Chapter 15: 'Peaceful' Transaction

"Pity, handing this blade back to an incompetent village. I mean, what, half your swordsman are rogues? Tell me why we shouldn't just... keep it?"

Saying so, I watched as the three jittery shinobi stiffened, glaring at me. Ao just sighed, but before he could open his mouth, one of the shinobi jumped out of their seat.

"The fuck you know tree hugger? All you Konoha kunoicihi are good for is sleeping with anyone who asks!"

Raising an eyebrow, I looked towards my team, smirking when I saw the mirth in Anko's eyes and the disdain in Kurenai's.

"You wish shrimp dick. Wouldn't sleep with a half man like you even if we were the last people in the Elemental Nations. Actually... are you a kid? Your tiny..."

Seems like I hit a sore point, as the short man drew a kunai. Sadly, Ao grabbed the man's wrist, glaring at him. Turning towards Kakashi, he spoke. "Control your dog, Kakashi. This is a peaceful transaction. We already paid. Hand over the blade."

Kakashi sighed, turning towards me. "Kokoro, enough. We've been over this."

I nodded, before holding out the blade one handed, offering the hilt to Ao. He grabbed it with one hand, before the blade slammed into the floor. Smirking, I watched as he glared at me.

"Maybe you Mist freaks don't actually know anything about your own blades?"

The short man shot forward, a kunai aimed at my throat. Before Ao could react, I activated body flicker and appeared next to the man, throwing him into the center of the table. Holding his head into the table, I turned towards Ao.

"Why, it seems like you might need to tighten the leash on your runt, Mister Ao. All bark, no bite."

The man squirmed beneath my hand, and when I saw the other two Kiri shinobi reaching for their blades, I smiled, squeezing slightly. The man screamed out in pain, causing the two to freeze.

"Y'know, your village might actually be worth a damn if you considered, oh I don't know, NOT killing half your children every year? Place more stock on brains over brawn. After all, it took me not even a few moments to put your runt down."

Ao glared at me, his hand twitching. Kakashi sighed, before speaking. "Kokoro, please. Release him."

Giving him another squeeze, I let go. Taking a step back, I watched as he slowly rose, his gaze fearful as he watched me. Giving him a smirk, he flinched before moving back.

Kakashi sighed again, before looking towards Ao. "You should probably leave now. You have your blade."

Ao stiffly nodded before turning around, the three shinobi following behind him, glancing behind every few seconds. After they left, Kakashi looked towards me.

"I thought you were the more level headed one here?"

"Nah, that's Nai. I can be quite... impulsive. Besides, no harm no foul, yeah?"

Shaking his head, he looked towards the two shaking Tea Merchants. Seeing his gaze, they flinched before quickly tossing out a scroll. Kakashi grabbed it, unfurling it. Running chakra through the seal, a gold bar appeared in his hand. Raising his eyebrow, he placed it back into the scroll. Bowing slightly, he turned to leave.

Following him, Anko was smirking at me, while Kurenai was glaring at me.

"Was that necessary, Koko? What would you have done if Ao wanted to fight? When he reports this to the Mizukage?"

"Different Village. Don't care. Besides, more than likely the Mizukage is getting off on the idea of wiping out another clan as of current. If not that, then what? None of it was wrong. They have... three of the seven swords? Besides, the shrimp pissed me off."

Sighing, Kurenai continued walking. Anko was chuckling, before she inserted herself between Kurenai and I. Wrapping her arms around us, she spoke.

"Well, who cares. When we get back to Konoha, we have a lot we need to do. Look at the compound, get ready for our promotions, sex. Damn, we are going to be really busy, huh?"

Shaking my head, I just leaned into her, letting her guide me towards the dock. Kurenai snorted at that, but when I looked over she was also leaning in slightly.

