As she said, Danzo had about two years, give or take.
He covered his ass like no one else, not leaving a trail or scent to follow. Be assured with the Police force on the case they would dig up something-eventually. These mysterious disappearances(without a trace) rather than an obvious kidnapping only fueled the panic, as it meant who ever kidnapped them were powerful ninja-and part of the government or ties in the government due to the altered records.
Yeah, she was bad.
But what surprised her was the fervor in which her father threw himself into the case. He always dedicated time to every problem that came to the Force, but this was next level with the kidnappings. Maybe it had to do with her almost being kidnapped herself?
But after a few weeks the hysteria died down a bit. Donations poured into the charities they were running, as well as compliments. But there was still something Danzo had the upper hand in. The political arena! He had dramatically toned it down, but now he was using the missing children as an excuse to muzzle the Uchiha!
Those strict regulations her Aunt complained about? Danzo vetoed or whatever the updated ones.
Her cousins want to go at a certain time to train? Have always gone at that time? No genin unsupervised at the ground past certain time-because of the kidnappings.
Sure, it was a lot less obvious than before, but even now he was still doing little things like that. Suddenly all the Art Institute shipments needed to be inspected as they might be a safety hazard, and oops if some of the pieces got broken! Danzo was scared of their growing influence-and rightfully so!
And speaking of the Art Institute...
"Miko, pass the needle tool, will you?" Akira asked her.
"Sure." She reached over from her piece and handed him the tool.
A word on the Art Institute.
It hasn't been around for very long, but in the almost two years it's been stationed downtown it's become an icon. People recognize the painted windows, colorful tarps, and the viewing deck where an artist could go to clear their head and stare at the village. The building used to be separated into four, but once the land lord saw how great business was-he sold the entire thing to them.
The building stuck out, it being red brick as to prevent a fire. It was also one of the tallest around except for the Hokage tower, due to almost all other nearby buildings being demolished due to the slump cause by the third war. Those lots were even being considered to be bought up by the clan-maybe make nice gardens for a tourist trap. Konoha's economy still wasn't the greatest, but they certainly helped.
And then the design inside was absolutely genius. The first floor was at the front a gift shop to attract eyes with colorful pieces and Kibbles shirts for sale, which smoothly transitioned to advertisements and art tutorships. The back half of the shop was supplies and little cut off rooms where you could watch newbies work. Basically one genius add.
The second floor was where shit got serious. It was where all the Acrylic paints and fresh clay was stored, glazes, where the clean canvasses were. Where the experienced talented artists all did there work. Soft music was almost always playing over installed speakers. The head's office was in the back(Akira's).
The third floor was even more specialized. Blow torches and the kilns were here. It was almost always darkened, and doubled for storage on the other side.
The fourth floor was where the residents lived. Permanently. They had quartered it off and installed walls for separate rooms. There was even a kitchen and two bathrooms. The relatives who lived here were drop dead serious about the Institute. The balcony was also here on the fourth floor. It was everyone's dream at the art institute to be able to one day go on the balcony.
But it was reserved only for a few very important people.
Like her.
"Be careful Miko, your hair clip will go over the edge." Akira chuckled as her curls popped out. He reached over, putting his clay pot down and plucking it from the edge. He curled up his fist and brought it to her-uncurling his hand.
"Here you go Missy."
"Thanks."
Akira was a man of his early twenties. And a veteran of two wars. Pretty messed up, huh? He thought so too, falling in a state of extreme depression and PTSD. Ino's clan couldn't help him much, and the same with some of their other relatives, so Akira gathered everyone at his house and started a circle. Speaking of which, Ino's clan officially adopted the practice into their therapies. Reportedly, the number of suicides has went down, not to mention the mental state of Konoha's ninja has been improved overall.
She remembered the man not two years ago, with purple eyebags and a slumped posture. The good humored man in front of her could have almost been a different person. He was good natured guy. He was bright and lively, saying hello to passerby's in the street and handling situations at the Police Force with care.
Not to mention he was quite good looking, with a strong jaw, sharp nose, and warm brown eyes.
The Art Institute would have been impossible without him. And that was the highest complement from Miko, who quite literally lived and breathed the impossible.
They worked in silence for a bit.
"Thats a pretty big Shogi piece."
"It's for a friend at the academy." She responded.
"Ah a friend. Of course."
"You're just like Ino!" She scowled.
He tossed his head back and laughed, white teeth gleaming and scar on his eyebrow rippling.
"That reminds me. Miko, I asked you here to ask you something. Something that would mean a lot to me." Akira put down his piece. She looked at him as if to say 'go on'.
"Well... you know that one lady who I was sent to help? The one where I got us trapped in a prank a half a year ago?"
She nodded. How could she not? It was her fault.
"I asked her to Marry me. And she said yes!" Akira squealed.
She screamed in shock.
"I'm so happy for you! Where was it? How did you do it!?" She asked frantically.
"Geeze louie, calm down!" He laughed joyfully. "I'll tell you all about it later. I need to ask you something."
She looked on apprehensively.
"No need for that face! You're not in trouble hun. I just wanted to ask, if you wanted to be the flower girl?"
"..."
"YES!" She tackled him in a hug, hair clip flying over the side. She peppered his face in kisses, excited beyond belief. Things calmed down after that, and they righted themselves.
"Better not do that around my fiancé, Miko." His eyes twinkled.
She kicked his leg.
"Tell me!"
"Keep your socks on! It went like this..."