Back in the kitchen, where Yukie was still sitting, I let out a sigh. Honestly, it would've been better if Sandayu had just taken her with him.
"Are you hungry?" I asked bluntly, pulling my mashed potatoes back over to my side of the table.
"No," she replied - but her stomach immediately betrayed her, growling the moment it caught a whiff of the cutlet.
Without a word, I set some smoked sausage, a knife, and a chunk of bread in front of her, then got back to enjoying my mashed potatoes, taking big bites of the not-so-small cutlet.
"Was it really that hard to wait for us yesterday?" the actress asked, starting to make herself a sandwich.
It was clear we weren't going to bother with formalities. Around here, you only use honorifics or polite speech with people you barely know or actually respect. I didn't feel any respect for her, and judging by her attitude, the feeling was mutual.
"I waited twenty minutes. There's got to be a limit to rudeness. Pass me a piece." Yukie tore off a chunk of bread with her hands and handed it over.
"Hope you washed your hands," I said, taking a bite.
"Who do you take me for?" she snapped, pausing mid-sandwich.
"For a regular actress who acts like the world owes her something - basically, a princess." God, I hope she leaves soon.
"Pfft, what do you even know about me? You're quick to point out the speck in someone else's eye, but you don't notice you're half-naked yourself." Is that supposed to be a twist on the 'log in your own eye' thing? Never heard it put that way before.
"And what about me? At least I don't go around slapping random people." Just thinking about that slap makes me feel better.
"You provoked me," she shot back.
"And I apologized," I added, taking another bite of the juicy cutlet.
"That was a fake apology!" she said, giving the table a light smack with her free hand.
"Look, I don't know why you're still sitting here, but just so you know, I'm not keeping you." I said.
Come on, this is your perfect chance to leave. And stop eating my sausage - you've already eaten half!
Yukie stood up decisively, then after a few seconds… sat right back down.
"I promised Sandayu I'd spend at least two hours with you. No matter how much I dislike it, I keep my word." She said it with her chin held high, all proud.
To my surprise, after that, Yukie and I didn't argue at all. She sat on my bed reading a book, and I worked on my sketches at the table. I had no idea what she was reading, and she didn't know what I was doing. We just got lost in our own worlds, ignoring each other - and it was… wonderful.
But the peace didn't last long. Someone knocked on my door again, and I had zero desire to get up. With a soft "poof," a clone appeared next to me and went to answer it.
"Is that some kind of jutsu?" Yukie looked up from her book, surprised, watching my clone walk to the door.
"Yeah," I replied, still sketching out the details of a knee-length skirt.
When I heard Ayumi's voice, I paused my work.
She's supposed to be watching the restaurant.
****
"So, in the middle of the workday, some random guy shows up demanding to see the owner, and this guy's part of a gang?" I clarified with Ayumi, who didn't look the least bit worried. Yukie, on the other hand, was listening in with interest.
"Yeah, that's right. When I went to him, he told me to pass on a message - the Bloodfang gang wants a cut for 'protecting' the business." Ayumi explained. Honestly, I didn't expect them to take an interest in my restaurant this fast. They could've at least waited a month for decency's sake.
"How much are they asking for?" Yukie asked, and Ayumi turned to me for the answer.
"This is Yukie, an actress and colleague. I have no idea why she's here, and neither does she." That seemed to satisfy her curiosity, though she kept sneaking glances at my guest.
"As far as I understood, they want half," Ayumi told me.
"Huh, not bad - they've got quite the appetite." I nodded, a little impressed by their nerve. "All right, thanks for letting me know. You can get back to the restaurant."
Once Ayumi left, the room went quiet again - but not for long.
"So, are you really going to give them half your profits?" Yukie asked with a smile.
"Give who?" I asked, genuinely surprised.
"Well… the Bloodfangs, obviously. They're one of the biggest gangs in Tanzaku - they won't leave you alone."
"Oh, of course not. Giving up fifty percent of my profits just so they don't mess with my restaurant? That's way too high a price." I said, turning back to my sketch.
"So what are you going to do?" the ever-curious actress pressed.
"Well… I'm very good at getting along with people. I'm sure the Bloodfangs and I will come to an understanding." I answered with a slightly wicked smile. [ image ]

****
The next day, I headed out with a team of chunin and Yamato, making our way toward the edge of town.
"You found them pretty fast, Yamato-san," I said, walking at a steady pace with my hands behind my back.
"I managed to get all the info yesterday," came Yamato's muffled voice from behind his mask.
The area we were heading to was known as the roughest part of Tanzaku. Most windows were barred, and the streets looked a little run-down.
As we got closer to the address, the number of people thinned out, but the stares our group got only increased.
Where we ended up was the home of the Fearsome Daggers' boss. It wasn't the gang's main base, but even here you could spot a couple dozen people who didn't exactly scream "upstanding citizens."
Halfway to the boss's house, one of these guys stepped forward and barked out, "Who are you, and what are you doing here?"
*Not bad - his voice didn't even shake, even though my escorts aren't exactly hiding that they're shinobi,* I thought, sizing the guy up.
"Don't worry, I'm just a simple businessman here to bring a gift to your boss. I come in peace." I said, putting on my friendliest tone.
