Sarutobi Hiruzen was, for not the first nor the last time, at a loss while searching for a solution to his newest problem. Not for the first time, he silently cursed the seemingly innocent scroll that was still lying open on his desk. He glared at the Yondaime Hokage's signature, hoping in some small part of him that the words on the parchment would change before his eyes. However, the aging man knew that they would not.
He picked up the scroll once more, rereading it for what must have been the fourteenth time, trying his hardest to find a loophole he could exploit. His eyes darted between the scroll in his hands and another official document lying on his desk in an open manilla folder. The words Certificate of Betrothal mocked Hiruzen in their elegant script.
He hadn't known how close Kushina had been to the Kazekage's wife, Karura. He hadn't even considered that Kushina and Minato could have crafted this, let alone do it without his knowledge.
The document lying on his desk was a contract binding Konoha and Suna in a way no paper treaty could. A marriage between the children of the Yondaime Hokage and Kazekage... Neither side could breach that sort of contract without starting a very long and bloody war, something neither wanted after the Third Great Shinobi War.
Minato couldn't have known about... this, Hiruzen was forced to conclude as he reached farther across his desk, picking up another two files. Both files were incredibly small but that was understandable seeing as the two detailed within the files were barely thirty-six hours old.
"Twins," Hiruzen grumbled to himself. He had the option of choosing which of Minato's newborn children to send to Konoha: the girl or the boy, the jinchuuriki holding the Kyuubi's yin chakra or the jinchuuriki holding the Kyuubi's yang chakra.
Hiruzen had never heard of such a thing, of the separating of a biju's chakra in such a way, but he had two jinchuuriki on his hands that, when they were older, would make an undeniably powerful tag team. If only they could stay together...
Hiruzen stared at the tiny files, trying to decide which one to send to Sunagakure. When he finally came up with a decision, he looked up at Minato's portrait. The Minato in the portrait did not judge his decision, but he didn't forgive the old man for it either.
Hiruzen had never felt so old until he began to write out his reply to the Yondaime Kazekage, promising that the babe would be travelling to Sunagakure as soon as she was old enough.
Namikaze Erina would leave the village her father died to protect in just a few years. Hopefully she would return on a mission when she becomes a kunoichi. Hiruzen had no doubt that she would become a kunoichi, and a brilliant one at that with her parents being who they were.
He would regret not being able to watch her grow into that kunoichi.
Oh well, he sighed to himself. He stood, walking to the window to look out over the village that was, once again, his to protect. At least I can keep Naruto-kun close to me as he grows up, close to Konoha.
"Is that from the Hokage, tousan?" a curious voice asked. Two ponytails were visible over the edge of the Kazekage's desk and he was sure that, if his daughter were any taller, he'd be able to see the other two. But for now, Temari was barely tall enough to see over the desk on her toes.
"It is," the Yondaime Kazekage confirmed, nodding. Temari squealed with excitement and dashed around the desk, trying to reach for the letter. Her father only chuckled, holding it up out of the three year old's reach.
"No fair, Daddy!"
"Yes it is, munchkin. This is a missive directly from the Hokage. Village leader eyes only," he said teasingly. Temari crossed her arms, huffing impatiently. The Kazekage's eyes softened. Temari looked so much like her mother when she did that...
"But I wanna see!"
And, just like that, the small blonde girl skirted around his defenses, gold dust or no. The Kazekage was powerless to say no to his only daughter's whims and offered her the scroll without any more resistance. After staring at it for a few moments, Temari pushed it back at her father.
"What's that say?" she said, pointing at a line of kanji. Her father's lips quirked into a smile as Temari climbed up onto her father's lap with some effort, brandishing the scroll in her father's face to get him to focus on the line she was having trouble with it.
"It says," the man began, taking the scroll from his daughter so that he could read it, "Thank you for your letter, Kazekage-dono. It is good that you sent word, otherwise the contract might have been lost in the chaos surrounding reconstruction after the Kyuubi Incident. Speaking of which, thank you for your concerns regarding my people. The late Yondaime was very quick in reacting to the threat, so that we had minimal injuries and even fewer deaths. As to the matter for which you wrote me, I have found the contract and I do intend to honor it, as was Minato's wish. His daughter, Namikaze Erina-"
"His daughter, daddy?" Temari voiced excitedly. "So I'm gonna have a little sister?"
"Aren't two little brothers enough for you?" the Kazekage asked teasingly. Temari thought about it with a frown before shaking her head.
"Nope! And boys are icky, anyway!" she declared. The Kazekage smiled genuinely, one hand leaving the scroll to tickle his unsuspecting victim.
"Yes, they are," he said seriously. If only she'd always think that...
But, for now, Temari was still his little girl. She, Kankuro, and Gaara were his to care for, and as Minato's girl would be.
If only Karura had lived long enough to see Kushina's little girl. The two women would have been intolerable while they debated whose girl would kick more ass when they became kunoichi, but it would have been a sight to see... If Minato and he couldn't spar, as opposing village leaders, they could battle vicariously through their wives.
The Kazekage sighed. The world would be a little less bright without Konoha's Yellow Flash.