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Many things had changed with Uzumaki Naruto in the last four years. His short attention span was not one of them. As his mother and the Third sat and discussed details of both past and present, Naruto aimlessly slid along the walls of the large office. Said walls were lined with photos, old and new, with people Naruto to the most part could recognize. There was one photo with whom he knew were his birth parents standing on each side of the Third; long strawberry coloured hair and the other a pale spiky blonde, both with kind smiles. The curve of the female's belly indicated how close to their demise the photograph had actually been taken. There was a dull ache in the eleven year old's heart at the thought. He'd never needed to long for love, never needed to worry. But he would have liked to have met them once, just the one time, to show them that he was fine and that their sacrifice hadn't been for nothing. He didn't know exactly how they died, his mother was adamant he should learn things at a steady pace. It bothered him at times, but all he needed to do was remind himself that she was doing it for him and he could accept it. He turned away from scrutinizing the image more, as he didn't want to open old wounds.

There was another image, four frames to the right that drew his attention. He'd recognize his mothers' curly mulberry hair anywhere, and the lavender eyes staring back at him were just as kind back then as they were today. The outfit, however, he didn't recognize. It must have been her teen Onmyoji outfit from before he was born and perhaps through his earliest years. It was a black short tunic with long and wide arms, her hands disappeared under the ends of the sleeves. The end of the tunic brushed against her mid-thighs, and underneath she wore a pair of tight black spandex shorts. In true Onmyoji fashion was a pair of high-heeled black boots with straps rising and circling her calves a dozen or so times. Peeking out from under her tunic on the outsides of both thighs were black pouches. Sown into her sleeves right below each shoulder were a pair of Hitai-ate; one with the Hidden Leaf sign and the other with the insignia of Sacred Flower. In the eyes of most she would have looked like a defenceless little thirteen year old, if it wasn't for the two tanto that were strapped to her back, the two handles peeking out over each shoulder. She stood in the middle and slightly in front of his birth parents with a soft smile. Beside her stood a gray haired young shinobi her own age. On either side of his mother and the gray haired teen stood two more young teenage shinobi, a boy with large goggles and a girl with rectangle-like markings on her cheeks. Naruto recognized the gray-haired boy as a younger version of a friend of his mother, but the other two drew blanks from him.

He glanced back at the two adults in time to see his mother pull out a scroll from her right side leg-pouch and unfurling it on the Hokage's desk. With a drop of blood from her newly bitten thumb and a whispered word or two, and the scroll was unsealed. A high stack of files appeared upon the scroll in an orderly fashion. Naruto smirked; his mother's need for order shone through at times.

"These are the files for all the transfer Onmyoji students for the Liaison program, Hokage-sama. They are all waiting just outside the building." Aoi glanced at Hiruzen with a small grin, a twinkle in her eye, "I'm sure your personal ANBU are all having little hissy-fits over the security risks these children pose." It was said with jest, and not any small amount of sarcasm directed towards the four corners of the office. Hiruzen couldn't help but chuckle, as he knew the squad of ANBU in the room were shifting in reaction to the young woman. Whether they were uncomfortable, amused or annoyed at the Midorikawa woman, the Third was unsure. He was amused none-the-less.

He lifted the top-most folder with one hand and started to flip through it. He proceeded to look through a handful more when he started to see a pattern. He held himself from chuckling; Aoi had always been smart. And loyal. He raised his head to meet the eyes of the young woman, now a solid twenty-four in age. She wasn't surprised to see the questions in his eyes, he could tell. He considered how to question her, and decided to gather all the pieces of the puzzle offered to him, before he brought his questions to the surface. There were a good two dozen more folders in the pile and the elderly man started to read.

When Naruto had spent the better part of an hour pacing, his mother took pity on him with a smile, "Naru-chan, why don't you go on and guide the others home to the estate? You remember the way, don't you, sweetheart?"

The young shinobi-to-be practically skipped over to her, pecking her on the cheek, "Okay, yeah, thanks, Kaa-chan!"

The Liaison estate had been built in preparation for Aoi's arrival fourteen years ago. It had been huge and mostly empty in her first few months as the only Liaison in Konoha. With the arrival of the two others, childhood friends of hers, the compound had still been more than too much for the three of them. But, now, with all these children joining them? They'd at least fill half the compound with life.

