The Last Rose (Naruto Fanfic)

The Beginning

Lord Hiruzen Sarutobi had been through much in his life. He'd seen death, seen life. He'd seen young children become monsters. And he'd seen them become Gods. He'd been taught by the two greatest Shinobi of their time—perhaps of all time. He himself had fought in wars, been drenched in blood, more often his own than nought. He'd known the sharp pain of death, the bitter tang of betrayal. But he also knew the joy in love, and the triumph in victory.

And though it couldn't be denied that Hiruzen had many faults, he was somehow made Tobirama's successor and the Third Hokage of the Village Hidden in the Leaves when he was only twenty-two years old. He was happy then. He had gotten married, had a few children, a team of his own. And even when the Third Great Ninja War began, he had led his village to victory.

And then his own student spat in his face and turned his back on the village.

Orochimaru had never been a saint, that much was clear, but Hiruzen had never imagined—had never even in his wildest dreams believed that he would have done what he had done. He had truly believed that Orochimaru, like all Leaf Village Ninja, had the Will of Fire within him, or would, at least, would develop it with time. It had broken his heart to have Orochimaru's face on the Bingo Book. He couldn't even protect his own student from the darkness within him, couldn't even do a simple thing like that, so how could you continue to bear the responsibility of an entire village?

And so, Hiruzen had laid down his title, to a young man by the name of Minato Namikaze.

He had enjoyed his time away from the position, finally able to enjoy the beauties of the Leaf Village from within. He spent his days at home, with his family, or out and about the Village, beautifying the simplest things.

And then The Fourth Hokage laid down his life for the Village, and Hiruzen was asked to serve once more.

Much had happened since then, but the pain and guilt inside of him, never truly went away. He was usually up to his nose with paperwork in his office, and he was grateful for the constant distractions. But every time something came up with Orochimaru's work written all over it, he couldn't help but feel guilty. Like it was his fault. It was his fault. He had been an incompetent teacher.

And that's why, when Kakashi and Gai returned from their mission with a small girl and her mother in tow, he felt compelled to beg them for their forgiveness.

According to the report Kakashi was giving him now, their village was completely massacred and Orochimaru had been spotted looming over the child. They had only just managed to save her and her mother from his clutches, and had rushed them to the hospital, where they were treated for their wounds.

"Lord Third," Kakashi said now from where he stood near the hospital bed where the small girl lay, asleep.

"Were there no other survivors?" Hiruzen asked, unable to tear his eyes away from the child, no older than six years old.

"I'm afraid not." Came Kakashi's reply. "Fourtently, it looks like her mother will make it. So she's not completely alone."

Gai ran a hand down his face. "If only we arrived a little bit earlier..."

The mission request had come in anonymously, an Orochimaru sighting just at the border of the Land of Fire and the Land of Wind. Hiruzen had sent Kakashi and Gai as soon as he heard, but it had taken them two days to arrive. He knew that there was little chance that they would actually come in contact with Orochimaru themselves, and so he had classified the mission as an A rank, only to gather information and return.

He hadn't expected this.

"What will you do?" Kakashi asked now, hands in his pockets. "The kid looks old enough to enroll in the academy, but there's no telling what connection she has to Orochimaru. It doesn't look like he tried very hard to injure her, which is strange considering how he slaughtered everyone else. It's only by a stroke of luck that her mother survived."

"Yes, you're right as usual, Kakashi." Hiruzen held his pounding head. "I know first hand that children, however young, can be very dangerous."

"That's just crazy." Gai muttered. "Look at how small she is! I don't think that she'd be able to do much damage, even if she was in league with the likes of Orochimaru."

Hiruzen clasped his hands together, deep in thought. "For starters, as soon as the mother wakes up, I will offer them citizenship for the Leaf Village. We will begin preparing a home for them. I will assign a group of Anbu Black ops to keep a careful eye on them until further notice. That is the best we can do for now."

And that was how young Sora Ichihara found herself in the Leaf Village. A survivor of a massacre. A vessel of a power even she didn't know how to control. An experiment, but also just a child.

A child who would one day be the ruin or the savior of the very village that embraced her.

Edited: 01/27/2022