The Memory Keeper (Naruto Fanfic)

Chapter Four- Meeting Hokage-sama

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DISCLAIMER: I don't own Naruto. Woe is me):

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Now, back at the market, I'm purchasing some food. I grab a carton of milk, a loaf of bread, some tea, rice, and a small container of butter. I also get some instant ramen and a box of cookies (I had a major sweet tooth, though I could barely stand to have anything sweet anymore). I pay for them at the counter and then exit the store, carrying my bags.

I get back to my apartment quickly. I unload the groceries and begin to boil water for tea. As I wait patiently, leaning against the counter, there's a knock on my door. I briefly wonder who it was. When I open the door, a chunin is there.

"Yes?" I inquire curiously.

"Are you Kimiko Kioku?" He questions.

"Yes," I tell him, frowning fractionally. I was a bit suspicious as to what was going on.

"I'm a chunin, sent by the Hokage to retrieve you. He requests your presence at his office promptly," he tells me.

"Just give me a moment to slip some shoes on," I respond and, once he nods, I disappear inside of my house to get my shoes. As I pass the kitchen, I duck inside to turn the stove off. I slip my shoes on and then walk to my door, stepping outside. The chunin is waiting patiently for me. I lock my door with my house key and slide it into my pocket; some people might be willing to leave their doors unlocked, but I was not going to take that chance.

We arrive at the Hokage tower in about fifteen minutes. The unnamed chunin leads me to the Hokage's offic. When we reach the door, he knocks quickly and I stand to the side. After a brief moment, there's a voice from within that calls 'come in', and the chunin opens the door and gestures me in. I step in, glancing around the Hokage's office.

He's sitting at his desk, writing away on a paper. The chunin doesn't come in; instead, he closes the door behind me, leaving me alone with the Hokage. Without looking up from his papers, he gestures for me to sit down. I do so, not showing a single bit of fear or uncertainty. I was a Kioku, after all. What'd you expect?

We sit in silence for a few moments. The only noise is the sound of his pen scratching against the paper. I can feel my heart thudding painfully in my chest.

Finally, he sits back. I had only seen the Hokage once or twice, only spoken to him twice, the second time only briefly. Even then, in those little flashes and that short little meeting, he had left a powerful impression upon me. He was stoic, as shinobi must be. He had been wearing the formal Hokage clothes, complete with hat. Now, however, he only had the robes on. All in all, though, he gave me more motivation to become an extremely powerful ninja.

He rocks back in his chair, studying me. I felt as if I was on display under his scrutinous gaze.

"Kimiko Kioku, one of two survivors of the Kioku clan... please explain how you came to this point. I need to know everything," he tells me, and I realize just how serious he is.

I nod. "Yes, Hokage-sama."

I explain everything to him, just as I had told Kakashi-sensei. After I'm finished with my whole story, he looks very thoughtful. I take this chance to let my gaze wander around his office, soaking in every single, itty-bitty detail. It took me all of forty seconds to observe every inch of it, and I could even tell you the titles of all the books on his shelves, the names of the maps pinned on the walls, literally everything. Even after, I'm waiting for Hokage-sama to respond, to do anything besides staring thoughtfully into space at a blank spot on his desk. What feels like hours later but is really only the space of seconds, he finally breaks the silence by saying, "Interesting."

"Pardon me, Hokage-sama?" I question. I felt as if it was the word that least described this situation. But, perhaps to fresh eyes it was, in fact, interesting.

"Interesting," he repeats, a bit louder. His gaze snaps to me, his eyes boring into mine. "Is there any advice you can offer to me in order to help us locate your brother?"

I almost bite my lip. I understood his mention of an 'us', implying there would be many more people involved in this situation that what I would prefer. However, this was no longer in my control. So I pushed my feelings aside and, after, swallowing a bit hard, I tell him.

"I believe he definitely would not remain in Konoha. He'd go somewhere he wouldn't easily be noticed, such as a larger city. He'd also like change his appearance and name, whether drastically or not. He'd alter his personality as well, to more easily be in full hiding," I finish, taking a deep breath. I hadn't paused much.

Hokage-sama stands, gesturing for me to follow him. I stand as well, and follow him to his wall of maps. Some are old, some are new, some are of the Fire country and some are of other places. He points to a specific one, and I study it carefully. It was of the Fire country and surrounding areas, bigger cities labeled with a few facts about each (such as population, population density, that sort of stuff) and significant landmarks, like rivers or mountains, labeled.

"Please, indicate any areas or cities you believe he would go," he requests, and I nod. I take into consideration all of the factors of each area, and then rattle off the list of potential places. He nods with each one, marking each city or area I listed with a small red tack from a little wooden box resting upon a nearby shelf.

Once done, I apologize to him, explaining he could be any of these places and that I was sorry about not being able to narrow it down anymore. He simply waves me off, telling me that I provided helpful information and now they at least knew where to start.

"Unless you have any other concerns, you may leave now," he says as he's leading me to the door, a surprising kindness coloring his tone. I feel a rush of gratefulness at his words. He cared. I wasn't too used to that, so it came as a sort of surprise. I suppose that, possibly, this shouldn't have surprised me.

A sudden revelation occurs to me. People cared about me. I could list three of them, off the top of my head- Kakashi-sensei, Naruto, and now, Hokage-sama. Nearly overcome with emotion, I bow respectfully towards him. "Thank you, Hokage-sama," I tell him.

He gives me a kind smile. "You're welcome, Kimiko-san."

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After leaving Hokage-sama's office, I quickly become naseous. Before I even realize it, I'm ducking into an alleyway, puking my guts out. There isn't much to throw up, but I'm crouched on my knees amidst crystalline shards of broken glass and dirt dry heaving into some sparse bushes for a few minutes. As my stomach finally settles down, I stumble to my feet. Although I don't really want to admit it, I certainly did not compose myself with grace and poise as I walked out of the dark alleyway like I didn't just totally vomit in the bushes. Rather, I slouched out of the alleyway and towards my apartment with dust on my knees and a blank face.

Inside, my mind was racing with all of the new information I had to intake. Not only was I worried about my slowly plummeting health, but I was also caught up in becoming a genin and finding my missing brother.

Yeah, I had a lot going on.

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Ta-da, chapter four. Vote, comment, fan, all that good stuff!