Chapter 2: The Second Assistant

6 years later - Maiko is 16

Little feet put on a sprint past my desk.

An average kunoichi I might be, but the day a three-years-old boy managed to beat me was the day I really needed to resign.

I caught Naruto by the back of his shirt before he could reach the first assistant's desk and hauled him up on my hip. "Good morning Naruto-kun. Are you trying to avoid me? I'm hurt, really, I thought you and I were friends."

The boy giggled and threw his arms around my neck. "'lo Maiko-san! I wanna see tou-chan!"

"I'm afraid you've to wait, Naruto-kun. Hokage-sama is in a meeting right now."

Naruto pouted. "How long?"

"At least twenty minutes, sweetheart." I prepared for the inevitable by tilting my ear as far away as possible from his mouth.

"NoooOOOOOooooo!"

It didn't lessen the pain much and I winced at the scream. Nonetheless, I went back to sit at my desk. "Do you want me to play with you?"

"No! You're mean Maiko-san! You always stop me from seeing tou-chan!"

I adjusted him on my lap and held back a sigh, conscious that everyone around was intently focused on us, whether they were showing it or not.

Raidou and Genma were leaning against the wall on each side of the Hokage's office door, not bothering to hide their attention since they had nothing else to do.

The first assistant, Haruka, was working on paperwork, but she wasn't missing a word. If Naruto decided to come talk to her, she would be all smile, ready to commiserate with the Hokage's son now that her underling had done the hard work by telling him "no".

On the chairs, several people waiting to be seen by the Hokage were watching avidly for gossip.

Then, there was Hatake Kakashi, Naruto's sitter for the day, who was leaning against the wall near the entrance, his face hidden behind his book. He never kept the kid in check, preferring to let him bother the secretaries and get some peace.

So, of course, I ended up being the bad guy, because I was at the bottom of the ladder and the dirty work was always for me. (Yes, I was bitter. I had a rough day, alright?)

Oh, Naruto didn't mean anything by it. He changed his mind every hour. Still, it didn't make it any easier to hear.

"What would you like to do in the meantime, then?" I asked patiently, taking back my pen from his tiny hand.

There were a few seconds of silence before he exclaimed: "Work! If I do dad's work then he'll have more time for me!" And he grabbed the nearest paper, wrinkling it while he was at it.

I refrained from pointing out that it was my work on my desk (the Hokage didn't need to do his own schedule: that's why he had assistants) and that, by trying to help, Naruto would just make it slower. Experience taught me to just go along with it. The logic he showed was already an improvement. "Alright then, Naruto-kun. I have a very important task for you. Please stamp those for me. Do you remember how?"

"Yeah! I have to do it once only but I have to press on it so it's really red."

"That's right," I approved before putting a stack of papers in front of him, red ink and a stamp marked "Hokage's office - DENIED".

Five minutes later, I changed the stack of papers and the stamp for "Hokage's office - TO BE REVISED". My desk was shaking as he worked. I was reading scrolls and papers by holding them above his head.

The Jounin Commander finally left the Hokage's office, and Kakashi stepped forward to retrieve his ward. Focused on his work, Naruto hadn't even noticed the open door waiting for him.

"Your father will see you now, Naruto-kun," I said.

Immediately, the little hellion bolt from my lap, managing to hit me in the calf with his heel. "Daaaaad!" He screamed, all the way to the office. Kakashi followed leisurely without even a word to me but a nod to both guards at the door.

I sighed quietly and grabbed a handful of files. A few moments of peace and solitude away from my desk sounded extremely tempting right now.

The hallway to the archives was on the right side of the Hokage's office. I passed by the guards to access it. Genma gave me a knowing smile, his senbon tilting up and down as he spoke: "Need some quiet, uh?"

"My ears are still buzzing," I replied good-naturedly. It's not that I didn't like kids, on the contrary, but in my previous life those I was familiar with were a little older. I had been a teacher not a nanny. While in this life, apart from my cousin, I hadn't met many of them, at least not that weren't already ninjas in training. Childhood was different in this world.

