Kakashi knocked on the door to room 304, rolling his neck with a sigh. His superiors hadn't been happy to hear he'd abandoned a mission before really starting it, but he'd meant it when he told Itachi it wasn't time sensitive. Another team was now investigating the river where the kid and her mother had been found, keeping an eye out for any pursuers. Meanwhile, the dead woman's body was being examined for any clues her attackers might have left behind. The kid would need to undergo some serious tests, as well as an examination by Analysis to make sure she wasn't a potential threat to the village, but she'd probably be adopted out to a family there in Konoha once everything settled down.

The door slid open, revealing a slightly harried doctor.

"Ah," she said with a wan smile. "Hatake-san. Please, come in."

He nodded politely to her and stepped into the room, only to stop in his tracks. The kid sat shirtless on the examination table, body riddled in bruises and swaddled in tattoos. She looked at him with bottomless black eyes, a small smile bringing life to her too serious face.

"You're back!"

He forced himself to express an ease he didn't feel. "Yo! How's it going?"

Her smile widened, revealing straight, white teeth. "Good! The doctor says I can go, now."

Kakashi tossed a glance at the doctor, who nodded. "She'll have to come back tomorrow for some other tests, but, for now, she's good to go."

"That's great, kid," he hefted her off the table and onto his hip. "What do you say we go get something to eat?"

She pulled her shirt over her head, hiding most of her bruises and tattoos under pale green fabric. Jumping to the ground with a comically high-pitched grunt, she turned to Itachi. "You wanna come?"

Itachi's face softened into a gentle smile. "Thank you, but no. I need to give my own report, and my family is waiting for me."

She nodded sagely. "Ok, get home safe."

Kakashi reached out a hand for hers and led her from the room and down the hall, ignoring Itachi's curious glance. True, he wasn't much of a kid person, but he was one of the only people in the village she knew. He couldn't just leave her with strangers.

A realization struck him as they stepped out of the hospital into the night air. "Hey, kid, what's your name?"

She turned those black, black eyes back on him. "Hanako."

For some reason, the normalness of it surprised him. "That's a nice name."

She looked away, short brown curls bouncing with the movement. "It's really not."

His eyebrows raised on their own. "Oh?"

She sighed heavily and turned her gaze up to the stars. "It's not hana as in flowers. It's hana as in sorrow."

Kakashi looked up, too, a little guilty that his expectations had been met. "That's not so bad," he said a little haltingly. "No one has to know that. You're in a new place now, you can change it to flowers, if you like."

She looked down at her feet. "Maybe." Her voice was smaller than she was, but Kakashi still heard her. Abruptly, she tugged on his hand with a wide-eyed expression. "Where am I going to sleep, tonight?"

Kakashi's own eyes widened. "Ah!"

The next morning, Kakashi accompanied Hanako on the walk to the Hokage's office. He watched as she jumped on fallen leaves, crying out in victory every time they crunched. During their little sleep over at his place—approved by her doctor—he'd noticed how little she resembled other children her age. She was serious, articulate, and able to grasp fairly difficult concepts. He typically avoided children her age because they required constant care and supervision, but Hanako seemed more like a tiny adult than a kid. Watching her giggle now reminded him that she was very much a child.

A child who had witnessed her mother's death.

That alone made his blood boil, though he refused to consider why. Down that path lay nothing but terrible memories.

Hanako made loud noises of appreciation as they entered the Hokage's office, waving at the adults walking by. Many laughed behind their hands or remarked openly on how cute she was. And she was cute, all smiles and unruly curls, but there was an edge to her that only revealed itself when she spoke. Her vocabulary was too large, her eyes too piercing for a child so young. Kakashi could recall only one other child who behaved like that, but he was at least twice her age before people began to notice he was different from his peers. Itachi may have finally been surpassed.

Or she was more than she seemed.

Hanako skipped alongside him, humming a little song to herself and looking for all the world like an ordinary child. Then, she looked up at him with limpid dark eyes and said, "Am I going to be interrogated?"

She kept talking without pausing for his answer. "It only makes sense that I would—as an outsider coming in under suspicious circumstances—but I want to know for sure. I don't know how many answers I can give you, but I'll do my best."

