"Mika-chaaan ~ Look, look! The cherry blossoms are blooming!"

It was a pleasant memory that Mikage woke up to, the scene before her eyes an exact replica of one many years ago. She could still vividly remember that morning, waking to the sound of her sister's excited call, lilac eyes sleepily blinking themselves open to scan the room for her twin. The white sheets were pooled around her, a noticeably empty dip in the bed next to her where her sister would normally occupy. Her sister, wearing a simple red nightgown - not unlike the one Mikage herself wore, with the only difference being the color of fabric - stood on tiptoes to peer out the window into the garden. Even without seeing her sister's face, Mikage had already known what sort of expression her twin wore, a bright smile coupled with wide, awe-filled eyes, the exact same shade of lilac. It was when Misaki turned back to once more to call to Mikage that the silver-haired child had slipped out of the bed, inaudible footsteps making their way over to the window to see what her sister was so eager to share.

The sight had been as beautiful as Misaki made it out to be; the brilliant sight of gentle pink and white flowers resting on the trees made the world beyond the window seem almost ethreal, too perfect to be true. Misaki had then taken ahold of Mikage's hand, the sisters abandoning the comfort of their shared room in favour of racing outside, barefoot and lightly dressed, to frolic between the trees. She could remember how the flowers had so flawlessly complimented her sister's black hair, how Mikage herself had run slim fingers through her own white hair with a feeling she could not identify at the time. The feeling of envy.

--

The young kunoichi couldn't quite remember how she had gotten here in the first place. She was used to constantly awakening in unfamiliar surroundings, always travelling from place to place to satisfy her wanderlust, but most places usually involved a bed of some form. The thick tree branch supporting her weight could hardly be considered a bed. A tree. She was in a tree. A soft laugh escaped her, amused at her own sillyness to have slept through the entire night on a tree somewhere in the village of Konoha. Swinging her legs over the branch and using the momentum to pull the rest of her body into a sitting position, her lilac-eyed gaze began scanning the area, trying to make sense of her surroundings. This was ... ah, that's right. The little park behind the Academy, where she was been wandering around the night before. It must've been nearly midday, judging by the amount of sunlight streaming between the trees, but that was of no particular concern to Mikage. She never really gave herself an agenda of any sort most of the time, used to doing whatever she wanted, whenever she wanted. Spotting her rabbit plushie on the ground, she was ready to hop off the branch to pick it up when the appearance of two girls across the clearing of the Academy playground caught her attention. They were walking towards her, yet caught up in a heated conversation, not at all aware that Mikage was sitting in a tree close by. The snippets of conversation became clearer as they got closer, and a curious Mikage couldn't help but listen in.

"... always like this! I'm a genin now, I don't have time to babysit you!" The older girl was doing most of the talking, yelling without any restrait at the smaller girl, who appeared to be crying and repeatedly apologizing. A prickle of pain shot through Mikage's hand, but she paid no notice to the fact that her fists were clenched tightly, too intent on hearing the rest of what was being said. "You're an Academy pupil now! Take care of yourself, I don't care who pushed you, or whatever it is this time! ... I hate you!"

"I wish I didn't have a sister like you! I wish you never existed!"

Wished ... that she never existed? No. Nonono. No, that can't right. These weren't her sister's words. Lies, all of them. This wasn't true. Her sister loved her.

There was some part of Mikage's mind, a tiny rational portion, that whispered rational words. That this was someone else's business, a conversation between strangers unrelated to her. But it was as though something had snapped, a dam that had been obliterated to allow a flood of messy, irrational thoughts, swirling in a spiral of madness that created the manifestation of words that never existed, but words that she feared all her life. Mikage wasn't sure when she had jumped off the tree, or when she had closed the distance between herself and the quarreling siblings. All she knew was that at one moment, she was lost in her own thoughts, amd the next, her fist had connected with something. An arm, thrown up just in time to protect the face. People were screaming. But who? The older girl, who she just attacked? The younger girl, who had stumbled back in shock and was now sitting on the ground? No, there was one other person. She was screaming as well. Screaming words that were barely comprehensible.

"Lying! You're lying! Liar liar liar LIAR. ONEE-CHAN WOULD NEVER SAY THAT."

Thr older girl would attempt to move out of the way, to get to her sister and escape from their unprovoked attacker, but Mikage lashed out again, an open palm thrust into the girl's abdomen that would push her back and into the ground, leaving her winded and bruised. If uninterrupted, Mikage would continue to advance aggressively, reaching for the girl's hair to shake her, with the intention of forcing her to admit that she was 'lying'. Although lacking in power to force fatal injuries in a few hits, if unrestrained, there was a chance that her victim would eventually end severely wounded, or perhaps dead, if Mikage was allowed to do as she pleased.

