"Renji, this mirror is sooo big!"
Ayame watched herself in the mirror that are taller than her, tiptoeing to get a better look.
Renji and Teuchi smiled watching her run around the salon, touching everything.
"This looks great, Renji-kun! Congratulations!"
Teuchi pat him on the back with a wide smile.
"Thanks to your support all this time, Teuchi-san. Otherwise, this wouldn't be possible."
"Don't say that. This is your achievement."
Renji nodded gratefully, and they both fell into comfortable silence.
After watching Ayame mess around for a while, "Teuchi-san, I will move back here starting today. There's still work to do before the opening tomorrow."
Teuchi nodded, "I understand. If you need any help, don't hesitate to ask."
"I will. Thank you. And, I want to formally invite you and Ayame for the opening tomorrow."
He handed Teuchi a flyer he prepared. On it, there's information of the salon, and a coupon saying the holder of the coupon can get a 50% discount.
Seeing Teuchi accept it, he said, "Please, ignore the coupon, that's for other customers. I will never charge for Ayame."
Teuchi argued for a bit, but sighed and accepted with a smile.
"I'm sure she will be very happy."
---
Renji spent the remaining day sticking posters and handing the fliers. Ayame took some to give to her friends, and Teuchi put them in Ichiraku to give to his customers.
By nightfall, plenty of people knew about the opening.
But he knew he needed to personally invite some of the guests.
After asking around, he quickly found his way to the Uchiha compound. While entering, his [Demonic Energy Sense] picked up multiple kunoichi hairs surrounding the compound. Even the shinobi senses he got from Kushina's hair keep telling him there's a lot of eyes all around.
'It seems Uchiha are under surveillance already. I guess it's only a matter of time for them to be moved to the outskirts.'
He didn't bother with them and walked in confidently. An Uchiha guard stopped him, "State your business."
Renji showed a flyer for his salon, "I have come to invite Mikoto-san for the opening of my business. We met before."
The guard didn't suspect much, after all, he couldn't feel any chakra from the young man infront of him.
He nodded and pointed to the clan head, Fugaku, and, Mikoto's house.
'I haven't found anybody who can detect the Demonic Energy in me until now. Most of the shinobi senses seem to be geared towards chakra. It seems I can be very stealthy if necessary.'
With a spring in his step, he quickly walked to his destination. Every Uchiha clan member he came across, looked proud, from both his observation, and the emotions he sensed from the female Uchiha hair.
'This clan has pride etched into their bones.' He smiled helplessly.
Finally, he could see the house. At the entrance, Itachi was sitting with a chubby Sasuke in his arms.
Renji greeted with a smile, "Hello, Itachi-kun."
Itachi turned to face. Recognition flashed in his eyes. He said coolly, "It's you. Good evening, Renji-san."
Looking at the polite boy, Renji remembered the scene in the anime, massacring the clan so his brother could survive, then dying to pass his eyes on. He remembered the regret he felt watching Itachi's final moments.
Itachi noticed the change in Renji's expression. He couldn't read everything, but he thought he saw pity and regret. He was confused, but didn't comment on it.
Renji shook himself and asked, "Is Mikoto-san inside? I would like to speak with her."
Itachi nodded and took Sasuke inside asking him to wait.
After a bit, Mikoto came out and invited Renji inside.
Once settled and the small talk was finished, he gave her the flyer.
"Mikoto-san, I came to invite you to my salon opening tomorrow. Please visit if you can."
Mikoto smiled and took it interested.
"I will try to come, thank you for coming all the way here."
She hesitated, but asked, "But, are you sure you want to invite me? I'm sure you heard some rumors about the Uchiha by now. Even if you don't remember your past, these past few days should have told you enough."
She wasn't wrong. Over the past few days, the there have been many rumors about the Uchiha. Some said they didn't want to help during the nine tailed attack. Others said they are the reason for the attack itself. There are even more versions flying around.
Renji was sure the F4, Hiruzen, Danzo, Homura, and Koharu, had something to do with this. Otherwise, how would so many uncontrolled rumors spread so fast?
He replied, "I know about the rumors Mikoto-san. If I am being honest, I am also worried about them. But, I know to differentiate between rumors and reality."
He said sincerely, "I don't know if the rumors are true, but what I do know is, I have a good feeling about you. I will trust my gut."
He did trust his gut,... and his senses. He had been holding Mikoto's black hair in his mind space, reading her emotions. He could feel she had his best interest in mind when she asked the question. That was enough to create goodwill in his heart.
Mikoto was taken aback by the response. She smiled beautifully. She was satisfied with the answer. 'If only everyone has his open mind.'
Itachi was watching the exchange from the open door. He felt curious about this weak man, with no chakra, who improved his mom's mood with just words.
Mikoto nodded and agreed to attend.
Happy with the response, Renji made his way out after bidding her farewell.
He then tried to track Kurenai, or Anko, but, that information was privileged, especially since he was only a civilian. And his [Demonic Sense] couldn't find them either.
Leaving it up to chance, he made his way to the cemetery. There, he obtained a couple of Jonin level Bonded Hair and absorbed energy from other deceased kunoichi.
He also noted down more names in his mind to repay their families in the future. He even found the grave of the genin kunoichi from the hospital back then, by tracking the energy signature in her hair he memorized.
With that, he returned home. He looked at the two new hairs. One, a long and thin black braid, another a spiky grey bob. From the skills he could sense, the first seems to be from a sensor, and the second from a kenjutsu expert.
These will be his backups and test pieces. There's still much he needed to learn about his skills.
Finally, he was done for the day and went to sleep.
---
A/N: Another chapter without AI. From now on, unless I say specifically, every chapter will be written without using it.