'Thoughts/Signing'

"Speaking"

"Seal Symbols/Words"

Disclaimer: I own nothing from Masashi Kishimoto. Enjoy!

Chapter 4

At the main village gates sat two nin. It was only mid-morning, but both were trying not to melt amidst Konoha's heatwave. The nin with black spikey hair and a bandage across the bridge of his nose tipped his water bottle all the way up to get the last drops into his mouth. He sighed and slumped over in defeat. "Man. We're stuck on gate duty again, Izumo."

"This is what happens when Morino-san caught you looking at confiscated weapons, Kotetsu," pointed out Izumo. His brown hair moving each time he fanned himself to stay cool. Like his partner, he drank the last bits of his water bottle.

"But Izu-," Kotetsu paused when he saw something coming closer to the village gates.

Noticing his pause, Izumo asked, "Kotetsu?"

Seeing that his partner was looking past the gates, Izumo looked out as well. In the distance was a cloud of smoke. Six brown blobs were drawing closer to the gates at an extremely fast speed.

"Who is out there in this heat?" Kotetsu asked.

Izumo frowned, "I don't know but be on your guard."

As they both stepped out from the desk and into the gateway, their jaws dropped as six ten-feet stags came to a sudden stop in front of them. Kotetsu rubbed his eyes and quietly said, "Kai." When nothing happened, he muttered, "Not a genjutsu."

When Sora reached the village gates, she forced herself to remain calm as her brain was bombarded with the locations of all the seals inside the village. Her fingers twitched as they felt ice-cold sensations brush against her fingertips. She ran her fingers against Daido's fur. Giving him a soft pat, Daido bent down.

Izumo and Kotetsu watched as a petite woman slid down from the side of the smallest stag. They heard her thank him for the ride. She went up to stop in front of the largest stag, who Izumo assumed to be the leader of the herd. The stag gently placed his forehead against the civilian woman. She whispered, "Be safe. Look out for one another." In a blink, the stags took off into the forest.

Taking in a deep breath, Sora braced herself and turned to look at Izumo and Kotetsu. She gave them a bright smile, and then bowed. "Good morning, shinobi-san."

Taken aback by her bow, Izumo quickly asked, "What brings you to Konoha?"

Sora answered, "Business with your Hokage."

Kotetsu frowned while Izumo asked, "We would need to see your paperwork, miss."

Sora reached into her left sleeve and pulled out both of her documents. As Izumo and Kotetsu read the paperwork, their eyes widened when they saw the familiar words, 'Tree Leaves'. They looked at her before shifting the front page to the back. Sora watched as they quickly straightened themselves after reading the second document.

Izumo stuttered, "I apologize, Daimyo-sama. We did not know that you were the Daimyo. Excuse us for our rudeness, Daimyo-sama."

Sora blinked then asked, "What are your names?"

Izumo's and Kotetsu's eyes widened. 'We are in so much trouble,' Kotetsu thought as he began to feel himself sweating.

Izumo quickly replied, "Izumo Kamizuki, Daimyo-sama. This is my partner Kotetsu Hagane." Kotetsu gave a quick bow.

"Kamizuki-san, Hagane-san," Sora started. They both froze upon hearing their names. "You have nothing to apologize for. You were only doing your job to ensure the safety of your village."

Their eyes widened in disbelief as she gave them a genuine smile. At this, they both relaxed and Kotetsu let out a sigh of relief.

Sora glanced behind them and saw a desk with papers and pens. "Do I need to sign in Kamizuki-san, Hagane-san?"

They quickly nodded their heads and hastily went behind the desk. "You can sign here, Daimyo-sama," Kotetsu directed as he pointed to an empty spot for her to sign in.

Once Sora was done, Izumo returned her documents. He asked, "Would you like one of us to escort you to the Hokage's office, Daimyo-sama?"

Sora shook her head no. "Thank you for offering Kamizuki-san, but I know you and Hagane-san are currently on duty. I think I can find the Hokage's office myself." Izumo nodded his head.

Just as Sora was about to leave, she paused to reach into her sleeves. They watched with curiosity as she drew out two cold water bottles. She gave them a smile, "It's hot out. Be sure to hydrate yourselves."

Both Izumo and Kotetsu nodded their heads and thanked her. They watched as she made her way down the road. Once she was out of ear shot, Kotetsu looked at Izumo, "Do you think she's the same woman that Genma-nii told us about?"