Getting aboard the boat, Anko dragged us back to our room, deciding that the few hours we had would be spent drowning in pleasure.

~~~

Looking at the gate, I realized that, even though a lot happened, it was only been two days, with most of that spent traveling. Kakashi had been embarrassed again after we got off the boat, staying dozens of feet in front of us. Anko and Kurenai bickered over useless things during the run home, with me only needing to set them straight three times. Progress.

We stopped at the front of the gate, seeing Yuga Inuzuka back on gate duty. When she saw us, she waved, before getting us signed in. Kakashi ran past, saying we had a few minutes before we needed to be at the Hokage's Tower.

Seeing that, Yuga leaned forward, watching him leave. Turning towards us, she smirked.

"So you and Anko made up, huh? Pity, that. Really wanted to see if I could convince you to join Taiga and I. Though I imagine the make up sex felt great."

I smirked at her, "You have no idea."

She looked over at Kurenai, before looking back at me. Anko was hugging me from behind, pouting as Kurenai had won their last squabble. Yuga raised an eyebrow. "So... you even managed to convince the Maiden Kurenai to join you huh? Always thought she'd end up alone with those lofty standards of hers."

I looked over towards Kurenai, seeing her blush under my gaze. Smirking I looked back towards Yuga, saying "Well, all it took was a few drinks and she was a new person. Anyways, yea, don't think I'll ever be joining you and Taiga. I have my hands full with these two children."

Yuga had a lecherous grin at that. "I bet~"

Shaking my head, I dragged Anko and Kurenai towards the Tower, waving goodbye to Yuga.

Lifting Anko onto my back, mainly due to finding it annoying having a person dragging on the road behind you, I felt her nuzzle into my neck, giggling. I continued, ignoring the hard thing pressing into my back. Kurenai walked next to me, pursing her lips. Sighing, I looked over at her, "What are you thinking about, Nai?"

"Ah... well, Yuga and Taiga are in a relationship, huh? An open one, at that..."

"Yup. Wheres this going?"

"No where, really. I knew Taiga, always thought she would have been single forever. She enjoys her life at the Seduction Corps, after all."

"Yea, well the same goes for Anko. To an extent, me as well. Both of us enjoyed the work due to the pay and... obvious reasons. I stopped taking missions like that a few years ago though. Wasn't happy doing them. And Anko... well, if she stays like this, I imagine she will regret the last year a little."

Nodding Kurenai fell silent. We resumed our walk towards the Tower, Anko still nuzzling into me. Picking up the pace, we made it to the gate, where the same ANBU greeted us, and the same ANBU led us to the Hokage's office.

Before entering I removed the clinging Anko from me, much to her disappointment. When we entered, the Hokage was sitting at his desk, a pipe in his mouth. Shikaku was asleep on the couch, while Kakashi was leaning against the wall, his book opened.

"Ah, there you are. Kakashi told me what happened. Juzo's dead, blade delivered, although with a few... hiccups."

At that he raised an eyebrow at me, before chuckling when I gave him an innocent smile.

"Well, I must say I think you surpassed my expectations. We initially though that the rogue ninja was just some Jonin from Kiri, but when we heard it was Juzo Biwa, a Swordsman of the Mist, we bumped the mission up a rank and assigned Kakashi to it. After all, Juzo is a powerful man, with quite a record. However, you three did well. Especially you, Kokoro Kanei. Very few shinobi use a bow, and yet you have mastered it. Not only that, Kakashi told me you reacted quite well to being placed under a Sharingan Genjutsu from Itachi. Not many could break free as quickly as you, and less could continue to fight after that. Anko and Kurenai, you both did well. Since you encountered Itachi, unofficially all of you will be given a bonus. However, keep that quiet. Especially in front of young Sasuke. We can't afford him knowing his brother might be in the Land of Fire. Sage knows what he'd do. Anyways, go to the Academy tomorrow morning. Shikaku and I will give you your rewards there. We have to convert this gold to ryo, after all."

After that, we bowed and left the office, walking around the street's of Konoha. Seeing as the sun was soon to go down, I pursed my lips before making my way to Ichiraku Ramen. On the way there, I quickly bought a Beginners Sealing Textbook, which was, like the name suggests, a book on the basics of the sealing arts. It explained everything, from how a seal is made to how what different combinations could create. When I bought the book, Anko and Kurenai looked at me confused. I ignored them, continuing towards the ramen stall.