Genma chuckled and slouched a bit more, folding a leg to lean a foot against the wall. The damn man was just twenty years old and he managed a laid-back attitude which, combined with his good looks and his sense of humor, earned him many conquests. He was also friendly. I might have been invisible to him when I was in the Genin Corps but, as soon as I started working as the Hokage's assistant, I was eligible for his amicable banter. I sometimes wondered if it came from the fact that he was the most sociable of the Hokage's Guard Platoon and as such made it his duty to ensure a good relationship with the Hokage's assistants, or if it was because we had both grown up and he had taken note of my womanly assets. Maybe both.

I worked peacefully in the archives, filing away the denied requests. Then I caught sight of a clock and was reminded of one of my duties as a gofer. When I passed by the guards once again, I asked: "Can I bring you something?"

"Coffee sounds good to me. Raidou?" Genma turned to his friend. The quiet guard nodded in agreement.

"Two coffees coming up. Haruka-san, tea?"

"Yes," the secretary replied without looking up.

It took me ten minutes to come back with two cups of tea and two of coffee. By that time, Naruto and Kakashi had left, leaving the door open.

I put down Haruka's cup (black tea, no sugar, as bitter as her heart) on her empty desk before raising up the tray for the guards. Both of them thanked me as they accepted their drink, but Genma smiled when he tasted his. While Raidou liked his coffee black, without flourishes, Genma required cream and honey but just so. It was a small victory to get his drink right… and it was pathetic that this felt like an accomplishment.

I stepped into the Hokage's office to find Haruka speaking to the Yondaime about "guests". I put down the last cup (green tea and honey) where I could find a free space beside an inkwell. He gave me a smile, distracted but as warm as ever.

I was turning around when I finally understood which guests they were talking about. Kumo's envoy for the peace treaty!

Shit! I thought I had more time before he arrived.

Thankfully, the scroll was ready. I had already written down what I could remember from the Hyuuga affair. Now, I just needed to find a good moment for the drop. The agitation due to the preparations should give me an opportunity.

oOo

Two days later, the Hokage had left his office with his Guard Platoon and Haruka on his heels. They were to inspect the accommodations for the envoy. It was late in the afternoon. No-one was waiting for the Yondaime. The hallway was empty. Perfect.

Aware that some ANBU always lurked around, I was careful to look as busy and casual as usual. I grabbed the pile of documents needing the Hokage's attention, walked to his office's door and poured some chakra in the seal to disable the security. I went to his desk and put down the documents on his "to be processed" stack, making sure that the damn scroll was right in the middle of the pile and not on top. I didn't linger. I walked out and switched back on the security seal. I calmly went back to my desk. By the time I was done with my shift, the Hokage wasn't back.

I made sure to follow my usual routine after work. In a shinobi village, there was a thin limit between paranoia and prudence. Considering what I knew about what was lingering in the shadows of Konoha (even if all of my knowledge wasn't perfectly accurate anymore), I liked to err on the side of caution.

As such, I made my way to my neighborhood and stopped by my aunt's house. My cousin, Izumo, was gone on a mission with his genin team. I always ate diner with my aunt when that was the case. I kept her company and in exchange I didn't have to cook after a long day at work. Sometimes I even slept there but not tonight. I didn't want to involve my aunt if something happened. Better safe than sorry.

It was late in the evening when I made my way to my apartment, a street farther. My home wasn't much: I only needed a bedroom and a decent living room with kitchen included. It was small but clean.

I went to sleep in my best pyjamas (again, you never knew, but there was no way I was going to appear in front of the Hokage in a nightshirt), but in the end I wasn't dragged out of my bed in the middle of the night. I chose to take it as a good sign.

When I arrived at work in the morning, holding back a yawn since I had difficulties to fall and stay asleep, Tatami Iwashi was on guard duty with Raidou.

He gestured for me to come forward. "The Hokage wants to speak with you."

