room across from hers.
Lady Yoruichi walked in without any concern.
"Yūshirō, we are going to lunch together," Lady Yoruichi said.
"Okay, where are we going?" Yūshirō asked, walking into the main room.
"Oh, hello again. Are you feeling better?" Yūshirō asked.
"Yes, thank you, Lord Yūshirō," Naruko replied.
"No, please, just Yūshirō It's weird to be called lord," Yūshirō said, waving his hands.
"We are going for BBQ. It will be Naruko's first time," Lady Yoruichi said.
"Okay, let me get dressed, and we can go," Yūshirō said, walking back towards his bedroom.
"Do you want Naruko to help you?" Lady Yoruichi asked, making Yūshirō stumble.
"No, I can get dressed on my own," Yūshirō stuttered back.
Lady Yoruichi let out a bashful laugh before shooting the blushing Naruko a wink.
Yūshirō quickly returned to the room wearing more elegant clothes that Naruko thought looked quite good on him.
"Right, let's go then," Lady Yoruichi said.
"Do we have any clothes that Naruko could wear?" Yūshirō asked.
"Nope, she won't fit in any of my clothes. As for the servent's clothing, it's not any nicer than what she is already wearing," Lady Yoruichi said.
"Will I cause problems for you if we are seen together?" Naruko asked, worried.
"Who cares what the snobbish nobles here think," Lady Yoruichi replied unbothered.
Lady Yoruichi led them out of the hotel and back onto the main street. Yūshirō gave her an encouraging smile as she looked around, which she tentatively returned.
They took a turn off the main street and onto what must have been the restaurant street. As there were no other shops on the entire street, just many different restaurants.
"Here we are, BBQ," Lady Yoruichi said, standing outside a restaurant.
Naruko licked her lips at the smell coming from the restaurant.
"Come on," Yūshirō said, giving her sleeve a little tug and pulling her inside the restaurant.
"Table for 3?" the waitress asked, sounding a little intimidated.
"Yes, it's just the three of us. If we can get a private table, that would be nice," Lady Yoruichi asked.
"Of course, right this way," the waitress said, leading them through the restaurant.
Naruko looked around the restaurant as they walked through it. She had never even been inside the BBQ restaurant in Konoha. They had refused to let her even enter in case she caused people to boy cot the restaurant.
The tables were what caught her attention. In the centre of each of them was a cutout with charcoal in it, and people were grilling meat on the wire rack that was above the cutout.
"Here we are," the waitress said as she slid a door open.
The room was very nice looking, with a much larger table in the centre than any of the tables on the restaurant's main floor.
Naruko looked around, unsure where she should sit or if she should cook the food before serving it to Lady Yoruichi and Yūshirō.
"Why don't you sit next to Yūshirō," Lady Yoruichi suggested with a smirk on her face.
Naruko blushed but followed Lady Yoruichi's suggestion. After all, if they did buy her, then she would be Yūshirō concubine and would be spending a lot of time with him. It wouldn't be a good idea to be blushing around him all the time, or people would think that she was strange.
"Can we get two of the premium meat selections, one of the premium seafood, and one of the vegetable selections," Lady Yoruichi said to the waitress.
"Are you sure that is a lot of food? Each premium selection can feed two people," the waitress said carefully.
"We can eat it all," Lady Yoruichi said.
"Okay, I will go put the order in. We have several house-made dipping sauces, or you can make your own at the counter just to the right at the bottom of the stairs," the waitress said before leaving the room.
"Is it really okay to order all that food?" Naruko asked hesitantly.
"If you eat anything like Medios, we may need even more," Lady Yoruichi joked.
"Im used to not eating a lot. Though ever since I sold myself to Medios, I have been eating far better," Naruko said quietly.
"Have you ever had seafood before?" Yūshirō asked.
"No, Konoha isn't close to the sea, so it's costly in Konoha, and I doubt people would sell it to me either," Naruko said.
"Well, you can try it today. Prawns are tasty, and scallops are pretty good as well. Im not a fan of clams or mussels, but you may like them," Yūshirō said energetically.
"I will try them," Naruko said, smiling at Yūshirō.
"Excellent, you should always try new things," Lady Yoruichi praised.
"What's it like in the Land of Iron?" Naruko asked.
"Hmm, it's nice during summer, but the winter is very cold, and everything is covered in snow. We are friends with a few of the other noble clans. One is much like us and is very laid back. The other, well, they are fun to tease," Lady Yoruichi said, smirking.
Before Naruko could ask any more questions, the door to the room slid open, and a waitress walked into the room. She was carrying two buckets of glowing charcoal.
