Chapter 26

Papi the harpy was an interesting person to talk to, but she suffers from ADD or attention deficiency disorder. It was because of this condition that she gained the reputation of being a 'bird brain.' Papi also had a habit of mispronouncing words or even leaving words outs when she speaks; this habit makes it hard for other people to understand her. Naruto knew Papi personally as she flew into him when he was visiting Los Angeles last year; Papi got confused and flew in the wrong direction. The blue harpy forgot what her orders were and just followed Naruto until Papi's mistress contacted her and reminded Papi what her mission was. Papi left with a message in hand and stomach full of food, promising Naruto she will visit again, only to forget after reaching her destination.

When Naruto reached his room, the sight that greeted him was Papi eating at the table while Rachnera and Bianca waited for his return.

"Hello, Papi. Nice to see you again," said Naruto

"Naru! There you are. Papi was looking everywhere for you." said Papi, noticing Naruto entering the room.

"She followed us back and kept asking for food." said a guilty-looking Bianca

"It's alright," said Naruto putting Bianca's worry, "this is normal for her. You called about a message concerning me."

"You're the blonde sleeper?" asked Rachnera in surprise and confusion

"Papi has trouble with her words, so it can be tough to understand her," answered Naruto.

"And you breaking several 'bras'?" asked Bianca.

"She probably means laws," said Naruto as he sat down at the table, "Papi, do you remember the full message?"

"Papi does! Mistress wanted to warn you that several meanies have slathered together to defect against terrestrial forkers!" said Papi as she ate some chicken, "she also wanted to let you know some about some cards about a Greek birthday on a big boat?"

"What?" thought a confused Bianca and Rachnera, unable to make sense of the message.

"I see Luke is seeking recruitment from other pantheons," said Naruto as he used to Papi's quirk, "I guess I should be thankful for small miracles. Does your mistress have any details about which gangs were banding together?"

"Not really," said Papi as she scratched her head, "other than the top band being purple and weird hair."

'The weird hair comment is not really helpful, but I think I know who the leader is,' thought Naruto as he scratched his chin.

"Thank you, Papi, you should probably leave seen as I'm sure your mistress is waiting for you," said Naruto as he opened the door for her

"Oh, right!" yelled Papi remembering her job, and began to leave, "She probably sent the terminator to look for me."

'Terminator?" thought Bianca and Rachnera in confusion.

"Be safe, Papi, and look out for powerlines," said Naruto as he waved Papi goodby

"You know Papi?" aksed Rachnera

"Yeah, she's apart of a mailing system that spans several countries and have the permission from multiple pantheons to do so." explained Naruto, "Also, to clarify, the 'terminator' she mentions is actually her coordinator; her name is Ms. Smith and is the one that makes sure Papi does her job, but from observing them Papi does more work than Ms. Smith as Smith tends to load her work into others and charge everything to the company. It's a mystery why she still has a job.

"So how did the job go?" asked Bianca as Naruto started to eat the remaining food.

"It went as expected, and Hachiman paid me accordingly. My next job will be tomorrow, but you girls could come with me as this god, in particular, loves anything cute, and you two fit into that category." Said Naruto making Bianca and Rachnera blush.

"I'm going to take a soak in the hot spring before going to bed," said Naruto as he stretched his sore muscles

"Go ahead," said Rachnera, "Bianca and I will clean up a bit before going to bed."

Bianca blushed at the thought of a shirtless Naruto; she shook her head to banish the thought and begin to clean the room. Since coming into the modern world, Bianca experienced how different the world had become. Gone were the social norms of women being nothing but homemakers and could act boyish without being scolded. The technology also had advanced, Bianca so far hasn't seen a single phone booth, and all the rotary telephones were considered antiques. She was glad that the economy recovered as the Great Depression hit the U.S. pretty hard.

