Chapter 46: Gathering Information
It was dawn, and the gentle breeze of the early winter brought a sense of comfort to everyone in the Uchiha Resort's (formerly known as Village Resort) vicinity.
The whole place was twice as big as before Madara acquired it. The Koei Tower was a beacon of wealth, luxury, and depression. The workers were happy, well-paid, well-dressed, and extremely loyal.
The classic Japanese style architecture with ostentatious Chinese style adornments in every building, surrounded by its own private cherry blossom tree forest, makes this place a jewel that shines brightly.
Of course, like everything that shines too bright, it brings a lot of trouble. Or at least it did in the previous year, as many bounty hunters, mercenaries, private soldiers, spies, and even assassins from both the Earth Kingdom and Fire Nation tried to take this place down and conquer it.
Of course, none of their plans ever worked. Nowadays, Madara doesn't fear a single human, not even the Avatar… well, not the season 1 Avatar, at least. Kyoshi would be a pain in the ass to deal with if she was the current Avatar.
At this moment, in an underground chamber, Madara could be seen checking a few of his preparations for the possibilities of the future. He didn't want to put all of his hopes and dreams on the Avatar's success, especially as there's still a reincarnator somewhere, and that wildcard could change the scales of battle and completely modify the outcome of the story.
'The problem is… What if the reincarnator is not "combat-oriented"? What if this little bastard is a backstabbing, cunning, cowardly schemer? That would increase the difficulty of my work by a hundred-fold.'
"Mr.Uchiha," The same melodious female voice as before echoed behind him.
"Nari?" Madara raised his eyebrow at the newcomers. "Where's Jackie? He was supposed to be here for the quick meeting I arranged…."
"Fufufu~" she covered her mouth with her soft hand, "You don't have to worry about my husband, Mr. Uchiha. He is just…. Busy… We had a long talk after last night, and now he is repenting for his misdeeds. Obviously, he had an important job, so I took it upon myself to replace him, but you don't have to worry. I shall do my best on his behalf."
Madara was initially confused, but then he remembered the bridge talk with Nari the other day, and his eyes trembled slightly. "A-alright… well, bring our guest. We can't have our employee waiting for long, can we?"
"Right away" She bowed gracefully and allowed another woman to enter the underground room.
The woman was tall, strong looking, yet gorgeous. She had long black hair that covered one of her sharp black eyes. She wore rather extravagant make-up, dark eyeshadows that made her fair skin look even paler, and dark red lipstick on her thick full lips.
'This is the most Uchiha-style woman in the whole Avatar World' Madara raised an eyebrow as he stared at the newcomer, who looked around curiously but not for a second did she let her guard down.
"So, after a whole year working for the 'mysterious' owner of this place… we finally meet," she said with a rather smug grin on her pretty face.
Madara shrugged in return. "What can I say? I am a busy man."
She snickered. "Busy indeed, to be so wealthy so young… tell me 'Boss-man,' couldn't you even spare a minute of your time to meet such a gorgeous woman such as myself?" she said as she hugged herself and displayed her curves in a rather.. dangerously seductive way…
But Madara didn't get affected by it. Instead, he smirked. "Well… "sitting down on a chair and placing his feet on top of the table beside it, "…If I was to give one minute of my time for every gold digger that comes to me… I would be screwed in life…."
She instantly showed a hurt expression, staring at Madara with big sad eyes "…H-how mean… How can you say that?..."
"It's a family trait," he shrugged again.
…
The few seconds of silence were interrupted by a loud female laugh.
"Hahahaha, this is great!" She had to hold her stomach as she was laughing. "I can't deny that I like your style, Boss-man."
Nodding in understanding, he just said, "Well, that's understandable. I am a pretty likable guy."
A loud snort echoed through the room.
"Now, with that out of the way," he continued, "we should introduce ourselves… ladies first."
"Isn't it proper etiquette to introduce yourself first before requesting names?" She raised an eyebrow with a sarcastic smirk on her lips.
"My house, My money, My rules," he simply said as he rested his cheek on his palm.
She could only shake her head. "Well, the name is June, I've been working as a freelancer for you for almost a year now… although I have to say that the payment isn't that great, you could increase it a bit so we... the worker class… stop hating you behind your back."
"I shall consider it," Madara replied lazily. Are you kidding? No chance this golddigger would work for him if he wasn't the highest bidder. What a fucking scammer.
