Kenji

I don’t think I’d ever felt more free as I made my way over to the land of fire. I wondered idly whether my village would actually bother with sending someone after me after I failed to return from the mission. Probably not. Even if they did, their chances of finding me were next to zero.

I'd settled on going to the bustling town of Kurashiko. It was far enough from the approximate location of the hidden leaf and the feudal lord of the land of fire that the town wouldn't be swarming with powerful shinobi. At the same time, it was far enough away from the borders that there'd be time to evacuate if any of the neighbouring nations decided to invade. I do hope that I'll be long dead from old age before another great shinobi war breaks out.

It took me 2 weeks to get there eventually. I managed to attach myself to a merchant caravan as a non ninja bodyguard. The trip was blissfully uneventful which made for such a welcome change of pace. I didn't bother to build a friendship with anyone as I'd be disappearing as soon as the caravan entered the city. I did manage to extract some useful information about the city from my travel companions though.

Upon arrival, I collected my wage and promptly disappeared into some back alleys. I made reasonably certain that I wasn't being watched before changing form into a middle aged man. I rented an inn and decided to take a well deserved rest after my long journey.

Kurashiko seemed like a nice enough City, almost untouched by the violence of ninjas. That was probably the reason why merchants loved this town. Business thrived when there was peace. I'd live here, make money and do all the things my father and the elders told me not to do and when I died it'd be in my bed, not because some lord I never met had a quarrel about something I'd never care about.

With that determination, I fell into a peaceful slumber.

Old lady Matsumoto

It was late in the morning when I woke up as usual. That girl Nezu was already up and about as I could hear her moving around in the kitchen. Bless her, she was a good kid. It was a shame that she ended up working for me. Half an hour later, I made my way down to the kitchen.

"Good morning Matsumoto San". Nezu squeaked. I nodded to her as I sat down for breakfast. She'd been with me for over 6 months and she was still pretty nervous around me. She really was too timid for her own good. That said, I didn't go out of my way to put her at ease. In my line of work, a healthy amount of fear from my employees was a good thing. If they end up thinking you were soft, they'd walk all over you.

I am Matsumoto. People had been calling me old lady Matsumoto for so long that it had pretty much become my name. I am the owner of Sin's den, a hostess bar in the city of Kurashiko.

You wouldn't think it looking at me now, but I used to work here myself back in the day when I was a young girl.

Those were the glory days. Back in the day, we used to have shinobis as bouncers. Nowadays all I had was little Jin. He was a big guy now, but I still remembered him running around in his diapers back when his mom was around. About 20 years ago, a new wing of the city was constructed. The city centre and traffic had gradually moved there. If only I'd relocated back then. But, I had too many memories in this place to give it up that easily. Now, I was almost broke as the business had dwindled over the years. Now, I couldn't afford to relocate even if I wanted to.

I'd prop this place up with my old bones as long as I was able. After that, oh well. Nezu was a nice girl. I hoped I'd be able to see her happy and be with someone who valued her before I closed my eyes. The chances of that happening while working in this profession was pretty slim.

Besides Nezu, I'd only had one other girl working as a hostess.Her name was Mina. She was 32 years old. She was at an age when she should have been planning for her retirement in this profession. But, she was still neck deep in debt. Mina didn't live here like Nezu, she had a husband and daughter back home. Her husband had been a reasonably well off merchant before some bad business decisions landed him neck deep in debt.

Those debt collector bastards had cut off his left foot and right hand as punishment. They left a warning that they'd come for his head if he couldn't repay them. That was how Mina had ended up working here. She was barely keeping up with interest payments as it was now. I really didn't know how she was gonna manage.

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

Thinking about these things usually ended up giving me a headache. And it's not like some magical solution was gonna pop up. I had just finished my breakfast and got up when Jin told me there was a man waiting to see me.

I really hoped it wasn't someone coming to seek charity

People who knew me would tell you I generally wasn't in a charitable mood this early in the day.