The hot-spring was the perfect temperature for relaxing Naruto's tense muscles and helped clear his mind for the journey ahead. While in there, he wondered how Artemis's rescue was going, hoping they didn't encounter too much trouble. The blonde weaver spent another ten minutes in the spring before getting out, drying off, and putting on a fresh yukata. Rachnera and Bianca had the same thought as Naruto saw them in yukatas and sipped some tea to relax.

"Naruto, we decided to take your offer to accompany you on your next business venture." said Rachnera, "It sounds like fun, and get to see how you work."

"Okay, I think this one is mainly a mending visit, so It shouldn't take like." commented Naruto, "The appointment isn't till the afternoon so that we can sleep in a little."

"Good, I've never been an early riser anyway," said Bianca

As Tsukuyomi-no-Mikoto went to bed and her sister, Amaterasu, began her duties as the sun, Naruto and his two guests began their journey to Akihabara to meet with Naruto's next client. Known to the three was the spy that followed them on their journey; he was average looking, so he didn't draw much attention, but his eyes that gave that struck people as odd. Both of his eyes were toxic green in color with bar-like pupils like a goat. To make it less noticeable, he wore sunglasses, but he peeked over them, occasionally revealing them to the world. He reported what the foreigners were doing in Japan and determine their overall threat level. At first, they weren't much of a thought until the spy noticed how familiar Naruto was with other monsters and gods, and his threat level rose. The spy then focused his gaze on Rachnera and knew she would be trouble; arachnes were notorious trap makers and are known to use their razor-sharp claws to shred their prey apart. Bianca doesn't look threatening, so the spy assessed her as non-threatening. Raian, his boss, would want to know this information immediately and plan accordingly.

Akihabara is a hub for people interested in gaming or anime. It is also home to various cafés that dress their staff in specialized uniforms such as maids or butlers, but some have taken It a step further but dressing them up in cosplay. Naruto and his group bypassed the various girls advertising their cafés until they reached a particular one, the Fox's Den. Rachnera and Bianca looked In and saw various girls dressed in french maid outfits in different colors and short skirts. The one other feature the girls noticed was the fact that most of the girls had extra features such as fox ears and tails. The three entered and was greeted by a dog girl; Bianca found it cute when the girl ended her sentences with a 'woof,' calling them master and mistress, respectively.

"We are here to see the Head Fox," said Naruto

"Okay, follow me them, woof." said the dog girl recognizing the code phrase and directed them towards the owner's office.

Inari was the deity of rice, foxes, fertility, tea, and sake and is also the patron of swordsmiths and industry. The main problem was Inari doesn't have a defined gender. Inari is worshipped as both male and female, making imagining the deity difficult for other people. When Naruto, Bianca, and Rachnera entered the office, they saw an individual with sharp features and long black hair styled in a ponytail. Naruto watched in amusement as the girls tried to see if Inari was a male or female. The way Inari dressed didn't help as the Individual was wearing a suit, no noticeable bulge appeared on the chest, but both know some woman had a small chest.

"Naruto, dear~," said Inari as the deity got up to hug the blonde, "you came and look fabulous as always."

"Inari, nice to see you as always," answered Naruto, "you said that you had some garments that needed mending."

"Yes, some drunk ruffians decided to make one of my shrines they're home. They trashed it, and it took my poor foxes ages to clean it and make it presentable again," said Inari as the deity dabbed his eyes dramatically

"I see you're still dramatic," said Naruto, "before we get down to business, I want to meet Rachnera and Bianca."

"Hello," said Rachnera as Bianca shyly waved at the deity

"Oh!~ Aren't the two adorable! ~" said Inari as the deity looked the two over, "Oh~ I just want to dress like little dolls."

Bianca was startled as she had little experience dealing with overly affective people, so she hid behind Rachnera.

"You should probably take it easy on Bianca," said Naruto, "she's new to our world and flamboyance in general."

"Really~? How about this, while Naruto and I talk, you two can play with the girls downstairs. I sure they will make you look adorable while we do the boring work." said Inari as the deity walked Rachnera and Bianca downstairs where several girls were waiting, "make sure to have fun and make them feel cute~."

