Reclaiming the Throne

The sudden appearance of a strange man in the Hokage’s office would have been a cause of panic had anyone been there to bear witness. Fortunately, though, the Rokudaime Hokage had appeared instantaneously in the empty room; the only other movement was that of the dust being displaced upon his arrival. Clearly whoever the current Hokage was did not seem to be around. It wasn’t necessary for them to be at the moment anyway. Jason had come to investigate on his own and gain any and all information on the village’s current shinobi forces that he could. If he was going to finally take back his position as leader of the Hidden Leaf, then he would need to bring himself up-to-date on everyone that would be under him.

Keeping his chakra suppressed since before his sudden arrival, the young Senju would search the room thoroughly and scan each document he had found. It was good to see that the safe was still in the same place as well, though it was extremely depleted from his count. There would be a lot of work to do indeed. Grabbing a stack of papers he sat down at his desk and begin thumbing through them, keeping an eye on his chakra sensory in case someone were to actually do their job and check the building.

[exit]

Rokudaime Hokage, Jason Senju, will be reclaiming his old position as Hokage

For some odd reason, Kinzoku had decided to put Kisuke in charge of village affairs while he and the main Konoha forces went off to support Kiri. God knows why he decided to let Kisuke take over the reigns momentarily. Perhaps he saw something in the young Chuunin during their training session. Gods knows why anyone would want this job to begin with. Dealing with other people's problems day in and day out was not how the Uchiha enjoyed spending his time. But he was loyal and therefore did what was required of him.

Mere moments after Jason appeared in the empty office, the red headed Uchiha would walk through the door with his head down, gazing at a document held in his free hand. With a fresh cigarette dangling dangerously on the edge of his lips, his gaze would momentarily shift upwards to gaze upon the stranger standing in the room. Leaving the door open behind him, Kisuke would calmly and harmlessly mumble to the stranger "You're not suppose to be in here, I'm not taking any appointments today. Get the fuck out." Making his way around the desk, Kisuke would take at seat in Kinzoku's chair, gazing at the stranger with his jet black eyes before pulling the cigarette out of his mouth and waiting for the man to leave. 

Interrupting Exit.

He didn’t have to wait long before he felt a strong chakra signature approaching. It was 50 meters away when Jason had first noticed it since he had been focusing on chakra sensing while he snooped, but he simply smiled to himself and quickly made a series of hand seals and sat down in his chair, thumbing through the document he had in his hands. It was a list of current Chuunin in the village. It wasn’t very long either. It seemed the village had taken more of a substantial hit to their shinobi force than he had initially thought.

The chakra signature he had felt was getting closer. Twenty meters. Ten meters. Then suddenly a red-haired teenager walked in focused on a document of his own. He was fairly tall and, judging from the necklace he was wearing, he was a member of the Uchiha clan. Oddly enough, the former Hokage recognized the young man as one of the Chuunin on the paper he was holding: Kisuke Uchiha.

“Uchiha Kisuke. This is my office, actually. I am the Rokudaime Hokage, Jason Senju. You’re clearly not the current Hokage, but I see you’re watching over things in his place. That’s.....an interesting little tidbit. So, where is he?”

He had placed the paper down on the desk and folded his hands in front of him, looking at the young Uchiha as he spoke, still smiling.

The Ace had just arrived in Konoha with relative haste. With the abrupt leave of their Hokage, venturing back into the depths of the infamous village of Sunagakure, Tadashi had decided on checking up on Kinzoku to see if he was alright. During their escapade to the Wind Country, citizens frantically formed rumors and conspiracies about the Hokage and the Deputy Hokage being severely injured or even killed due to their prolonged absence. The atmosphere of the village as well has suffered a fair bit, villagers, now fearful of the state of the once-powerful imperialistic nation that other lands feared now a vassal state, shackled by the chains of Kirigakure. The thought of losing their Hokage and Deputy Hokage in one fell swoop would be a blow too harsh for Konoha to recover from. Behind the scenes were scheming turncoats planning on usurping the Hokage; they were more rampant than usual now that Kinzoku was gone. Honestly, even if it was for a moment, the ginger would wish for Kinzoku to come back, just for the villager's worries and doubts to be put at rest. 

Tadashi would quickly change into his casual attire, black and white jersey zip with black pants. Yurai would still be rested on his left hip, sheathed along with the usual placement of his ninja pouches. Murmurs rang down the lower levels Hokage building as Tadashi entered, making the young teen walk upstairs with haste. Did Kinzoku arrive yet? Were there intruders? Questions like these reverberated in the mind of the ginger as the conversation was more clear to listen while walking upstairs. Moments after Jason replied to Kisuke, Tadashi would enter the Hokage office with an impassive expression, hands dangling down while being to the right of Kisuke.

