The Sandaime sighed. The ever present war he conducted against the paperwork that was the bane of his existence was not going well. For every form that he completed, three more seemed to appear, and the reports He privately suspected that they were breeding somewhere deep in the recesses of the piles that infested his desk.
As he finished reading the current report, he was torn between the urge to frown and chuckle. He really needed to rein in Naruto's pranks, but you had to respect the talent it took to prank the ANBU. It was amazing what he could do with glue, feathers, a pound of extra-hot chili powder, and a three dachshunds. At least he hadn't done anything truly outrageous, like painting the Hokage's monument. Sarutobi supposed it was only a matter of time.
As he continued to contemplate just what punishment was warranted by Naruto's latest escapade, a circle of bright light appeared on the floor before his desk. He only had time to flip the switch to summon the guards outside his door before three children, a boy and two girls, appeared in the middle of his office. It was a few seconds before the guards responded, and in that time, the children seemed to be taking in the room they had appeared in.
One of the girls, clad in a purple outfit, spoke up. “Are you sure that we're in the right place, Prince? I was picturing something a bit more... ninja-like. Not book shelves and wooden paneling.”
The boy looked offended. “Of course we're in the right place! Do you dare to question the great Laharl?” His voice moderated a bit, however as he continued. “Still, you're right. I was expecting something more impressive from the leader of ninja. Not paperwork.” He waved his hand at the desk.
The other girl looked around, a bright expression on her face. “Now, now, you two. This looks a lot like your office, Laharl.” A slight frown passed over her features briefly. “Except being neater and the piles of paperwork being a lot smaller.”
Normally, by this time, intruders to the Hokage's office would have been subdued, and rushed off to interrogation, especially if they had not tripped any of the sensors and traps designed to prevent such an occurrence. And even if the two guards had failed to do so, the ANBU office was just down the hall, and it was not for nothing that the Hokage was known as the strongest ninja in Konohagakure. Normal did not describe the current situation. The defense plans did not include the appearance out of thin air of several children who then proceeded to comment on the décor. It was enough to surprise both the guards and even the Sandaime himself, and this was saying something, as ninja who were easy to surprise did not tend to live long enough to make chûnin.
The Sandaime was the first to recover. With a sightly bemused expression on his face, he took in the intruders more closely. While at first glance they appeared to be human children, both their clothing and small hints about each of them suggested otherwise. The ears of all three were slightly pointed, and there were small bat wings on both of the girl's backs. Still, they did not seem to be a threat. Putting aside their sudden appearance, nothing about them suggested that they were ninja trained, and they did not appear to be holding any weapons. With a slightly bemused expression on his face, he said, “Excuse me, but this IS my office that you are discussing. I'm sorry that it does not meet with your approval. Now, what is this about?”
Laharl seemed to take note of the man for the first time. He looked him in the eye, and said, “Well, old man, I've got a deal for you. This is a ninja village, right?” Seeing Sarutobi's slight nod, he continued. “Well, I've got a student for you.” He waved a hand at the girl in the white dress. “Flonne here needs training to become a ninja, and I've picked you guys to give it to her.”
Ordinarily, Sarutobi would have rejected the demand out of hand. There was something about the boy, however, that told him that he would be wise to consider his next words carefully. He still did not appear to be a threat, but the more the Sandaime observed him, the more something in the back of his mind was warning him that there was something familiar and dangerous about this boy. Then, too, the expression on Flonne's face was both so open and so hopeful, that he was loathe to disappoint her. He temporized. “And what would we get out of allowing this? Normally, we would not accept someone older than 8 to the academy, and certainly not someone from outside our village.”
Laharl's smile widened slightly. “You mean besides staying on my good side?” He flicked something at Sarutobi, which the man caught easily. It was a golden coin, weighing at least two ounces. “Only ten thousand of those.”
Flonne stepped forward. “There is also this, sir.” She handed him a piece of paper, with familiar writing above a strange spidery script, which resembled somewhat the writing used in seals and summoning contracts. He rapidly scanned the readable text, which appeared to be a contract to guarantee the good behavior and service of this Flonne for 10 years time, and a promise to leave the village in peace for a hundred years thereafter, in exchange for training her in the ways of the ninja.
“Well, old man, do we have a deal?”
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(Posted Mon, 03 Dec 2007 06:15)
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