Izumo looked at Kotetsu, "Better yet, do you think Genma-nii knew that he had stayed at the Daimyo's house?"

Both of their eyes widened. They slumped over and lamented the fact that they were not going to be there to see the look on their nii-san's face when he found out who she was.

Sora went down the street that led to the Hokage's office. Seeing the familiar red and white fan symbol of the Uchiha clan, she smiled and waved to the two clansmen standing guard at the entrance of the Uchiha Compound. They hesitantly nodded their heads back. Going past the Military Police Force Station, Sora began hearing the trees whisper to her about stories of the past. She forced herself not to react to the things she heard and continued walking.

Sora's eyes widened as Konoha's stadium came to view. As she circled it, she felt the movements of seals that were deep underneath the stadium. Sora slowly let out a breath as the ice-cold sensation on her fingertips spread up along her arms. Once on the other side of the colosseum, she came across a sign that said Ninja Weapons Shop. She paused to admire the weapons that were on display in the windows. She let out a brief hmm as she felt two familiar souls drawing near. She continued walking towards the Hokage's office.

Just as she blended amongst the crowd in the busy streets, the bell above the weapons shop's door jingled when someone pushed it open. A nine-year-old boy with long black hair tied into a ponytail exited the shop.

Following closely behind him was his older cousin of five years, Shisui, who exclaimed, "Tachi-chan, we sure got a good deal for your katana."

Itachi nodded his head in agreement as he continued down the road, leaving his cousin behind. Shisui went to catch up to him and quickly wrapped his right arm around his younger cousin's shoulders. Dragging Itachi towards the training grounds, Shisui challenged, "Let's see what you can do with your katana against my Body Flicker, Tachi-chan." Itachi let out a small smile and let his cousin drag him along.

As Sora continued walking, her ears perked at the sound of rushing water. Her eyes lit up as she saw an incoming bridge that was over the Naka River. Once in the middle of the bridge, she peered over the rails. Sora could just make out a few fishes. She was about to leave when a shadow of a giant catfish with long whiskers appeared. It dipped its head above the water's surface. Once they made eye contact, it quickly disappeared back into the water. Sora rubbed her now warm golden bracelets as she smiled endearingly at where the catfish once was. She made her way to the other side of the bridge.

As she continued down the street, the scent of barbequed meat filled the air as she passed a restaurant called Yakini Q. Her stomach growled. Ignoring it, she continued until the smell of ramen hit her nose. Sighing, she reminded herself to eat a proper meal soon and she pushed on. Sora then saw lots of colorful flowers in front of Yamanaka's Flower Shop. She admired their beauty just for a bit, then continued onwards, ignoring the Dango shop as she walked.

Sora had just made it past the corner of the high walls belonging to the Hyuga Compound, when she saw that the Hokage's office was not too far ahead. Sora made her way to the building and pulled open the doors to enter. She was immediately greeted by a blank white wall. To her right was a hallway that led to a closed door. The word, 'Academy,' was written on top of the doorway. To her left was a hallway that had led to a stairwell that spiraled up. Feeling familiar souls above her, Sora went towards the stairwell. As she climbed up, one of souls began to feel as if they were coming down the stairs. Sora forced herself not to freeze as she saw a young man about her age with white gravity defying hair coming down the stairs. He was wearing his forehead protector at a slant to cover his left eye, and a black mask covered the bridges of his nose down. In his hands was a familiar orange book.

'I should've known,' she thought as she continued climbing up the stairs. 'You are definitely one of aniki's pups.'

Kakashi had just finished giving his mission report when he decided to go down the stairs rather than out the window, as he was prone to do. Taking out his cherished orange book, Icha Icha Paradise, he flipped to the page in which Tamaki was about to show Hira how much he loved her. Just when he was about to start reading, he noticed a familiar woman climbing up the stairs. Moving his book to cover most of his face, he discretely peered over the top edge of his book and studied her. He had not sensed her in the vicinity at all until she had entered his peripheral vision. He thought it was odd that while all living creatures gave off something, this woman gave off nothing. Not even a scent or the sound of her heartbeat.

'I must be losing my touch,' Kakashi thought, 'Or she is good.' He looked at her closer and noticed her calm, fluid like movements that reminded him of someone, but he could not place who. 'Very good,' he reassessed. Making himself look nonthreatening, he continued down the stairs, pretending to read his book.

