[A while back]
"What now? It seems like there is a lot of security everywhere. Is this even necessary?" Tatsuo commented from the top of the building next to the headquaters.
Keiko nodded, there were really much more security than expected.
Samurai walked the streets, their hands resting on the guard of their swords. A police station was also nearby, shinobi police talked with the civilians and sent out officers for patrols.
"Do you think there are Uchihas in the police station? Will they help us if we tell them we are with Hiten?" Tatsuo asked Keiko, who immediately shook her head.
"Uchihas manage the main branch in Konoha. They send one officer from konoha to be the supervisor for several police stations of one village. They don't have the numbers to manage every village...or help us." Keiko explained, looking back at the security.
'All this...to protect this place?' Keiko thought.
"Tomorrow morning, we both are getting a job." Keiko turned to Tatsuo.
"Job? Why?"
"We're going undercover. We will investigate them while being among them. How good are you at learning ninjutsu quickly?"
"Faster than Satoru. Will you teach me something?" Tatsuo said with a smile.
Keiko showed him some handseals, demonstrated the intricacies of the manipulation of chakra for this jutsu and then began the long lecture for the jutsu
Audio enhancement.
They had a long night of training ahead.
---
The buildings windows reflected the orange light of the early morning, people kept entering and exiting the building and it seemed like the building never ran out of people.
Keiko and Tatsuo both wore disguishes, their transformation jutsu would save them here. The samurai and security guards could most likely detect a transformation jutsu.
"We will apply for jobs at different times, and take different jobs. Do you remember the key phrases the recruiters like?"
Tatsuo made a mock salute, "I'm very grateful for getting the chance to add value to this great company with my vast skillset and am also open to any and all learning opportunities that will be given to me!"
Keiko rolled her eyes, 'What do those civilian job recruiters like about these phrases? Why couldn't it be more simple?'
Keiko entered the building as she swallowed her pride, ready to lie as many times as needed to get the job she wanted.
---
Tatsuo took a pile of papers out of a folder and exited the room. The man in front of him, was wearing glasses and formals, eagerly waiting for the papers Tatsuo had.
"This is the report from the sales report for last month—as you requested." Tatsuo said with a sigh.
The man took the papers and glanced over it, before nodding in satisfaction and walking away. Tatsuo had been the chore boy, delivering papers and information to people from one department to another.
Tatsuo returned to room where he came from, the one which was filled with people organising papers, taking requests and handing them what was needed.
"Boy! Come here!" A woman called out.
"Tatsuo walked up to her only to be handed another batch of papers. "Do you know where the HR department is? Take this to the manager there." She asked.
"Third floor, left side of the stairs." Tatsuo said, watching her shuffle through another batch of papers, putting it near folders and the folder into a drawer.
"Ok, go and come back soon. You have send this report to this compliance department." She said, before heading off.
Tatsuo walked through the hallways and then climbed up the stairs, walking past many people. Just as he took a turn, he bumped into a man.
"Oh, Didn't see you there. Are you okay?" The man said, looking at Tatsuo, who had fallen down and scattered the papers.
"I'm sorry sir!"
Tatsuo hurriedly started taking the papers, only to see the man weave handseals—one handed handseals. The air caused all the paper to fly up and arrange itself into a neat rack.
The man picked it up and read it. "Huh, we've had a surge of hiring of new fishermen...these new hires better pick up their weight."
Tatsuo stood in awe as he was still comprehending the man using one handed hand seals.
The man looked at Tatsuo and began laughing, "Haven't seen ninjutsu upclose or something? It's always fun to see you folks surprised like that!"
He handed the papers to Tatsuo and walked away—safely.
Tatsuo released a deep sigh of relief, but a small part of him still worried, 'What is a man capable of one handed seals doing here?'
He submitted the papers and left.
---
The evening sun reflected against the glass windows of the headquarters building, making it shine with an orange glow. Workers slowly poured out from the entrance, exhausted faces, loosened ties and shoulders heavy from work.
Tatsuo exited alongside them, stretching his back as he looked around for Keiko.
He found her sitting on the edge of a small rooftop across the street, hidden between two taller buildings. She gave him a look and disappeared from sight.
Tatsuo casually walked away from the crowd and entered the alley behind the buildings.
The moment he entered, Keiko grabbed him by the shoulder and pulled him deeper into the shadows.
"What did you find?" She immediately asked making Tatsuo hesitate.
Keiko's eyes narrowed, "...What happened?"
"I think I messed up for a second." Tatsuo rubbed the back of his neck nervously, "There was this guy...he used one handed handseals right in front of me."
Keiko's expression immediately changed.
"What?" She grabbed his shirt, "Did you stare? Did you react too much? Did he say anything?"
Tatsuo quickly raised both hands.
"I didn't get caught! I think..." He paused, thinking back, "He just laughed at me. Said something about people always being surprised after seeing ninjutsu up close."
Keiko slowly let go of him, though the tension didn't leave her shoulders, "So he thought you were a civilian."
"Yeah."
