The Red Maelstrom

[1] Siblings

6 years later

Kohana nervously twirled a lock of her red hair as she approached the Hokage's office. She was called there for a reason she almost didn't want to know. When she heard of the news, she had asked if she was in trouble or anything, a little paranoid after a minor conflict she'd had with another child who picked on Naruto. Again.

As a response, the messenger had just shrugged his shoulders, stating that he was "just a messenger".  Whatever; it wasn't like there were any serious injuries involved. It wasn't worth telling the Third... maybe.

Swallowing, she reached the old man's office and knocked. As she waited, she started twirling her long hair faster and faster anxiously upon hearing the faint voice of the Hokage from the other side of the door.

"Come in."

Taking a deep breath, Kohana entered and shut the door behind her. She took her time approaching the Hokage, who was smoking his pipe, as always. Kohana flinched, remembering her manners before bowing. "Good morning... Hokage-sama." 

Sarutobi Hiruzen made a small sound of surprise as he raised his head. Oddly enough, he did not seem as though he was ready to give her a talking to. In fact, he appeared to be in a pretty mild mood, so Kohana allowed herself to hope just a little bit and ease her nerves. 

Hiruzen gave the young Uzumaki a close-eyed smile. His face was as kind as ever, a stark contrast to the usual stern countenance that would surface once assumed a stance of authority. Every wrinkle spoke of years of wisdom and despite his stature and power, he looked to be  just like any other loving grandfather. "Hello, Kohana," he greeted warmly.

Kohana looked away and shuffled her feet nervously. Just because the Hokage didn't seem angry didn't mean she was off the hook. "You needed something... Old Man?" 

Hiruzen smiled at the nickname. "I have something important to tell you..." he paused to look her over, then smiled reassuringly. "Don't worry, you're not in trouble."

His eyebrows rose when Kohana let out a heavy breath and slumped her shoulders with relief. However, upon realizing her obvious response, the girl's body stiffened yet again. 

"Did you do something again, Kohana?" he asked, only mildly wary and mostly amused.

Kohana glanced at the Hokage sheepishly. "I kind of... got into a fight... again."

A sigh. "Is this about Naruto? Perhaps your hair?"

"Both, but mostly Naruto... it was worse for him so... I almost went all out, but I didn't cause fatal injuries y'know!" she added quickly. 

"I understand how you want to protect Naruto... but as I've said many times before, try to ignore the children instead of threatening them or hurting them. You are already twelve years of age; you should know better."

"Fine..." she answered with a sigh. Now that that was over with, Kohana could easily steer the topic away from her most recent misdemeanor. "But what do you really want to talk about?" she asked.

The calm look on the Hokage's face turned into a much solemn one. "Please keep in mind that whatever I tell you stays in this room."

Kohana bit her lip, holding herself back from tapping her foot against the floorboards. The nerves are almost back in full force, but acting impatient would be too disrespectful... even for her. So instead, she settled for moving her arms behind her back and tugging at a lock of her hair. 

"It's about you and Naruto."

Kohana gasped exaggeratedly and decided to make a joke. "Don't tell me I'm his sister!"