Moment of truth, here I came…

"Good morning Maiko-san," the Yondaime started pleasantly. He wasn't alone. The Jounin Commander was sitting on a corner of the desk and staring at me with half-closed lids.

I bowed respectfully. "Hokage-sama. Shikaku-san."

When I straightened, the Yondaime was showing me a scroll with a red seal. The scroll.

"Yesterday evening, you brought me some papers. This was with them, was it not?"

"Yes, Hokage-sama. Sealed for your eyes only but tested by your threats detection seal, as per protocol."

Nara Shikaku asked: "Who gave it to you?"

"A genin courrier, Shikaku-san."

"Could you identify him?" The jounin asked, clearly expecting it to be difficult.

"I can give you his name. Sugawara Aoi."

The Yondaime smiled at me, aware of my close ties with the Genin Corps. It had been one of his reasons to hire me as second assistant. "Thank you Maiko-san, that will be all."

"At your command, Hokage-sama." I bowed again and went to work.

Half an hour later, Sugawara Aoi left the Yondaime's office despite the fact I hadn't seen him come in. Summoned by ANBU then. The poor boy certainly seemed cowed by his interview with our leader. I would have to apologize discreetly somehow. Some advice the next time he came to deliver a message would do.

I focused back on my work, confident in the fact that the scroll would be untraceable. I had dropped it in one of the administration mailboxes. Aoi had no-one to describe, which left no trail to follow even for the two geniuses in the next room.

The trepidation which bothered me every time I made such a drop slowly ebb away.

This was my fourth time interfering with the timeline. The first time, I had failed in changing anything: Obito had been announced KIA. The second time, Nohara Rin was saved from becoming a jinchuriki and getting herself killed. The third time, I saved Minato-sama… but not his wife.

I had managed all of those before I became the Yondaime's secretary. It had been easier to do this time but also riskier: I had never been in contact with the scrolls in public view before.

The results, as variable as they were, were worth the risks. So many lives had been spared, especially during the night of Naruto's birth.

With a little luck, the Hyuuga would be safe too.

oOo

They were.

I wasn't aware of the details but the kidnapping attempt had been thwarted. Kumo's envoy had gotten his knuckles rapped and left with the peace treaty signed.

Perfect success!

Quite pleased, I offered myself a little treat: a new grey kimono blouse, with a green obi and a lower cut than what I was used to. The green leaves embroidered on the edges were lovely (and pricey).

Haruka took a look at me and commented: "You remind me of Tsunade-sama."

I froze, remembering the few glimpses of the Sannin I had gotten as a child. Her cleavage was… memorable, and the reactions she got from men about it just as much so. Somberly, I glanced down. I had generous breasts, that was true, but nothing compared to Tsunade's legendary bosom. Still, I wouldn't be able to think about anything else when I put on this blouse, now. I'm sure that was Haruka's intent: when I muttered "I'll change tomorrow," she nodded with a "that would be better."

Great. I really shouldn't have bother spending so much of my savings on that blouse.

I was sulking when I passed by the Hokage's door and Genma chose this moment to appear for the first time this morning.

He glanced at me, smiled, and then did a double take at my blouse. "That's new, and pretty."

"Thanks," I grumbled. "I won't wear it again." As a matter of fact, I was putting on a green haori (unconsciously making the resemblance with Tsunade's outfit even greater). I closed it over my cleavage.

Genma made some noise, but I was already steps away and didn't stop.

The archives were one of my favorite places at work. Silence, solitude and information. Just everything I needed most of the time.

"Hey."

I startled and slammed the drawer shut.

Genma was leaning with a shoulder against the lockers. He smiled at me impishly.

I huffed. "Don't do that, you annoying ghost."

He chuckled but didn't apologize. "Iwashi told me what Haruka-san said. Don't worry about it, it looks good on you."

I shrugged and walked to the next drawer I had to go through. "She thinks it's unprofessional."

He followed. "She's just jealous."