---

The sound of a neck snapping could be heard as the new Hokage, Sousetsu Senju tilted his head to the side. A calm and collected mind, a stern face, and eyes darting from left to right was now common as he looked down at the paperwork before him. The pen within his grasp scribbled at the bottom of each page that went by, signing them in his name. This was a man whose goal in life was achieved. He protected the village as the strongest shinobi who resided there. A man with a stoic presence but with sincere formalities to those around him. His assistant patiently stood by as she too scanned through pieces of parchment, proof reading them for the Senju. His head finally flew back back as he stretched once again followed by a small and short sigh before continuing.

"Sousetsu-Sama... Don't you think you've earned a rest?" she spoke with concern.

"I'm sorry?" he replied as he looked up at her with slight confusion.

"Well... This is the longest I have seen anyone work without any breaks. You are really committed and don't get me wrong, it is inspiring to watch, but urmm..."

She chose her words carefully. She seemed to think that she spoke out of place but she had nothing to fear. She was right. Sousetsu had been writing for almost five hours without any stops as he looked at the clock above the door. His stretching also vouched for the call of a break as his bones were becoming more stiff as the time passed him by.

"My apologies. Please, go have lunch and visit the hot springs, and come back when you are ready. I did not mean to overwork you." he insisted before raising to his feet and bowing before her. She did so in return with a slight nervous smile but was comforted by the fact that he gave her some personal time return. He turned to face the window that overlooked the village hidden in the leaves. The faint figures in the distance, the people of Konaha, seemed to be taking care of their own errands also. The smaller figures ran in circles, children no doubt. The stores seemed to dispense more and more figures as some went in and other returned to the outside. A small grin grew on his face. He had done it. His dreams came to fruition. He was living proof that anything was possible when you work towards your goal. It was almost laughable. He scanned the area a little further, soon coming across the academy, a place of fond memories and the birth of this man's journey to become a ninja.

The public park was soon noticed after as he gazed further. Maybe he should take some time to himself. He was getting through his work with little to no bother at all, and a change of scenery would be nice. It seemed like an effortless decision. He turned with a fluent motion. His new robe flowed gracefully, a white robe with blue decal instead of the primary red that was often used. It was accompanied by a black jumpsuit that was sleeveless but not to the naked eye as the coat had covered his bare arms. His cloth headband was emblazoned with the Senju insignia along with hand wraps that spread halfway up his forearms. Quite the stoic character indeed. He did not feel the need to take his hat, armour and blade, and so left them remaining in his office for his return.

With a nod to the reception desk's occupiers the seventeenth Hokage proceeded in his short journey to the small park. He was greeted with many formal bows along the way and smiles upon many faces including his own. The sun kissed his skin tenderly, not too hot, not too cool. It was a beautiful day to be living in the land of fire. Before long, he heard to the cries of young children nearby. Academy students perhaps? It could not harm him to at least see the commotion and maybe resolve the matter with a few words, and so he set for the variable in his course.  

"Lying! You're lying! Liar liar liar LIAR. ONEE-CHAN WOULD NEVER SAY THAT."

The words carried through the air as he turned the corner to find the young ones in question. Two of three lay on the ground, tears and harsh sniffing could be heard from them before he turned his attention to the one that stood. Her hands were clenched into fists, her words carried anger, and Sousetsu was never one to tolerate bullies. Almost in an instant, Sousetsu was within two metres at the rear of the bully in question and had already finished his short list of hand seals. wooden bars emerged from the ground, surrounding her in a square before a top was added to the ensemble that finally made a prison "Mokuton: Shichūrō no Jutsu."

His words were calm. This was a child after all so there was no need to shout as of yet, just a lecture needed to be given. He vanished once more to the front where the two young children lay hurt. Helping them up he reassured their safety with a pat on their shoulders and a grin on his face. "There, there. It's all right now. Go on and play." he stood and turned to face the troublemaker. His grin soon faded as his jaw clenched. "I don't tolerate that kind of behaviour." he addressed the young woman before him as he approached the wooden bars of the prison. "What is the meaning of this?" he ordered as his arms crossed, looking down on her with a small sense of shame.

Chakra: 355/370

Jutsu:

"Awh, Mr. Hokage, here to personally save your little village kids? Mikage is jealous of them ~"

Her remark on the Hokage coming to their rescue fell on deaf ears, shrugged off with ease. He looked the child up and down as he awaited her response. It came to Sousetsu as a surprise that she was not a typical bully or a tomboy for that matter. An attire consisting mainly of a white dress, clean from dirt, and an arrangement of flowers, roses to be exact. She did not seem the type to be aggressive if looked at with a first glance. Was she upset? Was she the one who was actually standing up for herself? His eyes analyzed further, inspecting her face for any signs of aggression. Her high cheek bones and smooth skin with little creases indicated otherwise.