"I've been recently tasked to uncover certain details about the Fire Nation's Military movements within the Earth Kingdom," she completed, with a serious tone this time.
His eyes narrowed. "And?"
"I discovered something... interesting…" she said as she sat down opposite of Madara. "Years ago, after the failure of the Siege of Ba Sing Se… the Fire Nation Military started outsourcing something… now…which thing I do not know… but they are heavily investing into it, to the point where they cut down many other projects, even I was affected by it since I've worked for months for one of their bounties and they just… pulled it off…. Although I only discovered the whole outsourcing thing rather recently."
"It must be something big…" he muttered to himself, thinking about the possibilities.
"That's what she said..."
Instantly Madara choked and stared at June with a gobsmacked expression. Even his mouth was wide open. "W-what did you just say?"
June stared at him weirdly, then pointed towards Nari, that was near them and listening to the whole conversation, and said, "That's what she said… you know… when I told her about it beforehand?"
"Oh…."
…
…
"Ahem," he coughed to remove the awkwardness, failing miserably. "By the way, what bounty were you doing when they decided to cut you off back then?" he placed his kiseru in his mouth for a bit to enjoy his smoking. It didn't affect him negatively whatsoever. He was pretty much immune to poison nowadays.
She shrugged it off, not understanding anything and judging it as one of her Boss' 'quirks.' "Well, it's not like it should be a secret, but me… like many others... were after this heavy target from the Fire Nation. People call him Ghost."
COUGH.
COUGH COUGH COUGH.
Madara was dying, thanks to the smoke of his kiseru, nothing related to the information he had just received at all!
Even Nari had to bite her lip to not smirk at the situation. She was doing her best to stay in the background like a dependable employee, although the trembling of her shoulders could be seen if someone paid attention enough.
"How old are you again?" He raised his eyebrow; she didn't look old.
"Eighteen, why?" She raised her eyebrow in response.
But he just shrugged. "The last time I heard about the Ghost was several years ago, so you started on the business rather young, eh?"
She shrugged back. "What can I say?... It's a family trait."
Madara snorted.
The meeting continued for over an hour, and eventually, June left to enjoy a five-day holiday before going back to her other tasks, some unrelated to Madara. She was a freelancer, after all.
"She is rather interesting," Commented Nari while watching June leaving while mounted on her Shirshu, Nyla.
"She is something alright…." Madara sarcastically commented, "Although I rather not let her and Kaliya meet, they will either give me a headache or brawl it out like savages…."
She raised an eyebrow. "And somehow you find the second option unacceptable? YOU?"
Madara just stared at her with a deadpan expression. "If they fight, they will break my things… my expensive things… and even beating the shit out of them after the deed is done… won't bring my broken stuff back, nor will it return the money that I spent on it…."
Nari chuckled cutely, "Mr. Uchiha, you are a rather cheap man for someone so rich, your riches are almost reaching the Beifong level, and I don't doubt that in a few years, you will reach and may even overwhelm them in wealth."
"I am rich precisely because I am cheap. Money in the hands of an idiot will simply disappear," he snorted back. "By the way… about what we were talking earlier…"
"Yes?" she blinked cutely.
"Will… he be alright…?" he gulped
"Oh…"
…
…
…
She bowed respectfully and turned around to do her chores, but not before leaving her final words behind "Don't worry… he will live…. I think…"
..
"Oh… poor… poor Jackie…"
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
KojiSan
KojiSan Nothing to say today, its not a good day.
Chapter 47: Kyoshi Warriors
"So… what you girls do around these parts?"
Asked Sokka as he walked with the best "nonchalant" acting he could, with his arms behind his head, trying to look as uninterested as possible while enjoying the comfortable morning breeze of the island, neither too cold nor too hot.
The girl he had been bothering gave him a side glance as she went around the village observing the situation.
"Not much, we train," she said, using as few words as possible.
He nodded in understanding. "Oh yes, yes… training is very important, the world is a dangerous place, especially for girls…."
"What is that supposed to mean?" she narrowed her eyes.
"Not much," he said, shaking his head, still with a comedic face, "Only that you should probably leave fighting for the men of your tribe… it would be horrible to watch such a cute girl getting hurt."
Oh no... you didn't…
Her eyes narrowed even further, and a dangerous gleam could be seen by anyone paying attention. Sokka, on the other hand, was trying too hard to look cool to actually pay attention to it.