That was entirely possible – Haruka was rather flat-chested – but that wasn't the point. "Maybe, but she's still my manager. I don't need her to be more unpleasant than usual."

"So you won't wear it again because she doesn't like it?"

"Not at work, at least," I replied before adding distractedly, in a low voice: "Considering our work hours and my nonexistent social life, that doesn't leave many opportunities."

"I see your point. Uniforms take most of my closet."

"Bandanas included, I suppose?"

"Of course. They're indispensable."

"Any of them aren't plain navy?"

"You'll have to check yourself," he replied cheekily. I knew it wasn't an invitation, just the way he liked to tease all his friends. I had overheard him bantering like this with Raidou and Iwashi, and while Genma was bisexual, the other guards weren't (at least Iwashi wasn't, he had been clear about it, Raidou… maybe).

I glanced at him and his mischievous smirk then looked down to the files with a lopsided smile. "Thanks."

"What for?"

"For coming here and lifting my spirits," I replied as I closed the drawer and walked past him. "I appreciate it."

"My pleasure."

oOo

Genma was even more friendly after that. Every time I changed my hairstyle, my clothes or jewellery (which was admittedly not often), he noticed and complimented me. When he was bored on guard duty, he came to sit on the corner of my desk for small talk.

Of course, people noticed.

Haruka made sure to tell me everything she knew about Genma's affairs, just in case I got ideas about how special I was. I never realized what a queen of gossip she was before that. It was useful for the Hokage I supposed: she could tell him if anything important happened to his shinobi. I bet that's how she rationalized it anyway. She definitely looked proud of knowing everything about everyone. People coming from the Intelligence Division were a little creepy like that.

Personally, I definitely didn't need to know every detail of Genma's love life like it was a sitcom. After a month of this, I gave in.

"Haruka-san!" I interrupted her loudly. It was early in the morning, the hallway was empty except for us. The guards were speaking with the Hokage in his office, the door closed. "Haruka-san," I repeated more calmly when she gawked at me, shocked that I dared interrupt her so rudely. "While I appreciate what you're trying to do, Genma-san is just a friend and I am… uncomfortable hearing about his private life from a third party, so if you could please… refrain from sharing these details with me, I'd be grateful."

She stared at me, apparently intent on reading my mind (she liked to say that she had Yamanaka blood but, if it was true, it was much too diluted, she had neither their peculiar eyes nor their light hair) before nodding her head. "Very well. If you understood, I'll consider the matter closed."

Yes! Peace, at least!

Haruka was condescending, but she recognized I wasn't an idiot about a month after I started working for her. Since then our collaboration was much easier, as long as I was properly respectful.

oOo

Two hours later, I was bringing a tray of drinks from the break room when Genma appeared at the top of the stairs with his hands in his pockets.

"I heard you asked Haruka-san to stop harassing you with my love life? I'm disappointed, I made sure to make it as eventful as possible just for you."

I froze and gaped at him. "You did all that on purpose?!"

"Well, yeah. You don't seriously believe I spend all my evenings doing sexy drinking games, do you?"

"I thought Haruka-san was exaggerating."

"Nope, all true. Staged but true. I had help from friends. We had fun."

I reached his level, but I was still staring at him, wide-eyed. "You're shameless."

He smirked, his eyes sparkling mischievously. "Maybe. Or I'm really bored and messing with Haruka-san and her informants was a good way to pass the time. Raidou and Iwashi also had great fun listening to your little talks. Raidou says your poker face improved quite a lot."

"Oh Kami," I breathed, flabbergasted, "I had to listen to all that just because you and your friends wanted to have some fun?!" In a huff, I walked past him.

"It was really good fun, Maiko-chan. It did wonders for my social life and those of many jounin and tokubetsu jounin, let me tell you. Kakashi for example wa–"

"Oh, then if you had fun, that's all that matters!" I hissed sarcastically, now fuming. For weeks I had been worried by this breach of his privacy and it was just a game for him. Beyond the anger, I was embarrassed for thinking that he and the other guards had been unaware of Haruka's gossip. I had naively thought that if they had known they would have put an end to it – and put me out of my misery. Unfortunately, nothing was ever so simple with shinobi.