"In Sunagakure. Since you're not the current Hokage anymore, I will calmly ask you to leave the building before things get ugly, unless you have something else you want to tell us." He replied in a resolute tone, almost robotically. The ginger wasn't playing any games with this man especially since actions like this could be classified as treason. 

WC: 452

Staring at her own reflection was like looking at a personality stealing alien. Sure this image had her prized companion killing sword sheathed at her hip, her red robes, and her mostly concealed armor. Sure it might have had eyes like quicksilver, thick raven hair that fell into locks that ended just below her ribs, and a small frame. Sure it might have been Risako at one point, but now her own appearance seemed to match her surroundings. Alien, foreign, and most of all unfamiliar. Either that much had changed during her coma or...

Bah, to hell with that. Kinzoku was to be met and showered with tales of... well a coma isn't exactly exciting but she'd make something up by the time she got to her destination. The Ex-Hokage took one final look at the reflection in the window of the building before entering into the lobby.

All it took was a cursory glance to see how much had changed. Then again she was having a hard time telling fact from dream when it came to remembering things, so perhaps it hadn't changed all that much, save for the plump woman behind the desk being gone. Hopefully she was just absent, whatever her name was. Risako pressed onwards through the lobby, and into main hall upon noticing that some people were already conversing in what must have been the chambers. Actually it was less of a conversation and more like orders being thrown about.

It wasn't like she was concealing her presence to begin with, but to be polite she would knock her fist against the wall a few times before stepping into the office through the already open door. "Gentlemen, and Kisuke." she said, glancing between the three men in the room.

"Jason Senju?" He thought to himself as he gazed at the stranger sitting at his desk. "Thats the Hokage when I joined the academy." Eyeing the man claiming to be Hokage, Kisuke soon realized that he did not recognize the man, not one bit actually. Perhaps he was actually the former Kage for he knew Kisuke by name, or perhaps he had just read the interim leader's name off one of the many papers littering the desk. "Yeah ok buddy, and I'm Viper Uchiha." He sarcastically responded while masterfully keeping the cigarette in his mouth. "Now like I said, get the fuck out before I have you jailed for breaking and entering this office and stealing information ." Approaching the chair he intended to sit in, the young Uchiha in charge would come to a sudden halt when a second person entered the office, answering a question Kisuke did not plan on answering himself. 

"Fucking hell." Turning around to see who the second uninvited person was, his eyes would fall upon someone else who was not suppose to be here. "Chill with the threats dude, only I can dish those out. What are you even doing here? Didn't you go off with Kinz?" He had been sent back to give a status report or were the entire forces coming back and he was sent ahead as a scout?

"You've got to be kidding me." Kisuke mumbled in frustration as a third person announced their arrival. Shifting his gaze away from Tadashi and over towards the door, the cigarette that gently dangled from his mouth would slip out and tumble to the ground as his mouth slightly widened in shock. "Holy fucking shit. The little boy kage finally woke up." To his dismay, the little former Kage had finally woken up from her comma, one she fell into after having admirably stood up to the conquering Mizukage during his siege of Konoha. It felt like ages since he last laid eyes on the kunoichi. "When did you wake up, how are you feeling, should you even be walking around yet?" 

Looking back and forth between the three intruders that now found themselves within Kisuke's presence, the Uchiha would sigh before addressing everyone in the room. "Well this is a fucking clusterfuck. Let's deal with this one at a time. First." Turning to face the pretender behind the desk, Kisuke would say "Fake Jason, your sitting in my chair. Or Risako's chair? I dont know but get your ass out of it. I've got business to take care of." With the arrival of Tadashi and the awakening of Risako, Kisuke did not feel like wasting his time with someone he believed to be an impostor.

Clearly this Uchiha didn’t believe Jason was who he said he was. That was going to make things rather annoying unless he could find someone he knew to authenticate his claim. He was about to suggest just that when he felt a second chakra signature quickly approaching followed by a third, one that was all too familiar to the former Hokage. He couldn’t help smiling as he waited for the reunion soon to unfold. Unfortunately, the first one he had sensed was just as irritating as Kisuke.

A leaf shinobi of admirable chakra who had apparently accompanied the current Hokage to Sunagakure to fight the Mizukage’s war. Though he didn’t agree with that in the slightest, Jason was glad to see at least some of Konoha’s shinobi force weren’t complete pushovers. Perhaps the Will of Fire his ancestor has kindled so long ago did still reside in the residents of the village. That thought only served to widen his smile at the same time his old student stepped through the door.

More or less ignoring the two who would question his identity and authority, the Rokudaime Hokage stepped past and stopped in front of his old friend. ”Risako,” he said, still smiling at her. ”It’s really me. I taught you how to body flicker by having you play tag in the forest. We had training sessions together with Tatsuya and Kasai. It’s me. I’m back.” As he said those last two words, his suppression dropped and everyone in the vicinity could now feel his chakra. If his friend had any doubts up to that point, sensing his chakra signature surely would remove them.