Sora kept ascending and Kakashi kept descending. Neither stopped. Not even when they passed each other. As she reached the top of the stairs, Sora's mouth twitched when the soul of the white-haired man went back into the room that he had come from. 'Not discreet at all,' she mused.

Keeping herself from laughing outwardly, she continued into the hallway and turned right to enter a waiting area. Along the left and back walls were two sofas with a table in the center of the room. Across from where she had entered, she saw closed double doors. On either side of the doors were two Anbu guards. One had a robin's mask, while the other had a tanuki's mask.

Tanuki felt himself twitch slightly when he saw a familiar face enter the waiting area. Robin quickly gave him a worried glance before focusing his attention on the woman.

Ignoring the tanuki masked Anbu, Sora walked towards the secretary, who was sitting at her desk at the right corner of the room, filing her nails.

"Is the Hokage free?" Sora asked the secretary.

Without looking up from her nails, the secretary haughtily answered, "Do you have an appointment?"

Unbothered by the secretary's rude tone, Sora answered, "I do not, however-."

The secretary interrupted, "If you do not have an appointment, please leave."

Both Tanuki and Robin internally sighed. They did not have the best opinion of Yahuri. When the previous secretary had retired, Yahuri was forced onto the Yondaime as his new secretary by Danzo before a proper replacement could be found. She had only been working for a week and had already made multiple mistakes. Yahuri would schedule meetings with the Yondaime to occur at the same time. She made the mistake of calling a Hyuga clansmen a Uchiha, which they were not happy about. Sometimes she would not inform the Yondaime about diplomatic arrivals until it was almost too late. The Yondaime had to put up with her because each time he tried to fire her, the Village Elders found a way to back up Yahuri, claiming that his actions were not justified. Hopefully Yahuri can do her job properly today they both thought.

Sora asked the secretary, "How does one schedule an appointment for the Hokage if they are the Fire Daimyo?"

At this, Robin stiffened while Tanuki eyes went wide and his jaw dropped. This was one of those times that Tanuki was glad for the Anbu mask. The fact that the civilian lady who had given his team medical supplies was in fact the Daimyo was a shock. 'I took one of her healing salves jars too. I am screwed,' he thought.

Without looking up, the secretary grabbed a paper from her underneath her desk. "You wish you were the Fire Daimyo. Fill this form out and you will get a confirmation about your appointment in three weeks."

Sora only blinked in response as she began to hear a tiny childlike voice coming from the small peace lily sitting on the secretary's desk. The voice told her how nasty the secretary was, and how she refused to water it despite knowing that it needed water. It told her that if it were not for the friendly Men in the room then it would have died a long time ago. The childlike voice then began telling her stories of what the secretary would do to those who entered the waiting area when the friendly Men were not there.

Sora wondered. 'I doubt the Yondaime would keep an incompetent secretary. Something is wrong.' She analyzed the secretary, 'What is it that you are hoping to achieve by refusing me to meet with your Hokage?'

Inside his office, Minato and Kakashi were listening in on what was happening on the other side of the door. Kakashi's eyes went wide as he heard what Sora had said.

Minato quirked an eyebrow at Kakashi, "I guess you hadn't known."

Kakashi only shook his head. "That would explain why she knew what an Anbu mask looked like."

Minato nodded in agreement. It was quite common for the Fire Daimyo to meet members of Anbu. Sometimes Anbu were hired for escorts, other times they attended meetings. What confused Minato though was that he had not send any Anbu squad near the capitol in the past month. The only squad that was in the area was Kakashi's squad who had needed to make a pit stop for medical supplies.

Minato thought, 'Intel about this woman must be lacking. It is suspicious for her to become the Fire Daimyo without word getting back to me. This is worrisome.'

Minato got out from his chair and towards the door. Before he opened it, he turned to Kakashi, "I want you to watch her for any signs or tells while I talk to her." Kakashi nodded in confirmation as he placed a genjutsu over himself.

"Mouse, keep your eyes and ears opened." A soft "Hai" could be heard inside the room.

Minato had just opened his door to greet the Daimyo when he took in a sharp breath. In Sora's place was an older woman with the same ruby colored hair. 'Tomoe-san?' Minato thought.

