'Thoughts/Signing/Written Words'
"Speaking"
"Seal Symbols/Words"
Flashbacks
Disclaimer: I own nothing from Masashi Kishimoto. Enjoy!
Chapter 12
When Sora had announced that she was going to return the scrolls to Danzo, she felt the souls of Hound and Neko flicker in worry. Not looking in their direction, Sora walked towards the exit with Raina and Okimi. Once Sora closed the door behind Team Ro, black lines connected once again to reform a seal before fading away.
"Raina-san, Okimi-san, I will be in Konoha for about two weeks. There will be a shipment arriving in ten days for the apartment complex. You can place the delivery inside this room," Sora said as she gestured towards the closed vacant room. "If it arrives early, please do not hesitate to send me a message or come find me. I will be residing at the Uchiha compound for the next six days. I'll let you know where you can find me once I've precure proper accommodations after those six days."
Okimi and Raina nodded their heads. As they went down the stairs towards the lobby, Sora asked, "From your experiences, how would you wash your clothes if it had come into contact with poison?"
Okimi and Raina looked at one another. Both were slightly alarmed at the question. Raina carefully replied, "If we're immune to the poison, then we usually handwash the clothes. If not, we throw them out. Why do you ask, Sora-sama?"
"The delivery that is arriving are washing and drying machines I had ordered to add a coin operated laundry facility," Sora replied. "I didn't want anyone accidentally getting poisoned just because they used the same machine, that's why I asked."
Raina and Okimi had their mouths agape and eyebrows rose high in surprise. At civilian owned laundry mats, many civilians would openly stare at the blood-soaked clothes of shinobi who brought their clothes in to be washed. Most laundry mats even have a 'No Blood' policy. Because of this, several shinobi would rather wash their clothes by hand, or at a friend's place if they owned a washing and drying machine.
At their reaction, Sora asked uncertainly, "Was including a laundry facility a bad idea?"
Both quickly nodded shook their heads no. "Of course not, Sora-sama," Raina said. "It's a great amenity to add to the apartment complex."
Okimi nodded in agreement and added, "I'm sure the tenants will be ecstatic with the new facility, just like the indoor onsen you added last year."
Sora gave them grateful smiles. Once they were in the lobby, Sora briefly looked out of the windows to see that the sun was beginning to set. 'I have just enough time,' Sora thought.
Raina and Okimi escorted their boss towards the exit. As Sora passed the doors, she turned towards her staff, "Have a good night Raina-san and Okimi-san. You both did a splendid job." Sora deeply bowed at them, "Thank you."
Raina's and Okimi's face reddened. "Sora-sama, it is we who should be thanking you. Not many people are interested in hiring retired, handicapped shinobi," Okimi said as Raina nodded in agreement.
Sora gave them a smile as they said, "Have a good night, Sora-sama."
Turning towards the road, Sora steeled her nerves knowing that she would be confronting the black soul again. As they made their way towards the Shimura compound, Team Ro surrounded Sora with Hound in front. A large stone gate with the Shimura clan symbol inscribed came to view. On either side of the gates were two guards. Hound stepped to the side to let them see Sora.
"State your business civilian," one of the guards demanded, not at all addressing Team Ro.
Sora glanced at the guard. "I wish to speak to Village Elder Shimura."
The guard reply, "You have no authority to."
Sora raised an eyebrow at him. "I believe I do, seeing as I am now the Daimyo."
The two guards stiffened and quickly opened the gates. "Just keep going straight until you arrive to the largest house at the end," the other guard directed them.
Sora nodded her thanks and entered the compound. As they neared the end of the street, a three-story house drew near. There was a giant courtyard with a pond in the front. As she got closer to the house, she forced herself not to react when the feeling of ice covered her whole body. She kept her eyes focused on the door as she felt hundreds of seals moving underneath the ground as well as inside the house itself.
'This is the source,' she concluded.
Sora pulled two scrolls from her sleeves as she knocked on the door. A few seconds later, they opened to reveal a housekeeper with black hair and a white apron. Sora sensed a seal coming from her mouth. Giving no reactions, Sora asked, "Is Shimura-san home?"
The housekeeper asked, "Danzo-sama?"
