Adult-FanFiction.org : Naruto

Colourless Vanity	By : Cepheus Category: Naruto > Yaoi - Male/Male Views: 1743 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- Currently Reading : 2
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 1-Approach
- 2-Offer
- 3-Understand
- 4-Departure
- 5-Meeting
- 6-Truth
- 7-Control
- 8-Burning
- 9-Observing
- 10-Forming
- 11-Forcing
- 12-Portraying
- 13-Organizing
- 14-Honing
- 15-Entering
- 16-Bruising
- 17-Admitting
- 9
- 10
- 11
Note: edited 17–12–2008
Cepheus:thanks, everyone, for the support you’re showing to this fic. :) I will work hard on this no matter how much time it will take!

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Rating: M

Summary:(ItaNaru, GenmaRaidou, IruKakaIru) Naruto is tired of his life, but he would never run away from it… so instead, he’s given another option –become a member of the newest ANBU team…

Warnings:yaoi, boy x boy relationship, angsty, torture, and such. Mental as well. Flames will be used to warm up food.

Disclaimer: –.- do not own. It’s kind of frustrating as it is now…

“Talking”
‘Thinking’
–Flashbacks, memories, dreams–

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Colourless Vanity

Chapter 10: Forming

Hyoo stared in clear distaste at the information on the ANBU member Root had decided to force on them, frowning in displeasure; this was worse than he had expected. This would be like freeing a fox in a rabbit hole.
Sighing in defeat, Hyoo slouched on his chair a bit, shifting the mask on his face; he hated having his hands tied, and Danzou was showing his claws in the worst way ever. Slamming the papers down on his desk, he looked away, angered.
He wanted to throttle that old coot with his bare hands, but Danzou was above anything he could do; even though the ANBU of Konoha were taking orders from the Hokage and no one else, Danzou was working with the Council and not even the Hokage had free reign against them.
Hyoo knew what the Council and Danzou were trying to do, by forcing Konoha’s ANBU to work with a member from Ne… he probably wanted to gain the support of the only Uchiha in Konoha, against the Hokage.
Danzou knew of Sasuke’s attempted betrayal, of course, and he thought he could get the support of the famed prodigy.
He didn’t know that the younger Uchiha would never betray Naruto, and Naruto was loyal to Konoha and Tsunade –so Sasuke would never hurt him again. At least, Hyoo hoped that. The young teen needed to grow, and accept things and let go of his revenge need… and to open his eyes to the reality of the world.
But as it was, Panther was sure Sasuke would never do stupid things regarding to Naruto and that was enough.
Danzou would soon learn that. Naruto had turned out to be an anchor to many of the same age, like the Sabaku teen from Suna, the Hyuuga prodigy, the young Sandaime’s grandson and others, too. Now, it looked like he’d helped Sasuke too, and was working his way with Itachi, or at least it seemed so.
Hyoo shook his head; Danzou would never understand what it meant to open his heart to others.
That man was a bastard and Hyoo really wanted to slit his throat to end the threat he posed to the village. Unfortunately he couldn’t… the man was far too protected and always laying low, so much that Ne division was a hidden secret that no one outside ANBU and the Hokage knew about.
Nedid help protecting Konoha, if only more viciously than their Hokage–loyal counterpart, but they were not trustworthy. Its members only obeyed directly to Danzou, no one else could order them around.
They were the perfect killers, weapons, taken upon Root without knowing their past, whereas normal ANBU had a soul and a life.
If opportunity were to appear, Danzou would have no qualms attacking the ANBU troops to kill off any opposing him and gain control of the village. The man was a coward and yet, a sly one; this kind of person worked all day to find ways to hurt people to use them and scare them.
The worst kind of person ever…
Hyoo sighed, frowning. The Ne member didn’t look that old, even though there was no age in the file and the information on him was as cryptic as possible, but he didn’t look older than nineteen, maybe even younger than that.
Maybe he could still be helped.
Looking out of the window, the ANBU commander was amused to catch a glimpse of the blond teen training with Itachi; Naruto looked like he was actually having fun, and the Panther–masked man smiled warmly at the sight.
Had he allowed Naruto to run away with Jiraiya, the teen would have pushed his feelings deeper inside him and Hyoo was certain it would have hurt him. Naruto needed a place to feel at home, wanted, a place where he could get the help he always so willingly offered to others.
Naruto was under his protection now, and the Council, the villagers’ and not even Danzou, with all his schemes, would ever get him in there.
Hyoo’s hands curled into fists; five years before, a few weeks after the Uchiha massacre Danzou had requested the Council to be given custody of one Uzumaki Naruto, in front of the Elders and the Hokage, to shape the young boy into a killer machine.
Sandaime had promptly refused, disgusted at the mere thought of someone as innocent as Naruto being used as a mindless weapon.
Hyoo would always be thankful to Sarutobi for that –the man had strongly believed in Naruto, despite everything.
Outside the window, Itachi was training the teen; Hyoo observed as the older man rendered Naruto unable to use his senses in order to aid him in his chakra perception, and it looked like Naruto was doing it flawlessly, at least for now.
