Hundreds of years after the 4th Shinobi World War, an exam that's held twice a decade is held to commemorate the formation of the Shinobi Army. Known as the Great Chuunin Exam, participants from the different villages take part to earn their rank as Chuunin both from their respective villages and the host village, which in this case is the Village of Konoha. However, as the opening ceremony was drawing nearer by the minute, there was an important person missing.

"The Hokage hasn't been found yet!"

"What did you say?" a female Jounin asked angrily. Among the Jounin in the Hokage's office, she was the only one not wearing a uniform. Instead, she wore a sleeveless kimono that was so short an upskirt view would be easy. "You call yourselves Jounin when you can't even find one person in your own village?"

"But, Aya-sama, we're dealing with the Hokage here." one of the shinobi standing behind her tried to reason. The female Jounin turned around and glared at the shinobi, her eyes now red with three tomoe on the iris. The poor shinobi took a step backward, his face pale as though he saw death itself. Aya could only sigh once she realized that her temper got the better of her.

"Just...go and find him."

Immediately after her command, each of the Jounin filled the room with smoke as they all disappeared using the body flicker jutsu. Gravely irritated, she scratched her head in utter annoyance.

"I'll have to remind them to just use the door."

She walked around the huge desk before her and made her way to the Hokage's office chair. She fell on her rear and inclined the seat partially to give herself a little bit of rest from the headache that he was giving her.

"That idiot, causing all this trouble at such an important time."

She looked up at the ceiling and, with her Sharingan still active, saw the tell-tale signs of a genjutsu. A nerve became visible on her forehead and she resisted the urge to throw something, anything, at that particular area above her head.

"There are two things you're forgetting. The first one is that I'm an Uchiha. The second one is that you plastered a photo of me on the ceiling. You should have considered including that in the genjutsu, I was surprised to see that it wasn't there."

"I'll keep those in mind." the genjutsu disappeared and a male ninja landed on his feet a meter in front of the desk. While he wore a simple Jounin uniform, he radiated an aura of authority. His signature crimson forehead protector with Konoha's symbol engraved in red establishing his identity, there was no mistaking it that before her stood the roguish 19th Hokage. "This is awkward. I feel like I'm reporting to the Hokage and not the other way around."

"Why have you been hiding? We've been looking for you for more than half an hour now!"

"I don't like being such a spectacle, even more so in front of shinobi from all the land."

"But you're the Hokage!" Aya stood up and slammed her fist into the desk. "Even if it's just a public appearance, it's still your responsibility!"

"Yes, yes, I hear you." the 19th Hokage smiled, albeit trying to be cute. It worked, surprisingly, as the Uchiha quickly averted her gaze and hid the blush she had on her face. The Hokage, on the other hand, was just as surprised and couldn't help but blush a little. Keeping his poker face on, he quickly turned around and stopped a few steps from the door. "We should go, Aya."

"Uhh... Yes, Hokage-sama."

The pair ran off towards the outdoor arena which was, sadly, on the outskirts of Konoha after having been relocated in the reconstruction of the village post-war. As they jumped from rooftop to rooftop in a hurry to get to the arena, Aya couldn't help but steal a glance at the Hokage every now and again.

"What was he thinking, trying to be cute? Or was he just playing around?" she thought, physically shaking her head as she tried to shake off the thoughts. "Maybe I'm just thinking too much."

Sensing something was off, the Hokage decided to speak up, slowing down to match the distracted Jounin's pace. "Is there something wrong, Aya? You seem awfully quiet after scolding me so much."

"Nothing's wrong, Hizachi." she tried her best to keep her eyes on the places ahead of them to identify the best places to land on and jump off again, and above all to keep her thoughts away from what was distracting her. What he did next would further complicate the situation in her mind.

"This will take us forever." Hizachi grabbed Aya's hand and stopped her on her tracks. While he did it nonchalantly, her tumultuous mind wasn't letting her rest. To make matters worse, Hizachi grabbed her without warning and carried her in his arms. "Hold on really tight."

She nodded and put her arms around his neck. Feeling a sudden surge of chakra from beneath them, she looked at him and saw chakra radiating from his body like a flame that felt unusually warm on her skin as travelled around her body in the same way water would around an object. Aya blinked, during which she felt a strong upward movement. The next thing she knew was that they were about a hundred meters in the air and the distance they once had from the arena was now cut in half. Instinctively, her grip around him tightened. Heights were not a problem for her if what she stood on was something that was firm like a tower or something that was meant to fly like a huge bird or a plane. Being in the arms of a man who can't fly and free-falling from a hundred meters, on the other hand, was something she considered to be the perfect recipe for anyone to be scared. Still, it was the Hokage who was holding her. He probably had it all planned.

"Will your legs be able to withstand the force of the landing? You are carrying me."

"Truth be told..." Hizachi gulped nervously. He knew that he had to be straight with her. "...I haven't quite figured out the landing part yet."

"WHAAAAAAT?"

To be continued...

A/N: That's it for now. I have to be early for work tomorrow, so I won't push it and try to get it all in one chapter as compared to the previous one. Yes, I sucked at writing then but that's not the only reason why I rewrote it. I also need to make numerous improvements not only on the writing style but on the plot and characters as well. Major adjustments are also needed to the storyline because of many recent revelations, the most significant of them all being the revelation about Naruto's family.