To be honest, I was really surprised at the number of reviews I got for the first chapter. I wasn't expecting quite so much approval. I'll try to keep things interesting, and i promise there will be some twists you won't see coming. I'll eventually delve deeper into Hermione's past and what compelled her to go the Hidden Countries, but for now, let's see her settle down first, eh?
I think you'll be pleasantly surprised if you keep an open mind and let me take you on a ride. I do hope to entertain you.
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Hermione was a bit disappointed when she appeared in the Hidden Countries. She had expected something...grand, maybe. Certainly something other than a forest. After being pushed so much, she had half expected to arrive in the middle of a battlefield. This was a bit anti-climatic.
She cocked her head to the side, resisting the urge to get the invisibility cloak off. Without more information, she would not assume anything. After a quick chat with her two best friends to assure them she had gotten there safe and sound, she set off on what she hoped wouldn't be a disastrous adventure, blood pounding in her ears. Without Harry and Ron by her side, she felt somewhat naked and fragile, but it was not to say she was defenseless, either, and she wouldn't allow herself to be.
She would be strong. She would thrive in this land. She would be happy.
She thus strived to get out of the woods, no pun intended. Picking a direction at random, she started walking, stopping only for the night, when she erected a safety perimeter. On her second day, she walked all day, stopping occasionally to get some rest. She did not encounter anyone.
The third day proved to be different.
She had thought at first she would once again spend another day in silence, but it was not to be. She stumbled upon a small village and spied on it for a while, recognizing the language as Japanese, much to her relief. She had expected as much, but was glad that she hadn't made a mistake and landed herself in a place where she didn't understand the natives. As it was, there were a few colloquialisms she didn't get, but it was not enough to keep her from understanding the gist of the conversations.
From what she heard, a new village had recently been created, a village of ninja. Hermione had started at that, surprised, and listened more intently. Some villagers, clearly normal farmers by the look of it, were pondering over whether or not they would join it. Some of them were thinking about it seriously, but eventually decided that they would wait a bit longer to see what kind of village it became.
Hermione, for one, was more curious. Besides, the thought of a ninja village wouldn't leave her. Especially one so newly-created. What if this was the reason she had been contacted?
Somehow, going there felt right. There was something inside her that urged her to go there, but she was not so gullible as to go there in blind faith and hope all would be well. The pull her magic gave her was one thing, and she was inclined to follow it, as she had in the past, but not at all costs. If she felt something was wrong, she would hightail it out of there before one could even say "Quidditch."
Nodding to herself with her determination strong in her mind, Hermione set off in direction of that so-called Konoha.
It took her less time than she had anticipated to get there, and she certainly was eager when she saw the gates in the distance. Still, she stopped for a moment and observed the people going in and out. What kind of face were they making? What did their body language say?
During her stakeout, she saw several people going there or leaving the village. Some were definitely stressed, but many of them seemed happy or relieved. None of them looked overly anxious, terrified or too frightened of the place or the guards at the gates. That was a good sign.
There were several who looked like they were planning on moving to the village, normal people with carts full of belongings.
The guards at the gates asked them several questions before letting them pass. She presumed that someone inside would lead them to the leader of the village, the mayor or something.
With a fortifying breath, she hid in the forest, comparing her clothes to that of the people she had seen. Transfigurating her clothes into a long brown skirt, a long-sleeved green shirt and a cream-coloured camisole on top of it, she took off the invisibility cloak and put it in her backpack, shrunk to seem no more than a handkerchief.
She kept a pouch at her waist, a seemingly innocuous pouch that was in fact her bottomless beaded bag, reinforced by hidden runes that protected it in case it was stolen. Simply put, anyone other than her reaching into it would simply find a handful of coins. Her backpack, too, hid its interesting contents from prying eyes, leaving only food and a change of clothes to be found by other people.
She took a few deep breaths, she stepped onto the road. This was it.
Among refugees and simple people who were leaving their homes behind, she hoped she would not seem too out of place.
She thus walked up to the guards, explaining to them that she wanted to live in the village. They observed her lack of bulky luggage with suspicious eyes, to which she replied that she was a simple scholar. She had heard of rumours about this village and decided to see it for herself.
The guards looked at each other, then let her pass grudgingly. On the other side of the gates, a man at a booth waved her over.
"Are you looking to settle in Konoha?" he asked her.
"Yes. I'm a wanderer, but I'd like to settle down here for a while, if at all possible."
The black-haired man nodded, writing something down on a piece of paper before him.
"Someone will escort you to the Administrative Office. Answer their questions truthfully and you may be granted temporary citizenship, to be reevaluated later. "
She nodded in understanding. Perhaps things would be easier than she had thought, even if they intended to keep an eye on her.
-:-
Senju Hashirama pinched the bridge of his nose tiredly. He may be the Hokage, but he always listened to his brother and Madara before deciding on important matters. However, there were times when the both of them didn't agree on a specific matter and he had trouble deciding which one of them to follow.
He desperately needed a third opinion, one that was unbiased, but had no idea where he might find a person with a clean mind.
Closing his eyes, he motioned for his aide to come closer.
"Shou-kun, I'm at a bit of an impasse. I have to make a decision, but I'm unsure how to go about things. I need a third opinion. Do you have a person you could recommend? I can't think of anyone in our clan, but maybe someone from one of the newer clans? What do you think?"
The younger male thought for a moment.
"Hm...Well...I don't know if this could be alright for your purposes, but there is apparently a scholar who moved in a few months ago into the southern district. It's a young civilian woman, but it's said she's wise beyond her years. Apparently, her knowledge is nothing to scoff at."