Sora nodded in confirmation. The housekeeper nodded. "Of course, give me just a moment. Would you like to come inside?"
Sora was about to answer when Danzo's voice asked, "Who is at the door?"
The housekeeper looked at Sora questioningly. "Sora Fujiwara," Sora replied, ensuring that Danzo would hear her.
From behind the housekeeper, Sora saw Danzo's eyes narrowing before putting on a neutral face. "What can I help you with at this time of day, Daimyo-sama?" he asked as the housekeeper scurried away.
Sora stated, "I am not sure if you are aware, but I am the owner of the apartment complex next to Shushu-ya."
Sora felt Danzo's soul flicker in surprise though he gave no outward indication of it. Sora presented the two scrolls to him. "While your delivery of medical equipment is appreciated, anyone who wishes to make a donation to the apartment must have the Hokage's signature of approval before they can be incorporated into the building. If you would like to continue with your donation, please have Hokage-sama sign the delivery order as well."
Sora gave no reaction when Danzo's soul flickered red hot anger. Danzo grabbed the two scrolls from her. "Thank you for telling me, Daimyo-sama," he forced out.
"Have a good evening, Shimura-san," Sora said as she walked away and out of the Shimura compound.
Danzo calmly closed the door behind her. A few silent minutes went by before he slammed his cane into the vase next to the door. "I was misinformed," he growled out.
"Snake," Danzo called out. From the darkest corner of the room, a man with a snake porcelain mask stepped into the light. "Follow the Daimyo. I want to know who she interacts with and where she's been. If anything of value presents itself, bring it back to me at once." Danzo gave Snake a warning stare, "Do not get trapped in her privacy seal again."
"Of course, Danzo-sama," Snake said in a quiet voice as he disappeared.
Sora forced herself not to react when she felt a cold soul following closely behind her and Team Ro. 'It's the same one who had a snake mask at the Hokage's office,' she thought as she felt him hide in the alleyway building over. Feeling nothing from Team Ro's soul, she internally frowned. 'They haven't sensed him yet, despite clearly being within the team's sensing range. Just like this morning.'
Reminding herself to be careful, Sora watched as a few lights that were outside a few food venders began to turn on. Sora hummed a small tune as she continued walking with her hands clasped behind her back. She paused to look at a large bulletin board nailed to a building's wall in the middle of the busy main road. She had seen it multiple of times throughout the day but did not get a chance to look at it. There were lots of new and old flyers covering the board. Flyers ranged from postings about job opportunities to apartments available for rent. Sora internally smiled when she saw a reward flyer for Tora, a white kitten. 'If found, please contact Team 1,' were the words written below the picture.
'They're enlisting the help of civilians,' Sora noted. 'There are a lot of pros and cons when putting your missions out to the public.'
A breeze lifted the flyer she was looking at to reveal another flyer about an upcoming live performance featuring the Madame Butterfly. Sora blinked at it before walking back towards the main road. As they walked past the board, Hound grabbed both flyers. 'Shinobi missions are supposed to be kept a secret,' he growled internally.
Sora paused to let a few children run ahead of her. They were talking to one another excitedly. In each of their hands were two to three dango sticks. Sora smiled at them before walking towards a shop with a lit-up sign on the rooftop. Written across the three metal circles were the words, 'Dango Shop.'
As she went inside the shop, there were ten tables located near the left wall. She saw some heads perk up when she entered the sweets shop. She smiled at some familiar faces and perused the shop. She noted that while the tables were taken by shinobi and civilians alike, most of the civilians avoided the shinobi, and vice versa. To the right of the shop was a glass counter, displaying all the variety of sweets the shop makes from scratch. Sora stopped in front of the lower counter with a cash register. As the staff looked up, her eyes widened in surprised when she saw two Anbu agents standing behind a civilian woman.
She tentatively said, "Welcome to Konoha's Dango Shop. What can I get you?"
Sora smiled and asked, "Good evening. Can I get twenty of your fresh tricolor dango sticks to go?"
The worker nodded as she directed another staff to prepare the order while she rang Sora up. After fifteen minutes, she gave a bag to Sora. Thanking her, Sora exited the shop and went towards the street. They passed a tall, windowless building and rounded the corner of the street that led to the stairs leading up to the Hokage Mountain.
