Chapter Fifteen — The Child That Sticks Out is Struck

"You remember that little Uchiha girl?"

Dan looked up from his mission report. "Hmm?" He frowned, resting his chin in his hand with his elbow propped up on the table. "Uchiha girl? Oh! The one that interrupted our breakfast Sunday before I left for my mission?"

"That's the one."

"Right. What about her?"

"She's been bothering me every day since then. Keeps asking me to apprentice her." Tsunade collapsed in the chair next to him, folding her arms on the tabletop and dropping her head down on them. She heaved a sigh. "Do you think I'd make a good sensei?" She shifted so she could look at him.

Dan blinked. Then he chuckled and smiled, reaching an arm around her. "I think you'd make an excellent sensei."

She frowned. "I'd have to, have to talk to Sensei. See if he would approve an apprenticeship. And I don't even know what year she is in the Academy. Should probably figure out her name too."

He snorted and jerked his hand back so he could cover his mouth. "You don't know her name?" he asked, struggling to smother his laughter. "Do you have any idea who she is?"

"She's an Uchiha," she muttered.

"An—" He snickered. "If you don't know who she actually is, then why are you considering it?"

Tsunade sat up at that. "She's what? Six? She cut her own thumb open."

His eyes widened. "She wh—"

"And then it took her eleven seconds flat to stitch it back together with iryo-chakra."

Dan stilled. "Really?" he breathed. "At her age? That's incredible."

"Yeah, it is, isn't it? And that's why I'm considering it."

He nodded at that, curling his arm back around her and leaning forward to press a kiss to her temple. "You should probably figure out her name first," he whispered.

"Tsunade," Hiruzen greeted, setting down the paper he'd been studying and offering her a smile. "This is unexpected. Did something happen?"

"There's a Uchiha in the Academy. I need a name."

He raised his pipe to his lips, frowning. "You're going to need to be more specific."

She huffed. "Right. Okay. So there's this little girl that's been bugging me for the last week. Keeps asking me to apprentice her. I'm assuming she's in the Academy, though she looks . . . just barely old enough for it? Barely? Even then. I thought she was just being a ridiculous kid at first but—"

"Kyoko?"

Tsunade paused. "Kyoko." she repeated. "Is that her name?"

"If it's the one I'm thinking about. Tell me what happened."

"Right." She took a deep breath. "So she first approached me a week ago. I was with Dan, but she was clearly there for me. She asked me to apprentice her. I said no. She asked three more times. I said no each time. The fifth time she found me and asked, she— Well, she used iryo-ninjutsu."

"Iryo-ninjutsu. Hmm." He puffed on his pipe a couple more times before setting it aside so he could stand. He moved to a file cabinet and opened the top drawer. "Is this her?" he asked, taking out a folder. He opened it and unclipped the photo at the top, turning back to hold it out.

Tsunade took the picture to study it. It was definitely the same girl. The same long hair and blunt bangs. The same sharp, dark eyes. The same chubby face that showed that she really was just a child. "That's her."

Hiruzen chuckled, taking the photo back. He sat down again and set the file in front of him, open. "That's Kagami's daughter."

Tsunade straightened. "Really?"

He nodded. "She's proven herself to be quite something. Three months ago, she entered the Academy with a perfect entrance exam, barring her average score on the physical test. Which is understandable, given that she was four."

"She's four?"

"Five, now. And in three months alone, she's advanced to the final year. As of a week ago." He glanced over the file and then tapped it, looking back up at her. "When's the last time you saw her?"

"Yesterday. That's when I learned she can use iryo-chakra."

"I see. Her class is in session now." He got back to his feet and picked up his hat. As he put it on, he said, "Let's take a look at how she's doing. And afterwards, we could even go and speak with Kagami. Assuming, of course, that you are actually entertaining her apprenticeship request."

"I . . . am."

"Good. Come with me, then."

Tsunade accompanied him outside to the edge of the Academy training yard. There were several classes out there, working through cardio or kata or taijutsu sparring. Hiruzen gestured with his pipe. "There she is."

It only took Tsunade a second to see the girl. She was the smallest in the entire yard, let alone her class. She, like the rest her group, was going through a series of stretches. While her instructor was correcting the older student in front of her, Kyoko was holding the splits and tilting her head back to stare up at the sky. Then she straightened, shoulders dropping as she looked around. She twisted to look back at them, zeroing right in on Tsunade.

The sensei called for the class to gather and go back inside. But as they all got up, Kyoko hopped to her feet and headed straight for where the two of them were standing. When she reached them, she folded her hands behind her back and bowed. "Sandaime-sama." She then straightened and fixed her gaze on Tsunade. "I'd like to be—"

"My apprentice," Tsunade muttered. "Yeah, yeah, I know."

"Kyoko!" the teacher called from the Academy doors. "Do not bother the Hokage! Come inside!"

Kyoko didn't move for a split second. But then she nodded and turned on her heel, running to catch up with the others.

"She's stubborn," Tsunade said, crossing her arms.

He chuckled. "That's how she bullied Kagami into letting her into the Academy. Speaking of, are you ready to go see him?"

"She's been what?" Kagami asked, freezing.

"Asking me to apprentice her."

"She knows what she wants," Hiruzen pointed out. "You're spilling, Kagami."

"I'm—" Kagami jerked the kettle back. "Sorry," he mumbled, scrambling to clean up the over-poured tea. "I'm, I'm sorry that she's been bothering you. I had no idea."

"It's not been a bother."

Tsunade glanced at her sensei. "Well . . . it's been a little bit of a bother. But she's impressive. I wasn't planning to ever actually become a jonin sensei due to the time commitment alone, but this would be one student. An apprentice. And it looks like more than anything she just needs a little guidance, not micromanagement. I can handle that."

"Wait. Wait, wait, wait." Kagami leaned forward, glancing frantically between the two of them. "You're saying that like, like— She's five."

"She's brilliant," Hiruzen corrected. "And her newest sensei has already let me know that she's bored."

"She's been there a week."

"Isn't that amazing?"

"It's, it's terrible," Kagami croaked out.

Tsunade frowned. "Is . . . Kagami-san," she murmured. "Do you not want her to be a shinobi?"

"That's not it. It's . . . ." Kagami heaved a sigh. "She wants this. Clearly she does. But as soon as she's a shinobi, I can't protect her anymore. And she's five."

Tsunade sat back, nodding. That certainly seemed reasonable. Beside her, Hiruzen frowned and chewed on the end of his pipe. "She's stagnating," he said. "And I don't like to see a brilliant mind stagnating. You've let her move up twice already, Kagami. It's either now or the end of the year, at which point she might just be put on a team with two genin four years older than her and a sensei that has to pay attention to all three of them instead of just her."

Kagami looked from Hiruzen to Tsunade, picking at a scratch in the table. "You want to teach her?"

Tsunade nodded. "I do."