Chapter Text
“Komori Ink was actually a printing press originally. My great-great-grandfather Keita Komori started the press when the monks at the local shrine were unable to keep up with the demand as the Capital’s population grew. He ran it with the help of his brothers for the first few years before, as the story goes, one enterprising Uzumaki decided she had had enough of the four different kinds of travel documents required to visit her brother in the Capital.
“Mikumo Uzumaki and Keita Komori met over a customs counter and were married within the year, with my great-grandfather Mako arriving a few months after. They settled into their new lives in the Capital and quickly established themselves as the place to go for accessible fuinjutsu work. It’s been five generations since Mikumo-kousobo-sama and Keita-kōsofu-sama expanded the press.”
Jino Komori never thought a ninja village would happen to her. She would be the first in her family to live outside the capital in the last hundred years, but when the newly seated Godaime Hokage requests your family specifically, there isn’t much you can do to stop it. Her parents were elderly, her sister’s wife was expecting, and her brother feared how his wheelchair would fare on the four day journey.
And so, Jino Komori embarked with her questionable escorts, Konoha’s Sublime Green Beast of Prey: Might Guy, Genin Neji Hyūga, Genin Tenten, and The Handsome Devil of the Leaf Village: Genin Rock Lee.
Yeah. It was already a lot to take in.
Seated beside her, Tenten made appreciative noises about the fuinjutsu, already starting to drag the improbably large scroll off her back as they clattered along the civilian dirt road. Jino’s one demand before agreeing to this posting had been Please Keep the Ninja Nonsense to a Minimum Until We Get to Konoha. The Godaime had granted her an ox-drawn cart and two extra days’ travel allowance.
“Komori-san, I know you said your family does mainly administrative work, but would you be able to take a look at this? There’s a delay when I summon my bo staff from this section.” Tenten turned huge liquid eyes her way while already pushing the scroll into her lap.
Okay. Perhaps a little ninja nonsense. As a treat.
The Hokage’s office was a bright, circular room with large windows overseeing what they call a village, but could more accurately be described as a town. But, the exact designation of Konoha was not what worried Jino.
The Hokage’s office was a bright, circular room with large windows overseeing Konoha. It was also an absolute mess.
The perimeter of the desk was littered with stacks of scrolls, piles of books, and loose papers. Behind the Hokage herself were more stacks, interspersed with what appeared to be wooden crates and a plant that looked like it had seen better days.
Jino eyes flicked right, then left. Someone thought to put shelves in this room, and if they were being used properly, or being used at all, it might have helped. As it stood currently, they were very attractive dust bunny display cases.
“Komori-san, welcome to Konoha, my name is Tsunade Senju, the current Hokage of this mess.” There was a roughness to the Godaime’s voice that Jino immediately clocked as One Who Yells Often. Her grandmother, Kita, had been the same. Lovely woman, terrible hearing.
“It is my pleasure, Godaime-sama.” She dipped into a low bow, the court training all Komoris suffered through came at the last moment.
“Please, have a seat.”
There was nowhere to sit.
“Ahh, I prefer to stand, my lady, I was seated for most of the journey from the Capital.”
The Godaime nodded as she crossed her arms and leaned back in her chair.
“What do you know about the Leaf Village, Komori-san?”
“I know it is the seat of our fighting forces, and that shinobi are available to hire for a variety of tasks. Beyond that, next to nothing, my lady.”
Tsunade heaved a huge sigh before she rocked forward, her head braced against her fist.
“That’s probably for the best if we’re being honest.”
“My lady?”
“Komori-san, Jino-san, about two months ago Konoha had a bit of a… leadership change.” Tsunade sounded deliberately vague which didn’t bother Jino at all. The less she knew, the better.
“My predecessor, the Sandaime,” –Jino dared not ask how they went from third to fifth Hokage– “left me with a bit of a mess.”
“Indeed, my lady.”
Tsunade’s grin was less welcoming and more of a baring of teeth.
“I need you to fix it.”
Wait. What?