Deciding to give him another chance for the boy to go back on his words, she said, "Don't forget that you got captured by a 'bunch of cute girls. "
Not getting how hard he was digging himself into a pit of pain and regret, Sokka decided to say his piece, "Well, true, but I obviously wasn't trying to fight back... you would be obviously outmatched if I decided to do so… but it can't be helped…."
"Is that so?"
Sokka just shrugged condescendingly and didn't voice his response as he walked out, believing that his awesome skills completely captured the heart of the painted beauty behind him.
As the sun set in the sky, most people prepared to have lunch. Team Avatar, being the respected guests that they are, were invited to stay in a private building for the duration of their stay.
"So… how was your… 'reconnaissance', Sokka?" asked Katara sarcastically.
"It went great, obviously. I met the leader of those painted girls… we had a nice chat. I totally left her impressed." He shrugged with a prideful smirk on his lips.
Both Aang and Katara sat down to have their meal.
"So… you met the girl that captured us?" Asked Aang while wolfing down his food.
Sokka protested. "I already told you this morning they snuck up on me?"
"Right… then they kicked your butt." Katara mockingly added as she grinned at her brother.
"Sneak attacks don't count!" Shouted Sokka.
"It's alright to lose to a girl, you know…." Aang tried to add his two cents to this conversation, failing miserably of course.
"I DIDN'T LOSE TO A GIRL!"
"" Right…"" Both Aang and Katara didn't even bother to look at Sokka at this point and just enjoyed their food.
"Sokka, what's your problem? Eat!" said Aang
crossing his arms, to which Sokka replied, "Not hungry."
"But… you are always hungry!" The Avatar's eyes went wide with surprise.
Mumbling some stupid words to make himself feel better, Sokka sat down at the table and started eating the food. "Hmm… this is tasty!"
As the hours passed, eventually, Aang was seen by the waterfall where a poor painter tried to paint his legendary self, only to start over and over again as more little girls of the Aang fan club decided to pop up every few seconds.
Katara spent her time on the island researching the history of Avatar Kyoshi. It was a very interesting subject, and she thought this might also be useful in the future. While Aang was busy doing Aang things, yes, Aang things… not Avatar things… at least she hoped not all Avatars behaved like that.
As for Sokka, well, he was sulking while walking around the village, grunting to himself. "I can't believe I got beat up by a bunch of girls."
After some time, the Water Tribesman teen found a few secluded houses in a corner, two in specific.
One was big and surrounded by a few unique-looking trees with pink colored leaves that he didn't find anywhere else in this village so far, while the other one was a rather small yet well-preserved shack, but with one look one could notice that it was an abandoned house, no one lived there.
Peaking at the medium-sized Dojo-style house, he could see six painted girls in training, performing a routine with fans in perfect unison. He smiles smugly and enters the place.
"Sorry, ladies," he said condescendingly, instantly attracting the attention of all the girls inside. They all stared at him with deep frowns on their faces. "I didn't mean to interrupt your dance lessons," he adds while stretching his body. "I was just looking for somewhere to get a little workout?"
The one girl with black garments underneath her armor, the same one that he was bothering earlier today, stared at him warming up and grinned. "Well... you are in the right place, also sorry about earlier… I didn't know you were friends with the Avatar."
"It's alright," he shrugged, mockingly suppressing a laugh while speaking. "I mean, normally I'd hold a grudge, but seeing that you guys are a bunch of girls… I will make an exception."
That made every Kyoshi warrior in the vicinity narrow their eyes and grin at him. Still, the girl in the black kimono, Suki, was the one who voiced their reply… although sarcastically.
"I should hope so. Such a big strong man like you? We wouldn't stand a chance…."
"True true…" He nodded sagely, adding a smirk. "But don't feel bad. After all… I am the best warrior in my village."
Suki leaned towards Sokka. "Wow! Best warrior, huh?" she glanced at all the girls showing predatory smirks on their cute painted faces. "Maybe you'd be kind enough to give us a demonstration."
Sokka's eyes went wide upon hearing the unexpected request. "Oh…. Well… I…. mean… I…"
But Suki didn't let him escape. She turned to her squad and said cheerfully, "Come on, girls! Wouldn't you want to learn some great moves from such a strong, dependable man?"
All the girls made their cutest faces, giggling and smiling in agreement.