She removed the wire rack, poured the first bucket into the table, then the 2nd bucket, and used a metal road to spread them out before placing the wire rack back over the coals.
"These will last about 40 minutes before they need changing. Should you require some fresh ones, please just ask a member of staff," the waitress said with a bow before she left the room.
Naruko placed her hands over the coals before bringing it back quickly due to the heat.
"Hot?" Yūshirō teased.
"Yes," Naruko said, blushing.
A minute later, the door slid open again, and two waitresses walked in carrying large trays. They placed them on the table. The waitress then explained all the meats on the trays.
There was a total of 8 different cuts of beef, 6 different cuts of pork, and 5 cuts of chicken. The waitress left and came back with the seafood and vegetable tray.
The waitress gave a bow before they left the room and closed the door.
"Here, you place the meat you want on the grill with these long tongs," Yūshirō said, handing Naruko a pair of long metal tongs.
Naruko looked around, feeling a little awkward and shy. She hadn't and couldn't pay for any of the food.
"Let's start with beef," Yūshirō said as he picked up a slice and placed it on the grill.
Naruko copied Yūshirō.
"These are super thin, so they take about 20 seconds per side, but the thicker cuts take about a minute," Yūshirō said as he turned his meat over.
Naruko copied Yūshirō and turned her meat over as well.
"Now you can eat it with rice, dip it in a sauce and eat it on its own or wrap it in a lettuce leaf," Yūshirō explained as he passed a bowl of rice over to Naruko.
"What sauces are there?" Naruko asked as she took the rice and the lettuce.
"Well, they have a chilli and soybean with pistachio nuts, there is a sesame oil, salt and pepper sauce and a house sauce that I am not sure what is in it, but it says it's spicy," Yūshirō said.
"Can I get some of the last two, please," Naruko asked.
"Sure," Yūshirō said as he started to place some in a small bowl for her.
Naruko saw that both hers and Yūshirō meat was starting to get burned. She quickly used her tongs to remove the meat from the grill and placed Yūshirō in his bowl of rice.
"Thank you," Yūshirō said as he handed her two small bowls of sauces.
"Awww, I wish I had a camera with me," Lady Yoruichi said.
"Sister!" Yūshirō said, sounding embarrassed.
"So the auction is tomorrow," Naruko said hesitantly.
"Yes, it is. Are you worried about it?" Yūshirō asked.
"Err, I think scared is the better word. Im scared of not knowing who I will end up with," Naruko said.
"It's a small auction with only nobles or the very rich going to it," Yūshirō said kindly.
"Idiot!" Lady Yoruichi said as she hit Yūshirō on the back of the head.
"What was that for," Yūshirō asked as he rubbed his head.
"She obviously wants you to comfort her by telling her that you are going to buy her, you idiot," Lady Yoruichi frowned at her brother.
"Right, of course, we are going to buy you," Yūshirō said a little awkwardly.
Naruko couldn't help but smile at the brother and sister dynamic.
"I guess I won't see you before the auction, will I?" Naruko asked.
"Not likely Medios will be having you pampered tomorrow in preparation for the auction," Lady Yoruichi said.
Naruko wanted to ask if they could buy her privately but felt that would be far too rude of her to ask.
"Right here we are. I guess see you in a few days," Yūshirō said.
"I guess so. Thank you for the day out," Naruko said as she quickly leaned in a gave Yūshirō a kiss on the cheek.
Before Yūshirō could say anything, Naruko ran into the manor as she could hear Lady Yoruichi laughing.
"Good date?" Alexia asked who was waiting by the door.
"It wasn't a date," Naruko mumbled.
"Right, they just took you out for dinner 100%, not a date," Alexia agreed sarcastically.
"It was nice."
"Good Mistress wanted to see you when you got back," Alexia said.
"Okay, err, where is Mistress?" Naruko asked.
"Follow me," Alexia said as she led Naruko through the manor.
"Where is Setsu?" Naruko asked.
"She has dancing lessons with Sierra," Alexia said.
"Here we are," Alexia said, stopping outside a door.
Alexia knocked on the door and waited.
"Come in," Medios voice called out.
Alexia opened the door and stood aside for Naruko to enter the room.
Naruko walked into the room. Medios didn't look up at her or Alexia. Both of them took a seat and waited for their mistress to finish with the paperwork.
"Did you have a good morning, Naruko?" Medios asked as she put her pen down and placed the paper to the side.
"Yes, Mistress," Naruko said.
"Good. Another client contacted me asking if I had a bodyguard for sale, and I mentioned you. They will be here in an hour."
