Chapter 20

"Noriko, no one is going to kill you. / You'll be fine and make do," Bee told me after my little speech while glaring at Ay.

Right, and ninjas believe that friendship is magic.

"What I wanna know, / are these names and rumors bein' said to Noriko," Bee said before I could say anything caustic.

It was dumb of me to think he'd maybe not notice everything I'd been saying. Now it was going to get awkward when I'd been aiming for dramatic and intense.

"Ay can tell you later Bee-san," I said while not looking at him and trying not to fidget. "So-"

"No, / I don't think so," Bee replied while crossing his arms across his chest.

Great, he's being stubborn. I looked at Ay and said, "You can tell him since you spread them around."

"Bee, rumors aside, I need to address the issue Noriko-san has put forth," Ay said with finality.

Bee looked like he was about protest, before he paused and became pensive.

Maybe Gyūki spoke to him? I really wanted to know, but I could never ask.

Nodding, Ay turned to me and said, "Noriko, all missions above D-ranks are classified to civilians. I will not be making any exceptions at this time. However, I suppose that you did make some logical points so I will see what I can do as far as a job and temporary housing by the end of the day. As a matter of fact, I believe I have the perfect job for you."

"What about my money?" I asked with a sinking feeling.

"As I said before, all missions are classified above D-ranks to civilians," Ay replied firmly before disappearing in a poof of smoke.

Meaning, I suppose, that he cannot acknowledge to even have my money. Jerk.

Well, it could have been worse. This conversation could have ended with a kunai slitting my throat. It honestly went better than I expected. Not that I was forgiving Ay anytime soon.

Was it too much to ask to not have to negotiate with a trained assassin in charge of a horde of assassins? It cannot be good for the heart.

It was at this inopportune moment that I realized I was hungry.

Of course I forgot to ask for food until my first paycheck. My intelligence was just that awesome.

I tried to reassure myself with the fact that people could go three weeks without food. Food could wait a little longer even though I was very hungry as my last meal had been breakfast yesterday. Park water fountains would be my go to place for hydration. Now all I had to do was wait for Ay to get off his butt and actually fulfill his promise.

A hand landed on my shoulder, reminding me that Bee was still there.

"What?"

"Ay may be rude, / but he knows you need food," Bee rapped reassuringly. Then he handed me a small wad of money.

I looked at it suspiciously. "When was that decided?" I asked. Maybe they had used hand signs or another code to settle that without me realizing? It better not be Bee's personal money.

I'm probably overthinking it though. Why would Bee offer me his own money?

Bee smiled and said, "Ninja stuff, / let me know if it's not enough."

"Thanks," I replied as I took the money. Not like I had any other choice since no mention was made about when I would get my first paycheck and I was left in the dark until sometime this evening. At that point, I could bring it up to Ay or whoever I would be speaking to – unless I got a scroll and not another meeting. You know, that's most likely what would happen since I'm not important.

A poof let me know I'd zoned out while thinking and Bee had left. I suppose I should be relieved he didn't ask anymore questions about what the village rumors were saying.

As I brainstormed cheap places to eat (which would be limited due to my new reputation), I made my way out of the Raikage Tower using the surprisingly resilient stairs.

Of course, I did not relax at all that day as I meandered around the village, with only a few minor incidences of being called the w-word, since I knew ninjas tended to assassinate their target when their back was turned.

ooo

A few hours before sunset, a masked ninja gave me a heart attack when they appeared out of nowhere in front me before handing me a scroll. It was from the Raikage's assistant detailing my new job, apartment, and that the money I received earlier from Bee should last two weeks before my first paycheck. At the end of the scroll was also a map to the apartment I now leased.

I looked ridiculous with that scroll trailing along behind me as I searched for the apartment. Mabui totally put the map there on purpose. I suppose she took it badly when I didn't listen to her before. Note to self: ninjas can be as petty as everyone else.

Arriving at my new place, I noticed that the apartment complex was a bit run down, but overall decent. The building itself had a lopsided sign that read: Other Housing.

As I walked up the stairs to the top third floor, I stopped in the middle of the hallway.

Uh, why is there a mountain goat in front of my apartment? I closed my eyes and reopened them to make sure the stress of the past few days wasn't making me hallucinate. But no, there really was a mountain goat sleeping in front of room 304 which just so happened to be my new place.

Aren't mountain goats supposed to be mean? How could I get the door open without waking it up? Should I ask a neighbor?

I was rather hesitant to ask anyone considering my new status, but I had no idea if this was normal or not. Does the village even have animal control? If they did, how did I contact animal control? Oh no. I better not have to make this a D rank mission to get a stupid goat out of my way.

At that moment, the goat opened its eyes and narrowed them at me.

Oh my god, what if it's a summon animal? Did it know I called it stupid?

Just as I thought the word, its eyes narrowed further and it stood up.

I feel like I should run now.

But, if it is a summon animal, would running even work? This goat could be trained to rip people's faces off or just run messages. I mean, if toads can help defeat Pain, there's just no telling what a goat can do. Whatever the case, I was screwed.

In wildlife documentaries, in most situations, it's best to show no fear since only prey do that. So maybe all I needed to do was show no fear.

"Grrr," I tried growling while leveling a stern glare at the goat.

The goat smirked.

Damn thing was totally a summon.

Just then, an old lady in room 303 popped her head out. "Pookie! Dinner is ready," she exclaimed. "Hello dear," she said to me absent-mindedly while going back into her apartment. The goat nodded and began walking to follow her inside. Though before the stupid thing crossed the threshold inside its apparent home, it snapped its teeth at me.

I under no circumstances squeaked in distress.

No, I am made of much sterner stuff than that. Neither did I quickly shuffle into my apartment and lock the door immediately afterwards.

The inside of the apartment wasn't so bad. There was no furniture, but there was an old futon so that was something. Though there was lots of dust, no other weird residues were to be found. Also, trying out the sink, I found running water, so no more park fountains for me!

I rolled up my sleeves to work, and once I found an old rag under the sink, got to dusting.

List of things to do:

1) Get food to put in empty fridge

2) Get a few cups to drink out of

3) Buy at least one pajama and one other work/errands outfit

Ugh, it was going to be such a pain figuring out how much to spend for each item on my list since I have no idea what things should cost here.

Once I got the hang of my job and how much everything cost to get a proper budget going, I swore that I would figure out a new plan for my revenge against the Fukui clan head and his wife. It seemed like eons since I'd last thought of it, though in reality it had only been a couple of days.

ooo

A/N: Noriko has to work on her animal skills. :P