Konohagakure was the largest and most populous of the Hidden Villages, chock-full of busy shop vendors, businesses, numerous shinobi clans, and hordes of civilians relying on the ninja to keep order within the fortified walls. Having such a prosperous village was, of course, an advantage, especially during negotiations with the other villages, allied or no, but sometimes one Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Hokage, wondered if it was worth the ever-multiplying paperwork that found its way onto his desk.

Or the headaches where situations like this cropped up.

"You mean to tell me," the elderly shinobi said, slowly, every word enunciated with calm, icy precision, "that there has been a visitor accompanying Naruto for nearly a week and a half, and no one saw fit to inform me?"

Iruka – oh, why had it only been Iruka that saw fit to finally bring this to his attention, and not one of the numerous trained ANBU guards that he had assigned to watch over the young Jinjurikki during his daily excursions? – did not so much as flinch at his Hokage's tone, though his own brow furrowed in suspicious confusion.

"No one, Hokage-sama?"

The man shook his head, kneading his brow with one hand, even as he began shuffling through the mountain of paper piled up before him.

"Not a single one," he confirmed, scowling. "Not one report, not even a verbal debriefing. The only information I had prior to this were rumors, nothing more, and they were truly ridiculous rumors."

Entertainingly ridiculous, admittedly. He'd had himself a few amused chuckles after that first piece of gossip he'd heard – that someone had literally gambled the pants off of several prominent noblemen who had been playing in the Kame Casino. But now that this had sprung up… well, Iruka had reason to be concerned. It was no longer amusing.

With a schooled expression of professional worry, the teacher handed over the scroll holding his unofficial report.

"I haven't been able to find out much about this guy," he admitted, grudgingly, as the Hokage unrolled the scroll and began scanning its contents. "Nobody seems to know much about him save for that he's a traveler – he's been to at least three other nations in the past few years – that he's a 'nice young man,' and that his hair is weird."

Hiruzen raised an eyebrow without looking up from the scroll. "His hair?"

Iruka huffed, clearly irritated. "Yeah. Apparently, we'll 'know it when we see it.'"

Which was about as useful to a shinobi as a blade of grass – not entirely useless, but still far from helpful.

As was most of the information in Iruka's report. No wonder the poor man was so frustrated, he'd hardly been able to uncover anything. This Yuugi character was almost a complete mystery – he'd simply arrived at the village gates a little over two weeks ago, filled out the necessary paperwork, and then proceeded to more or less disappear for several days before reappearing in the company of Naruto. No information on family or friends outside or inside the village, no medical reports, nothing. What they did have were characteristics cobbled together from various rumors and from a discussion Iruka had apparently had with Naruto – that the young man was, in fact, a young man, very polite, seemed to have formed a habit of napping on benches, liked playing card games and shogi, had been teaching Naruto said games, and possibly had a bit of a vindictive streak, judging by his encouragement of Naruto's pranks.

There were also a few notes concerning Naruto himself – how he seemed to have been taking care of himself better following his initial meeting with this man, and how Iruka had found his apartment much cleaner than it had been during his previous visit when he'd gone to have a look the next day, and even had a couple new furniture items – a new rug on the floor, for instance.

None of which seemed to be the actions of any kind of spy, ninja or civilian. But still, it was worrying that Iruka hadn't been able to find anything else.

Hiruzen sighed and rolled the scroll back up. "Thank you, Iruka. I will have to investigate this man soon." But not yet. First, he was going to have words with the ANBU who'd thought this wasn't something the Hokage needed to know. And then personally vet the guards that would take their places, since these ones were apparently just shy of incompetent.

The teacher nodded stiffly, then got up, recognizing the words as a subtle dismissal. As he did, Hiruzen turned back to his staggeringly high tower of paperwork, picking up one paper to fill out or file away for later…

And froze as his eyes fell on a photograph clipped to a document on top of the pile.

Oh. "Know it when we see it," indeed.

"On second thought, Iruka," he said. "You may wish to stay for a bit longer, if your schedule will allow it."

Iruka paused, then turned back with a concerned, suspicious look. The Hokage held up the paper for him to see – a citizenship exam, filled out with eighty-one percent completion, along with a copy of an interview, several notes written along the margins, and a photograph of a young man with wild tri-colored hair.

The name written at the top of the paper was Yuugi Muto.

The Hokage's office was apparently in the same building as the Academy – which was also the huge, white tower-like structure that Yuugi had noted his first day in the village. How he hadn't noticed that before, he wasn't entirely sure – seriously, how had he missed it? He'd walked right up to the building to pick Naruto up!– but that didn't actually matter at the moment, so, for now, he resolved to scold himself later, assuming he got out of his little meeting with the most powerful shinobi in the Land of Fire alive.