Kakashi and his guards watched him with worry when they saw him falter. Minato quickly shook his head to clear his mind only to see an unsightly scene.

Sora looked at the secretary's name tag. "Miss Yahuri," at this the secretary's fingers twitched. "I believe the Yondaime is in need of a new secretary. One who is better suited for the job."

The secretary slammed her nail filer down on the desk, stood up, and growled at Sora. "Look here you little twat, there is no way that a slut like you could ever possibly be the Fire Daimyo. I know for a fact that the Fire Daimyo is a male, not a good for nothing bitch like you."

A stern male voice stated, "Miss Yahuri." The secretary froze. Standing in the opened doorway was the Yondaime.

The secretary quickly bowed, "Hokage-sama. This lady claimed she was the Fire Daimyo. I was just about to send her away." She turned to Sora and whispered, "What are you still doing here? Leave."

Ignoring the secretary, Sora bowed to Minato and greeted, "It's nice to meet you, Hokage-sama. I am Sora Fujiwara, the Fire Daimyo of Hi no Kuni."

Reaching into her sleeve, she pulled out her document. "This is the document that proves that I am the Fire Daimyo, if you wanted to have a look."

Just as she handed out the document to Minato, the secretary quickly intercepted and grabbed the papers. "Obviously, these are fake, Hokage-sama. Let me handle this." Before anyone could stop her, the secretary ripped the document into pieces.

Everyone's eyes went wide. Minato coldly stated, "Enough." The secretary froze.

Sora stared at the pile of paper on the floor. 'Was this your goal?'

Minato continued, "Miss Yahuri, from today onwards, you are no longer the secretary of the Hokage. Your belongings will be packed for you and someone will bring them to your home. You are dismissed."

The secretary's eyes went wide. She then turned to glare at Sora with feral rage and lunged for Sora. Tanuki and Robin went to intervene, only to be surprised when Sora had quickly knocked out Yahuri.

Tanuki narrowed his eyes at Sora at her speed. 'She's fast. Perhaps just as fast as a low ranked shinobi. Definitely faster than a civilian.'

Sora looked at Minato, "Is it normal for Konoha personnel to want to harm their Fire Daimyo?"

Everyone tensed. Minato narrowed his eyes at Yahuri and thought about all the things she had done during her time as his secretary. It was not a coincidence. "It is not normal. We will bring her into questioning immediately." Minato nodded at Rabbit, who was hiding in the corner hidden by a genjutsu. Rabbit picked up the secretary and poofed away.

Sora crouched down to pick up the pieces of her shredded document. Minato went down to assist her. At the top of the piece he had in his hand were the words: Official Change of Fire Daimyo. Minato internally sighed, "I apologize, Daimyo-sama."

Sora gave him a sympathetic smile. "If you were anyone else but the Hokage, I would say that you have nothing to apologize for because you had no control over her actions."

Grabbing the piece from Minato's hands, "But because you are the Hokage, you have that authority."

Sora stared at him for a minute, "If I was anyone else, I would immediately call this an act of treason for authorizing an attempt to assassinate your own Daimyo."

Minato studied her for a minute and stated, "But you are not."

Sora smiled gently at him, "I am not."

Minato relaxed but immediately tensed as her palm was engulfed in flames. 'No hand signs,' he noted. 'Whoever this woman is and her mysterious powers, she is the Daimyo now. But what does this mean for Konoha?'

As the pieces of her document burned, she reminded him, "To others, the actions of your subordinates will be viewed as a command that came directly from you. Your subordinates represent you just as much as they represent themselves, Hokage-sama." Minato nodded in understanding, fully chastised.

As the fire faded away, leaving no ashes behind, Sora gave him a genuine bright smile which shocked Minato. "Lucky for you, I still have the original document. The one Miss Yahuri shredded was just a copy."

Minato was reminded again of an older ruby haired woman who loved to give him a hard time by strangely doing something very similar to what Sora had just done. 'Just who are you, Sora Fujiwara?'

Sora reached into her sleeve to took out the original document and gave it to the Hokage. As she cocked her head to the side, her white doves jingled. She asked, "Are you free to meet with your Daimyo, Hokage-sama?"

Minato nodded as he took the document and read it over. It was legitimate. All nine delegates and the previous Daimyo's signatures were on the document. He gave it back to Sora, "If you would follow me into my office, Daimyo-sama."