…our losses have not been insignificant, but thanks to the actions of the Yellow Flash at Kannabi Bridge, we currently hold the initiative. Joint Kusa and Konoha forces have also captured key forts along the border, and no further Iwa incursions are expected. This jounin humbly requests provisions and reinforcements for a deep strike into the Iwa heartlands that would surely bring Iwagakure to its knees and the negotiating table.
Yours is the will of fire,
Hyuuga Hiashi
Jounin Commander of the Kusa Expeditionary Force
Sarutobi Hiruzen stared thoughtfully at the newly-arrived letter from the Iwa Front, weighing the probable costs and consequences of the course he was about to order Hyuuga to take. With a grunt and nod to himself, he picked up his pen and began to write.
My Lord Commander of the Kusa Expeditionary Force, hail.
My intention is not to pursue a protracted war with Iwagakure. The sole purpose of this expedition is to defend our allied village Kusagakure. Approach Iwagakure representatives and make sure they understand that, and that Konoha is prepared to make peace and withdraw completely from the Land of Earth, on the condition that they extend diplomatic recognition to Kusagakure.
After you are done with that, hand over command of the expeditionary force to Namikaze Minato and excuse yourself from the front. I have received reports of troop movements along our border with the Land of Lightning, and it is likely that I will need your capable services on that front very soon. In the meantime, come back to Konoha. I understand you are newly married.
Sandaime Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen
Signing off the letter, Hiruzen could not help but feel pleased with himself. By setting terms that even the prickly Iwagakure village elders could stomach, he had virtually guaranteed the end of bloodshed on that front, at least for the short term. Of course the shinobi of Kusagakure would need to remain on high alert, and a few Konoha shinobi would remain in the region in "advisory and ambassadorial roles", but it would also allow him to concentrate the rest of Konoha's limited manpower on the Suna, and now potentially Kumo theatres of war.
And one more step towards ending this blasted war. One more step towards blessed retirement. Neither of his predecessors had outlived their office. Hiruzen intended to reverse that trend.
Brushing aside yet another petition from the blasted Uchiha, he reached for his pipe. The miniature Suna-style puppet sitting on a corner of his desk cast a wooden, disapproving gaze on him when he did so, but for once he ignored her silent admonishments. Smoking fine tobacco, after all, was one of the few vices he had allowed himself to keep after becoming Hokage.
"And how long has that been?" he wondered aloud. He exhaled, shrouding himself in the fragrant smoke. Twenty-five? Twenty-six? Too damn long, that's for sure. Hiruzen intended to step down the very moment he brought the war to a successful conclusion. He smiled to himself. His chosen successor had proved his prowess again in the pivotal battle of Kannabi Bridge. Namikaze Minato would make a wise and successful Hokage. The fact that he could hold his own in combat was but icing on the cake for Hiruzen. His previous candidate for the post of Hokage, his own star pupil, certainly had power to devastate most opponents, and to spare, but none of the compassion and empathy Hiruzen looked for in a potential replacement.
In private moments like these, Hiruzen allowed himself to feel a twinge of sadness and guilt over Orochimaru's development over the years. Reluctantly, Hiruzen admitted to himself that he had turned a blind eye to Orochimaru's more sanguinary tendencies for too long. Sinister rumours had swirled around his former student and his experiments almost since the time he first passed his chunnin exam, but Hiruzen's affection for the pale protégé had blinded him to the allegations until they became too insistent to ignore. Less than an hour ago an ANBU captain had deposited a report on his desk, detailing Orochimaru's recent activities. Hiruzen had put off reading the report, fearing what it contained would confirm his suspicions.
The report still sat on his desk, a persistent reminder of his failings as a mentor. Sighing, he reached out for it, but instead picked up the miniature puppet. His eyes ran over the puppet's tiny linen kimono, folded and decorated in traditional Suna fashion.
"'He conquers who endures'." An intruder then would have thought Hiruzen was talking to himself. "Isn't that one the shinobi sayings you're so fond of repeating?"
"I have led this village for a quarter of a century. Led it through war and peace, mediated its disparate clans and factions; guided its reforms, monitored its prosperity. In this time, I have been called 'the Professor', 'Prodigy of Konoha', even a 'God of Shinobi'…"
"Yet in all this time, I have never been as truly happy as I was with you."
Hiruzen allowed his mind to drift back to when the Senju-Uchiha alliance was young, and Konoha newly-formed. Those had been bloody days, and terrible, yet in that time Hiruzen had felt more alive than he had ever felt before- or, indeed, since. He chuckled, a cloud of thick smoke billowing out of his mouth. "I must be turning into an old fart, to be so nostalgic about the past." The puppet said nothing, but it didn't need to. He knew exactly what she would say.
"Our time together was brief, but what a couple we made! Nothing in the whole wide world could stop us." He ran his fingers lightly over the cured wood of the puppet, remembering all the times he had cupped his hands around her bronzed skin. Remembering her cynical, ringing laughter, her fierce dark eyes. Her delicate, nimble fingers.
"You know, even after all these years…" Hiruzen trailed off as he struggled with what he wanted to say. Confessions were not his forte. "Choosing duty over our love was the hardest decision I ever made in my life." Involuntarily, he ran his fingers over the side of the puppet's neat kimono, feeling the frayed stubs of threads that had long since rotted away.
"I even fell in love again. Eventually. Nobody could ever have been like you, but, for a while, something came close." Hiruzen leaned back against his high-backed chair, eyeing the little picture of his wife sitting on the other corner of his desk. He had originally married Biwako to cement an alliance with the Whirlpool Village, but he had to admit that she had not been bad for him. Her love was of a more constant, steady nature, and over the years he had grown to love her keen mind and comforting touch. She had even given him two strong sons worthy of his legacy.
His two children were, by any standards, doing reasonably well. His elder son Akuma was an ANBU captain and elite jounin of the village. His younger son, all of eighteen, was wilder, yet Hiruzen thought he detected more than a little of his younger self in Asuma's fiery character. According to his reports Asuma was a bodyguard to the Fire daimyo now, and making quite a name for himself.
Idly, Hiruzen wondered, not for the first time, what his life would have been like if he hadn't decided to do his duty. Would they have had children? Perhaps a little tea shop in some obscure town? A song from his youth came unbidden to his head. From forth the fatal loins of these two foes, a pair of star-crossed lovers take their life- He chuckled again. Where had that come from? It was a verse he hadn't heard in a long, long time.
I wonder what you're doing right now…
A sharp rap brought Hiruzen back. "Yes?" A grave face popped through the crack in the door.
"News from the border, Hokage-sama." His solemn-faced aide handed him about half a dozen reports.
Hiruzen scanned through the contents of the scrolls. They all told the same story. Apparently, elements of the dreaded Suna Puppet Corps had been sighted almost simultaneously at several points along the border of the Fire Country. In other words, a vanguard.
The Sandaime Hokage's lips tugged into a sad smile as he reached for his broad-rimmed headpiece. Perhaps we shall meet again, Akasuna no Chiyo.
A/N: This fic actually stemmed from an idea I got from a discussion of crack-pairings - somebody suggested Hiruzen/Chiyo, which I thought wasn't really all that far-fetched. Hiruzen has always been one of my favourite characters, so I hope I did him justice here. Reviews and/or flames much appreciated. =]