At this point, Yami would have usually chimed in with a comforting I'm sure you'll survive, aibou, but right now his other half was hovering worriedly in the shadows clinging to the outside of the building, having agreed with Yuugi's sentiment that if it was dangerous for him to linger in Daisuke Yamanaka's office, it would be doubly more so to linger inside the Hokage's office.

Which was not a comforting thought, especially considering the chakra he was sensing coming from inside the man's office from his seat out in the hall.

Most of the chakra in Konoha was a slightly unsettling buzz, something just barely on the edges of his senses, like the distant hum of a beehive. It had taken some getting used to, but he'd been perfectly fine with it for several days now.

This chakra was more like a combination of the angry buzzing of a swarm of killer hornets and the crackling hum of an electric current, and it was such an intense sensation that it felt like it was making his very bones vibrate. And he was fairly certain that this was the Hokage's chakra suppressed, not even at full strength.

So, yes, he was positive that he was going to die once he stepped into that office, and already sweating bullets by the time the door opened.

"The Hokage will see you now," the ninja who'd opened it informed him. He couldn't have been older than Yuugi himself, with nut-brown skin and dark brown hair drawn back into a short ponytail, and dressed in what seemed to be the typical shinobi uniform – a dull green vest over black clothes, and an engraved metal plate on a headband tied over his forehead. The only thing that set this man apart from the other people he'd seen hopping across various rooftops was the nasty-looking scar slashing horizontally across his nose and cheekbones.

Yuugi stood up, checking one last time that no magic was clinging to him – Yami had already helped him check outside, but he wasn't taking any chances – and walked forward into what may very well be the last room he ever set eyes on.

He'd been expecting something… fancy, maybe, with ornate furniture and bright banners and possibly racks of weapons, and floor-to-ceiling windows. The only thing that he'd been imagining that he actually got somewhat right were the windows, which started somewhere around waist-height and ended just below the ceiling, granting a fantastic view of the village below and filling the office with light. The rest of the office was surprisingly plain, with hardly a decoration or delicate carving to be seen, and the only furniture in the room a plain, sturdy-looking desk and several wooden, but not too uncomfortable-looking, chairs. There was also what looked like the remains of a mountain of paperwork pushed to one side of the desk, which was almost a piece of furniture by itself.

The Hokage himself looked almost as unassuming as his office. He was an old man, maybe ninety if Yuugi were to guess, with tanned skin dotted with liver spots and a face sporting deep lines and wrinkles, tailor-made for both smiling and scowling. He was sitting quietly in a chair, hands folded before him, and a calm, almost genial look on his face, which seemed quite at odds with his very official-looking red-and-white Hokage robes and hat.

Yuugi was not fooled by the grandfatherly act. Even if he couldn't sense the massive chakra the old man possessed, those eyes were sharp, no-nonsense, and looked at him with the scrutinizing look of one observing a strange creature through a lens. It was unsettling.

The similarly scathing look the younger ninja was aiming at him from the door didn't help matters any, either.

"So," the Hokage said, after a moment of acute observation. "You would be Muto-san?"

Yuugi nodded. "Yes, H-Hokage-sama." The stutter slipped out despite his efforts to suppress it, and he cursed himself silently. Would an innocent civilian be so nervous right now?

The Hokage barely reacted to the stutter, his only reaction being for his outer shell of grandfatherly emotion to intensify, and he gestured at one of the chairs. "Please, have a seat." Yuugi accepted the invitation gratefully, sinking into his seat before his legs could give out on him.

He sat there for several minutes, holding himself as still as he could save for an occasional uncomfortable fidget, as the old man looked over several documents that he could only guess were his exam results and the records of the interview with Yamanaka-san.

Just as he was wondering exactly how long he was going to be left sweating here, with a pair of suspicious eyeballs boring holes into the back of his head, the Hokage carefully set down the documents.

"Well, your paperwork appears to be in order," he said. "However, before we fill out your official papers and have your photo ID taken, I would like to ask you a couple of questions."

Oh Lord, here we go…

"Firstly," he continued, still watching the young man like a hawk, "How has your experience been in Konohagakure so far?"

He's starting with the easy questions to get me off guard first. "F-fairly pleasant, apart from the more hostile people I've met here," Yuugi managed. There was no reason to lie – and even if there was, this was the Hokage. He wasn't likely to be fooled. "Most of the citizens here have been very polite, and some have been d-downright friendly."

Admittedly, some had been disturbingly friendly. He'd probably be having nightmares about the woman with the dango for weeks. Provided he got out of here alive.

"Well, that's good to know," the Hokage said conversationally. "I trust most of the people who have been giving you trouble are the ones who have a… lack of fondness for a certain child?"