"Im not sure if you have heard of them, but she is an actress called Fujikaze Yukie. She has recently become famous and is looking for a female bodyguard. Alexia will help you get ready. You will be spending the entire day and night with her and return in the morning," Medios said.
"Yes, Mistress," Naruko replied, standing up with Alexia.
The two girls left the room and walked to Naruko and Setsu's room.
"Right, so we want something more casual and something that won't draw attention," Alexia said.
Alexia pulled out some black shorts, stockings, a lilac shirt, and a dark purple jacket.
"Try these on, and we will see how it looks," Alexia said.
Naruko pulled off the plain white dress that she was wearing and pulled on the clothing that Alexia had gotten her.
"Hmm, not bad," Alexia said after spinning Naruko around.
"Can we swap the shorts for trousers?
"I can check, but I don't think we have any," Alexia said as she checked through the drawers.
"Nope, sorry, the shorts aren't that bad," Alexia said.
"Im just not used to wearing shorts, that's all. So where am I meeting Fujikaze Yukie?" Naruko asked.
"At the front door, im not sure what you will exactly be doing with her, but it shouldn't be that dangerous," Alexia said.
Naruko felt like rolling her eyes. The worst that a film star had to put up with was fans and maybe bandits while travelling.
"Thanks for the help with the clothes. I guess see you in the morning?" Naruko asked.
"Yep, you have a spa session in the morning, and then we will get you ready in the afternoon," Alexia said, giving Naruko a wave.
That got Naruko's intrest. The Leaf did have spas, but as an orphan, there was no way that she could afford to actually go to one.
Naruko had heard Ino and her friends talking about how much they enjoyed going to the spa on the weekends and always felt jealous.
Naruko ran towards the entrance just in case Fujikaze Yukie was early, and she had a bad impression of her. She was hopeful that Lady Yoruichi and Yūshirō would buy her, but a backup wasn't a bad thing.
Thankfully Fujikaze Yukie wasn't there yet, so Naruko had time to sit around. Naruko found it a little odd that no one was checking when she was leaving or monitoring the door.
But then she remembered that everyone had chosen to sell themselves to Medios, and they had some kind of Fuinjutsu collars. As she thought, Medios had never actually said what the Fuinjutsu actually did.
Maybe it was some way to track them if they ran off, or maybe it was just so that people couldn't steal other people's slaves as the Fuinjutsu would show who they belonged to.
At the very least, it didn't seem that it was harmful, and none of the other girls seemed bothered by it either.
Naruko looked up as a young woman walked towards the house.
"Are you my new bodyguard?" she asked very curtly.
"Yes are you Fujikaze Yukie," Naruko asked.
"You don't know what I look like?" the woman asked.
"You look a bit different compared to when on screen, that's all," Naruko said, standing up.
"Come, I need to go shopping," Fujikaze Yukie said, turning around and leaving.
"So, how are you with fans? Do you mind them coming near you, or do I need to keep them away?" Naruko asked as she caught up to Fujikaze Yukie.
"Keep them away. I have autograph signing events if they want one," Fujikaze Yukie said.
"Okay," Naruko said, thinking that it would come off as a bit rude, but that wasn't her problem.
Naruko followed Fujikaze Yukie down the streets while keeping an eye out for any dangers, not that she expected any in the capital of fire. She did, however, expect to deal with fans.
Thankfully it seemed thanks to the busy street, no one noticed Fujikaze Yukie or couldn't get to her.
"We are going in here," Fujikaze Yukie said, not waiting for Naruko to reply before walking into the store.
Naruko felt her eye twitch and quickly followed her in and looked around, making sure that it was safe.
Naruko walked around with Fujikaze Yukie as she picked up clothes and handed them to Naruko before picking up some more clothes.
Naruko paused when she heard two teenage girls talking about Fujikaze Yukie and if they should ask for an autograph.
Naruko walked over to the girls. "She will have a signing event in the upcoming future if you would like an autograph. Today is one of her rare days off I hope you can understand," Naruko said, giving them her signature smile.
"Ya, sorry," one of the teenage girls said, sounding embarrassed.
"No problem hope you have a nice day," Naruko said before catching up with Fujikaze Yukie.
Fujikaze Yukie gave her a look but didn't say anything.
"Let's go pay," Fujikaze Yukie said after picking up what must have been the 30th item.
"Don't you want to try them on?" Naruko asked.
"Not interested where other people can see me," Fujikaze Yukie said dismissively.