Genma stepped in my way. "Mai–"

I sidestepped him with a graceful pirouette without disturbing the cups. "Excuse me, Genma-san, the Hokage awaits his tea." I tried to keep my voice perfectly professional but, considering the looks I got, I probably missed and made it a little too sharp or icy.

When I came closer to the Hokage's office, Iwashi hastily opened the door for me, although he was looking at Genma past my shoulder with an air that said "dude, you fucked up, I'm not going down with you."

"Ah, Maiko-san, excellent timing," Minato-sama said as I put down cups and a teapot in front of him and his guest, Uchiha Fugaku. "Could you– Is everything alright?"

I relaxed my facial expression and smiled. Thankfully, his good mood and kindness were so contagious that it wasn't very difficult to do. "Of course, Hokage-sama. How may I help you?"

"I need some files from the archives."

He gave me a piece of paper with the appropriate references and I bowed. "Right away, Hokage-sama."

Without surprise, Genma followed me to the archives. "You're pissed."

"No, you think?!" I replied venomously as I slammed my hand and chakra against the security seal.

"We weren't making fun of you, Maiko-chan, just of Haruka-san and her gossip mongers."

I walked into the room and waited for the door to close behind him before replying: "I don't care what your goal was! Do you know how I felt each day, listening to her going on in details about your private life?"

"If it bothered you so much, why didn't you stop her sooner?"

"Because she's my boss!" I shouted, hitting him in the arm with the empty tray I was still holding.

Genma was so surprised by my outburst that he took it with barely a grunt.

"Seriously, you, jounin and tokubetsu, you're all the same! You expect to be treated with respect and deference, but you fail to grasp exactly how far it has to go. Last time, with the blouse, you thought less of me because I chose to do as she asked and never wore it again at work. Don't even bother denying it!" I shouted at him, pointing a finger at his face when his senbon shifted. "You're so privileged that you're blind to how things work for most shinobi, Genma-san. My work here, it might not seem much to the elite, but it's a dream come true and not an everlasting one. Do you know how many members of the Genin Corps ever managed to end up working in the Hokage Office? One! I'm the first! One word from Haruka-san and I can be sent back to the Chuunin Corps roster for an endlessly boring career. So yes, I'd rather suck it up than let that happen. How shocking that some people don't have the opportunity to put their pride and self-respect or–or their fucking amusement above everything else!"

Exhausted by my tirade, I breathed heavily, glaring at Genma and his stupidly impassive face.

"The Hokage won't let her fire you just for speaking your mind," he replied confidently.

I snorted and shook my head. "I love the Hokage," I admitted as I turned away, "but I'm perfectly aware of my own importance and its lack there of. That's one of the first lessons the Genin Corps teach you." I walked to the next drawer and didn't look back.

Genma didn't follow. I thought he had left without a word, but after a few seconds he said "I'm sorry", and the door finally closed.

I leaned over the drawer I had opened and rubbed my face tiredly. This morning had started so well...

oOo

When I left the Hokage tower after work that evening, Genma was leaning against a wall and casually fell into step by my side when I passed by. I stopped and tilted my head in his direction with a raised eyebrow.

His senbon was quickly moving up and down, a sign of nervousness. "My sensei was an Akimichi. When we fucked up, we had to pay a meal for the team. So… tomorrow, we have both the day off... do you want to go at that new tea house you wanted to try? My treat."

"The one with the crepes?"

He smirked, knowing he had me hooked. "Yeah."

Damn, five weeks of friendship and he already knew one of my weaknesses. I shifted my weight from one feet to the other before nodding. "As friends, right?"

"Yeah." Encouraged by my tacit agreement, Genma stepped forward. "Do you forgive me?"

"I will if the crepes are as good as they say," I replied with a lopsided smile.

His lips stretched into a grin and his shoulders relaxed slightly. "See you tomorrow."