Less than – Yuugi took a deep breath, all-too aware of the possible weapons that could very well be hidden under every fold of clothing and pointed at him shortly, but unable to keep quiet. "With all due respect, Hokage-sama, if all you can say of your people is that they are less than fond of Naruto, then you are obviously sorely misinformed."

The Hokage's eyes narrowed, and he was sure the other shinobi's had as well, from his spot behind him, but neither assassin made any sort of move involving pointy objects, so he'd count that as a victory for now.

"I am well aware of how Naruto is treated." The old man's words were careful, measured. "As the leader of this village, it is my duty to know how my people are faring, and what they are doing, and that unfortunately includes the knowledge of how the villagers and my shinobi treat the boy."

"And you haven't done anything about it?!" The words slipped out before he could stop them, and Yuugi flinched with an undignified squeak as chakra spiked, boiling angrily and flooding the room with the deadly intent of the moment before a lightning strike.

"I may be Hokage," the Hokage said, quiet and calm and somehow murderous without so much as batting an eye or twitching a finger, "but that does not mean that I can, or should, control how my people act, Muto-san. You would do well to remember that."

Why did I have to open my big mouth?! "O-o-of course, H-Hokage-sama, I'm s-so sorry!"

"Good." One liver-spotted hand smoothed down a crinkled paper on the desk's surface. "That being said, you do bring up a valid point. I may not be able to control or limit my people's thoughts or voices, but I am more than capable of protecting Naruto from physical harm. In fact," and here his calm expression twitched into something approaching annoyance and more than a little suspicion, "up until your arrival, the ANBU guards I had assigned to that duty were doing well. Obviously, as I was unaware of your presence until recently, I was mistaken."

It was all he could do not to freeze, like a deer suddenly caught in bright lights.

Naruto has guards?

No no no, this wasn't good!

Yuugi had tried to keep the magic-usage to a minimum while he was here, and had been fairly certain that he had managed to keep what little he did use undetected –seeing the shadows and talking to Yami and the rest of the Court left no visible or tangible evidence of magic, and could be overlooked even by the most sensitive of shinobi.

If they weren't looking for anything different about him. If all they saw was a polite young civilian with odd hair. If they were civilians.

But if Naruto had shinobi guards, then that was something else entirely. Guards wouldn't have been trained to simply glance over what appeared to be a harmless civilian. Guards would see a harmless civilian and think possible threat, and then pay very careful attention until they decided he was harmless for themselves.

And if any of those watchers were sensitive to the shadows… if any of them were capable of sensing them…

Calm down, he told himself, before he could begin hyperventilating in terror. Calm down! He doesn't know. The guards haven't felt anything. They never even reported that I existed! They wouldn't do that if they saw me as a threat. They wouldn't, shinobi are smarter than that!

Which meant that he was safe. No one had sensed his magic. No one knew he was anything other than a prospective citizen who was usually in the company of the local hated orphan.

I'm safe, I'm safe, I'm safe… oh, if only I could believe that!

With a frown and a slight clearing of his throat, the Hokage leaned forward, drawing Yuugi's attention back to the old man.

"Despite my guards' failings, I have no reason to believe that, at this current time, you are a threat to Naruto's safety." Yuugi nearly collapsed in relief right then and there. "That being said, I have been wrong before." The shinobi leaned forward a fraction, emphasizing his next words with an intimidating stare. "So, Muto-san. Explain to me why I should allow you to remain in Naruto's company, why you are so sympathetic towards him, and why you are willing to put yourself in the villagers' bad graces for him."

Movement, behind him. The other ninja, who had remained more or less still as a statue for this entire unnerving conversation, had shifted position, for all he knew to block the door and stop any escape attempts.

I hope I can sound convincing.

He took in a little, shuddering breath. Then another. Then a third.

"I can't tell you that I should be allowed near him." He began uncertainly. "It's still your decision to make, Hokage-sama. But…"

He swallowed, then continued. "I've seen people in situations like that before. I've met orphans who have lost everything, who have nothing. I've seen what they're willing to do to make a life for themselves, when they have nobody to support them but themselves, and how badly that can turn out, and they were never treated nearly so badly as Naruto is. I…"

He drew in another breath, more steadily this time, and drew himself up. "I want to offer him a shoulder to lean on, so that doesn't happen. He already has people looking out for him but… he was so lonely that he was willing to accept a total stranger's offer of friendship, just because I was nice to him. Whoever he already has isn't enough."

Several long moments passed. The old man's eyes were narrowed, but not threateningly anymore.

He's thinking about it, at least, thank heavens.

"I find it hard to believe that anybody could be that selfless."

That had come from behind him. Yuugi turned, glad to finally have a chance to look at the other threat in the room without looking suspicious.