"Yes, Inari," replied the various maids in the cafe as they guided the two towards the costumes and clothing, "we have several outfits that will fit you two perfectly."

"Have fun, you two," said Naruto as he went back upstairs to do his work

The dark underbelly of the Japanese crime scene was where only the strong and vicious could thrive. Each gang had a territory they owned, but they had to defend it from rival gangs and rookies constantly. Each gang had a rank, and the number one gang were mercenary with a one-hundred percent success rate; they were the Demon Born gang. For over a century, with gang remained the number-one gang in Japan and planned to stay that way. Some enforcers even took to eliminating foreign parties from influencing the culture too much. Oddly enough, the Demon Born gang was one of the nicer gangs, their tempers flair when someone crosses or when a rival threatens one of their own. Raian, the great-grandson of the current head, was known for killing rival gangs in bloody piles after fighting them, and that bloodlust started to concern the other members. He was next in line to be the gang leader, and one of his goals was to make Japan pure again and eliminate all the outside forces. This plan was already in motion as he had various spies observing and reporting various factors that could ruin his plans, one factor going by the name Naruto Uzumaki. That bothersome Greek had been a pain inside for over a year, introducing new ideas and changing the way things would be! The strong always towered over the weak, and if anyone had a problem, they get killed, and it gets covered up to prevent future revolts or dash the hopes for things to change. From the reports he's been getting, Naruto was accompanied by two females, one a monster and a human, and they seem relatively close if their suspensions are right. The purple-skinned man began to plot and gather his flunkies from the other gangs looking at this new data.

The repairs only took an hour, but Naruto went down to tell the girls he was done. He was surprised to see Bianca's once pale skin now mocha-colored with white make-up on and a white wig covering her brown hair. Bianca replaced her casual clothes with a dark-colored sailor uniform with the skirt reaching the middle of her, now tan, thighs with white socks and black shoes. Naruto remembered this a style called Ganguro, a sort of rebellion against the traditional look for an Asian woman. Naruto looked over and saw Rachnera dressed in a black and white maid outfit with her spider abdomen and eight legs out. Naruto didn't know what to do as both look adorable, but he didn't know what to say; luckily, Inari was there to saw the words he was thinking, sort of;

"Aw~ those two look so cute." said Inari with stars in the deity's eyes, "I bet they would draw in a lot of new customers."

"Rachnera maybe, but I think Bianca seems a bit too shy to do such a thing," said Naruto calming down, "but the girls seem to be having fun, so I think we can grab lunch here and sightsee afterward."

"Alright, but can I keep the uniform? I kinda like it," said Bianca in a shy tone

"Sure, we have several copies of it, so giving away a few are alright," said Inari, "I'll get you one of the girls to show you your seats and bring you some menus."

"Alright, as always, it's a pleasure doing business with you," said Naruto concluding the meeting

The girl that served Naruto, Bianca, and Rachnera was a kitsune If the bushy tail and fox ears were any indication, dressed in a red maid uniform with a white apron. The group ordered two parfaits and a cola float for Naruto since Rachnera can't have caffeine, or she'll end up drunk again. That discovery was a maid last year were Rachnera drank some of Naruto's coffee and spend the next hour spinning a mess of webs in the attic that Naruto cleaned up later; Mr. D was very amused when he heard about this and made it his personal mission to make it happen multiple times in the future. The sweet creamed dessert satisfied both girls while Naruto sipped on his drink. He watched the two and trying to come up with plans now that business for today was done.

Seeing as they are in Akibarbara, it would probably be interesting to introduce Bianca to a few modern hobbies such as video games and manga. The drinks and food were paid for, and the group of three made it to their first stop, Slippy Gourd Manga. This shop was monster owned and operated, so seeing a person with extra features wasn't a rare sight. The owner was a nuraihyon, a monster with a gourd-shaped head and was dubbed the king of monsters. These oddly shaped monsters can command other monsters and invade others' homes and came it as their own. This nuraihyon, named Ichikawa Masumi, didn't have the passion for overthrowing a homeowner or commanding an army of monsters; instead, he decided to use his talents to sell comic books and collectibles to nerds and anime enthusiasts alike. He had white eyebrows and brown eyes with a light brown kimono clothing on his body; he was currently reading an old manga he found in the back when Naruto and his group entered.