Exiting from the T&I building, Bear and Ibiki opened the doors. From the corners of their eyes, they saw a familiar ruby haired woman turning around the corner of the street. As the two held the doors opened for their Hokage to exit the building, Bear gave Ibiki a look. Ibiki nodded in response and poofed away.
Once Sora was at the very top of the Hokage Mountain, she stared out into the view below her. Amongst the blanket of darkness, lights twinkled underneath her. As she looked out towards the outskirts of Konoha, the twinkling lights started to dwindle until they became no more. She breathed in the scent of the trees that surrounded her and let out a soft sigh. Walking towards the edge of the mountain, between the faces of the Nidaime and the Sandaime, Hound and Fox instantly moved closer to her in case she accidentally fell. Sora gave them a smile and placed the bag down. Running her hands behind the bottom of her yukata, she sat down with her knees bent towards her chest. Placing her chin on her arms, she listened to new stories and secrets being whispered to her from the trees. Feeling a familiar soul drawing near, she brought her legs down to dangle her feet off the ledge. Turning towards the left, she rolled the edges of the bag down to reveal two to go containers. Sticking out the edges of the containers were bamboo sticks.
Sora looked up at Hound, "Would you and your team like to have some dango sticks, Hound-san?"
Hound gave no indication of answering, though he felt his team perk up in interest. 'We're going to have a team meeting about accepting food from strangers,' he thought.
Hearing footsteps, Neko and Crow appeared beside Hound and Fox. They all turned to see a familiar face.
"How are you, Morino-san?" Sora asked, as Team Ro twitched in surprise. They had not expected the Daimyo to know the Commander of Torture and Interrogation.
Team Ro watched curiously as Ibiki Morino walked towards the Daimyo. Their jaws dropped in shock when Ibiki wacked Sora across her head. Sora squeaked in surprise and quickly went to rub her head. "What was that for, Morino-san?" she asked as she scrunched her nose up at him.
"We've talked about this Sora," Ibiki said as he crouched down to sit beside her. "You're hiding," Ibiki stated in a firm voice.
Sora winced in response before sighing. Ibiki heard Sora's soft beating heart but nothing else. Ignoring his unsatisfied look, she asked, "Did you want to have some dango, Morino-san?" Sora grabbed the top to go container, "I had asked Hound-san if his team would like some, but-."
Sora paused to see that it had disappeared from her hands. She turned to see Hound distributing the dango sticks to the rest of his team. Smiling at them, she turned to Ibiki, "Don't worry. You and I can share the other one."
Ibiki sighed and nodded, knowing that this was the best he was going to get out of her. Smiling at him, she opened the to go container as steam rose out from it. Ibiki lips twitched. "You kept it hot?" he asked.
Sora nodded. "Hot dango is the best," she replied as she took two dango sticks. "I'm not fond of the pink ones, so you can have those, Morino-san. I'll split the green and white ones with you though."
Ibiki looked at her. 'Sora loves every flavor of dango, so why would she say this?' Ibiki thought.
As he watched Sora maneuver a green dango off the top of a stick and onto the side of the to go container closest to her, he asked, "What are you doing in Konoha, Sora?"
Without looking at him, she answered, "Daimyo duties."
'That's right,' Ibiki thought as he hmmed, letting her know that he heard her. 'Bear-san had mentioned something like that.'
Once all the sweetened balls of rice flour were off the sticks, she gave a now bare stick to Ibiki. Ibiki nodded in thanks as he stabbed a white dango. Sora stabbed a white one as well. As she ate, she swung her legs back and forth, taking care not to lose her slippers. Ibiki looked at the disassembled dango balls in the to go container. Four green ones were placed closer to Sora, while a single pink one was behind them. All the other dango balls were placed close to one another with no specific placement. Even the pink ones were mixed in with the whites and greens. Ibiki stabbed a green one and ate it. Sora did the same.
Ibiki went to go pierce another green one but switched to a white one at the last minute. He raised an eyebrow when Sora too pierced a white one. Wanting to test a theory, Ibiki rapidly pierced a white and a green and placed them in his mouth. Sora did the same thing without so much as a blink.
