Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Who knew... ❯ 28. THE TIME HAS COME ( Chapter 28 )

28. THE TIME HAS COME

 

Asuka appeared in front of the Hokage, black Anbu clothing on.

 

The mask covered her face, and she wore the stretch, black long sleeved shirt under the armour. Her hair was tied in her usual high ponytail, but she had let her bangs covering her masked forehead; actually, she had had no time to style them properly. The katana hang on her back, and the knife on her side; she flipped her long hair back and bowed respectfully.

 

The kunoichi untied the knot behind her head and removed her white mask cat shaped. “Hokage-sama” she greeted, and the old man nodded from behind his desk.

 

She raised and looked at the chair in front of the Hokage's desk, and her heart skipped a beat.

 

She swallowed, and breathed with effort. “Ojii-san.” she said, nodding to her grandfather, who was sitting in front of the Sandaime.

 

Asuka tried not to look at the old Yoshizumi, as far as it was possible.

 

“Asuka-chan” Sarutobi began, looking deadly serious “I suppose that seeing your grandfather here troubles you. But his presence was necessary.”

“The time has come” her grandfather said.

 

`The time has come?' Asuka was worried. Anything dealing with her family, and especially with her grandfather, was a promise to nothing good.

 

“Hokage-sama…why did you summon me?” the girl asked. She was really, really worried. What could her family want from her, now? She had agreed to the goddamn wedding. And if they were trying to mend the tear in their family-relationship…well, it was time wasted. She was so lost in her thoughts, that she missed what the Hokage said. Shit. Pay attention, Asuka.

 

“Excuse me?” she said, looking at the Hokage, and paying attention to make her grandfather notice the particular care she was taking in ignoring him.

 

The Hokage spoke again “Asuka-chan. The council of your family has required you to leave to Kirigakure, the hidden village…”

 

“…of Mist?!? What the hell is going on here?! Why the fuck are you sending me to Mist?! In the country of Water?!” Asuka forgot everything about good manners and was overwhelmed by her rage.

 

“Asuka, do behave. You are in front of the Sandaime.” Her grandfather scolded her, as if she was the one to blame.

 

“I beg your pardon, Hokage-sama. But I am sure that you understand my anger.” She tried to breath calmly, and looked at her grandfather, who was sitting in the big chair in front of the Hokage and behaving as if he didn't really care to what she had to say. “First you want me married to the Uchiha, and now you are sending me miles away? Does that mean that you have a wicked plan to destroy my life?” the girl was panting.

 

“You are not going to be alone. There will be Ren with you.” Shin'ichi Yoshizumi added, as if Asuka had said nothing. “And you will be there as long as it's necessary to tame you and turn you into a good, well mannered, capable wife. Your behaviour is too irrational. Look at you now. You can't even hide the anger you feel. You are behaving like a little girl. No Anbu member would show their feelings so openly. You need to learn to be more calm.

 

It is tradition for the young girls of the Yoshizumi clan who are about to face an important, strategic wedding, to be sent to the best place where they will be taught to become beautiful, respectful and sophisticated women. You will be taught what a woman, a wife and a mother needs to know; also, in Kirigakure are some of the most appreciated geisha living. Yes Asuka, geisha. They know what a woman needs to know to please her man when dealing with circumstances that I am not going to explain, as it's not my place to tell you about that.

 

But we can't forget that you are the heir of the Yoshizumi clan, and the real heir of the Ishigan. You will be trained to be a powerful kunoichi, of course. We have learnt during your training that your favorite element is water. Kiri is the best place to learn water jutsus that in Konoha have never been seen.

 

We want you to be worth of Itachi. And put an end to that improper affair you have with that man, before the whole village thinks about the Yoshizumi heir as an easy girl.”

 

“SHIN'ICHI!” the Hokage exclaimed.

 

Asuka was now shaking, fists clutched, cheeks red with anger.

 

“An easy girl, ojii-san? Is that what you think of me?” she asked, voice as cold as ice. “That `man' has a name. He is Hatake Kakashi.”

 

The old man's eyes widened. “That…Hatake Kakashi?”

 

Asuka nodded, “Yes, ojii-san, that Hatake Kakashi. The Copy Nin. The son of Konoha's White Fang. And just to point at what you said about us having an affair…”

 

The Sandaime interrupted her. “Shin'ichi. Asuka. It's not to speak about your familiar intercourse you've been summoned here. Asuka” Sarutobi looked at the girl, who was showing off a cold, calm, collected face.

 

“Sumimasen, Hokage-sama” the Yoshizumi girl bowed lightly.

 

“Asuka, I am about to charge you with a most important mission. You are not obliged to accept, once I explained you in the details, but I am sure that you will find it intriguing.” The old man kept on talking, while Asuka nodded in understanding. “Yoshizumi-san, would you mind leaving the two of us alone? Only an elite member of the Anbu squad can listen to direct orders by the Hokage.”

 

Asuka's grandfather looked annoyed; he had no choice but to obey to the protocol. He stood up, bowed, and left. Without saying a word to Asuka.

 

“Don't pay attention to him, Asuka-chan; he's just a proud, old man, too bound to the traditions of his own clan. I know him since we were kids, and he has always been like that. I would say that his behaviour is quite…” he paused, looking for the right word.

”Uchiha-like?” Asuka suggested, not suppressing a grin.

 

The Hokage smiled heartily. “Precisely, Asuka-chan, Uchiha-like. The stubborn, fierce, strong and proud kind of man.”