I watched him leave thoughtfully. Genma was sweet and handsome. If we weren't working so closely together, I had no doubt that we would have already ended up tangled in bed. That was his modus operandi, and I could have been convinced of allowing it.

However, since we were seeing each other every day, we were both aware that it would be a bad idea. We didn't need any drama in the Hokage office, especially me. I wasn't going to let anything compromise my position.

There was too much at stake and I wasn't really a sixteen years old girl after all! If you counted everything, I was past forty! … Oh... Let's not think about that too much, right? That way just lied headaches.

oOo Bonus - Genma's PoV oOo

Genma stepped into the ANBU headquarters and immediately went to find his best friend. Raidou was playing cards with Kakashi and some others. Genma ignored everyone else and grabbed Raidou's shoulder. "I fucked up. Maiko-chan is mad at me."

"You told her about you messing with Haruka-san, didn't you?" Raidou guessed without looking away from his hand – he had a bad one.

"Yeah. I know, you told me she wouldn't like it, and you were right! Happy? Tell me how to sort this out." Genma removed his senbon from his lips before he would cut his tongue on it in his agitation. He had a reputation as a smooth talker, but when he messed up with someone important to him, he tended to lose his composure and needed some coaching to avoid making things any worse. Raidou was terrible at socializing but good with theoretical advice.

"Apologize."

"I did that!"

"Does this mean our plans for tonight are canceled?" Kakashi asked nonchalantly while putting down a card who made everyone else groan in distaste.

"Yes," Genma hissed. He met Kakashi's languorous eye, winced and back-pedaled: "No. Just... Let's go to your flat instead of the bar."

"Fine with me," Kakashi agreed.

"Buy her something to apologize. Flowers or a meal, something like that," Raidou said while throwing his cards on the table in defeat.

"Flowers? How bold. Do you have a crush on the assistant, Genma?" The only girl of the group asked with a grin.

"Meal it is," Genma concluded and left the room without waiting.

Raidou followed suit and stopped him in the middle of the hall by catching his elbow. "Hey. It will be fine, alright? She isn't the type to hold a grudge if you apologize properly." He was aware that his friend was getting quite fond of Maiko. This meant more to him than a simple relationship between coworkers.

"Yeah... Yeah, you are right."

"There is something else," Raidou guessed.

"She said something," Genma admitted before relating the discussion he had with Maiko. "Is it true do you think. Am I privileged?"

Raidou tilted his head and gave him a telling look. "Who was your jounin sensei? Who is your direct superior? How much do you earn each month?"

"A noble clan head. The Hokage. Probably twice as much as she does," Genma replied before sighing and nodding. "Yeah, I see your point, but it feels wrong you know, the way she sees herself and her importance?"

"She went through the Genin Corps," Raidou pointed out as they made their way toward the Hokage's office. "That leaves its mark."

"Still... I'll mention it to the Yondaime."

"You might be sticking your nose in where it's not wanted."

"Then I'll apologize again and buy her another meal," Genma decided with a shrug, pressing his lips around his senbon now that he was more composed.

Raidou shook his head in exasperation. When his friend had something in mind, it was no use trying to convince him otherwise. He had tried. "Just be aware that everyone will ask why the parties are canceled and I'm not dealing with it." He ignored the pleading look Genma sent him. "No. Your idea. Your mess."

Thank you for your support everyone (thanks to Fool'sTutor in particular, that was a very nice review, but I can't reply to you)! I'm glad you liked the Genin Corps approach and I hope you'll approve of this timeskip.

NB: The timeline of the Naruto universe, as a rule, is a mess. If you take a look at Tatami Iwashi in the Naruto Wiki, you'll see that considering his age he's supposed to have been 10/11 yo when he became a bodyguard of the Yondaime. Since that doesn't make any sense at all, for this story, I'll consider him nine years older. Right now, he's 23 when Genma is 20 and Raidou 22.

Edit 29th of July 2017: Bonus added.