"Well... If that's what you want…" he placed his hand on Suki's shoulder. "I would be happy to do so!" He tried to push her a bit, but she didn't move a single inch. It was like trying to push a huge rock.
"Stand over there. Now, this may be a little tough but try to block me," Sokka said, trying to defuse the awkward moment from a few seconds ago.
Suki nodded and did as he requested with a bright, cute smile. Once they faced one another, she remembered something and looked at him, tilting her head cutely to the side. "Isn't a warrior's custom to introduce themselves before a duel?"
Sokka raised an eyebrow. 'I never heard of that!' he coughed. "Well, yes, of course!... It's just that I didn't want to overwhelm you, girls, with details…."
Ahem, clearing his throat Sokka introduced himself. "I am Sokka, Leader of the Warriors of the Southern Water Tribe"
The moment that he said the three final words, all girls in the building stared at him, doing their utmost best to avoid narrowing their eyes again, especially Suki.
"Really? … Southern Water Tribe, you say?" She asked again just to confirm it.
"Yeah," Sokka nodded proudly, "I lead the men of my tribe; we keep women such as yourselves safe at home."
No more words were needed.
…
The night came with a gentle stroke of cold wind. Snowflakes started to fall over the horizon, covering the previously pink-colored trees with a layer of white.
Many tourist attractions around the world would've closed doors for the winter, but the Resort wasn't one of them. Madara's idea of including the hot springs and many other anime-inspired facilities turned this little place into a small patch of heaven, well, at least for those people who were rich enough to pay the absurd prices, and believe me there were a bunch of those.
Madara was sitting on his balcony, drinking sake while enjoying the view with a kiseru in hand, blowing smoke to the wind with a satisfied smile on his face.
'From someone that didn't have anything… I managed to earn everything.'
Looking around, watching his employees with smiles on their healthy faces, dressed in high quality clothing dedicated to keeping them comfortable and warm during this season of the year, he couldn't help but feel … fulfilled…
"Why the need to be a hero? Why the need to be the strongest? People like that will never be satisfied in life. Even if they achieve their goals, they will feel empty until they either die… or focus their remaining limited time into something else."
If someone asked Madara right now what else he needed in life. There's only one word for him. 'Nothing.' He was satisfied with his achievements, with his strength and with his life, a completely different path from the OG Madara that had grand plans for world peace.
"Ye still watching the snow fall? If ye like it that much, we can always travel back to the North Pole… we don't even need to go to the capital."
Said Kaliya lazily as she walked out of his room wearing only a single open red yukata. Her hair was messy, and her legs trembled every so often as she tried her damn best to walk toward Madara.
"You know that I won't be going back to that place just for the sake of watching snow fall… by the way, how was your mission? Didn't have time to ask, considering how you… attacked… me," Madara chuckled as his words left his lips.
Kaliya smirked in response. "Well, what can I say… I missed home," she said while staring at his back. After a few seconds, she quickly continued, "As for the mission, everything went flawlessly. Honestly sometimes I wonder if you have the power to see the future, to be so good at judging things."
Madara said a simple "Hn" and went back to smoke as Kaliya sat beside him and poured some sake for herself, joining the Uchiha as they stared at the Resort under a comfortable moment of silence, enhanced by the clicks of cups and the shishi-odoshi's (Deer-scare) bamboo.
After a long time of enjoying the view, Kaliya had to ask, "Ye seem very happy today, something happen?"
"Well… I ratted Jackie to Nari while you were gone…."
The Waterbender's eyes went wide. "Oh… poor bastard… we might need a new dog for the house now.."
Madara couldn't help but laugh "..Aye, aye… but I also feel like something good happening tonight. I can't quite put my finger on what exactly… but it feels like one of my legendary plans finally paid off."
Kaliya raised a single eyebrow, not quite sure how to reply to that, but after a few seconds, she said, "So… why don't we just improve ye night even further?" with a seductive expression while sliding her hand inside his yukata.
"Oh…." Madara grinned, placing down his sake and kiseru. "I would like that…. Round four it is."
"Ye counting?"
"Aren't you?"
"…" that… well…. He wasn't wrong… but that doesn't mean that she has to like it…
As the two entered the Uchiha Manor, the night continued on... a comfortable, sweaty, steamy, and loud night…
A Night that Sokka never made back home…
CREATORS' THOUGHTS
KojiSan
KojiSan
Sorry guys, i skipped a day, but i will try to be on point again ^^ thank you for your patience
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