Pushing aside the curtain, I took a seat, gesturing for Anko and Kurenai to sit.

"Boss Teuchi, three bowls of whatever!"

The old man smiled, turning to start preparing the meal. Before he could do so, I asked "Boss, you know when the kid usually gets here? Got something for him."

He turned, before saying "Any minute now. The coupon I 'dropped' was for the upcoming hour."

I chuckled, before thanking him. I could practically see the question marks above my girl's heads, so I pulled out the book.

"You know the little brat who runs around the village pranking people? Naruto Uzumaki? Well, since he is 'her' kid, I thought; why not? Why shouldn't I see if I can get him into seals? After all, all Uzumaki's, even the most normal ones, where pretty good with seals."

Anko scoffed, saying "I doubt the kid would just sit down and study. Doesn't seem like his style."

Kurenai nodded, to which I replied "What if there was a reward for it? Like, I don't know, all you could eat ramen for a day? Besides, he's been alone for a long time. If he had any kind of familial figure, they could put him on a good path. I mean, look at his parents! Two extremely talented shinobi like that? Even if he is just half of them, he'd go far. Not to mention what's in him..."

Anko pursed her lips, mulling it over.

After all, he was a damn jinchuriki! His chakra levels are way above the norm. If we could get him to get it under control, he would be a monster. And if he knew seals? Konoha would have little to worry about. As long as the kid stays loyal.

Eventually, Anko nodded. "Yeah, I imagine that he could turn out quite nice if could learn how to properly utilize the chakra in him."

Kurenai nodded at that, though considering her stomach was rumbling, I imagine she only was half listening.

Moments later, three bowls were placed in front of us. Kurenai quickly slurped up some noodles, her usual elegance gone. Anko followed suit. As I was about to start my bowl, an orange flash appeared on the seat next to me. Slamming something on the counter, I could hear "Ramen~ Ramen~"

Looking over, I saw the bright yellow hair, small whiskers, bright blue eyes, and a wide smile.

"Hey, kid, remember me?"

He looked over to me, his eyes widening.

"Ah, you're that nice Aunty who was here a few days ago!"

I could feel a vein bulging slightly in my forehead. I mean, I'm not that old... right?

Anko started laughing loudly, only stopping when I pinched her waist. Thankfully, Kurenai was still devouring her bowl of ramen.

A twitching smile on my face, I looked at him. "Yeah... that's me. Anyways, kid, here. Got you something."

I handed him the book, sighing when I saw his disinterest and fake smile. Before he could give the 'Oh, you shouldn't have. This is so good!' I spoke again.

"Yeah, I know you aren't exactly thrilled, but hear me out. Your last name, Uzumaki? They were a very powerful sealing clan. Sealing is a very respected profession, and some of the best shinobi in history have been great seal masters. So give it a shot."

During my very convincing argument, I could see him slowly looking at the book in a new light; the disinterest was slowly turning into a glow. Time for the actual convincing.

"So, I have a challenge for you. If, in a weeks time, you can create two different seals in front of me, I'll let you have as much ramen as you want that day. Cool?"

His eyes were shining, and I could see a bit of drool leaking from the corner of his mouth. He started nodding quickly, before turning to Boss Teuchi.

"Did ya hear that? Did ya hear boss!? Unlimited ramen in a week! I'm going to do it, ya know!"

The boss gave a small smile, before placing a bowl in front of Naruto. As he was slurping it down, I told him "So, be here in a weeks time at noon. Show me what a future Hokage is made of, kid."

Turning towards my own bowl, I started eating, watching Naruto. A gentle smile rose to my lips, and as he finished his bowl, I noticed a streak of broth on his cheek. Without thinking, I took a napkin and gently dabbed it up, much to the surprise of Anko and Naruto. Realizing what I just did, I played it off by ruffling his hair, giving him a smile.

He smiled back, a large, pure smile. Seeing it, my heart tightened. I wondered how the villagers could hate him. The kid just needed someone, anyone, to show him attention. After all, he is just that. A kid. Not a demon, not the reason the Fourth died. Just a child who wanted someone to care for him, to talk to him.

Hopefully he earnestly tries to learn sealing. Maybe soon I'll teach him the basics of Taijutsu and some basic chakra control.

Seeing him, and knowing that he's all alone, wears at my heart. I'd offer to let him stay at the Mitarashi compound, but considering the lack of soundproofing seals... well I don't think it'd be a good idea. Instead, I could try and guide him now.

Better late than never, no?