I told Jin to show him into my office and inform him that I'd be there shortly. I was greeted by a middle aged man when I got to my office. He introduced himself as Matsu san. Based on his clothing, he definitely wasn't a wealthy patron. This was gonna be another charity case. With a weary sigh I prepared to listen to the man's story.

He was a farmer in a village a couple day's journey from Kurashiko. His wife was ill and his family had fallen into debt. He had no way to look after his family and was contemplating suicide when the eldest of his 3 daughters volunteered to come here to make money. So, here he was. He assured me that his daughter was beautiful and a hard worker.

I told him that we didn't really have enough customers to justify hiring another girl and if his daughter really was as beautiful as he said, he should try some of the hostess bars on the other side of town. They were always looking for new people.

" You're right Matsumoto San, I've made inquiries about those places. I know they pay well. But, I also know that those institutions are run by moneylenders and they treat girls like tools, suck them dry and throw them away into the trash when they're done. I know I must seem like a bad father having to leave my daughter to this life. But, I do love her dearly Matsumoto San. You're one of the few people in this city who run an institution like this with honour and integrity. That's why I want to leave my daughter with you. I couldn't bear it otherwise." He almost broke down in tears towards the end.

I agreed to meet his daughter in the afternoon. He didn't seem like a bad man. Much better than my father anyway, who sold me when I was 13, pocketed the money and never looked back. I'd decide after meeting the girl.

Most likely, I'd have to turn him away. But, I couldn't help but feel a little bit of pride. I may be almost broke. But I still had a name in this town those new and fancy bars would never have.

Matsu San came by with his daughter Hana after lunch. He wasn't exaggerating when he said that she was a beauty. She had a pretty face with long silky black hair that reached up to her waist. She was dressed in a typical peasant garb but her beauty shined through. She had a determined expression on her face.

I told her father to wait as I took her to the next room to examine her. She only hesitated a little before stripping down to her birthday suit. She didn't just have a beautiful face, she had a body to match. She had large, perky breasts that stayed up on their own while her waist was thin. Her hips flared outward, completing her perfect hourglass figure. Her ass was shapely and bubbly

Any of the rich bars in the city would clamour to have someone like her in their employ. I told her father as much when we got back to the office.

But Matsu San was insistent that his daughter should work for me. His daughter's future and security was much more important than any short term gains, he said. I told him to wait as I sent Jin to fetch a sensory ninja to check whether either the father or daughter were shinobi imposters. You could never be too careful.

After the check, I gave him the terms of his daughter working for me and had him sign a contract before I handed him 10000 Yon. Half of his daughter's earnings would go to repayment of that debt till it was fully repaid. He was just glad that I didn't charge exorbitant interest rates like those blood sucking moneylenders.

I gave them their privacy and let them say goodbye in the office as I stepped out. Matsu San thanked me again and asked me to take care of his daughter before he left.

I called Nezu over and told her to bring Hana up to speed. For now, I told her to show her to her rooms so she could rest up a bit. I was feeling a faint glimmer of hope as I sat back on my chair, smoking. Maybe, the days of Sin's den were not over just yet.

Hana

Old lady Matsumoto introduced me to a girl named Nezu. She seemed nice enough. She had a pretty and kind face. She stood a couple inches shorter than me. I'd say she was about 5'3". She showed me to my room and I thanked her.

" Thank you senior Nezu. I'll be in your care".

"No need to be so formal with me Hana. Just call me Nezu. I'm really glad to have some company around here." She replied with a kind smile.

"You'd better go take some rest Hana, we open in about 4 hours. I'll be sure to show you around and introduce you to everyone later". She said before she left.

I entered the room and shut the door behind me. It was a small room with a single bed, wardrobe, table and chair. I went over and opened the window and found that it opened up to a view of the canal flowing through the city.

I sat down on the chair with a sigh of contentment. A few blocks away, Hana's 'father' turned into a pile of mud in an empty alley as I released the mud clone jutsu. I'd stay as Hana Matsui for now.

Why work to pay for your depraved activities when you could make money off it. Hehehe…