 

“I know he is. But I don't see why ojii-san and the elders are trying so bad to hurt me…the wedding, I can understand. We are an important clan, and I sort of had to expect that. And coming to think of it, Itachi was a rather obvious choice. But…why…why am I to go to Kiri?” she had teary eyes; she hated to cry. It made her nervous. And the more she was nervous, the more she cried.

 

“Kirigakure…I really don't know why Kirigakure, Asuka-chan. what your grandfather said should explain a few things. But, if I have to be honest, and mind, Asuka-chan, I always am, regardless to the fact that the ones in front of me are Hyuugas, Uchihas, Aburames, or Yoshizumis, if I have to be honest, I think that he wants you to be far from Konoha. And I suppose that you living temporary with Kakashi bothers him immensely.” He cleared his throat. “Now, to come to the facts. When your grandfather came asking me to give you the papers to allow you leaving and going to Kiri, he also asked me to assign you to some mission of your rank in the village hidden in the Mist…what do you think about mukenin, Asuka-chan?”

 

“Mukenin…mukenin, as missing ninjas?” the girl asked.

 

“Yes.” Was the reply.

 

“That they are traitors. They are scum. They are criminals, and have to be eliminated.”

 

“Exactly what I was expecting of you. You know, you terribly looked like the child Kakashi, now.” He smiled, and seemed to be lost in the warmness of reminiscences.

 

“Why do you ask, Hokage-sama?”

 

“Because I assigned you to Kirigakure's Oinins.” The girl's eyes widened “Asuka-chan, you are now a Hunter ninja.”

 

“H…hai Hokage-sama” she bowed as she was taught to do. Uff. If she was to stay in that goddamn country, at least she had a good job to keep her mind off her…geisha training. Oh god.

 

“You will still be a Konoha kunoichi…we are sort of lending you to Kiri, as a guarantee of their intentions to maintain…a good behaviour. It is an important step in the diplomatic solution of the tension between the country of Fire and the country of Water. We will show them that we trust them, and that we are ready to help them and cooperate with them. This is like…your first diplomatic mission, too.

 

You will represent Konoha, in everything you do. You do wrong, Konoha does wrong; you succeed, Konoha succeeds.

 

Just remember, Asuka, you may find it hard to have your new comrades' full trust; because you are a stranger to them, and because you are very, very young. Prove them wrong; help them, be close to them, and be brave and wise in battle. Treat them as comrades, and as friends. You perfectly know that the team work is vital for shinobis.

 

I know you will suit this task perfectly.” Sarutobi had his elbows on the desk, and his fingers entwined.

 

He moved, and took a box from a drawer of his desk. “This is yours, Asuka-chan.” the old man said, and opened it, revealing its content.

 

What was wrong with her old hitai-ate? The girl took her new forehead protector and studied it carefully. Oh.

In the lucid metal bar in the middle of it, was carved the leaf symbol of Konohagakure, as usual; but what made her hitai-ate different were the small lines in shape of drops, symbolising Kiri. The fabric was soft, but surely very resistant, and it was black like the Anbu suit.

 

“Ren has it, too. We thought that you should have an hitai-ate more similar to theirs, as you can't have the Kiri one. You are both still registered as Konoha shinobis.”

 

“Arigato, Hokage-sama. But…I have a few questions. On details that nor you neither my grandfather mentioned. For example…when? How long?” Asuka needed to know. If her grandfather wanted to exile her, she wanted at least to know if Ren could be…well, saved, and stay in Konoha. She didn't want him to leave everything for the elders' will to follow her.

 

“You are leaving tomorrow, Asuka-chan. And I want you to be ready by nightfall.” Sarutobi could see that the girl's eyes suddenly darkened, and he could read the panic in all her features. He couldn't help but feel sorry for this girl, whose only mistake was to be born in a clan like the Yoshizumi. “Tomorrow, or the next day, in the worst scenario possible. It takes time to have two documents for Kiri perfectly filled. And about the length of the mission…well, your grandfather wanted you to be gone for five years, so that you would come in time for you to become of legal age, and…”

 

“…and marry the Uchiha. Awesome, they really thought about everything.” She spat out, bitterly.

`I can't be leaving tomorrow. I have too many things to do. I have too many important problems to settle. Kuso. Why didn't I pointed that out to the Hokage? I am an idiot. Idiot idiot idiot.' She thought, cursing herself mentally.

 

“Asuka, I want to let you know that I am doing everything in my power to reduce this sort of exile; I know I can't do much, because it is an internal decision taken by the Yoshizumi elders, and I have not the right to interfere. But as the Hokage, I care about every single child of Konoha. And you happen to be one.” The old man had left the desk, and was now in front of the girl.

 

“Arigato, Hokage-sama.” Asuka managed to say.

 

“May I…may I ask one more question? Before I accept, I mean” she said.

 

“Oh, so you are going to accept? Of course, Asuka-chan. Ask me anything.” the old man nodded.

 

“Can't you do something…for Ren? I don't want him to be forced to follow me.” She said, praying that for her cousin there was still hope. He wanted to become a Medic nin. and she didn't think that would be possible, away from Konoha.

 

The old man smiled “Your cousin really loves you, Asuka-chan. Ren was the one who asked to accompany you in this…mission.”

 

“Ren…what?” Asuka was speechless. She would beat the boy badly for that. The idiot! But oh, how happy she was that he would be with her.

 

“In Kiri are some of the finest Medic ninjas, and some healers that practice jutsus unknown even to the great Tsunade-hime.” The old man added. “You may leave.”

 

Asuka nodded, and left.