Hashirama nodded thoughtfully.
"A civilian...Well, why not? Get me her address. I don't intend to intimidate her by summoning her here."
"Very well, Hokage-sama."
-:-
Hashirama observed the house in front of him. It was not overly large, but it was clearly the house of someone who had enough money to do whatever she wanted with it. Maybe that woman came from a well-off family? If that was so, she apparently didn't flaunt it, for he had learned from Shou that she mainly kept to herself, occasionally helping fellow villagers with their problems, and generally stayed quiet. Most of all, she sometimes sold tea to civilians, going once a week to the small market—apparently, she made really good tea, mixing spices into the brews that would do wonders for this or that ailment—which was something a true aristocrat would never do. If she was well-off, it was certainly more from coming from a merchant family that had enough means to educate her, for a noblewoman would never degraded herself by being a merchant, if only occasionally.
The house she had acquired was simple enough, two stories high, and hidden behind a tall wall. Not small for a woman living by herself, but certainly not extravagant either. The gate was open, so he took it as an invitation and walked in, knocked at the door, and waited for someone to answer.
"Yes, can I help you?"
The woman who answered didn't look like he expected. She was short but not as petite as the women he was used to, had bright and warm honey eyes behind which hid a spark of frightening intelligence, and her hair was wild and untamed around her pretty but not beautiful face.
Still, there was something striking about her when she smiled gently at him.
"Ah, you are the Hokage, aren't you? Please come in."
She seemed surprised and respectful, but not afraid or in awe of his abilities, as were all civilians. Even ninja feared and respected him. But this woman...
She turned her back on him, another thing than no sane person would do, and led him to the back of the house, where a large garden was seated in the U the building formed around it. She left him at a small table with a promise to come back in a moment.
He observed the surroundings calmly, noting the well-kept herb garden in which grew several plants he didn't know. Maybe that was where the secret of her tea mixes resided. He was intrigued and of half a mind to inspect it when the woman came back with a tray on which she had placed a pot of tea, two cups, and a small assortment of sweets.
He observed her carefully as she poured tea for the both of them, not trusting her completely. She hadn't been in the village for long; he'd checked. What if she tried to poison him? Those herbs of hers he didn't know anything about. They could be poisonous and he would never know. Doubtful (he didn't think she would grow these out in the open), but still. He was in a position of power, and such a position meant he had to be doubly careful.
The tea was quite darker than he expected it to be. She poured milk and sugar into it, to his surprise, then mixed it with a silver spoon, looking impish as she did so, as though she knew he thought she would try to poison him. Twirling the spoon in her fingers, she carefully deposited it on his saucer, and he could see that it hadn't blackened. The tea was safe.
He admired the way she had assuaged his worries without directly addressing them, diplomatically giving him a way out to keep him from insulting his hostess by doubting her openly.
Taking a sweet, she nibbled on it, took a sip of her tea, and looked at him with perceptive eyes.
"I assume you have worries of some kind, Hokage-sama? How may I help you?"
"Guren-san...You were recommended to me as a person of intellect."
She smiled over the rim of her cup.
"Hokage-sama, intellect and knowledge go hand-in-hand. Using one without the other is a great disservice. I may be intelligent, but I need facts to make a proper judgment. What exactly is on your mind?"
"This is strictly confidential. I need to tell you that if you divulge anything of this conversation, you will be treated as a traitor to this village, as village politics cannot be revealed at large."
The woman nodded, her whole countenance becoming serious. There was power in her words when she swore secrecy.
"This village is still quite newly-established. I am to choose between demonstrating our strength to dissuade enemies to attack us, or consolidating our bases and getting more settlers. At the moment, I have no choice but to take one option or the other. There is merit in either one, but I don't know which one to choose. Do you have any insight you could impart me?"
She closed her eyes, seemingly savouring her tea as she thought over her answer. This was important; she wouldn't answer thoughtlessly.
Finally, she set down her cup and observed the Hokage with profound honey eyes.
"May I first ask you a question, Hokage-sama?" she uttered slowly.
"You may speak," he granted her, nodding.
"Thank you, Hokage-sama. If I may ask, what kind of Hokage do you seek to be?"
Curious, Hashirama replied, "I want to be a fair leader, compassionate about his people and strong against enemies."
She smiled at him. "Then I say to this man, 'Achieve both ends at once. Send a team of your strongest men on an arduous mission. Choose one that will make apparent the strength of your people. Then your enemies will think twice before attacking you and settlers will come to you for protection and prosperity. Do not neglect civilians, for they are the foundation of the village, despite the chasm between the ninja and the civilians.' Should that not solve the problem?"
Hashirama looked bemusedly at her, stunned speechless for a moment.
"And what kind of mission should I send that team on?" he prodded her further.
She chuckled, hiding her laughter in her cup, eyes dancing.
"My, Hokage-sama, I'm but a civilian. Shouldn't you know better than anyone what mission would be appropriate?"
He had a feeling this woman would become one of his closest aides and friends. A woman who knew to let him make his own decisions, only providing the necessary tips...Someone who would speak her mind but still be respectful. Someone to respect.
That day, when he returned to the Hokage Tower, he turned to Shou pensively.
Guren Mio... An interesting woman with a pretty name…
"I may have found what was lacking..."
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More to come soon!
A quick explanation for Hermione's name: I wouldn't change it completely, but as her name would be difficult for a Japanese person to pronounce, I twisted it, kept the parts that would be easy to pronounce (japanned, of course) and cut off some parts. I was left with Guren Mio. Do you think it is appropriate?
Guren: lotus
Mio: channel