The streets of Konoha bustled with the energy of the te morning. Merchants called out their wares, shinobi darted between rooftops, and vilgers carried on with their daily routines. But Kaya barely noticed any of it.

  Her mind was elsewhere, looping through her recent conversation with Aoi. No matter how much she had tried to push it aside, the truth was undeniable.

  Hiro had already chosen her as his family.

  Before she even realized it, her feet had carried her to her destination. She blinked, shaking herself from her thoughts as she looked up at the tall structure before her.

  The Hokage’s office.

  A deep breath. A slight adjustment to her posture. Then, she stepped inside.

  A receptionist at the front desk barely gnced up before addressing her. "Kaya?"

  Kaya nodded.

  "The Hokage is expecting you. Right this way."

  She was led down the familiar hallways of the administrative building. Even though she hadn’t been here in years, the weight of the pce hadn’t changed. Each step carried with it the memories of formal mission briefings, debriefs, and reports that once felt like a routine part of her life.

  The assistant gestured to a door at the end of the hall. Kaya knocked, and a deep voice called from within.

  "Come in."

  The scent of ink, parchment, and faint tobacco filled the air. Hiruzen Sarutobi sat behind his desk, pipe in hand, his aged but sharp eyes watching her with quiet amusement.

  "Please, have a seat," he gestured.

  Kaya lowered herself into the chair across from him, her back instinctively straight. Before she could say anything, Hiruzen called for his secretary to bring tea. A moment passed in silence as she struggled to form her words.

  "Lord Hokage," she finally started, "I wanted to thank you again—for allowing me to remain at the orphanage these past years. I—"

  Hiruzen stood before she could finish, walking toward the bookshelf to his right. "You’ve done a fine job, Kaya. Better than I had originally expected."

  The casual remark caught her off guard. He wasn’t looking at her as he spoke, which only deepened her unease.

  "But," he continued, "there is an issue. One of the other orphanages in the vilge hasn’t been running quite as smoothly as yours."

  A knot formed in Kaya’s stomach.

  Was he about to reassign her?

  The thought hit her like a punch to the gut. The idea of leaving Hiro, of having to abandon the orphanage where she had built a life with him, was suffocating. Her hands clenched into fists against her p.

  Hiruzen turned back just in time to catch the panic in her eyes. He smiled knowingly.

  "Calm yourself, Kaya. I’m not sending you away."

  The breath she hadn’t realized she was holding escaped in a shaky exhale.

  Hiruzen returned to his desk, unrolling a rge blueprint before her.

  "This," he said, tapping the parchment, "is the new orphanage."

  Kaya blinked at the detailed pns of a much rger facility.

  "Once it is completed, your current building will be demolished," Hiruzen expined. "You’ll move into this residence here—" he pointed to a small home attached to the orphanage grounds. "It will allow you to continue overseeing the children, but this time with a full staff to assist you."

  Kaya looked up at him, confused.

  "You’ll be the manager," Hiruzen crified, "but you won’t have to run everything alone anymore."

  The relief that flooded her was instantaneous. But before she could express it, Hiruzen pulled out a single sheet of paper and pced it in front of her.

  Kaya froze.

  Her breath hitched as her eyes scanned the document, reading and rereading the words that had been so carefully typed.

  Her name.

  Hiro’s name.

  An adoption form.

  She stared, hands trembling, as she reached out to lift the paper.

  She was listed as Hiro’s parent.

  The backup guardians, required in case of unforeseen ninja casualties, were Shinji Uchiha and Aoi Yamanaka.

  "Aoi already came to talk to me—actually, weeks ago," Hiruzen said casually, leaning back in his chair. "I was starting to think I wouldn’t need that form."

  A small, choked sound escaped Kaya’s throat. She couldn’t stop the tears that welled in her eyes.

  "Lord Third…"

  "Kaya," Hiruzen interrupted, his expression warm but firm. "We don’t punish shinobi who perform excellently. We reward them."

  A slow smirk pulled at the old Hokage’s lips. "I assume this arrangement will be acceptable?"

  Kaya bowed her head, gripping the form tightly as tears dripped onto the paper.

  "Thank you, Lord Hokage," she whispered, her voice barely holding together.

  Hiruzen gave her a moment before clearing his throat. "Go talk it over with Hiro. Once both of you sign, drop it off with my secretary, and she’ll handle the rest."

  He watched her as she struggled to compose herself.

  "And I assume," he added with a smirk, "that you’ll also accept the new mission to oversee the orphanage expansion?"

  Kaya snapped to attention, standing so quickly that her chair nearly toppled over.

  "Yes, Lord Hokage!" she nearly shouted, bowing again.

  Hiruzen chuckled. "Good. Then get moving. I imagine there’s someone who’ll be very happy to hear the news."

  As Kaya stepped outside the Hokage’s office, the world felt different.

  The air was lighter. The sun was warmer. Her steps carried a new sense of certainty.

  She wasn’t just watching over Hiro anymore.

  She was going to be his mother.

  Clutching the adoption form against her chest, she turned toward the orphanage, her heart racing.

  This was the start of something new. Something permanent.

  And she couldn’t wait.