That. It was things like that which had him doubting. What five-year-old worried about interrogation? Or even knew what interrogation was, let alone how to pronounce it?

He didn't have much time to think about it, though. Inoichi Yamanaka met them outside the office door, his expression visibly surprised.

"Had I known she would be so young, I would have brought Ino with me. Children are often more comfortable when there are others their own age about."

Hanako looked up at him, her face deceptively guileless. "They didn't tell you how old I am?"

Inoichi seemed surprised to be addressed. "No, they didn't." He threw a confused glance at Kakashi, who shrugged. "They said a child had been brought into the village and they needed my help."

She held the older man's gaze for a little too long before nodding. "My name is Hanako. It's nice to meet you."

She didn't bow, instead holding out a little hand, fingers extended. Inoichi took it, allowing the girl to shake it up and down even though he was clearly confused.

"I am Inoichi Yamanaka." He said gravely. "It's nice to meet you, too."

She smiled and opened her mouth to speak, but the office door opened and caught all their attention. Itachi Uchiha stood in the doorway, dressed in his Anbu uniform and mask. He didn't speak, but gestured at them to enter.

Hanako waved at him with a chipper hello, clearly recognizing him despite his mask and silence. Kakashi laughed at Itachi's expense, clapping the shorter man on the shoulder as he entered. He held up a hand in greeting to the others in the office, but was interrupted before he could speak.

"You look just like my grandpa!" Hanako's voice was high pitched with incredulity and she leveled one chubby finger on Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Hokage himself.

The elderly man chuckled. "Do I really?"

Hanako placed both hands on her face, dragging them down in an exaggerated display of shock. "Yes! But-how-why-I don't understand! This doesn't make any sense!"

Kakashi and Inoichi exchanged a glance above Hanako's head. True, the odds of someone looking exactly like their Kage were incredibly low, but doppelgangers were a thing for a reason, right?

Hanako seemed to think differently, tugging at her hair and furrowing her brows in very apparent confusion. "I don't understand," she repeated, tears filling her eyes. "I don't understand."

The Hokage stood, coming around his desk to kneel in front of the distressed child, placing aged hands on her shoulders. "It's alright, my dear. I understand this is difficult for you, and under different circumstances I would encourage you to take all the time you need before speaking with us. However, your circumstances are rather special. We need to hurry if we are to catch the men who killed your mother. I hope you can forgive our insensitivity."

Kakashi looked on as Hanako met the old man's gaze. "So you are interrogating me."

Hiruzen laughed heartily. "So we are, but only a little. Yamanaka-kun," Inoichi stepped forward. "Has a jutsu which will allow him to see your memories. It will be easier on you than an actual interrogation, and allow us to pick up details that you might not deem important. Of course," he added, stroking his beard. "He'll only use it if you let him."

To Kakashi's surprise, Hanako seemed hesitant. She worried her bottom lip for a moment before looking up at the Hokage. "Can I hold your hand?"

Hiruzen's expression became incredibly soft. "Of course, my dear."

Inoichi approached at the Hokage's signal and performed his mind reading jutsu. Normally, the technique was reserved for criminals and suspected spies, aided by the use of a specially designed machine.

It was much less impressive in the middle of an office.

Kakashi almost looked away, not at all interested in watching what, in his mind, would be nothing interesting, but Inoichi's brows furrowed. Visibly frustrated, the Yamanaka clan-head doubled down on the jutsu, pouring in enough chakra that even Kakashi could feel it. The air sizzled with it. Another Anbu agent came in through the window, clearly concerned. The Hokage waved him off, careful not to jostle the kid.

Inoichi released the jutsu, sweat beading on his forehead. "A seal," he said with no small amount of suspicion. "A seal has been placed on her memories."

Hanako curled in on herself, an almost guilty look on her face. "I'm sorry," she said quietly, looking up at the Hokage with an earnest expression. "I didn't know."

The old man pat her head with a fond smile before standing with some difficulty. "It's alright, my dear. It's no use worrying about things outside your control. We adults will figure out what our next course of action should be. In the meantime, let us discuss where to put you. I can't imagine you enjoyed staying over at Hatake-kun's apartment last night."

Hanako crinkled her nose.

"It's not that bad," Kakashi said with mock hurt in his voice.

It really wasn't.

Really.