A Random Poverty-Stricken Nobody.

"You expect me to pay for this lousy service!? Idiot... Know that this is the last time you'll see me here!" The burly drunk shot a spiteful wad of spit in my direction before kicking the bar doors open and making his dramatic exit.

"Okay, bye." My tone was set in one of passive hostility. "Hope you don't come back!"

The wooden doors that were rugged and showed the cracks of time drew back to a close. I let out a sigh, finally released to be free of that clod.

"Well, I hope he does," The clacking sounds of approaching steps snapped my attention to behind me.

"Akami-sama!" I gasp out of surprise more than anything else, her sudden approach could not have been more unfortunate given what has just occurred moments prior.

Akami Tomimika, the woman who hired me when everyone else scoffed at my lack of...

Everything.

I had nothing, no friends, no family; after an unforeseen ****, that was out of my control, I was left alone and had to fend for myself.

And unfortunately, I had no training in the arts of anything other than begging live another day, I had to rely on the sympathy of others, as every attempt I made to better myself was pissed on by the heavens. Every job I managed to pick up failed, and eventually, people stopped hiring me in the first place!

I ended up with my current job working at this inn, by pure chance. After spending my third night out on the streets, I ended up passing out in the dark alleyway between some buildings. Akami Tomimika, with her ever so grateful heart, took a form of pity on me. And the following day she hit me with an offer I couldn't refuse.

Work as one of the staff for her inn, and receive both payment and a room to stay. Having literally nothing else to my name, I took the chance with open arms. And so far, for the past two months, I've been able to make some form of a name for myself. Yes, the payment isn't much, but Akami served to gain not much in giving me a chance. She's not too old, perhaps no older than thirty, the woman might not have even needed more help. Her money could have been spent on someone more capable, but she chose to help out a random person she could have easily ignored.

That is the reason I am grateful to her; it is also why her look of disappointment stung as hard as it did. Disappointing her hurts, in more ways than one. Half of it being because of everything she has done for me, while the other part is because she could drop me back on the street the moment she feels the urge to do so.

I work to impress her, but I also do what I do to have a place to sleep at night; if she chose to fire me, all I could do is ask for a few days to figure out what my next move would be. And she wouldn't even have to give me that.

If most people lose their job, they probably have a home to go back to, but in my perplexing situation, my job is my home.

"This has been the seventh time that has happened."

My first instinct was to defend myself in any way I could

"I'm sure it's only happened five times at most."

Her expression was hard to read.

*Gulp*

That means I must assume the worst.

"Kaguza-kun..."

Oh yeah, I'm Kaguza Kamahiko, just in case if the name of a poverty-ridden teen was something of interest to anyone.

She sighed and flicked back a strand of her dark blue hair. Akami was pretty in her own right; her hair was smooth with the impression of the ocean. But she usually keeps it flared up to the point where it comes off as somewhat spiky while she works. A green knot was wrapped around the top of her head to keep her hair in place. The green matches the dress she wears. It has two straps that hold onto her shoulders to keep it in place, and its neckline is flat, wrapping around just above her chest that is decently sizable. The material flows down her figure and is tied around her waist, turning the bottom half into a skirt. Though, a lot of her form is concealed by the black apron she always has on while she is seen milling about the bar section of her inn.

"I don't know if this is working out for you..."

"Akami-sama, I.. I'm sorry! But he insulted me and said..."

She brought a hand to my shoulder, and then led me away from the dining area to behind the reception booth situated in the main lobby. Her purple eyes turned to look into my own, and she lowered her voice to a whisper.

"I heard what happened, and I understand why you would be upset. But it's the way you reacted that I can't approve of..."

"He..."

Her brow furrowed, "Let me finish." She said with a held up finger. "I was moments away from coming to deal with him myself, I care about you, and the rest of the staff here. I won't let people push you around, but that's exactly the mistake you continue to make. You do not let me handle it." She stepped back and closed her eyes, letting out another sigh. "If a customer is going to get upset, let them be upset with me, I own this building. It's not your job to snap back. I will say it one more time, if a customer is rude, tell me. I. Will. Handle. It."

