The fair had gone splendidly.
But she was just getting started.
She pulled Sasuke to the side the very next day and they had a whispered conversation in english. She instructed him to go on a play date with all members of the rookie nine, in very public visible places.
"Can I bring Sakura?"
Ah that was right. They were friends here. She remembered Sasuke had been so happy when Suzu married Akira, saying Sakura really was family now.
"Of course."
He beamed and gave her a kiss on the cheek. He ran to Mikoto, asking for permission. She said yes and Sasuke darted outside. She packed her backpack and told her mother she was going two.
She chased after Sasuke until she was out of site from her mother, then promptly took a hard left and headed for the heart of Konoha. The village had been in an economic downturn recently, which made the businesses the Uchiha ran that much more important. It helped stimulate the economy. Yet another reason they couldn't be uprooted.
She dipped into a public bathroom, one that was barely frequented due to the larger one not a street away. She wrapped her curly hair up then slid it under a hat. She rooted around for a pair of glasses then slid them on her face. She wore short shorts and slid on her long baggy t-shirt. She was almost unrecognizable.
Taking a deep breath, Miko grinned before shoving everything back in her backpack and walking out into the heart of Konoha.
A word on the heart of Konoha;
It was a literal hub of activity. Konoha had the highest civilian population of all the ninja villages and possible the highest population period. The heart was the center of all activity-economic or otherwise. There was no actual map of the heart, you had to learn it by heart. People came from all over fire country just to visit here. Clans did business here and you could find whatever you needed here.
Miko had a pretty good sense of direction, rarely if ever getting lost.
But here? She got lost.
She knew for a fact she had passed that vendor before! She was just starting to panic when she heard a familiar voice.
"Miko!"
"Naruto." She said in relief. She covered his mouth with her hand before dragging him to the side. Naruto looked like Naruto-but he didn't. His eyes were green instead of blue, and his hair was a bit darker. Looking closer she noticed his whiskers blurred, like he had tried to cover up but couldn't. A henge. Impressive
"Here." She sighed, pulling out her foundation and completely covering his whiskers up.
"U-uh, Miko, what are you doing here?"
She didn't answer, looking for direction.
"Um, I'm pretty good at finding my way through here, I could help you..."
"Really? Well I need to go to the headquarters of the Konoha gazette. Can you take me there?"
"Yeah yeah!"
He grabbed her hand and expertly weaved his was through the crowds and vendors.
They stopped in front of a building with the words Konoha Gazette stamped o the front. Nice.
"You can wait out here if you like, I'm going in."
Miko pushed open the doors. She was greeted to the smell of ink and paper. A stack of papers sat hot off the press next to her and the churning of the machines reached her ears.
The newspaper was always looking for a story.
And Miko would be happy to provide one. Or a dozen. Baby steps Miko. Baby steps, she told herself. Her plan was to talk to the editor about the Uchiha, maybe ask him to do an article about Suzu's restaurant and what it means to Konoha. It was safe territory, as anyone would read an article about Suzu's. There was also the fact this was the same newspaper who reported on the Cat-ban. She knew her aunt would say yes if a reporter was sent, as publicity would do wonders for her business. And not to mention this would be like a slap to the face for Danzo. Ha.
The man behind a desk groaned.
"What's wrong, sir?"
"Ugh. There's nothing to report on now that the wars over!" He moaned again, rubbing his eyes under his glasses. Seriously? People like her brother were traumatized and others died, and he's upset it's over.
"What a shame, sir! Can't you report on anything here?"
"Yeah, but we are running out of idea's and I can't leave until I come up with something." He groaned, deep into his self pity. His stomach rumbled, and she pulled out the leftovers from the fair her aunt Suzu helped cook. Immediately the smell wafted through the room.
"Hey uh, kid. You gonna eat that?"
"Oh! You can have it, it's too heavy for me anyway." She grinned, handing over a plastic fork and knife.
He dug in and she was rewarded to happy sounds through the food.
"This is heavenly kid. Where'd you get it?"
"Suzu's, in the Heart of Konoha. You should check it out."
"I would love to bu-." Realization dawned on his face.
"Thats it! We could do a story on this! Suzu's been downtown for over a dozen years, and improved upon and renamed by Suzu. It's a perfect story! You're a genius kid!"
He grabbed his notepad and food, leaving Miko by herself. The door slammed shut.
"..."
"I know." She said simply to the empty room.
She gathered her back pack and walked out, eyes finding Naruto gawking into a store window. When he saw her he opened his mouth to speak but his stomach growled.
"C'mon, I'll get us something to eat." She was in a very good mood.
She walked until they came across a vendor selling cheesy something. Something bothered her about the man. She felt like she had seen him before. The price for the treats was pretty over the top, but Naruto already ordered.
"Here you go." He handed over their cheesy treats.
"Mhh! this is almost as good as the Uchiha food at the fair!" Naruto exclaimed. Since when did he attend the fair?
The vendor didn't like that.
"The U-ch-iha," He spat "Are scumbags!"
Oh. That was why he was so familiar. He was the man who scowled and sneered when he had saw her dark hair and eyes, and when he saw the crest on her back. He was the one who made her feel terrible. In the background, he was going on to a shell-shocked Naruto about the pigs in the clan-paying special attention to Akira.
She saw red.
"Akira Uchiha is a man who would give his life for his family and village. With every word you speak ill of him, it shows your ignorance. The Uchiha have done nothing but make this village safer for you and for me, and I hope to repay them one day in kind. You call them pigs who eat slop, but the amount of hatred you spew is disgusting! You do not know them and you do not have the right to judge them. The Uchiha are proud of who they are and what they have accomplished. What do you have to be proud about except cheating kids out of their money?"
She turned her head to Naruto.
"And Naruto!" She whipped off her hat, curls tumbling down, threw aside the glasses and lifted the heavy long shirt-revealing her Uchiha crest on the back. Gasps were heard as she stuffed everything into her backpack. The man was open mouthed, cheese dripping off his spatula. She wiped his foundation off with her hands.
"Never, never be ashamed of who you are."
She smirked.
"And besides, I think those whiskers are cute."