Beckoning the newcomers to enter, Hiruzen stood straight, elbows resting on the desk and fingers interlocked in front of him.
Today was one of the better days one got to enjoy recently. The war was experiencing a lull for a while, installing a false sense of security. Nothing extraordinary happened, no political mishap, no sudden great loss. It gave his shinobi time to rest for a bit, breath a little easier.
If anything today may call for the smallest of celebrations, —'a drink sounded about right,'— as one of their MIA agent returned, alive. A rarity on its own. Sure they needed to be evaluated and their loyalty checked, but if they passed all test then they just recovered one of their ninja, not lost them.
Hiruzen was, admittedly, more than a bit curious to learn what happened to the man. Thus when the door opened, only years as a shinobi and war veteran prevented him from showing any towards signs of surprise.
He was not expecting a child to accompany them.
The hokage surveyed the three before him, making note of all seeable injuries and made a mental note to have the returning male sent to the hospital after T&I were done with him.
Seichiro gave his report when prompted, and, once finished, dismissed from the office. This left Tokuma and Reiko as the last occupants. —Sarutobi not counted—
Tokuma stood straight, ready for orders, as any well trained shinobi present before their Kage. The girl on the other hand stood slightly behind the man, shoulders slouched, looking at the ground.
Hiruzen could see her fidgeting with the fabric of her kimono, though, he could not discern her facial features at all.
He turned his attention away from the mystery child for now, in favour of giving Tokuma permission to speak. Hiruzen was certain that the reason for the girl's presence will be found in the man's report of the events.
Tokuma gave Sarutobi the run down of the events which transpired over the last couple of weeks easily, with no hesitation. Starting from his team's mission in Shimo no Kuni and ending with how him and Reiko were forced to flee together and eventually ran into a Konoha patrol.
The male made sure to highlight Reiko's involvement, and how important it was in his survival. He also praised her skills, subtly (not really) hinting that she would be an asset to Konoha.
Hiruzen did turn his attention back to Reiko at this point, reevaluating the child and trying to discern how accurate Tokuma's assessment of her skill was. He narrowed his dark eyes at the girl.
She was a rather small thing. Her light, ashen hair, was pulled back in a sensible ponytail. She wore a navy iromuji* which was cut on both sides and her legs were fully wrapped in bandages. Seemingly more for daily wear, rather than to signal the area of a wound. Finally as footwear she sporting a standard pair of ankle length, black boots.
The was a bit skeptical about whether, or not this slip of a girl truly taught herself as Tokuma stated she claimed. 'Of course,' Hiruzen mussed, 'a Yamanaka would certainly be capable of easily confirming or denying said statement.'
And, if she turned out to be as talented as Tokuma claimed, with no ill will towards Konoha…well Hiruzen didn't suppose it would be that inconvenient to integrate her in the village.
However, he was rather bothered, —or maybe it was curiosity— that she has yet to look up and face him.
"Reiko-kun, was it?" he said, watching as the girl jolted at her name.
She quickly raised her face to look at the man and respond, and Hiruzen was equally ready to ask her some questions…till his eyes locked on her face.
His brain simply paused, unable to for a single coherent though, much less ask questions. Sarutobi forced himself to recover.
A moment passed, and then another.
Finally, he was able to shake off the image of his sensei which overlapped the girl's.
Blinking a couple of times for good measure, Hiruzen truly looked at the child before him. She looked so remarkably like their late nidaime, that it went beyond uncanny.
She was a pale skinned child, with a long, straight nose, a well defined jawline and cheeks, coupled with a pair of stunning, pupil-less red eyes.
Those were, without a doubt, his ex-sensei's eyes.
If the hole situation wasn't odd before, the child's appearance alone made it feel as such to Hiruzen. It was only his years of experience which prevented him from outwardly displaying what he was thinking. (Only serving to further raise Reiko's anxiety levels)
"Tell me child, what happened to you family," he asked unflinchingly, dread and hope building up in him. A ridiculous feeling, as the chances of what he though coming to pas were slim to none.
He didn't miss the way Reiko's hole body tensed. Nor the shadow which crossed over her features.
"They're dead," she replied testily, fist clenched tightly by her side. That didn't help Hiruzen much, although he wisely kept away from any more questions revolving around that topic.