'She's been eating the same ones I've been eating,' he thought. 'It doesn't matter if I eat them slow or fast. Why are you doing this Sora?'
He looked at the tray again as he thought about why she would place the sweetened balls of rice flour in such a way. Hearing Neko and Crow going back into the trees behind him, Ibiki's eyes widened as it all clicked. The four green rice flour balls that Sora had placed were the exact locations of the members of Team Ro in relation to how close they were to her. 'If the green ones are meant to represent Team Ro, what does the pink one mean?' he wondered.
Ibiki pierced the single pink one behind the four green ones. In response, Sora pierced the green one that represented Crow. Ibiki gave her a glance and said, "I got something for you."
Sora blinked up at him as he retrieved a thick packet from the back of his pocket. He gave her the packet as he pierced another pink dango. Her eyes widened at the title of the packet. As she pierced the green one that represented Neko, she flipped through the pages. 'I'm glad that they found you just in time,' she thought as she saw the names of the Aviary Department on the last page, fulfilling the required number of signatures needed for the petition to go through.
As Sora flipped the pages, Ibiki reached out his chakra to where the location of the 'pink' person should be. He frowned when he found nothing. Trying again but slowly and carefully this time, he felt something brush against his senses.
'He's very well hidden,' Ibiki thought. 'Definitely Anbu level. What is he doing hiding his chakra from Team Ro?'
Ibiki felt the unknown shinobi move closer to Fox. Sora pierced the green dango that represented Fox in response. Ibiki internally cursed. Just as he was about to confront the unknown shinobi, Sora closed the packet and placed it in her sleeves. "I'll see what I can do, Morino-san. The last section might not be doable though because Tree Leaves do not provide those services, but I think I can work something out with the Yondaime," Sora said as she stood up to brush the dirt off the back of her yukata.
Ibiki stared at Sora before standing up as well, grabbing the bag of uneaten dango balls. 'What are you planning, Sora?' he thought as he briefly looked at Hound.
Hound narrowed his eyes at Ibiki when they made eye contact. He recognized that look. It was the famous look that Ibiki had before he was about to interrogate an enemy. Curious, Hound slowly expanded his chakra and felt nothing.
Hound frowned in confusion as he watched Sora shake her head no when Ibiki handed the bag of uneaten dango balls to her. "You can have the rest, Morino-san."
Ibiki nodded and said, "Have a good night, Daimyo-sama."
"Have a good night, Morino-san," Sora said as she turned towards the stairs.
As Hound walked past him, Ibiki watched Sora make her descent down the stairs. 'I hope you got the message, Hatake,' Ibiki thought. 'I hope I'm wrong about your pursuer, but if they are like the others, then they most likely know all of Anbu's codes.'
Once they were out of sight, Ibiki quickly moved to the location of the unknown shinobi with a kunai in hand. He frowned when he found no one, and the chakra signature had disappeared. 'I need to talk to Bear-san.'
Heading Ibiki's warning stare, Hound stepped closer to Sora's left side, trapping her between him and the Hokage Mountain. Fox, Crow, and Neko noticed the subtle movements of their Captain and moved in closer as well.
As they descended the stairs, Hound asked, "Daimyo-sama, do you mind if I ask you a question?"
Sora nodded. "Go ahead, Hound-san."
"How do you know the Commander of Torture and Interrogation?" he asked.
Feeling the cold soul drawing closer, Sora paused to glance at Hound and stated, "I don't think I'm at liberty to say, Hound-san. You'll have to ask Morino-san yourself."
Hound nodded in understanding. 'Most shinobi prefer to keep what they do on their own time private,' he thought.
As they arrived at the bottom of the Hokage Mountain, a familiar call wrang out. Sora and Team Ro looked up to see a black silhouette of a crow flying in circles overhead.
"Chujitsuna-san?" she whispered as she raised an arm out.
Chujitsuna landed on her arm as she saw a dark red scroll inside the scroll carrier. Retrieving it from him, she rubbed his head gently, "Thank you for your hard work. Go get some much-needed rest, Chujitsuna-san."
The black crow rubbed his head against her hand before taking off towards the Aviary Department. Once he was out of sight, Sora looked at the scroll in her hand. She quickly unrolled it.
