Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto, and is not my intellectual property. This story is for entertainment purposes only.
Author's note: Before you read I want to announce that this is AU, so keep that in mind if throughout the story my explanations of something don't match the one in the original storyline of the series. Though the characters will be going through some similar things, it won't be situation for situation at all - remember how the butterfly effect works an all that jazz. This is my first time writing fanfiction so I'm really excited to share it with you, and as I'm not a native english speaker I do apologize for any mistakes that might come up, though you're very welcome to point them out so I can change them. I hope you enjoy it, and please let me know what you think.
There was a lot to be said for mysteries, the man thoughtfully pondered to himself. Most people tended to be negatively inclined towards them - fearing the unknown or what they couldn't understand. He really didn't blame them either; it was how humans were hard-wired after all, to instinctively avoid unassessed situations that could potentially serve as a threat to their lives and well-being. It was just basic evolution at work, to survive at all costs.
But then the man wasn't really most people. Not only older, but inherently wiser as well, he knew that sudden, seemingly unexplainable phenomenons rarely meant the beginning of something but rather acted as a consequence of an even bigger cause. It was a clue, the result of something - an aftermath. Nothing in this world happened without a reason, he was sure of that much at least, and things were ever rarely what they seemed to be on the surface. Perhaps it was because the man knew all of this that he was even more intrigued with this particular case. His eyes ran over the file laying infront of him, going over the details of the thin content once more as if he was searching for something he might have missed, or overlooked.
He found nothing.
The only clues raised far more questions than they answered, but despite of that the man found his gut telling him that this was nothing ordinary that he was dealing with, and though he possessed nothing solid to back him up on that fact, he remained convinced of his verdict. His musings were swiftly interrupted by a firm knock on the door.
The man sighed as he leaned back into his chair. "You may enter."
"Hokage-sama, you called for me?" said the voice of the male who entered. He wasn't terribly tall, though firmly built and was wearing a navy body together with a green vest. His skin was naturally tan however, and slashed horizontally across his nose was a hard-edged scar - the remnants of a wound that had undeniably been deep.
"Yes, Iruka. Sit down, please," the Hokage gestured politely at the chair facing him on the opposite side from where he sat at the desk. Iruka nodded curtly before complying, his trained pokerface not giving away any of the confusion he was currently feeling. He had been at home, preparing scrolls for the written part of the upcoming academy exit examinations when they had summoned him urgently to the Hokage Towers. Though that in itself wasn't anything groundbreaking it had still puzzled him, and even moreso when he entered the room and found that only he alone had been called.
"Can I ask what this is about?" Iruka said.
The Hokage merely stared at the other man, seemingly almost lost in thought for a few seconds before he handed him the file he was holding without a word. Iruka opened it, his eyes quickly scanning over the contents and the picture included.
"Who is this?" he asked, looking up at the Hokage quickly before resuming to read.
"I'm not too sure myself about that yet," he answered truthfully. He was leaning his elbows against the table, holding his hands firmly clasped infront of his mouth. "She showed up here a few days ago, claiming she came from The Land of The Lightening. Said she had been living in an orphanage up until a few months ago when she became of age, not in Kumogakure, but in the village of Rai."
Iruka furrowed his eyebrows. "Rai?" he repeated. "But she's not a civilian, is she?"
"No, she's not. She's proficient in ninjutsu and taijutsu," The Hokage answered slowly. "When I asked her how, she told me she had been training under a former ninja by the name of Sakamoto Kuno, for the past five years. The men I sent to do a background search on him showed me that she indeed was telling the truth, and that he had been a shinobi belonging to Kumogakure up until thirty years ago, when he decided to retire at the age of twenty-five and leave the village to marry a civilian from a noble clan of Rai." he lowered his arms down to meet the table but his hands remained together. "The girl...her parentage is unknown. The orphanage claimed to have had her brought in as a small child by a villager who had found her alone in the woods beaten and bruised, no sign of anything or anyone else present. She hadn't been able to tell them anything about herself or where she came from other than her name. They suspected traumatic amnesia."
Iruka processed the information he had just been given. An abandoned orphan raised in a civilian village who had been taught the ninja arts...that certainly was extremely odd. Usually, prospective shinobis and kunoichis were sent to the ninja academies in the hidden village of the belonging country, yet for some unfathomable reason, this girl hadn't. Although the story certainly peaked his interest, Iruka had yet to understand his role in it, since he neither recognized the girl, nor did he have any affiliations in The Land of the Lightening. Aside from that he was not eligible for missions since he was currently a teacher at the Academy.
"I'm sorry, Hokage-sama, but with all due respect, I still don't understand what this has to do with me?"
"She says she wants to serve Konohagakure as a kunoichi, Iruka," The Hokage finally said.
"I don't understand." Irukas face was now visibly confused. "Why here? Why not in Kumogakure, in the land where she was raised?" It didn't sound right in the least, he thought. What could possibly motivate the girl to come here, to their village, lest she was secretly a spy for The Lightening Country?