"Yes Akami-sama, I'm sorry..." I responded honestly with my head held down.

Akami's expresson softened, but she still held the look of disappointment. "I know Kaguza... But we've had this talk too many times." She offered me one lingering look before turning to go back to the dining area. "Just... Return to your room. You can call it a night."

Yeah.

And I guess I can call this my last night.

*Sigh*

So basically, I'm fired. Akami didn't outright say it, but the air around us told me all I needed to know. Clearly, I serve no real use to her, especially if I'm driving away customers. And without helping her business, what point does she have in keeping me around? I don't see a point in myself, that's for sure.

She wanted me to return to my room, which I did, my area's situated on the top floor of the inn, in the far corner where I couldn't accidentally interact with too many paying residents. But upon, sulking to myself in the apartment. I began feeling worse and worse, my mind wandered to what will happen; how much longer I have here, or if there's even a way for me to fix things?

Part of me contemplated if I were overreacting or not, but thinking about how lost I'd be without a stable job and a place to sleep made me realize I probably wasn't reacting enough!

I need to step out.

It was dark and cool, the moon's glowing light rained down through the night sky, setting its mood upon everyone who populated the village's streets.

I had a few books to return to the village's library, it was a decent trek away, but I needed the air. And I never minded going an arm and a leg for books. Reading and writing is the only skill I can claim to have, and it's a past time that I have kept with me. The books I have written and read were probably factors in how I was able to keep my sanity during the many nights I had to spend on my own.

A shutter ran through me, not from the cold, though that was a factor. Akami got me some spare clothes, but I intended on buying my own as the leather jacket she gave me wasn't enough to keep out the chilly air. But that shutter I felt spawned more from realization.

Konohagakure, as a village, is known for housing the most powerful ninja's around, and it's generally peaceful and lively green aesthetic. It feels as though everyone forgets or perhaps even chooses to neglect the people like me, the ones that don't live in delicately decorated houses, the ones that don't have any extraordinary skills or techniques. The place is a great place to live, if you're one of the privileged.

And one would think that an effort would have been made at some point to help out the less fortunate, right? The Hokage has been spotted on multiple occasions striding through the streets with contentment on her face as she inspected the security and infrastructure of the village. Yet at no point did she notices the ones without homes or the ones that are caught begging for food.

No, apparently people like me aren't a high priority... I don't know the weight that she has to carry - well other than the jiggly set that's situated on her chest - So I won't begin to pretend that she isn't doing anything important. But for fucks sake, if it weren't for Akami, I might have died on the streets. And would the Hokage, or the guards, or any of the group of ninjas have cared?

No, not a single fucking soul.

But it seems like I was a bit too invested in my thoughts because I ended up crashing into something, which sent my stack of books soaring into the air as I stumbled back.

*THUMP*

Went my ass onto the floor, and I winced as one would because the impact sent a pain through my backside.

"Look what you did! You shouldn't have been rushing!"

"What- I shouldn't have been rushing? You told me to hurry up! I remember! You were like, and I quote- 'Oh no! We need to step this up, Lady Tsunade's gonna be furious if we don't deliver this on-'"

"That's not exactly what I said!"

"Yeah, well it's close enough, and now look. The books are everywhere! By the time we pick them back up, it'll be too late anyway. So there was no point in rushing."

"Shut up and help me with these... Oh crap... This doesn't look like it's Tsunade's..."

"I don't remember what any of them looked like."

Okay, shit... What happened, I blinked away the hazy fog of my disorientation, and...

Shit why are there so many books all over the floor!? What happened to mine...

Or the library's...

I can't afford to get one of these mixed up!

You see, with a library, you order books. Which means they don't technically belong to you. It gets really scientific, and you have to start dealing with some mathematics. But basically, holding them for too long means, you get overcharged.

That's a little factoid that the newer generation might not understand. With all of their technology, Kinda like phone booths, I bet you don't even know what those are!

Lol, jk you probably do, I mean if you didn't, I'd have to question how old you are. And I don't wanna go down that rabbit hole, so how...

How about I just end the chapter.

Also what's a phone booth?