Daimyo-sama,
I have informed the other delegates that you have safely arrived to Konohagakure. I have also informed them that the traditional contract between the Fire Daimyo and the Hokage has been authorized. As you know, this has only been done once, during Seiji-nii-san's reign. To be honest, we are unsure on how to proceed.
Under the traditional contract, we cannot physically guard you, Daimyo-sama. That right was given to Konohagakure and her people. The only way we, delegates, can be of best of use to you is to stay here at the capitol waiting for your orders via messages.
Until then, stay safe in Konoha, Daimyo-sama. We look forward to your safe return.
Your humble advisor,
Todiyori Toshi
P.S. I have attached some documents that needs to be reviewed as soon as possible.
P.S.S. Tana-san had stated that he has fed Chujitsuna, the Crow. He said, and I quote, "How you can choose such a frightening messenger bird is beyond him." He also sends a reminder. Again, I quote, "Daimyo-sama, it is rude if you show up at Hokage-sama's home empty handed. Also, ensure you accompany him to his home. Others will think that you do not like Hokage-sama if they do not see you walking with him to his own home."
Upon reading Tana's comment about Chujitsuna, she smiled. She rerolled the scroll as it sealed itself back again. 'I had expected as much,' she thought as she placed the scroll inside her sleeves. 'As soon as I step out of the Yondaime's home tomorrow, the traditional contract will restrict any interactions I have with the Hokage, and the Village Elders will get a chance to play middlemen.'
As they made their way towards the Hokage's office, Hound narrowed his eyes at Sora. 'She's hiding again,' he thought. 'But for what reason?'
Once outside the building to the Hokage's office, she reached a hand up to open the doors and entered the building. As they reached the waiting area, Tanuki and Robin straightened. Tanuki asked, "Did you need to see Hokage-sama, Daimyo-sama?"
Sora nodded yes and answered, "As it is getting late, if he is free, I wish to retrieve Hokage-sama in hopes that we can go to his house together. If he is not, I am willing to wait for him here."
Tanuki's jaws dropped. He was not expecting that. He looked at Robin before knocking on the door.
Inside his office, Minato sighed deeply. He was looking at the drawn copies of the seals that were located on the back of the tongues of the prisoners in Room 40 as well as on their masks. From what he can tell, the seal on the tongues is more complex than the one on the mask. If he were to undo the seal on the tongues, it would immediately notify the person who placed the seals. 'I need Kushina to look at this for her input,' he thought as he sat back into his chair with a huff.
A knock was heard at the door. Minato straightened and hid the drawn seals underneath some paperwork. He called out, "Come in."
Minato was surprised to see Sora entering. He noted how she was wearing a different yukata than this morning. 'Something must've happened,' he thought.
Looking briefly at Hound before focusing his attention to Sora, he asked, "Did you need something, Daimyo-sama?"
Sora gave him a smile and answered, "Seeing how the sun is down, I was hoping we could walk to your home together, Hokage-sama. If you still have duties to attend to, I can wait for you in the lobby until you are done."
Minato blinked at her confused, "If you are tired, Daimyo-sama, I'm sure Hound and his team can escort you to my house."
Sora's face reddened and quietly muttered, "I was told it was rude if I showed up at your house without you."
Minato's eyes widened before smiling. "I have a few paperwork I have to do before I can leave."
Sora looked at him and nodded. "I shall be outside waiting for you, Hokage-sama. I'll be working on paperwork as well."
Minato winced. 'I guess being Daimyo has its own set of paperwork,' he thought as he tried not groan at his own stack of unfinished paperwork.
"Daimyo-sama, you are more than welcome to do your paperwork in my office," Minato offered.
Sora looked at him in surprise. Before she could protest, Minato said, "It is quite alright, Daimyo-sama. Neko, if you could please make a desk and chair for our Daimyo."
Neko appeared from behind the corner. He turned towards Sora, "Where would you like to sit, Daimyo-sama?"
Sora pointed to a corner furthest away from the cold soul that was hiding in the office. Unfortunately, this will put her right next to Minato. "You don't have to make it so big, Neko-san. A simple desk would suffice."