"Because of this." The Hokage lifted his hand, displaying a shiny, silver pin between his thumb and index finger. Irukas eyes widened.
"It can't be...is that...?" he spluttered out, his eyes seemingly stuck on the object held up infront of him.
"Yes, Iruka." The Hokage flipped the pin flat on his open palm, extending it to the other man for a better look. "This is the Konoha Founding Father's pin of the Senju Clan. Only two of them were ever made, the other belonging to the Uchiha Clan. The girl says it has been in her possession for at least 10 years now, and the matron of the orphanage confirmed that she was found with it."
"How is it possible for her to have it, Hokage-sama?" Iruka asked incredulously.
Sarutobi let out a small sigh, closing his first around the pin and clenching it hard. "Truthfully, I don't know yet either," he admitted. "But the girl is convinced that this is proof that her family has ties to this village, which is why she had decided to serve us. She wants to find her parents, she says." He ran his tumb absentmindendly over the smooth metal of the pin that now held warm thanks to his hands. "Anyway, the reason I called you in, Iruka, was because she requests to be able to partake in the practical and written exam for this years graduating academy class, in order to become a genin."
Irukas face fell. "She what? That-that's not possible," the young teacher stuttered out, shaking his head. "The participants have all attended the academy since they were young, most as early as six years old. They have been properly trained in all three main jutsus and survival techniques, as well as been taught about the history of the village they are to serve." Iruka then frowned slightly. "There is no way she could be ready to take the exams in five days, Hokage-sama. Wouldn't it be wiser to put her in Asuka-san's class? That would give her at least a year to prepare for next years exit exams." He inhaled sharpy after finishing his speech, all the while his mind reeled. This was absurd, he thought, transferring in to a new country and potentially serving as its protector after only a week of residing there? Not to mention, as she wasn't a previous student of his, he had no idea of the extent of her capabilities as a kunoichi. He wouldn't risk the safety of his students like that, nor her own for that matter.
"You know, that's what I told her as well, but she was adamant on being given a chance to prove her skills." The Hokage chuckled softly. "She told me she had studied the history and culture of Konoha through books and trained every day for the past five years, until her trainer had deemed her fit enough. I found her to be very persuasive, I have to say."
"Hokage-sama, you can't be serious. She-"
The Hokage cut him off, continuing, "I know that in normal cases this wouldn't be permitted, but this is hardly a normal case though, is it?" He looked expectantly at the shinobi infront of him. Iruka knew he was referring to the Founder's Pin. But before he had a chance to answer him, the leader of Konoha spoke up again. "Iruka. I hope you're well aware that I would not suggest this without grounds, it is not how I run this village. I have seen her ninjutsu abilities...she performed a C-rank jutsu nearly flawlessly. I think she deserves a chance."
"Do you really feel that special treatment is the right way to go, just because the girl had the lost Founder's Pin in her possession and is able to perform a higher level jutsu?" He knew that questioning the Hokage's judgement was disrespectful, but he couldn't help himself.
"Oh, make no mistake, Iruka." The Hokage smiled, eyes twinkling. "I'm not saying we should go easy on her. Apart from the exams, she will have to demonstrate a knowledge of survivalism as well as meet whatever requirements you deem necessary in order to prove herself capable, before giving her a chance to try out for the exams. If she does not meet your requirements within the next five days, she will proceed to transfer to Asuka's class instead." He stood up. "You will be well compensated for the extra time, I assure you. I'm leaving it to you, Iruka," he finished finally, holding out his free left hand to the stunned man in the chair.
"I...I understand. I will keep you updated on the progress of things," he said dejectedly as he stood up and shook the hand of the village leader. The final word lies with the Hokage after all, and he had no choice but to accept. After leaving the main office and closing the door behind him, Iruka let out a heavy sigh, now feeling completely emotionally drained. This was not what he had anticipated, coming here. He thought back at the girl from the picture, and how her face had looked young but her eyes had held an intimidating maturity well beyond her age. It didn't sit well with Iruka; he didn't care for mysteries in the slightest. Slowly he began making his way home, figuring he now had even more work to do.
Back in the office, the Hokage was leaning back in his chair, holding the pin up and observing it. There had been no mistake about it, it was definitely the real deal. The pin was round, made out of the most withstanding and wealthy silver known to man. On top of it, the Konoha symbol layed marked out of one of the rare, red coloured crystal gems that held the power to increase the wearers fire-jutsu abilities, reflecting its place of origin - The Fire Country. He thought back to just a few days ago when the girl had shown it to him, and he had been completely speechless, something he very rarely was. He hadn't been able to figure it out. Was she a descendant of the Senju-clan? A secret, unknown child created out of wedlock?
The Hokage sighed as he swiveled his chair around to look at the scenery outside the office window. How very fitting really, that the girl who would come to return a legendary pin that had been missing for decades shared the very name of the village it belonged to.
Konoha.