"That was risky." She muttered, before taking a deep breath to calm herself, "What else?"
Tatsuo leaned against the wall and began recalling everything he remembered.
"There were reports about higher recruitment in other branches. Mostly fishermen." He counted on his fingers, "There was also a lot of paperwork related to underwater equipment investments, maintenance costs, shipping requests..."
"Anything specifically suspicious?"
Tatsuo thought for a moment before shaking his head.
"Not really. Most of it sounded normal for a company this big." He shrugged, "I mean...they deal with fishing. Of course they would invest in boats and underwater equipment."
Keiko folded her arms and leaned against the wall, "...True."
A company like Kaiyo Harvest expanding its fishing operations wasn't strange by itself. Hiring more fishermen, buying better underwater equipment and increasing shipments were all things successful businesses did.
"I'll be starting the night shift today." She said, checking the small paper slip she had received earlier, "You keep doing what you did today. Collect information, observe patterns and stay away from that one handed seals guy."
Tatsuo nodded at first, but then stopped.
"...Why are we even doing this?" He suddenly asked, making Keiko turn to face him.
"Our mission was in the other village, wasn't it? We came here because we thought the headquarters would have stronger chakra users but..." Tatsuo frowned, trying to phrase his thoughts properly, "Why are we investigating paperwork and offices instead of just checking the fishermen and eliminating the targets?"
Keiko stayed silent, so Tatsuo continued.
"That one handed seals guy alone is more suspicious than most things we found here. Shouldn't we be focusing on people like him?" He hesitated for a second before speaking again, "I think Hiten was right."
Keiko's eyebrows narrowed slightly, "...About what?"
"That we aren't actually doing the mission we were given."
"..."
Keiko slowly exhaled before sitting down against the wall. Tatsuo blinked, slightly surprised seeing her actually stop to think about it. Keiko rested one arm over her knee before speaking.
"Tatsuo." She said calmly, "Do you think blindly following orders exactly as they are given is always the right thing to do?"
Tatsuo frowned, "...No."
"Then what is?"
He stopped to think. Shinobi don't really get the privilege to decide what is right and what isn't.
"Doing whatever is needed to protect your home." Keiko answered for him. It wasn't perfect, it wasn't even justifiable most of the time. It was all a shinobi can have.
"Konoha does not need to hand me a mission scroll every time I decide to protect it." She said, looking straight at him, "If I think something is dangerous, I'll go beyond what was asked of me."
Tatsuo stayed quiet, so Keiko continued.
"If we just kill a few chakra users and leave, what changes?" She asked, "Another group gets hired. Another branch gets supplied. Another shipment gets sent out."
Tatsuo looked down slightly as he thought about the reports he had seen earlier. Keiko lightly chuckled at seeing the realization slowly appear on his face.
"You already know the answer." She said while standing up again, "Kaiyo Harvest is replacing people faster than we can eliminate them."
She adjusted her disguise and began walking out of the alley.
"So we destroy the problem from the root instead."
---
[FLASHBACK]
Keiko sat in her classroom, listening to what her teacher was saying—or at least trying to.
The hyperactive boys sitting in the back were getting excited as they kept staring at the wall clock. The class would end very soon and the students would be given the PE class.
*Ring* *ring*
The electric bell rang out. They boys paid no heed to what the teacher and rushed out of the classroom. Most girls joined the boys and left for the PE—not all.
Keiko packed her bags and left the classroom along with some few girls. They took the stairs and went up to another classroom. They were joined other students from other divisions.
The future kunoichi sat and waited for the new teacher to arrive, talking to each other about what this class could be.
"Attention everybody, stop talking among yourself and look forward towards the chalkboard."
The teacher began writing on the board, the sound of chalk rubbing on the board made Keiko close her ears shut, not that it did anything.
What is a kunoichi?
That question was written on the board.
A few students raised their hands, eager to answer. The teacher shook her head as if he already knew what answers he would get.
"Don't bother if your answer is a female shinobi. There's more to it." The teacher said.
The few girls who raised their looked confused, how could the answer they learnt be wrong? Keiko could almost read the thoughts from their facial expressions.
"Don't limit your capabilities as a kunoichi by comparing yourself with the boys. They may have an upper hand in combat...but the true essense of being a shinobi is embodied by the kunoichi—information extraction."
Keiko looked at her calloused palm, proof of her discipline with the blade, 'Why did I choose this class again? Oh yeah, I didn't.' memories of her clan resurfaced. 'They wanted to whore me out by having me sleep with targets to extract information.'
"Don't worry, I know what you all are thinking...you will not be actually performing those things now. You will be taught these things once you reach Chunin or the age of 15— whichever comes first."
"I see." Keiko mumbled sarcastically.
---
Keiko eyed the various important men and and their bodyguards, shamelessly engaging in debauchery, consuming drinks, substances and watching the performance of women who could barely be considered clothed.
Keiko took a deep sigh before shortening her skirt and unbuttoning a few buttons of the uniform assigned to her.
---