Neko nodded and ran through some hand signs and placed his palms to the ground. Sora's heart skipped a beat as she watched wood protruding from the ground to take on the shape of a simple but elegant desk. The legs of the desk were curved at the bottom then thickened as they attached to form a desk with small accents in the corner.
Hound glanced at her when he heard the beating of her heart for a few seconds before it disappeared. He glanced at Neko, who was now forming a wooden chair. 'Does she have the Mokuton as well?' he wondered.
Sora bowed in front of Minato, "Thank you, Hokage-sama, for sharing your office with me." Turning to Neko, she bowed, "Thank you as well, Neko-san, for creating a desk and chair for me."
Minato smiled awkwardly while Neko stiffly nodded. Neither have gotten used to her politeness yet. Sora went to sit down at the desk and pulled out the dark red scroll she was reading earlier from her sleeves. Minato watched curiously. 'I wonder if she keeps fuinjutsu seals inside the sleeves of her yukata,' he thought. Putting that question to ask her later, he focused on his paperwork.
Once Sora's unrolled the dark red scroll, she swiped her thumb across the image of the Capitol Building at the bottom of the scroll. The image glowed red. The message that the scroll contained disappeared as the image expanded itself across the scroll. A decent sized pile of paperwork and a thick heavy book appeared.
'A storage seal inside a communication scroll?' Minato wondered. 'I thought all the delegates were civilians, thus unable to use chakra.'
Feeling everyone's stares, Sora looked up in question as she rolled up the dark red scroll and placed it on the left corner of the desk. Minato asked, "Can I ask you something, Daimyo-sama?"
Sora nodded. He continued, "How are your delegates able to activate a storage seal if they do not know how to use chakra?"
Sora pulled out a blue scroll from her sleeves and unsealed it. Tapping on one of the items, a palm sized jade cube appeared. She placed it on Minato's desk as she moved the thick book to the side and placed the blue scroll on top. "This is a Daimyo Seal. It allows my delegates to activate any of the seals I have placed in the communication scrolls without the use of chakra. I'll be demonstrating how they work at the general meeting."
Minato went to pick it up to observe it. 'It's just a regular cube with six sides,' he concluded.
He gave it back to Sora who muttered, "You can just leave it there."
Placing the cube on his desk, Minato watched in curiosity as Sora rifled through the pile of paperwork and placed them into four different stacks. Once all the paperwork were separated, she grabbed the left most stack and rifled through it again. Sora would place some paperwork in the front and others in the back. Once done, she tapped the bottom edges of the papers on the desk to let the papers fall into place. Placing them neatly next to the thick book, she did the same to the next pile.
Feeling his stare, Sora looked up at him with a questioning look. "I was wondering what it was you're doing," he said.
"I'm sorting them based on priority first, then by how much time I need to allot to complete them. The shortest amount of time needed goes in the front," she answered as she placed the stack on top of the first stack, but horizontally instead of vertical.
Minato nodded his head and continued looking at his own paperwork. After Sora finished sorting through the stacks, she asked, "Have you've gotten the chance to read the traditional contract yet?"
Minato paused to look at her. "I have not," he had admitted.
Sora nodded her head letting him know that she heard him. "Please do when you get a chance, Hokage-sama," she said as she signed her first document and placed it faced down.
Minato studied her for a bit. He asked, "How different is the traditional contract versus the modern contract between the Fire Daimyo and the Hokage?"
Sora glanced at him and replied, "Very."
Minato's eyes widened. Sora underlined two sentences on the page and wrote on the margins, 'These two objectives contradict one another, please revise.'
As she placed the document face up next to the faced down document, she looked at Minato and asked, "Can I make a suggestion, Hokage-sama?"
From his own paper, he looked over to her and nodded. Sora informed him, "Under the traditional contract, you have the right to request the aid of the Clan Heads if you need assistance for any reason, such as briefing you on the traditional contract." Sora looked back at her paper.
Minato hmmed as he looked down at his paperwork. "Is there a limit to how many I can choose?"
Sora signed the document and placed it face down along with the other document. "You can request every Clan Head if you'd like," she replied.
"Do you have any recommendations?" he asked.
Sora circled the bottom of a page of a new document and wrote underneath it, 'Math does not add up.'