"Oh, that's how it is. All right, you can go in, but your… friends stay outside." The guy's face softened a bit, but he still didn't dare act cocky toward the shinobi.
"No problem." I nodded - I really did come here with good intentions, not looking to start trouble or pick a fight with the Fearsome Daggers.
The door opened from inside, and I was led into the living room of a house that was far from spotless. The carpet was stained, there were clumps of dust and hair here and there - honestly, only the living room, where they brought me, was halfway decent, at least by a guy's standards. While I looked around, a new face entered the room.
"Hm, I don't know you," said the muscular boss, sporting an eye patch. With his scars and scruffy beard, he was the very picture of a bandit.
"My name's Akira. I recently opened a restaurant in Tanzaku called McDonald's." I introduced myself calmly, taking a seat on one of the couches.
"Ah, McDonald's… yeah, I've heard of it. The fact that you came to me yourself, I like that - I respect smart people." The man grinned, sitting down across from me. "Oh, where are my manners? You can call me Hoshogigaranu, or just First Blade."
"I'll keep that in mind. So, I really want to make sure there's no misunderstanding between us, which is why I came to you personally, with a gift I hope will be the foundation of our friendship and mutual understanding." With a slight smile, I pulled a storage scroll and took out a gift box wrapped with ribbons. Getting up, I walked over and handed it to the boss.
"Hoho, such attention to the gift - I'm flattered." The boss started untying the ribbons with childlike excitement. Meanwhile, I went back to the couch, crossed my legs, and - as if that wasn't enough - pulled a thermos from my scroll and poured myself some tea.
My bold behavior didn't go unnoticed, but the boss decided to see what was in the box before putting this upstart in his place.
The moment Hoshogigaranu looked inside, his smile froze, then twisted into a grimace.
"What the hell is this supposed to mean?!" the boss roared, tossing the box to the floor. Its contents rolled slowly toward me.
Stopping the object with my foot, I flashed a wide grin.
"What's not to get? I came to you with an open heart and gave you the head of the Bloodfangs' boss. So, my esteemed Hoshogiga… gah, what a mouthful - First Blade, what's the problem?" With my foot, I gently nudged the head back, and it rolled slowly toward the boss. As soon as it reached his shoe, the boss suddenly lifted his foot, making the head pop up. His reflexes were impressive - he caught it by the little ponytail.
"That really is Rogenzaki's head…" the boss muttered, setting it aside. "So… it was you who wiped out the Bloodfangs last night?" His tone had lost its edge.
"Oh, you can be sure of that, boss-san. Last night, one of the Bloodfangs came to my restaurant demanding a cut, and as you can guess, I didn't like that offer. Now I've come to you to see if we can come to an agreement. Of course, I could have asked to have you and the other gangs wiped out too, but with the way things work in this city, it'd only be a matter of time before a new gang popped up. So I figured, why not just settle things peacefully? What do you think, boss-san?" The gangster had gone a bit pale and nodded quickly.
"Of course, of course - no need for more bloodshed. We're… civilized people. Rest assured, Akira-san, neither I nor any other gang will give you any trouble." The man was sweating a little as he promised.
"Glad to hear it. Since we've reached an understanding, I won't take up any more of your time." Nodding, I left the house, teacup in hand.
Once we'd left the neighborhood, I asked the question on my mind:
"So what's stopping other people from just hiring shinobi to get rid of the gangs threatening them?"
"It's expensive, and most people here have families - not many are willing to take that risk. Who knows what could happen a few years down the line?" the chunin squad leader answered for everyone.
I didn't bother asking why Konoha didn't just wipe them all out. The situation was the same as with missing-nin. Konoha could send out a few ANBU teams and take out almost all the missing-nin in the Land of Fire in a year.
But nobody's turning missing-nin into mincemeat, obviously because that would mean fewer missions. I mean, I put together a team to protect me on the way to Tanzaku and in the city. Here's hoping the Fearsome Daggers last as long as possible - I really don't want to have to scare off a new gang every year.
****
That evening, in the cottage dining room, Koyuki was digging into mashed potatoes, which she'd suddenly been craving all day.
*It's because of that Akira - ever since yesterday, I can't get those mashed potatoes out of my head. The jerk ate them with such pleasure, and all he offered me was sausage and bread. He could've shared. And he ate with such an appetite, too,* Koyuki thought, shoveling in another spoonful.
Meanwhile, she was also listening in on what her colleagues and acquaintances were talking about at the table.
*Same as always - talking about women,* Koyuki grimaced, and was about to get up and leave when some interesting words caught her ear:
"Did you hear what happened last night in the Kandzu district?" one of them asked.
"Oh, you mean the Bloodfangs got wiped out? Everyone's talking about it. Serves them right."
Hearing that, Koyuki froze, surprised.
*The Bloodfangs… weren't they the ones who tried to take a cut from Akira's restaurant yesterday?* She suddenly remembered her conversation with Akira about how he planned to deal with his problem.
*"I'm very good at getting along with people"… No way! It's got to be a coincidence. How could he possibly be involved in wiping out one of the biggest gangs in Tanzaku?* Koyuki bit her finger, deep in thought.
In the end, unable to come to any real conclusion, the princess decided to ask Akira directly if he had anything to do with what happened.
*Tomorrow we're filming that scene again anyway - I'll find a moment to ask him.*
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