I stood at the doorframe, hand still on the doorknob with mouth agape in actual shock. So shocked that I felt like my brain short circuited. On the other side of the doorframe was an old man with red-white robe and re…
... It’s the Third Hokage, okay? Nuff said.
As he smiled when he looked at me, my brain restarted and amped up to maximum capacity in an instant. Next, my body finally reconnected to my brain and immediately, I mustered the most excited expression possible on my face.
“Hokage-sama!”
His smile widens at my excitement. “Good afternoon, Takeshi-kun. I hope I’m not intruding on your time?”
“No, no, not at all! Ah, please come in!” I said still in excited voice as I ushered the old man inside, closed the door, and followed inside.
“Please have a seat. Would you like some tea, Hokage-sama?” I asked as I went to the kitchen after made sure the old man already seated.
“Just water is fine, Takeshi-kun. I can’t stay for long and I hope to talk a bit with you. Also, you don’t need to be so stiff with me here.”
Alright, that’s the cue to stop the high excitement act. Time for a wee bit of nervous act. “Underst… I mean, got it, Hokage-sama.” I said as I went to fetch a couple cups of water then went to sit across the Hokage after I put the cups down.
He took a sip from the cup as I took a big gulp before starting the conversation. “How are you doing, Takeshi-kun? Have you adjusted to living on your own for the past night?”
“I’ve been doing well, Hokage-sama. Even if I lived alone in this house, there are neighbours who have been helping me all this time. Not to mention the orphanage staffs and some of the shop owners also just came earlier to check on me.”
Argh, I wanted to say that some neighbours have also visited earlier. I guess this nervousness are not entirely an act, huh?
Nonetheless, the Hokage gave me a warm smile after hearing my answer. Probably because how quite Will-of-Fire-esque it was.
“Ah, I’m so happy to hear that. I hope you could treasure such bonds in your heart, Takeshi-kun.”
“I will, Hokage-sama.” I answered as I nodded. Sigh… First time meeting and he already preaching.
“Now, what are you planning to do from now on, Takeshi-kun? After all, you have almost two years before you can be enrolled.”
“For now, I just want to read the books that my parent left behind, Hokage-sama. I don’t have time to do it in the orphanage, so I have always wanted to read it now that I have moved out.”
Hiruzen nodded along to my explanation while occasionally humming like he’s in agreement. He then looked at me and asked, “If it’s okay, Takeshi-kun, may I take a look at those books?”
“Of course, Hokage-sama.” NOT!!!
Outwardly, I stood up looking all cheerful and went to the study half running to pick up the books. Inwardly, I was panicking. I was genuinely afraid he would confiscate all the books that my parents left behind.
To be honest, there were whispers in my mind for a split second back then to not telling Hiruzen about the books. But to do that, I need to tell him another story of what I’ve been planning to do while waiting for the academy.
A story that I haven’t prepared at all.
I mean, even if I have, I will think six to seven times before using it. This is THE Third Hokage who has been in office for decades and been through every Great Ninja War since village founding. I don’t think I could tell him any lie and get away with it, considering I’m not much of a schemer even in my past life.
What? I should have told him that I simply wanted to train? ‘How do you plan to train, Takeshi-kun?’, is what I’d imagined he would ask back. Then I could just say ‘by running a lot’, but the most honest answer for that question would be ‘by following what my parents says in the book’.
Because going by the titles, that is what the books were about: a training guide of sort. And I don’t know what’s the village attitude to individual ownership of such books. Sure, most if not all of those books’ titles screamed basic, so there’s hope.
Sigh…. This is not looking good, isn’t it? My hands kept moving to tidy up the books while my mind was running at the speed of light, trying to find a way to salvage the situation.
But with no solution comes to mind, even after I stacked all the books to bring it back to the dining room, I can only make another internal sigh and let nature take its course while hoping to avoid the worst. With that in mind, I brought the book to the dining table where Hiruzen awaits.
“HRRRRRNG!!!”
… Or I would, if I could lift the stack of books in the first place.