Naruko just nodded and followed Fujikaze Yukie to pay for the clothing, which Naruko then ended up having to carry.
"Is there anything else that you need to do today?" Naruko asked.
"Im going to relax in the hot springs," Fujikaze Yukie said as she left the store.
Naruko nodded. She had used the hot springs in the Leaf Village a few times.
"Are we talking the clothing back to where you are staying?" Naruko asked.
"We will pass my hotel on the way to the springs."
With that, they both fell quiet again. Naruko continued to follow Fujikaze Yukie and was glad to see that she wasn't staying in the same hotel as Lady Yoruichi and Yūshirō, or that would have been very awkward for her.
Naruko followed Fujikaze Yukie to her room, placed the clothes down at the edge of the bed, and looked around the room.
The first thing she noticed was the lack of a second bed, and she doubted she would be sharing a bed with Fujikaze Yukie.
It seemed that tonight would either be sleeping on the floor or not sleeping at all. Naruko followed Fujikaze Yukie back out of the room and out of the hotel.
Thankfully the hot spring was close to the hotel. As they walked in, Naruko was worried about how she would pay for the visit, but Fujikaze Yukie paid for them both without saying a word.
"I want you to make sure that there is no one peeking at the outside baths," Fujikaze Yukie said as they walked into the changing room.
"Of course, no one wants to be peeked at. Has that been a problem before?" Naruko asked as they undressed.
"No, but I have been told there is a white-haired pervert in the land of fire that is famous for peeking at women," Fujikaze Yukie replied.
Naruko thought for a moment and could vaguely remember some of the women at the hot springs in the Leaf had also mentioned a white-haired pervert.
Walking out of the changing room, they grabbed a small towel and entered the bath and showers. They both took a seat in the shower area and used the buckets to rinse themselves off.
"I will go check the outside," Naruko said, standing up.
Fujikaze Yukie didn't reply and just continued washing herself.
Walking outside, Naruko was glad to see that the entire hot springs were walled off. The wooden fence was taller than a person so people could peek over, and it was made with no gaps between the wood planks.
Naruko quickly went around checking the fence for any holes but couldn't find any. With her check done, she walked back into the indoor hot spring and back to Fujikaze Yukie.
"It's all safe outside," Naruko said.
"Let's go then," Fujikaze Yukie said, standing up and walking outside.
Naruko let out a sigh. She wasn't sure if she liked the idea of being bought as a bodyguard for Fujikaze Yukie.
She didn't have the welcoming vibe that Lady Yoruichi and Yūshirō had. Naruko wasn't sure if she just felt uncomfortable about having a bodyguard or maybe she just didn't like her.
Both of them stepped into the outside bath and relaxed.
"Do you like being a movie star?" Naruko asked.
"I just kinda ended up as one. It's okay, I guess," Fujikaze Yukie said.
"What about you I can't imagine you expected to end up as a slave?" Fujikaze Yukie asked.
"No, but this was my best option. We have to do what we have to don't we," Naruko said with a pitiful laugh.
Naruko thought she saw a flash of something in Fujikaze Yukie's eyes for a moment. Something that reminded her of a kindred soul.
"I guess so," Fujikaze Yukie said, sounding much more kinder.
Naruko smiled at that and closed her eyes to relax in the bath. Naruko wasn't sure how long they spent in the bath, but her fingers had turned into prunes.
"You ready to get out?" Fujikaze Yukie asked.
"Sure," Naruko said as she stood up.
"There is a dry sauna I want to use to dry off," Fujikaze Yukie said.
"Okay," Naruko said.
After drying off in the dry sauna, Fujikaze Yukie and Naruko got changed back into their normal clothing and left Hot Springs. It was already quite late at night as they walked back to the hotel.
Fujikaze Yukie didn't seem bothered about getting anything to eat, so they went straight back to the hotel and to Fujikaze Yukie's room.
"There is a futon in the cupboard," Fujikaze Yukie told Naruko.
Naruko let out a quiet breath of relief. She wasn't looking forward to sleeping on the floor and getting a bad back on the day of her auction. Naruko rolled out the futon close to the bed so that she was near Fujikaze Yukie in case she was needed during the night.
"What time are you getting up in the morning? I need to return back to Medios in the morning," Naruko asked.
"I have a shoot at ten, so I will be getting up at nine in the morning," Fujikaze Yukie.
"Okay, I will escort you to the shoot and then return back to Medios," Naruko replied.
"Okay, Fujikaze Yukie said as she climbed into the bed.
Naruko crawled into the futon and thought about what tomorrow would bring. She was nervous and excited about the auction tomorrow.