1.3 The Future Kunoichi
As Iruka walked the miniature future kunoichi home, he asked, "So you want to enroll in the academy. Most children start around 8 years old, but some with great potential start younger. How old are you?"
"I turned 5 a few months ago," she looked up to meet his eyes and smiled at him.
"You seem to know a lot already," he couldn't help but smile back.
"My father has taught me a few things. He also has many books. I watch him with his patients. Sometimes I even get to help him."
"Oh, how do you help?"
"Mostly by staying out of the way," she laughed at her own joke, "but I help steru-ster-ilize e-quip-ment and run errands."
'Her stumble over the longer words makes her seem more like a regular kid,' Iruka thought. From the long walk home, Iruka gleaned that her parents had already taught her to read and the basic principles of chakra especially as it pertained to medicine. Her mother, Rika, acted as receptionist, nurse and mid-wife. But mostly she asked him questions: How do you sign up for classes? What weapons do you use? What techniques can you do? Can you show me any?
"Well, I can show you the transformation technique," Iruka replied as enthusiastically as the little girl. He started to feel better, shaking off the loneliness he felt earlier. 'Kids just love this!' Iruka thought as he transformed into the librarian.
Rikako's large dark eyes widened into saucers. She shrieked in delight and asked him to repeat it again and again in different forms, laughing in delight after each time. Iruka happily obliged and laughed along with her. Before they knew it, they were already standing on her parents' doorstep.
Her mother answered the door again, "Thank you so much for bringing her back. I'm sorry that we were too busy to retrieve her." She gave Rikako a stern look. But her daughter seemed completely unfazed by the possibility of any punishment and entered inside without a word of apology.
Iruka nodded and replied, "Well, my pleasure, she's going to be a fine kunoichi one day."
Her mother's entire face furrowed and frowned. "No, she's not. Not ever. I'm sorry, but it's just not an appropriate profession for a girl."
"But her father was a shinobi, he should know that..."
"My husband feels as strongly as I do that she will not be a shinobi."
Iruka nodded, "Well, of course I can understand why...but it's a shame..."
Her mother's voice turned ice cold. "Well, thank you again Iruka sensei. I would invite you in for tea, but we still have patients at the moment."
"Of course, I understand..."
"Well, goodbye then."
"Good- b..." Iruka started to say, but Rika closed the door before he finished. Iruka sighed, 'There's going to be trouble in that house tonight.'
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A few days later, Iruka filled out his weekly report and included his encounter with the strange dark eyed-dark haired child: "A five year old girl (Otori Rikako, daughter of the village doctor) was found wandering the academy grounds on Monday after classes. She asked to visit the library. I took her to the library, informed her parents and returned her home."
To Iruka's surprise, the day after filing his report, he received a summons from the Hokage. 'Geez, I hope I'm not in trouble for yelling at the students,' Iruka thought nervously on the way to the Hokage's office.
He found a masked shinobi about his age, with gray hair that stuck up at all angles, and with his forehead protector slanted to cover his left eye, standing by the Hokage's side.
"Hokage-sama," Iruka said as he bowed respectfully.
"Your report on Dr. Otori's daughter... what was she like?" asked the Hokage directly.
"Well…polite, very curious, quite advanced for her age," Iruka said, relieved as it seemed he was not in trouble after all.
'What did she do in the library?"
"As far as I know, she skimmed through the first year books. I saw her taking notes from a second year book."
"Which book?"
"Basic Techniques Volume 2."
"Did you notice anything unusual about the way she looked or acted?"
"No, she looks pretty much like any child her age, maybe a bit smaller. She already knows a lot about chakra control from her father. It's a shame that her parents won't let her enroll."
"Hmm, it's a shame, but... it might be for the best...What did you discuss with her?"
"She asked me a lot of questions about how to enroll, what I do and what shinobi do in general. Nothing strange." Iruka was confused, 'Why is the Hokage so interested in her? And who's that masked shinobi?'
After a few more questions along the same vein, the Hokage finally dismissed Iruka. Sandaime then turned to Kakashi to say, "I thought you would want to know."
Kakashi nodded thoughtfully and replied, "Thank you, Hokage-sama, for keeping me informed."
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