Once her son was out of the office, Aoi turned her attention back at the Hokage with a more serious expression. She knew that Sarutobi Hiruzen was an intelligent man, and expected nothing less from him as he finished skimming over the last folder, placing it on top of the folder and directing a pair of narrowed eyes upon the young Liaison. The elderly man studied her behind his reading glasses in silence.

There was a silent agreement between the Hokage and Liaison; an agreement based on loyalty and trust, something that was scarce in the ninja world. Midorikawa Aoi, as a Liaison between two Villages, had loyalty to both; and as such had sworn never to lie to the Hokage. In return, Sarutobi Hiruzen to show his gratitude and trust, had promised never to force an answer out of her. It was a thin balance, one easily broken if not handled carefully.

As such, Hiruzen was sure Aoi would answer any question she could, as long as the answer wasn't a betrayal of the Sacred Flower. The same was true in reversal; Hiruzen trusted that any question posed by the Hana Priestess to the young Liaison would have been answered, as long as the answers did not bring harm to Konoha. This was a trust Hiruzen had only ever extended to one individual; Midorikawa Aoi.

They sat there opposite each other; one with narrowed eyes and wrinkles on his forehead, tell-tale signs of his many questions in disarray, the other with a patient smile and twinkling eyes. The silence was deafening.

Finally, his mind seemed to calm and he sighed softly; "These are quite the young Onmyoji you have brought." Aoi noted how it isn't a question, yet not quite a statement either. Instead her smile widened, "Well, we have to measure up to Konoha standards, now don't we." It isn't mocking, instead significantly teasing.

Hiruzen sighed once more - he should have known it wouldn't be so easy - and posed his question, "These children all come from significant clans, from what their files say. Why not keep them in their home village?"

The dimples on her cheeks deepened and the corners of her eyes seemed to crinkle in that certain way that Hiruzen remembered was a sign he'd asked an important question. And then she glanced quickly to the corners of his office in quick succession, "Are they yours or his?"

The four ANBU in the room shifted once more - for whatever reason, Hiruzen could only guess - and he proceeded to speak, "They are mine, my most trusted."

The trust between the two was strong enough that the simple assurance from the elderly man was all she needed as she started to explain. "It's partly a show of strength - bringing these children - a power play. There have been whispers of large threats hiding in the shadows, watching and biding their time. Sending out our children in this manner is a calculated display of our combat strength. Enough to make enemies stop and reconsider their actions, yet not enough to tip our hand."

She took a breath and studied the elderly man; he was watching her patiently - he knew there was more to the explanation - and let her speak once more. "That is partly the reason. The second reason is a show of support, to foster a strong friendship between our villages that will last through any coming discord."

The shift in the air of the office was suddenly quite suffocating, and both Shinobi and Onmyoji could feel the ANBU practically holding their breaths. Thinking through her words carefully, dismantling each sentence slowly; Hiruzen read something between the lines. "You think a war is coming."

She narrowed her lavender eyes at the man, her smile growing into a smirk - seemed his age hadn't harmed his quick wit even now. "That is correct."

"This was your idea, wasn't it? The transfer Liaison-genin program?" His voice was even, soft.

"Very much so, yes." And her eyes said it all, even what she didn't verbalize. Hiruzen absorbed it all. It was both a power play and a long-term strategy for an alliance and peace, but also to even the scales between the Villages. He had dealt enough with the Sacred Flower during the last decade to know that any hostile action the Hidden Leaf might take against another Hidden Village would only be supported by the Liaisons with the blessing of their Priestess. He sent a nod and a small quirk of his lips, and she reciprocated by chuckling softly.

Hiruzen reached sideways under his desk for a stack of folders and turned to set them on the table inbetween the two of them. "No one is more suited for this task then you are."

Aoi took the folder furthest up on the pile and glanced through it quickly, "These are academy performance reports."

"In two weeks the next genin exam will graduate those who are ready. They will form teams together with the Onmyoji you brought with you. You are the only one that is familiar enough with both Shinobi and Onmyoji, their techniques and bloodlines, to make balanced teams."

Aoi regarded the elderly man with scrutinizing eyes, "Will I have complete autonomy over team compositions?"

"Yes." Hiruzen smiled kindly, his hands folded together in his lap, "As long as you keep the team compositions balanced and in line with the demands listed."

"Consider it done." Aoi smiled genuinely, "Happy to be home, Hokage-sama."

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This is a little bit of a disappointing update, I realize. But I wasn't quite happy yet with the scene that was supposed to be the other half of this Chapter. So instead of waiting forever, I decided to post this instead and simply strive to get the next chapter up quicker. :)