"Hey, Ichi, any new merchandise come in?" asked Naruto approaching the counter

"Well, if it isn't the world's upcoming designer," said Ichikawa, "and yes, I got the newest volumes and figurines in."

"Tell me, do you still have those figures from the Mythomagic game," asked Naruto

"Of course, which one did you want?" asked Ichikawa leaning forward.

"Hades, Bianca's brother is a major fan of the game and almost have all the figures himself," said Naruto

"Wow, I have him, but it isn't cheap," said Ichikawa leaning back, "he is one of the sought-after figures."

"I figured the price would be high, and I am aware of the rarity of the figure," said Naruto, "so, what are we talking?"

"Naruto, you don't need to do this," said Bianca

"It's fine; it's just two businesspeople going over a deal," said Naruto, "so, what's the price?"

"Forty-five thousand yen," answered Ichikawa, "still in the box."

"How much that?" whispered Bianca to Rachnera

"I think it's about $450," replied Rachnera

"Kind of steep for a single figurine," said Naruto thinking over the offer, "how about thirty thousand?"

"Too low, I'll settle on thirty-six thousand five hundred?" said Ichikawa, "I'm only lowering the price because we're friends."

"I can deal with that." said Naruto taking out this checkbook and writing the amount out, "and I appreciate you lowering the price for me. Her brother will be happy to have the figurine to complete his collection. Bianca, Rachnera, why don't you two look at the shop while Ichi and I complete this transaction. You may find something you'll like."

"Are you sure? You already spent a lot of money," said Bianca

"I'm sure you two maybe here for business, but that doesn't mean you two can get some souvenirs from this trip," said Naruto with a reassuring tone

The two girls this advice as they looked over the business's wares; Rachnera was finding a girl manga detailing the struggles of a jorogumo in the modern world while Bianca seemed lost. This was a new experience for her; her younger brother was the one that was into this kind of thing while she just stood back and watched. Bianca looked around and spotted something out of the corner of her eye, two males hugging each other with rose petals surrounding them. This manga piqued Bianca's interest as she walked over and began to read it, she quickly blushed once she found out what the book entailed, but she couldn't put it down as the manga kept her interested.

"Find anything you like?" said Naruto appearing behind her

"N-no, I think I'll keep looking," said a blushing Bianca as she hid the manga behind her back.

"Are you sure? Then what's that behind your back?" asked Naruto spotting the corner of the book

"Ah-" said Bianca, not knowing what to say.

"Darling, I found some stuff I would like to read," interjected Rachnera coming down the aisle.

"Good, what you get?" asked Naruto, looking over Rachnera's selection noticing that most of them were spider related in one way or another, "I'll go and bring these to the counter then."

"I didn't know you were into that sort of thing~" whispered Rachnera spotting Bianca's reading material, "but I will admit they can get pretty spicy~."

"Please don't tell Naruto," pleaded Bianca with a red face.

"I won't; I'll distract Darling while you go to the self-checkout and meet us outside," said Rachnera walking away.

Thoroughly embarrassed, Bianca did as Rachnera said and discreetly bought the manga, thanking the gods for black plastic bags, and met Naruto and Rachnera outside to continue their sightseeing.

"So, did you find something you like?" asked Naruto seeing Bianca coming out.

"I think I have, but it's embarrassing," confessed Bianca looking away

"That's alright; we all have our secrets." said Naruto, "Any other place you two want to see?"

"Let's just see where the wind takes us." said Rachnera walking forward, "it's more exciting that way."

"Can't argue with that," said Naruto, "lead the way then."