Down the bending hallway of the upper level of the Hokage’s Chambers, just near the entrance to the office, a boy would materialize from nothingness. The materialization would come in the form of a swirled animation that originating from the left eye of the Uchiha, a left eye that was deep red and containing three tomoes. Upon materialization, his chakra would be suppressed. The boy’s expression was neutral and his skin complexion light, his hair jet black. He was wearing a dark shirt and dark pants along with his usual pouches and shinobi head band that was draped on his tool belt. Around his body was a lightweight cloak that was cream colored; the hood falling against his back.

Ita could sense the presence of two individuals in the room and another one approaching from the opposite side of the hallway while still out of sight. She would eventually enter the office to join the party.
Ita had arrived just in time to hear a familiar voice. Was it his pupils? Due to his proximity and keen sense of hearing, he would be able to make out Tadashi’s words through the doorway,

"In Sunagakure. Since you're not the current Hokage anymore, I will calmly ask you to leave the building before things get ugly, unless you have something else you want to tell us."

Interesting words, but who could he have been possibly talking to? Ita knew Kinzoku was not back yet, because if he was, he would have requested the Uchiha’s presence to inquire why he had not departed on his mission yet. Ita continued to listen intently until things started to heat up a little bit. It was Ita’s duty as a Jounin of the village to intervene when things got out of hand, was it not?

Just a moment after Kisuke finished his last sentence and as soon as Jason was amid his revelation to Risako, the Crow of the Hidden Leaf would make his presence known by quietly making his way to the entrance of the doorway to the Hokage’s office. Ita’s eyes would scan the room quickly, taking in who was present- locking eyes with the Senju. Whether his arrival mattered or not, he would speak anyways, “Lord Hokage, Is that really you? What happened to you?” Whether Jason recognized him or not, the returned Hokage had saved Ita from a rogue ninja who was trying to kill him a long time ago. Ita was only a boy at the time, and after all these years, Ita had his doubts that he may not remember who he was.

Ita would then turn his attention to Tadashi. “Tadashi, have I not taught you better than to insult a previous kage?” The Uchiha would inquire with slight disapproval. In doing so, he had also confirmed Jason’s identity while still seemingly ignoring the other two in the room.

The Jounin would await a response to his questions and during that time would attempt to try out the telepathy seal that Kinzoku had placed on him during their last encounter. Flowing chakra to the seal, the boy would speak the words in his mind that he wishes to communicate to the current* Hokage.

“You’re going to want to see this. Your office, sooner than later.”

Ita would proceed to relinquish the chakra that he flowed to the telepathy seal in order to break the link in communication. Ita figured his mission could wait a little longer, at least until he figured out what was going on here.

Spoiler:

As Tadashi finished his serious threat, he would be immediately bombarded with questions from Kisuke. It would become apparent to the ginger that either Kinzoku had not completed his unfinished business back in Sunagakure or he hasn't sent a status update to the Uchiha as of this moment. "Hokage-sama has asked most of the army and me to return here. He said he had some 'unfinished business' to take care of in the village and brought some of the higher ranking shinobi to accompany him. I came here of my own accord to see if he's back from the invasion. I suppose he hasn't sent you a letter or anything like that, Kisuke-san?" He would reply, not bothering to change his position. 

Moments after the teen's response, a few knocks would be heard before the door would slowly creak open. Since Tadashi was about a few inches in front of the door he proceeded to scoot right, enough for the third person to enter easily. As he shifted his gaze to the person, his eyes would widen greatly. He could recognize the young woman's face, despite not officially meeting. "Nanadaime-sama" He would deeply bow in respect just moments after Kisuke replied. She seemed to be recovering from her medical complications due to her chakra not being as powerful as the boy once felt nearly a year ago. It also seemed to be that Risako was Jason's student a long time ago; the teen would begin to feel uneasy internally. Although the Rokudaime had broken the law, he had just disrespected the Nanadaime's sensei with no shame. 

As Ita entered the room, Tadashi would raise his eyebrows in bewilderment. "The hell is Sensei doing here?" He inquired within. To the ginger's dismay, the dark-haired Uchiha would scold him in front of everyone. Tadashi would gulp. There was no good excuse for what he had said, but Jason was breaking the law, so he had to do what he had to do. "Forgive me Sensei, however, actions like these are considered criminal offenses and can be trialed in a court of law. If Rokudaime-sama wanted to become Hokage, he should have waited for Hachidaime-sama to return to Konoha for his appointment. Though I shouldn't have acted as if he was already a criminal, and my rudeness was uncalled for." After Risako and Jason finished their conversation, Tadashi would sincerely bow towards the man. 

"My deepest apologies, Rokudaime-sama." The ginger said remorsefully.

WC: 509
TWC: 961