Sensing chakra at the level Itachi was teaching Naruto could only be achieved after long years of daily training, enhancing the sixth sense and discerning the exact points where to operate onto, that was why the older Uchiha had decided to try with that jutsu.
Such technique outside ANBU was prohibited, even though the blond couldn’t know; the jutsu was actually a Kinjutsu, contained in the Forbidden scroll Naruto had learned Kage Bunshin from, fourth on the list.
In the past it was used during tortures, as it allowed a ninja to momentarily paralyse and incapacitate opponents by disrupting chakra coils on their ears, eyes and nose, effectively rendering the opponent blind, deaf and unable to feel scents.
The shock and panic were perfect to make enemies caught spill everything they knew, if only to recover their senses.
The jutsu worked by pulling the user’s chakra against the Tenketsu points that allowed it to flow on the selected organs; the foreign chakra then fixed itself above them like an invisible layer, blocking everything out, even sensations. If pulled across a bleeding vein it could also block the haemorrhage, at least momentarily.
Unfortunately, later it was used during battle, and only then did the negative effects got known –as it required strong perception and skills, if learned wrong could hurt both the user and the receiver, and since during the war the user had no time to concentrate on finding the exact spots where to press onto, the jutsu usually backfired on both, killing the ninja it was used onto and burning away all of the chakra around the eyes, ears and nostrils of the user, then slowly eat their chakra reserves throughout all the body, making them unfit to be ninja anymore.
Few ninja could learn that technique fully, and only a bunch of shinobi ever learned a part of it; years to achieve that kind of skill and twice that time and dedication to master.
Itachi had gambled on Naruto’s capability and had tried the jutsu on him, regardless of the possible consequences, because he was a genius and had learned the technique flawlessly; he’d been one of the few that had almost mastered that Kinjutsu, with a percentage of 87.
Hyoo trusted Itachi, and he had faith in Naruto as well.
The teen held a strong promise, and it had nothing to do with the beast he hosted inside him… had he been trained since childhood, he would have been one of Konoha’s assets, and Hyoo’s goal was to make this come true anyway.
Staring in mildly amusement at the two shinobi, Hyoo had to smile –this was what he loved… watching the young generation grow up strong. That was why he fought to be at the top, so he could help others be strong as well.
As Naruto stumbled on his feet, landing on his butt, Hyoo chuckled. The teen was admirably skilled with his inner sense, he could point at Itachi without difficult whereas most ninja would still be having problems, but of course trying to move around without eyesight nor hearing proved to be difficult.
He was amused to see the same kind of mirth reflected in Itachi’s usually emotionless eyes, and watched as Itachi chuckled a bit as Naruto started waving his arms around, clearly complaining about something.
The ANBU commander shifted his mask upwards, knowing it was safe to do so in the privacy of his office, and allowed some fresh hair to hit his face; he wasn’t actually old, not even by ninja standards, but as any other seasoned shinobi, he felt like years piled up on his shoulders, making him older.
He had never met someone like the older Uchiha before –cold, but still with a flicker of emotions, if only well hidden. He might have been the perfect shinobi to his family’s standards, but it was far from the truth.
Itachi had been able to be a good shinobi because he still had feelings –hidden away, crumbling under heavy masses of darkness, and yet still existing.
Hyoo was a believer… a good shinobi was not an emotionless one.
He had not been there when Itachi had been admitted as an ANBU, or else he’d have stepped in beforehand, but unfortunately at the time he’d been a simple member, of a different team.
‘In a way, I am using Naruto,’he sighed, pressing his mask back down to hide his eyes but not his mouth. ‘He’s probably the only one who can help Itachi now. I wouldn’t add this kind of weight on his shoulders, but he doesn’t consider that as a hindrance. That’s why I can allow it to happen… just like with the Hyuuga, the younger Uchiha, the Suna teen…’
Naruto was already helping; he was making Itachi interact. Forcing him to find his inner teacher, forcing him to talk and come out of his darkness. Maybe they would both benefit of this and be able to shine again.
Naruto would have Itachi finally accept his emotions, and open up, and Itachi would teach Naruto about his true capabilities, and to let go of his masks… and eventually that being an ANBU wasn’t just about will power and strength.
It was something more. Something deeper.
‘As it is… they still need to grow –both of them… children of Konoha, walking down the same path, one considered an adult already, one considered a never–growing child’.
Watching Naruto smile at Itachi’s general direction, and seeing Itachi smirk back at him… the ANBU commander just knew, the healing had already started.
Hyoo sighed and turned back towards the pile of sheets on his desk, his eyes falling once more on the BIO profile of the Root member. Instinctively, he shifted the panther mask even lower, hiding completely his face, resuming his position as the ANBU commander.
‘I hope it won’t be more of an hassle than necessary,’he mused, eyeing the photo of the dark haired teen whose smile was just as fake as a porcelain doll’s face. ‘Sai…’ he muttered the teen’s name thoughtfully.‘Danzou, what are you still hiding?’

