How Troublesome

Chapter 11: A Disturbing Day

After Hisoka had caught up to them, since Naruto had run off in the wrong direction, and Kotone led them in the right direction, they arrived at her house. It wasn't quite what Shikamaru had been expecting, although he wasn't quite sure what he had been expecting. It was an apartment building. The outside was painted a light green, and, of course, moss was growing on the wooden boards. The four-story building looked as if it had been there for years.

"The council wanted Father to move to another place when he became head of the council, but he refused, and we kept living here. We needed a place to entertain and discuss matters with visiting dignitaries, though. The apartment was too small for that, so we expanded. The entire top floor is our house now," Kotone explained as Hisoka pushed open the oddly wide and peeling paint door that led into the building.

The lobby wasn't anything special either, just a normal apartment lobby like you could see in any village. A guard behind the counter bowed as they passed.

Three flights of stairs later, they arrived at the fourth floor landing. Numbered apartments lined the either side of the corridor, and Kotone, after digging out a key, ushered them into apartment forty. The inside of the apartment was completely and utterly different than the outside. First impressions showed smooth bamboo floors, clean, simple artwork on the walls, comfortable furniture in earth tones, and blue walls. As they walked further, with Shikamaru making a mental map of the place in his head, he knew what they had done. All of the walls separating the apartments had been torn down or had doors cut into them.

It was a little odd, but so was finding out that the Yugakure had become a ninja village all of the sudden, Naruto being a female, and even Takeshi didn't seem right to lead a village. He wasn't stuffy and stiff enough.

Voices filtered through yet another doorway. One was easily recognizable as Takeshi's, but the other two were not. One was even deeper and slightly raspy, and the other crisp and polite. Both were male. Beyond a sliding door, three men sat at a table.

One, at the head of the table, was Takeshi, but the other two were unknown. On Takeshi's left, was an older man, with a wild-looking mane of hair that made Shikamaru wonder whether he got his hair cut at the same place as Jiraiya. His face was heavily lined with wrinkles, and a deep, puckered scar wound its way from his temple down the side of his face to his chin, distorting the aged skin. A silver capped cane sat at his side.

The man on his left side was far younger than either of the other two. His light brown hair was neatly cut, and a pair of thin, rectangular lens glasses perched on his nose, obscuring part of his intelligent and pleasant face. His green eyes flickered up from the table to them, and he smiled in welcome.

Shikamaru looked back at him, studying the two new men from half-lidded eyes. The older one was someone of importance, probably from the council. It was all there with the way he carried himself, and looked down at them. He also had seen a lot of action, judging from the scar and the look about the man. Still, there was something off about him, something that Shikamaru couldn't place. He filed it away in the back of his mind to ponder later and moved his attention to the younger man. Young, either a secretary or someone in training for a higher position, some sort of aid. He was a few years older than Kotone, Naruto, Hisoka, and himself. Smart, too. His sharp eyes were constantly watching. Maybe the guy had ninja training?

Takeshi beckoned them forward, and they took their places at the table. Kotone sat on her father's right had side, with Hisako next to her, then Shikamaru, and then Naruto sitting in between him and the unknown young man.

"Kotone! It's about time you got back. I was getting worried. Did you show you friends the village?" Takeshi asked, looking relieved at the sight of her happy and unharmed.