"Heeey, Mr. Hokage, will you let Mikage out? She won't go after the little one, just the big one ~"

Sousetsu tilted his head slightly to the side where the two children left, glancing to see if they had left the area to which they had indeed before turning back. Her face was still... innocent? It made little sense. Was this a joke on his behalf? It couldn't have been, the shouts were heard from a distance so they could not have known that he was nearby. But then what was it?

"Mikage..."" he began.

His arms fell to his side as he approached the wooden prison and lowered himself so that he was at eye contact. He looked down at her dress for a brief moment before returning to her eyes. The white was a common symbol of purity. Her face told innocence. Her words were spoken arrogantly. She was young but old enough to understand. The words that fell on deaf ears returned to him for a second try.

"Awh, Mr. Hokage, here to personally save your little village kids? Mikage is jealous of them ~"

'Your little village kids...Mikage is Jealous...'

She was not from here it seems. The remark on jealousy could be taken sarcastically, but should always be given a second thought. Was she jealous? He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, clearing his mind once again before he reached out to the wooden prison. As his hand touched the wood it began to recede, slowly but surely. He lowered himself to one knee before her and gave her another look as he continued to try a get a better understanding. His eyebrows lowered as he thought, his cheeks raised slightly causing his eyes to give off a small squint as though they were trying to protect themselves from the suns rays.

He reached for her shoulder and squeezed. It was not a tight squeeze but a reassurance that he could stop her from going after the other children. Her aggression could be caused with ease, her body language lied to those who read it and her appearance threw your perception off. His eyes returned to their normal appearance along with his face. It grew serene and sincere for this brief moment that he wanted to share with her. He wanted asked her something that he thought she had not been asked in some time. And with a soft voice he did so...

"Mikage... Are you okay?"

It sprung to his attention that this young girl used her name instead of the formal first person approach. Did she have a language barrier? She was an unfamiliar face of course so Sousetsu would not know if she was an actual student at some stage in her life. It might be too personal of a question for him to ask and so he deemed it unnecessary to ask. It was curious however.

Her body became fixed before him like a defensive mechanism, almost as if he asked something that he should never have. But that was not the case. This question just proved his initial theory on this misleading young lady. She was deceitful, unreadable, like a book that was written back to front and in a language that foreign to his native tongue. She edged away from him to which he slowly stood tall once more with his hands dangling from each side of his body. His eyes remained transfixed on her, scanning every little detail he could find to help approach this situation delicately. She would not look at him. He could tell she was lost in her own thoughts trying to find an answer to give him but alas, came to no avail.

"Mikage … does not understand."

His eyes slightly widened and his mouth became unhinged, slowly falling. Her hand gripped her wrist tight. She was defensive over something it seemed. He would not approach her during this sensitive stage. He was no longer restraining her and had no intentions to do so. He wanted to show benevolence at a time like this, like you would to a younger sibling. He closed his eyes and tilted his head forward gently.

"That phrase is used often, Mikage. It shows concern for another." he forced a small smile as he leaned in slightly without moving forward.

"Most of us simply nod in agreement. They are okay. They tell us that there is nothing wrong, nothing bothering them. Sometimes we say we are okay, but we are really just pretending to spare their concern." He sighed, thinking of the past when he too had done the same. He turned his head slightly, looking into the dirt in the short distance away. His arms came together once more, crossing once more before his head turned back to the young girl before him.

"It is when we say 'we are not okay', that we get the attention that we most desperately need and crave. Most of the time, we never expect that." he spoke softly. He took a step forward and got to his knee once more so that they were close to eye level once again. A warm smile has appeared on his face as if he was welcoming her problems to his own. This was his take on becoming a benevolent hokage as opposed to his predecessors. He wanted to be not only the voice for the villagers, or their shield and sword, but he wanted to lend his ears to those who sought them.

"Do you understand now, Mikage?" he asked gently.

A gentle breeze rolled by as his hair was picked up into a dance in its duration. The cool air was refreshing from the sense of heat emitting from the suns rays, balancing the temperature to be comfortable to soak in. His coat was not overbearing, nor was the rest of his attire. The same could be said for the little girl before him. He inhaled slightly through his nose, picking up the scent of the roses that resided on her own attire and the bark from the nearby trees in the wildlife in the short distance away.