"Use your best judgement, Hokage-sama," was her reply as she placed the document in her rejected pile.
Minato looked at her and asked, "If they're part of the Village Council?"
Without looking up, Sora replied, "They're excluded."
Minato studied her before returning to his own paperwork, not before seeing her stack of signed paperwork. He internally sighed by how much progress she had made in her stack, while he had yet to even sign one. His mind kept getting distracted.
Sora moved on to another stack and said, "When you do choose someone, you can let me know anytime."
Minato glanced at her and stated, "You sound so sure I will choose someone."
Sora looked at him. "I am." Minato narrowed his eyes at her. She continued, "Why else would I suggest it?"
Minato internally sighed. 'She's right. If the contracts are vastly different as she claims, I need someone how knows the traditional contract like the back of their hand so that I'm not taken by surprise like this morning.'
After thirty minutes, Sora had finished three of her stacks, leaving just one more stack to go through. She paused to stretch and frowned at her rejection pile. It was larger than her approved pile. Letting out a soft sigh, she tackled her last stack of paperwork. Once she got to her last page, she grabbed the thick book that was provided. She flipped through the pages of the book from front to back, then back to front again. Sora read the last document she had to review and frowned. She flipped the page open towards the front of the book, before flipping it again towards the middle of the book.
Deep in her concentration, she did not notice it when Minato was already packed up and standing at the office door. "Daimyo-sama?" he asked.
Sora jumped and looked up in confusion. "I'm ready to leave," he gently said.
Sora quickly nodded and sealed the documents and book back into the letter. Grabbing the blue and dark red scrolls, she rushed after him. As Minato turned off his lights, the moon light reflected off the forgotten jade cube on his desk.
Ensuring that no one was going to barge in, Snake hurriedly grabbed the jade cube and took off towards the Shimura compound. Once Snake arrived at Danzo's home, he slipped inside to go towards the entrance to the tunnel that led to Root Head Quarters. Turning the corner, he knocked on the stone door.
"Come in," Danzo said.
Snake entered the room to see Danzo sitting behind his desk. "What did you find?" Danzo demanded as Snake kneeled on his knees.
"The Daimyo seems to have a friendship of sorts with Ibiki Morino, Danzo-sama," Snake reported.
Danzo narrowed his eyes at this. "What else?"
Snake opened the side of his pack and placed the palm sized jade cube on Danzo's desk.
Danzo asked, "What is it?"
"The Daimyo had told the Hokage that it was a Daimyo seal. It allows her delegates, who cannot use chakra, to activate any seals inside the communication scrolls without the use of chakra," Snake replied.
Danzo looked at the jade cube curiously and reached out to grab it with his left hand. As soon as his fingertips touched it, the cube turned to liquid and started to wrap itself around his fingers.
"Danzo-sama!" Snake cried out in shock.
Danzo snarled, "What did you bring me?"
Danzo tried to flick the liquid away as he felt something enter his skin. Try as he might the liquid stayed put on his fingertips. He took out a kunai to cut off his fingers, only to watch in horror as the liquid latched onto his face.
"Get me a medic. Now!" his muffled cry was heard as Snake quickly disappeared to find a medic.
Danzo went to wipe away the liquid from his face with his right hand. To his dismay, the liquid only spread to his hand. He cried out in agony as he felt the liquid going into his skin. By the time the medic had arrived, it was too late. All the liquid was already inside Danzo's body.
As Sora followed Minato down the stairs, Hound was beside her, while the rest of his team were in the shadows with the Guard Platoon. As they stepped out of the building, she asked, "Hokage-sama?" Minato looked at her. "What does your family like to eat?"
Minato looked at her in wonder. "Why do you ask?"
Sora smiled at him. "It's costumery not to show up at your host's house empty handed."
Minato blinked at her. 'That must be a civilian thing,' he thought.
Minato answered, "They like eating ramen. I believe that's what Kushina is cooking tonight."
Sora grinned at him. "I know just the thing to accompany ramen then."
Sora went towards a small shop that was famous for their gyoza. Sora greeted the workers as she went inside. Everyone bowed as soon as they saw the Hokage behind her. Sora asked, "Can I have a party size of your gyoza?"
