Ibiki Morino was completely impassive.
"So..." said the Hokage. "Naruto Uzumaki. Who is hated irrationally by many and snubbed and ignored. Who certain members of the Council want to be raised and treated as a dispassionate weapon. Who has grown up an orphan living on a stipend."
Ibiki nodded.
"Has several petitions to be his clan retainers," considered the Hokage.
Ibiki nodded again.
"I think there is some property lying unclaimed," mused the Hokage absently.
Ibiki felt he should make a point here. "This will make certain members of the Council very unhappy."
"Done!" declared the Hokage. "With a probationary period for all involved, checking in with your office periodically, and the usual hurdles to clear."
"ALL of them?" asked Ibiki.
The Hokage took a deep drag of his pipe and let it out as smoke rings before replying. "Just keep a special eye on that kunoichi squad. Their story might be faked."
Ibiki snorted. "Doubtful. Everything checked out, even under Yamanaka-assisted probes. Several of them volunteered for it if they could get food. Severe malnutrition and other physical signs that bear out their story. I'd keep an eye on all of them anyway though."
"True," said the Hokage. "Any of them promising?"
"Depends on what kind of promise you're looking for," said Ibiki with a smirk made more gruesome by his scars.
"So where be the young Lord?" asked Cayenne.
"I was expecting him by now," said Strago.
"Uhm, excuse me?" asked a little boy.
"Oh, hello, kid," said Strago, nodding at the child and then stroking his beard. "I suppose he could be busy with some powerful fuuinjutsu experiment. I remember one time with one of the Uzumaki scribe-masters..."
"Do you suppose he'll be handsome?" asked one of the little girls.
"Like a prince?" asked another little girl.
"Hey," said the little boy.
"Go away, we're waiting for our prince," declared one of the little girls. "He'll at least have the Uzumaki red hair, and that means they're passionate!"
The ten year old boy cleared his throat. "Uhm. I'm Naruto Uzumaki."
Dead silence.
"You're blonde," said the little girl who'd spoken of waiting for a prince.
"Yeah, so?" asked the little boy.
"Well, this isn't the most auspicious of meetings," said Strago after a very awkward pause. "I am Strago Magus. I am an expert on various ninjutsu, specializing in my own particular form - Blue Jutsu."
"'Blue'?" asked Naruto.
"It is a kekkei genkai, a bloodline ability of the Magus family," said Strago proudly. "When someone uses a jutsu against us, we can learn the jutsu."
"Sometimes, elemental affinities and chakra capacities and such not withstanding," said one of the women. She looked tough somehow, no-nonsense, and somehow gave Naruto the impression she'd taken her sense of humor and strangled it in some back alley somewhere. "My name is Claire Farron, but everyone calls me Lightning."
The big man in armor pointed at Naruto and glanced towards one of the masked ANBU watching them. "Uhm. Is he really the Uzumaki fuuinjutsu expert? The heir? Thou dost not jest?"
That ANBU nodded.
The armored man sighed, before sinking to one knee. "I be Cayenne Garamonde, young lord, though oft am I called Cyan. Last of mine line, sword-master, samurai, and warrior."
"Oh?" asked Naruto.
"Relm Arrowny," piped up a VERY little girl. "Pleased ta meetcha."
"Yang Fang Leiden," announced a big muscular guy with an enormous moustache, slapping his chest with one hand. "Taijutsu specialist!"
"Ursula," said a younger woman with a flower in her hair and wearing a slit-sided dress.
"Shadou," said the man in the back, inclining his head slightly towards Naruto, then to the side where his dog lay panting in the noon warmth. "Interceptor."
The young girl who'd stated he couldn't be her prince just continued to stare and twitch every so often.
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(Posted Sat, 24 Sep 2011 16:55)
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