Chapter 6
We had our left-over ramen for breakfast (much to the delight of Naruto), and got ready to go see the Hokage. We went back into the bathroom and I gave Naruto a much needed bath (much to his dismay). After I changed him into some fresh clothes, I went and put on some training gear. I knew they wanted to test me out for citizenship, and I was pretty sure they wanted to discuss my fighting. I put on a mesh sleeveless mesh shirt. Over it I put on a sleeveless black shirt that only went to my navel. I had my sword harnester too. It was a simply dark blue belt that circled around my chest and back, having a sheath on the back part. I had on some forest green cargo pants, with my kunai pouch on my left leg. I buckled on my belt that had a medical pouch secured to it, and a smaller survivability pouch (the pouch that held my coffee and tea!). Finally, I put on a fingerless glove on my right hand (my sword hand) and toeless black shinobi sandals. I tied my hair up into a short ponytail, and then I went and strapped on Naomi.
I picked up Naruto and ran across the tops of houses. When we got to the Hokage's office, his secretary just waved us through. Naruto quickly leapt down from me and ran up to Hiruzen, playfully jumping into his I got in, I found Gramps laughing with Naruto and Kakashi already waiting for me, along with another guy that had a shiny bowl haircut, HUGE bushy eyebrows, and wore green spandex. He quickly turned to me, and gave me a blinding smile and his teeth sparkled and gave a soft 'ping!' (no literally, I think his teeth were shiny enough to blind someone).
"AH! SO THIS IS THE YOUTHFUL SONYA THAT WE HAVE HEARD SO MUCH ABOUT! I AM GAI, KONOHA'S SUBLIME GREEN BEAST OF PREY!" He said in a loud voice. Gramps gave a small chuckle, and Kakashi just rubbed his temples. Gai was quickly looking me over, and I saw his eyes rest on Naomi.
"AH, YOU MUST INDEED BE VERY YOUTHFUL TO BE ABLE TO CARRY SUCH A HEAVY AND DANGEROUS WEAPON! YOU MUST ALSO BE TRAINED IN TAIJUTSU, THE VERY THING I HAVE MASTERED! COME MY NEW BEATIFUL AND YOUTHFUL FRIEND, WE SHALL HAVE TO SPAR AFTER THIS MEETING!" He gave me another dazzling smile.
I sat there gaping like a fish at this man's enthusiasm. Even Naruto seemed a bit scared at this man .I think Kakashi sensed my shock and quickly came to my defense.
"Gai, she's only been here for a day, don't scare her so bad. She's not yet used to your enthusiasm." Kakashi said in a bored tone.
I let out a small sigh "Ah, thanks Kakashi. It's uhm, no trouble really." I scratched the back of my head and gave a sheepish smile to Gai.
Gai quickly looked back and forth between me and Kakashi, before he exclaimed in a dramatic voice.
"Gah! Kakashi! My eternal rival! You make me so mad! You have already met this wonderful and youthful woman! Why must you act so cool?" He quickly turned back to me. He took my hand and knelt down, two streams of tears coming from his eyes.
"Do not worry Sonya! I shall one day beat Kakashi at his coolness! Until then, please look deep into my eyes and accept my sincere apology! Also notice my handsome many features."
'Oh my god, is this guy for real?' I thought, completely confused. I cleared my throat awkwardly before replying.
"Uhm, yeah, don't worry about it Gai, no harm done …"
Gai quickly jumped up and pointed a finger at Kakashi.
"You see Kakashi! She is not swayed by your charms! She shall remain youthful and beautiful forever!" He shouted.
I sweat-dropped … Hiruzen cleared his throat before getting on with the meeting.
"I have your adoption papers and citizenship papers here Sonya. It shouldn't take too long to fill these out. I will forever be in your debt for looking after Naruto for me. He is like a grandson to me."
"Don't worry Gramps. He's safe with me. I should be the one thanking you for allowing me to adopt him. He's already my baby boy to me." I said with a smile
Hiruzen nodded at this. Then he got a few papers and a pen, and began to question me on my origins.
"Who is your mother?"
"Mikosumi, Naomi."
"Father?"
"Adopted father, Howel, Icharou."
"Age?"
"26"
It went on with simple questions like this, until we got to where I was born.
"Iwagakure"
It seemed everyone in the room tensed when I said this. I knew of the bitter history between Konoha and Iwa.
"I was born there, yes. But I hold no allegiance to that pitiful village. It was my father's village, not my mothers, and my dad made sure the place was no home to me. I did not attend the ninja academy there, my mother trained me and over the years I've picked up things." I answered, my tone dangerous.
The Hokage simply nodded at this, seeming content with my answer.
"Did you ever return there over the years after you left?"
I searched my brain for an answer. It had been a long time since I went back.
"I think I snuck back in when I was 17 or so, simply to check up on my little sister. I was unable to find my father or my sister. It seems my dad went over his head in something, and was a wanted man. I'm not sure if he's dead myself, believe I checked with people to see if I couldn't get the contract for him. My sister was in the orphanage there. I stayed for a few days, just to make sure she was alright. She seemed happy actually, it seemed she had made friends within the orphanage, especially a smaller blonde boy, though I could've sworn he was a female when I first saw him …" I didn't mention how my sister had called the boy 'brother' since it didn't seem like an important fact. My sister looked a lot like me, sandy blonde hair, the same light blue eyes, and roundish features. She was a bit paler than me, but my tan had come from years in the sun. The Hokage's question interrupted my thoughts.
"Why didn't you adopt your sister?"
I was shocked that he had asked me that. I thought back on it before I answered.
"I was only 17 at the time, and in no condition to raise a child. I was still hunting people down, and I didn't have a stable home. I could be gone months at a time before I came back after a contract." I hesitated before continuing.
"She was also … happy. She may have been in an orphanage, but she was happy. She was having so much fun. Anaia was a spirited girl, I could tell from the way she argued back at someone from when she was only 3. But when I still lived with her, she wasn't happy all the time. She was merely content. My dad never abused her like he did me, but she still didn't get the love she deserved from him either, even if she was his favorite. She would always come crying to me after I had gotten beat. I always locked her in our room when mom went away, knowing that dad would come after me. But I never cried in front of her, I wanted her to be strong, even though she couldn't help… She finally got the love she deserved in the friends around her at the orphanage."
I looked up to see the Hokage to see him put the final stamp on my citizenship records. He just smiled up at me. Of course, after my tale, Gai burst into tears.
"You are such a strong person Sonya! The flames of youth are evident in you! Do not fear, for Konoha shall be the village you never had, and we will be the family you never had!" He shouted, two streams of tears coming out of his eyes again.
I sweat-dropped at his antics.
"Uhm, yeah, thanks Gai …" I answered hesitantly.
"There is one last thing we need to discuss before we continue on. We need to observe how you fight."
I smirked at this, completely ready for a challenge.
"Hai Hokage, I'm looking forward to it."