The workers nodded and quickly went to complete her order as she paid for the food. Once done, they handed an aluminum party tray to Sora. As she thanked them, Hound saw a seal appear underneath the party tray. 'Is that how she was able to keep the dango hot?' he wondered.
Nodding at Minato, they made their way towards his home. Minato saw the red tiled roof to his house first. As they drew closer, he could see stairs leading up towards the second floor, and a balcony connected to the master's bedroom. Once in front of the main entrance, Minato went to unlock the green door and entered his house. He called out, "I'm home."
"Tou-san!" a child's voice squealed out from the kitchen.
Minato gestured for everyone to come in as they heard sounds of feet stepping onto tile floors. Excitedly entering the living room was a blonde haired two-year-old boy with whiskers on his cheeks. Sora frowned at seeing two souls coming from him. One was colorful and tiny, which were typical traits of souls belonging to young children. The other was ripped in half and filled with hatred, pain, and anger. Sora forced herself not to wince as the soul flickered violently as it glowed blood red. Seeing his father, the toddler grinned and stumbled over to Minato.
"Hey there Naruto-kun," Minato said as he crouched down to pick up his son.
Now that he was the same height as everyone else, Naruto looked curiously at a woman behind his father. She had the same-colored hair as the woman in the framed picture by the wall. He then saw a familiar mask and grinned. Wriggling, wanting to be put down, Minato sighed and placed his son down, only to realize his mistake. Minato tried to stop him but was too late. He could only watch as his son stumbled towards Kakashi, excitedly calling out, "Kaka-nii-chan!"
Kakashi twitched as he looked at Sora then Minato uncertainly. Minato watched Naruto stop in front of Kakashi, lifted his arms, and exclaimed, "Up!"
Not wanting to see the toddler's disappointed face, Sora crouched down to him. Balancing the party tray on her knees, she softly said, "Hi there. What's your name?"
Naruto looked at Sora in curiosity. "Nawuto Namikashi."
Sora smiled as she placed a hand down to rub Naruto's head. "Nice to meet you, Naruto-kun. I'm Sora Fujiwara." Looking up at Hound, she looked back at Naruto and asked, "Did you want Hound-san to play with you?"
Naruto wrinkled his nose at her. "He is Kaka-nii-san. Not Hwoun-san."
Eyes twinkling in amusement, Sora nodded her head. "I apologize." Giving Hound a look, she asked, "Did you want Kaka-nii-san to play with you?"
Hound gave no reaction, though Sora felt his soul flicker in slight embarrassment.
Naruto nodded his head enthusiastically. "Uh huh. Kaka-nii-san pwomised that he would hwave a sweepovwah toway."
Sora quirked an eyebrow at Hound before looking at Naruto, "Did he now?"
Naruto nodded his head, "Mhm."
Minato softly said, "Naruto-kun, Hou-, err, Kaka-nii-san is currently on a mission and can't play right now."
Naruto stared wide at his father. "But he pwomised."
Sora smiled softly at Naruto. "Tell you what, kiddo."
Naruto turned towards her as his eyes began to water. Sora continued, "If it's alright with your father and Hound-." Naruto gave her the stink eye, "I mean Kaka-nii-san, then I don't mind it if Kaka-nii-san has his sleepover with you tonight."
Naruto grinned at Sora. "Really?"
Sora nodded. Naruto quickly turned to look at Minato and Hound. When they did not budge, Naruto's eyes widened as it began to water. His lips puckered out, quivering slightly. Hound internally winced. 'Pakkun must've taught him that,' he thought.
Minato sagged in defeat. "Just this once, Naruto-kun."
Naruto grinned and went to hug his father before he went towards Hound and lifted his arms up again. "Up," he commanded.
As Hound crouched down to pick up Naruto, they heard a female's voice call out, "Welcome home!" The sound of her stirring the pot was heard. Kushina continued, "You know I heard the weirdest thing. I ran into Mikoto-chan at the market today, and you would not believe what she had told me." The sound of the stove being turned off was heard. "She said that someone had delivered an order from the capitol and said that they had looked a lot like-," as Kushina entered the living room. "nee-chan." Kushina muttered as she dropped her metal spoon in her hand in shock.