He exchanged a few more words with Tokuma before having an ANBU escort them both to T&I. Clear instruction given about who and how they were meant to be interrogated. Hiruzen didn't want to butt into Inoichi's area of expertise but he wanted this done in a certain way. Especially with the girl.
Whether or not she turned out to share blood with his late sensei, the girl could still potentially become an asset for Konoha and he did not want her first few impressions to be bad ones.
First impressions could be so important.
—.—.—.—
Once alone in his office again, Hiruzen went to stand by the windows. Looking towards the Kage monument. More specifically, looking at the nidaime's monument.
'Could it really be sensei? Did your child at least survive Uzushio's fall? Have I failed you so badly that even now, your lineage is suffering?' these were questions with no answer, for the moment.
All Hiruzen could do was wait for Inoichi's report. It was sure to shed some light on this mystery. He hoped.
—.—.—.—
It was a couple of hours later that the Yamanaka found himself knocking at his Kage's door. Waiting for permission before entering, the blond found himself standing before the man he had served his entire life.
Ready to present his findings.
He informed the Hokage that Tokuma's memories were genuine, and, that they matched the events he described in his report, declaring him as fit to return to duty once the hospital cleared him as well.
Nodding his understanding and acceptance of the decision, Hiruzen patiently waited to learn what Inoichi found out about the girl.
"The girl told the truth as well…however, she was not keen on coming to Konoha," the blond man said, recalling Reiko's memories and the information trapped within them.
Hiruzen frowned at this, but motioned for the blond to carry on. This was not promising news.
'Delving deeper into her memories as to find out the reason, revealed that these feelings stemmed from the girl's family. Her mother in particular was not very fond of our village."
Hiruzen felt a bead of dread forming in the back of his mid so he closed his eyes and leaned on his elbows.
"Her mother, who was she?" Hiruzen asked, dreading the answer now more then ever.
"A remnant of the Uzumaki clan, sir. She went by the name of Shōrai," Inoichi continued, watching in surprise as his Kage let out a ragged breath.
'I failed you sensei…I'm so sorry,' Sarutobi thought.
"You are certain of this Inoichi?" he tried one last time.
"Yes sir. The girl was definitely raised by Uzumaki Shōrai and her grandmother, Uzumaki Ume. They died at the hand of Kiri ninja it would seem," Hiruzen felt a wave of red-hot anger wash over him. His fingers clenched so hard they turned white.
The memory of a bubbly young redhead danced before his eyes. The bell-like voice of the girl's mother rang in his ears, as she asked if he wanted anything to eat.
'I let them both down. I promised to look after them should something happen, and I failed,' Hiruzen though. Reiko's face suddenly popping into his mind.
'All these years…they were alive. If only I'd looked—she had a daughter.'
Regret hit the ageing man full force. He knew those two women. He stood there, with his teammates and promised, that should anything happen to the nidaime, those two will be looked after and cared for.
Something did happen. And the nidaime sacrificed himself for them.
Then, he ascended to Hokage, and later, news of Uzushio's demise reached Konoha. Their long-time allies. Gone.
Hiruzen and his teammates searched for weeks, finding nothing but corpses and dead ends. No sign of bubbly children or women with bell-like voices.
However, it seemed that fate was determined to prove to Hiruzen just how mysterious it could be. Not only did those two not perish, as they initially assumed, but they lived long enough to pass on their lineage. Who through a twist from the same fate, ended up, years later in his office. Today.
Sarutobi didn't know if he should weep or laugh.
He had long since gotten used to the knowledge of his broken promise. Long since resigned himself to his failings. But learning what he did today…it felt as if that particular scar was reopened. The pain just as sharp as back then.
He listened to the reminder of Inoichi's report, (feeling some sort of…pride?) learning how the girl clung on to life despite the obstacles thrown her way.
Yet, just before Hiruzen was ready to dismiss the blond, Inoichi threw another bomb in his lap.
"In regards to her abilities…" he trailed off. The Hokage simply raised an eyebrow and pushed further:
"Yes?"
"She possesses the shodaime's mokuton," Inoichi said. And Hiruzen's brain paused once again.