"I wouldn't call it selfless, shinobi-san," he said meekly. "I just… don't want to see someone else to go through all that, when I could have stopped it."

This earned a disbelieving snort. "Why should we believe that? There's no way you don't have some other motive –"

"Stand down, Iruka," the Hokage interrupted calmly.

The shinobi stopped, face slipping into a muted scowl before smoothing itself into an impassive mask, and Yuugi started. Iruka? As in –

"Muto-san." Yuugi whipped back around to face the Hokage quickly, thoughts derailed. "While your story is indeed touching, I'm sure you understand that I cannot simply take your words at face value."

Yuugi nodded, not trusting himself to speak even as his heart took up a jackrabbit rhythm in his chest.

"That being said," and finally, finally, the predatory attentiveness in the old man's eyes lessened to something far less nerve-wracking, "you have yet to cause harm to Naruto, intentionally or otherwise. You have risked the villagers' hostility, apparently for his sake. And for that… I am willing to give you a chance."

He's… what?!

Apparently his words had shocked Iruka-san as well, because the younger ninja immediately piped up in protest, an astonished and incredulous "Hokage-sama, you can't possibly –"

One hand rose up, and the ninja stopped, looking stormy but not daring to disobey the Hokage's silent order.

"I will allow you probationary citizenship for three months," the Hokage continued sternly. "During that time, you may begin your search for a dwelling, work any job that anyone is willing to hire you for, and you may continue spending time with Naruto. However, if I receive word that you mean harm to the village… or to Naruto…"

He trailed off meaningfully, and Yuugi gulped nervously.

"O-of course, Hokage-sama. I-I understand."

"Good. In that case..." The Hokage took possession of his citizenship papers again, as well as several new papers that he pushed across the table to the young man. "Let us properly welcome you to Konohagakure, Yuugi Muto."

A little over an hour later, when the wild-haired young man had bolted like a frightened hare out of his office with his new paperwork in one hand, Hiruzen sighed, then leaned back in his chair and pulled out his pipe.

So that was Yuugi Muto. It looked as if, for once, the rumor mill had actually been a somewhat reliable source of information, if lacking in details. The youth was certainly polite and seemed to be a truly righteous individual, if his outbursts for Naruto's sake were any indication. He did seem to actually care for the young Jinjurriki, though he had had the wool pulled over his old eyes before. His personal information checked out, as well – some brief questions, intended to sound casually curious, whilst they were filling out paperwork had confirmed all the information previously recorded – either it was all true, or it was a very well-thought-out cover story indeed. A dead grandfather, two parents on the road for country to country… with their son obviously following in their footsteps…

And yet, something didn't feel quite right.

Most civilians were nervous when speaking to shinobi. It was common enough to be expected – a hardened killer rarely got along one hundred percent with the pacifistic merchants and families of normal society, even if that killer was sworn to protect them. Add to that a shinobi's unnerving ability to appear from nowhere without warning, and civilians tended to avoid ninja with the caution of one inching around a sleeping tiger.

But young Muto-san wasn't so much cautious around shinobi as he was terrified. There had been tension in every line of his body, every muscle ready to jump up and flee for his life.

And when Hiruzen's own chakra had surged up in response to his anger, Muto had flinched. It was a tiny movement, hardly noticeable, but still there nonetheless.

A latent chakra-sensing ability, perhaps? He never mentioned such things passing through his family lines, but many civilians are often capable of using their chakra in such a way.

Regardless of what it might be, there was something about Muto that was more than a little off.

"Iruka."

The young teacher, still lingering by the door at his request, stood to attention.

"I will be changing the guards on Naruto and giving them strict instructions to pay close attention to his interactions with Yuugi-san."

Iruka's shoulders relaxed subtly, and Hiruzen let a small smile creep onto his face.

"You need not worry for Naruto's safety. I will make certain he is unharmed. That being said, if you wish to keep an eye on him…"

Hiruzen paused, glancing at the young man to make certain he understood.

He did. He didn't need to speak a word to show it.

"I'm sure you have papers to grade, Iruka?"

The casual dismissal was heeded immediately, a blur of shinobi disappearing out the door.

An amused noise escaped him, and he took a puff from his pipe. Once several smoke rings had been expelled, he leaned forward again.

He had no intentions of allowing Muto to go unsupervised quite yet. With that in mind, he reached for pen and paper.

To Jōnin Commander Shikaku Nara

A suspicious individual has been seen in the company of Naruto Uzumaki. He claims to be a civilian, and though so far he has not proven to be a threat, it is preferable to be cautious.

Please assign one Yuugi Muto an escort as soon as possible. Be certain to watch for suspicious behavior that could be harmful to Uzumaki or the village.

The Sandaime Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi.