The screen went dark, and the audience, quietly chatting among themselves, started getting up to leave the theater.
"Well, that was… something. Let's go." That voice again - the very one Koyuki was already starting to hate with every fiber of her being.
*Eighty whole minutes I had to listen to his complaints!* she fumed inwardly.
*I can't just let it go like this. I feel like I've been spat on. What a horrible feeling.* The birth of cinema in the shinobi world had been rapid - in just a few years, they'd gone from black-and-white films to color.
Sure, the development was a bit lopsided, skipping things like TV as a way to show movies, but the culture itself was thriving. With only a handful of theaters and not much else in the way of entertainment, people loved movies, and everyone had something good to say about them - except for a few old-timers who still preferred books.
So, directors and actors rarely - almost never - had to deal with criticism.
Koyuki, even though she'd only been in two films, was already beloved by audiences and anyone who recognized her. For her, sitting there quietly while sharp words stabbed into her back, one after another, was a real ordeal - one she had no idea how to handle.
"What do you even know?" Unable to hold back the storm of emotions inside her, she spun around and let her frustration out at the source.
Now that the movie was over, the lights had come back on, and Koyuki and Akira - separated by just a few seats - could see each other clearly.
*Damn, he really does look good. I'd even say very good,* Koyuki thought, giving Akira a second, more honest appraisal.
"Oh, when I was asked to give up my seat, I didn't realize the cashier was talking about the lead actress… Yukie Fujikaze, right?" If Akira was surprised, it didn't last long - his face quickly shifted to a smile that felt more teasing than polite.
"Yes." Koyuki Kazahana's reply was icy. Only she and her manager knew her real name.
"Well, I'd love to chat, but I've got things to do." Akira stood up and started making his way down the row toward the exit.
Koyuki had no idea what came over her, but she rushed ahead and planted herself in front of the only exit, blocking Akira's path.
The rest of the audience, in no hurry to leave, were still milling around, sharing their thoughts on the film. But now, seeing the famous actress, they stopped and stared.
"Yukie-san, would you mind stepping aside?" Akira asked, his voice flat, shooting an annoyed look at his escorts, who clearly had no intention of stepping in.
Renaro - the young chunin - even gave Akira a thumbs-up, wishing him luck. The other chunin, sensing that Yukie wasn't a threat, decided to let their client handle it himself.
*Pfft, and what am I even paying you for?* Akira thought, turning his attention back to the actress, who looked anything but calm.
"No. Not until you apologize for everything you said. I'm not moving." Koyuki knew she was acting like a child, but she had no idea how else to let out all the anger that had built up.
"For everything I said? Fine. Sorry I called your acting average and said the plot was pretty mediocre. Happy now?" He took a step forward, as if to test whether that was enough, but she stood her ground, showing no sign of moving.
"Even people selling rotten meat apologize more sincerely. I feel even more humiliated now." Realizing this, Koyuki dug in her heels.
Unlike the young man, the other moviegoers weren't in a rush and were more than happy to watch another show starring their favorite actress.
"In that case, sorry in advance for being rude." Akira said it calmly and started walking toward Koyuki, ignoring her completely.
It looked like if she didn't move, Akira would just use his size and weight to push her aside. But the young actress didn't flinch.
*He wouldn't dare hurt me in front of everyone.* That was her thought. And she was right. When Akira was half a meter away, he simply put his hand on her left shoulder and, with minimal effort, nudged her just enough to get by.
*Sometimes actions speak louder than words,* Akira thought, not wanting to waste his precious time arguing with some actress.
"How dare you?" Koyuki snapped, regaining her balance.
"You insult me, and now you treat me like a sack of potatoes? Feel my wrath." Shutting off the last bits of reason and logic, Koyuki raised her hand and slapped Akira hard across the face.
*Smack*
The sound of the slap was so sharp, everyone in the theater heard it. For a moment, the whole room froze in shock - even Akira.
He felt a burning heat spread across his cheek, the sting of her palm lingering. *That was a perfect slap,* he thought, staring at the actress, who now stood with her own hand trembling, her face flushed with anger.
Akira wasn't the kind of man to put up with people's displeasure - especially not from women. If his words hurt a pretty girl, he was willing to offer a small apology if needed, but taking someone's anger in physical form was a line he never let anyone cross, no matter how close they were.
His jaw clenched, and without another word, he shot Koyuki a cold look and turned away, the heat still burning on his cheek as he strode out of the theater, furious.
*Behave myself? I'm the princess of the Land of Snow! Even if I'm not anymore! That jerk! *
****
"Akira-san, are you sure you want to trust me with a project like this? It's not that I doubt my skills, but… even with the best materials, a building like this won't last more than twenty years. And with shinobi techniques involved… I can only guarantee six to eight years, maybe ten if you're lucky." The architect - the same one who'd worked on my restaurant - was a little nervous as he spoke. The man was experienced, having overseen forty projects in his life, so there was no reason to doubt his skills. Sure, my sketch left a lot to be desired, but for an architect like him, refining it was no trouble. The real issue was how long the building would last.
As everyone knows, any construction starts with the foundation - preparing the ground. The taller the building, the more pressure on the foundation, so it has to be denser and deeper. To really pack down a foundation takes a lot of materials and time. Time was the one thing I didn't have, so I decided to hire earth-style shinobi. The ones I found didn't have much construction experience, so no one could say for sure how well they'd reinforce the ground.
The architect had to rely on guesswork and intuition, which told him one thing - a building made with shinobi techniques wouldn't last long. In the long run, my project was a money pit. Who'd want to invest in a building that wouldn't last twenty years? Me. All I needed was for the foundation and structure to hold up for at least five years. After that… I'd manage without shinobi.
"No problem. Just do your best," I assured the architect and left, putting a clone in charge of supervising the work.
The first task was to demolish the old two-story building, and the chunin should have no trouble finishing that by the end of the day. Each had five construction workers to help, all overseen by the foreman and the architect.
Since I didn't need Yamato's help yet, he took on the role of my bodyguard for now.
"Akira-san, I still don't get what you're trying to build," Saiko said, sharing her thoughts.
"Hmm, how to explain… Let's say you want to buy clothes. Where do you go?" I decided to break down my business plan on my fingers.
"To the central market, Ohakayo store, or the north district if I want something more expensive."
"And if you want a bite to eat?" I kept asking as we walked toward the restaurant.
"Hmm, then Bun-fu district - food's cheaper and better there."
"And if we're talking jewelry?" I kept going.
"Hmm, then Tozutsu district, northeast part of town."
"Now imagine all kinds of food, clothes, and jewelry are in one building. Need cheap clothes? You'll find them in my shopping center. Quality stuff? Same place. Want to eat but don't know what? You go to my shopping center. Each floor will be dedicated to a different market segment."
Yeah, I was planning to build a mall.
Why were malls so popular in the 21st century? Because for people living in cities with millions of residents, it was easier to get to a mall than to hunt down individual stores. In Tanzaku, I couldn't really use that advantage - people could walk anywhere in town in twenty or thirty minutes. But I had something else going for me - the idea was new, and anything new draws people in.
Tall buildings were mostly residential. In Konoha, the tallest apartment complex was five stories. Most buildings were one or two stories. In Tanzaku, houses were usually two or three stories.
Now imagine a weird building suddenly appears, three times taller than anything else. Like it or not, the mall would stand out and catch people's attention. I decided to design it like a square pagoda with eight floors - forty meters tall, with the first floor measuring fourteen by fourteen meters. Each floor would get a little narrower, giving it a striking look. [ image ]

The plan was for the first floor to be a big grocery store, the second for clothing shops, the third a food court with lots of tables, the fourth a restaurant level where people could order food to be brought to the third floor, the fifth a play area for kids and adults, the sixth for high-end shops - jewelry and tech, the seventh an elite bar, and the eighth floor I wanted to turn into something like a hotel with three luxury suites.
"So basically, I'm creating one big store that fits a bunch of shops and businesses offering all kinds of services."
Traditional malls rented out spaces to different stores and franchises, but that wouldn't work for me - I wouldn't make much in the short term that way. So, when I got to Tanzaku, the thing that gave me the biggest headache was the need to launch over twenty different businesses in one place, from scratch, in a short time.
I had to come up with business plans for clothing stores aimed at both the middle and upper class, find goods and suppliers for those stores, create six different restaurants for the food court, order the best furniture for the elite bar, hire staff to keep everything running, and so on.
Doing all that in a few weeks was impossible, but with the help of clones, Ayumi, and Saiko, I believed we could pull it off in a month.
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