Chapter Eight: The Lord Hokage.

Everyone turned their heads to stare at him. Anko's jaw was slack, and her toothpick even fell out. Ibiki squinted. The lackeys looked to Ibiki. Sweat beaded on the back of Raio's neck.

"... Please?"

"Why do you want them here?" Ibiki asked. The way he spoke was slow. Deliberate. "I can't think of how they'd be relevant."

"Well," Raio said. The words rushed out, desperate to be heard and acknowledged. "I mean, they were both nice to me. And if I'm meeting the– leader of the village here, I'm gonna be– I mean, I am– real nervous about it. So… yeah."

Ibiki's jaw set. Anko looked at him.

"I've been cooperative," Raio insisted. "You got all of your answers from me. I've told you everything. I'm– willing to try to get this thing suppressed with Fuinjutsu, or whatever. I haven't tried to escape, I haven't tried attacking anyone. Don't I at least get a say in who I can have in here?"

Anko shrugged. "He's got a point."

If there was any sort of surprise that came with this, it would be Anko (who's shown herself to be very brash) agreeing with him. It came with an elated thought. This humanitarian thing was already paying off! He had been cordial with her, so now she was supporting him.

Maybe this was how this world worked.

Ibiki pinched the bridge of his nose. Instead of gracing Raio or Anko with a response, he looked at his comrades. "... Summon Might Guy and Kurenai Yūhi here too, then."

They nodded and slipped out of the door after a minute.

Raio's knees almost buckled in relief. Instead, the tension leeched from his shoulders, and he let himself breathe. "Thanks."

"Yeah." Ibiki moved to the corner of the room, parallel to the door, and leaned against the wall. "You're lucky that they're both high-ranking Jonin. Otherwise, I would've denied your request."

Anko snickered. "So I'm high-ranking in your eyes now too, Ibiki?"

"Don't push it."

Raio retreated to his corner, the one by his bed, and sunk to his knees. Instead of reveling in his thoughts, he decided to voice them. "So this is the last stretch? After the Hokage sees me, I'm getting out of here?"

An uneasy look. Anko didn't interject this time. From the brief interaction, Raio gleamed that Ibiki was possibly stronger than her. If this village went off of strength. The Hokage was the strongest, these Jonin were under that, and… whatever followed.

"He has a copy of our transcribed interview," Ibiki said, "After this, he has the authority to deem you a threat to the village or not. If not, you'll reside in Konohagakure as a refugee."

"With my own house?" He pressed.

Ibiki nodded. "With your own apartment, yes."

Raio nodded. With Guy and Kurenai surely on his side, there'll be more sway as to how the Hokage thinks. Anko seemed to be fond of him too. But… he paused, and he turned his head to the side. "Do you still think I'm a threat?"

Anko put her hands on her hips. The three shared a subtle silence as Ibiki thought. "We'll see how it goes."

"Ah." Raio looked away. He should've known better than to get his hopes up earlier. Ibiki had referred to him as a friend, but he was just using honeyed words.

Anko kicked at one of the legs of the wooden table in the middle of the room. "Anyways. What's with the pigsty for a bed, Raio?"

"What? Oh," He startled. Then, recalling how she had laughed at his assumption of her maternity, he shied away. "It's more comfortable that way."

"Uhuh." She crossed her arms, unconvinced. Then, Anko's eyes gleamed when she caught sight of the juice box buried within the cotton. "You like juice that much?"

The same, prickly hot webbing of embarrassment coated him. He swallowed his pride. He had to get her to like him– or at least, stay liking him. "Yeah."

Ibiki shifted, but it was in such a way that Raio couldn't exactly gleam what his expression was. His body language stayed the same. Stoic, impassive. Instead of the prickling embarrassment a cold stone dropped in his stomach again. This was the same man who saw him as a threat.

What had Raio ever done to him?

"I can go get you some more later. I like sweets, too. Have you ever had sweet bean soup?" Anko had a rather unabashed, relaxed grin on her face, and it made him feel a little better. "Or dango?"

"... I've heard of it," Raio confirmed, though he couldn't possibly think of how. Vaguely, he could even visualize her words. "I think."

"Great. Later, then."

The door slid open. Slowly, mechanically. Although the room had been filled with an uneasy amount of small talk and stifled conversation, it was easy for it to be smothered.

Might Guy, the man in the startlingly green jumpsuit, Kurenai Yūhi in her rose-thorn outfit, some old dude with a hat Raio thought looked weird, and the two lackeys. Ibiki and Anko bowed upon their entries.

What the hell were they doing? Raio looked between Ibiki and Anko. Their custom was disorientating, but not as much as the appearance of Guy and Kurenai. Suddenly, his throat was very dry again. Nerves. The two righted themselves and were now attentive, while Guy and Kurenai moved to one side of the room to not take up space.

"Thank you for joining us," Ibiki cut the silence, standing upright once more. His eyes went particularly to Guy and Kurenai, a more direct 'thank you'. "Lord Hokage. Raio had requested these two come as well, to make him feel more comfortable."

That got them. Kurenai and Guy displayed similar expressions; widened eyes of shock, raised eyebrows, their lips parted. Kurenai raised her hand in a reserved way as to wave it off, though it slightly looked like she was greeting Raio. He waved back.

"That is fine," The old man said. Raio placed him as the Hokage. Ah, that's why Ibiki and Anko bowed when he entered. His tone was much more amused, "I didn't expect him to be so friendly."

Raio flushed. It sounded like he was talking about a dog, rather than him. Prickly, he moved his head so that his long black hair would fall over his face and obscure it. This whole thing was much more embarrassing than how he thought it'd go. In his head, he convinced himself that things would turn out better with Kurenai and Guy here.

"Well. Young Raio," The old man called, settling his eyes on the little mutant. "We finally meet. How has your stay here been?"

... Are you kidding? He couldn't be serious. Raio opened his mouth to give a scathing 'review' of the amenities before balking. No, no. There were people in the room who was giving this man respect. He still needed to be humanitarian and make a good impression. So he stumbled over his words a little when he said, "It's been... good. Better than what I'm used to. I like Anko. You're the Hokage, right?"

Raio's ear twitched, and he could hear Anko huff a breath of what he thought was amusement. Good, that was good.

The Hokage nodded. He stepped forward, approaching Raio with slow and certain steps. Even if he were the most powerful in the village, he didn't look the part. This old geezer...? His face was like worn sandpaper! Not to mention, Raio was very nearly taller than him.

Regardless he stayed stiff as a board when the man drew closer. Remembering himself, he had to tightly coil his tail around his leg to prevent it from twitching out.

Yet, the Hokage wasn't looking at him. His weathered eyes were fixated on the small of Raio's throat. Raio's lips twitched. It was an unfortunately familiar sensation- being sized up, being turned over like a piece of meat in a butcher's showcase.

They made eye contact, then. "Young Raio. I'm going to suppress this Cursed Seal. This is a necessary step if you are going to live in The Leaf. I do not know what side effects this will have given your advanced state. Are you ready?"