“Stop doing that, Takeshi-kun! You could hurt yourself!”
Maybe because he heard me grunting, Hiruzen ended up rushing to the study. I did as I told and stop trying to lift the book stack. After letting out a long breath, I turned to him while scratching the back of my head while chuckling awkwardly.
“I’m sorry, Hokage-sama. The books were so heavy.”
Hiruzen smiled at my little antics. “So I see, Takeshi-kun. Here, let me carry the books. You go back ahead to the dining room.”
I nodded to his suggestion. And after I see Hiruzen lifting up the books stack, I went ahead to the dining room then sit across the chair where Hiruzen had been sitting. Immediately after, Hiruzen also took a seat after putting down the books.
Hiruzen then picked one book from the very top of the stack. He skimmed the book for a bit and put it on the table beside the stack. Then he repeated the process for every book on the stack, making a new stack in the process.
While that was going on, I acted like I didn’t know what to do by looking around the room. To my knowledge, that was a pretty normal act for a child my age. Whether I acted or genuinely didn’t know what to do can be left to imagination.
Hiruzen skimmed all the books in two or three-minutes tops. After he finished, he looked at me while I took another gulp from my cup. Seeing him looking at me, I put down my cup as he took a breath. Here goes…
“Takeshi-kun…” he started gently. “Do you want to be a ninja?”
“Of course I do, Hokage-sama!”, I replied instinctively while questions arose in my mind.
Prime among which were; where does this go? At least he gave me a warm smile after I said that, so it should still be the correct reply.
I mean, was there any other option?
“Then this book will surely help you, Takeshi-kun. Make sure you treasure it by reading all of it properly. Although I have to ask you not to share this to anyone else. Is that okay?” he asked with a hint of seriousness not seen before.
Is that all, I wonder?
“Of course I will, Hokage-sama. It is, after all, a memento that my parents left for me. As for sharing it, I’m scared that other people will ruin the book so I have told no one else about this book.” I replied as I adjusted my sunglasses slightly.
The gesture was not unnoticed by Hiruzen, judging by the apologetic look that appeared on his face. So he knew… that’s good. If that apologetic look was genuine, then I should be relatively safe from Danzo’s clutch.
Relative to an Uchiha, that is.
“I’m so sorry about what happened at the orphanage, Takeshi-kun. I hope you can… be lenient of what other children has done to you back then.” Hiruzen spoke softly while keeping his eyes on me.
I shook my head at that. “I have let it go, Hokage-sama. Besides, I think the adult who made the comment that my eyes are “of the devil” a couple of years ago was at fault. Without it, none of it would happen.”
I then smiled and continued, “Also, I would not have come this far if not for that incident. I also found how much the staffs actually cares because of it.”
I can see his shoulder sagged just a littlest bit further when he first heard my reply. Though he seemed to perk up when he heard the last two sentences. Yeah, that was deliberate. Another Will-of-Fire-esque answer that surely would please him.
“Ah, you have such a wonderful heart, Takeshi-kun. Hashira and Tamako will be so proud of you.” Hiruzen said softly as his gaze became warmer. Alright, this should be the real Sarutobi Hiruzen the Third Hokage. The character fits of what I remember from the series.
That was another thought which popped out of my mind while tidying up the books: was it the real Sarutobi Hiruzen that’s currently in the dining room? What if he was an impostor with a henge? What if the person under that henge turns out to be Shimura Danzo?
Of course, I tried my very best to bury that thought. I don’t want to ended up being so nervous that made Hiruzen or whoever henge’d as him getting suspicious. Thankfully, it seems like I can cast that worry aside.
… Phew.
Note
And that's the first dialogue I've ever wrote! Also if you've noticed, the chapter ended without the talking actually ended. Unfortunately this will be a recurring thing going forward. I somehow getting real anxiety if a chapter hasn't finished even though it's already reached certain amount of word-count. Longer than that, and I will split it. Definitely not a good habit, but for now that's just my limitation. Hope that's okay.