…–…–…–…

As Naruto took a break, tired out by the extensive training he’d just ended, Itachi observed him with a satisfied look in his eyes.
It felt… pleasing, in a way, to see how fast Naruto could grasp things with his instinct; hindered at the academy, growing a complex over his own lack of strength, he had ended up being called dead–last, but he was far from that.
With the proper training, Naruto could have been, if not a genius or a prodigy, at least above others.
Itachi still wondered who had taught the teen how to read and write, and just how much of math and calculus he knew; just like with ninja techniques, without the help of good teachers, he had fallen behind, managing to learn everything by himself by willpower and determination alone.
Maybe he would have to thank Iruka for realising his potentiality.
‘It is better not to tell him he only managed to grasp the basis, once again,’Itachi thought, his smirk widening. Learn how to develop his own skills, not Kyuubi’s.
‘Does he know?’he wondered. Heritage of his father, the demon inside him… who would tell Naruto about his legacy? How could the village be so blinded not to notice the uncanny resemblance? Were they so bent with their hatred that they closed their eyes as well?
Refusing to believe a hero could father a ‘demon child’?
Naruto would make them acknowledge him anyway. He would not stop until he managed to get what he wanted.
Who would win it out then? Hyoo–sama? Tsunade–dono? Jiraiya?
Could Naruto accept the truth?
Itachi was, despite himself, intrigued. He could see that telling Naruto at the present moment would only make him try to best his father’s memory, keep up with self–imposed standards instead of blossoming on his own.
Was that why the teen never asked for his father and mother’s identity? Did he ever wonder, or did some part of him know it was still too soon?
Before learning of his family, Naruto needed to learn an important lesson on Konoha.
Many shinobi chose not to know, if the knowledge could bring discomfort, pain, and a difficult choice… and to take the honest way out was harder than it looked; what a real shinobi was, what it meant to be a ninja, one could only learn it through living it out… and many dropped out, unable to face it, or died.
To be an ANBU, to preserve himself, Naruto had to see it on his own.
“That’s enough for today” Itachi stood up, dismissing his trail of thoughts, and stepped closer to the blond, alerting him with the vibration of the ground.
Naruto’s head turned towards him as Itachi pressed the same Tenketsu points, releasing the bound chakra and allowing Naruto to regain his senses; the teen blinked, standing up a bit wobbly, overwhelmed by sight, hearing and smells as they all overloaded his brain with information.
“Whoa,” he whispered, shaking his head. He was glad he could see and feel again.
“It’s enough for today,” Itachi repeated. “If you feel up to, train a bit more on the leaf exercise, then you will be allowed to have lunch” Naruto smiled up at him “afterwards, you’ll either have Raidou train you in Taijutsu or Iruka, depending which one of them is free today”.
Naruto nodded eagerly, pumped up by the prospect of learning under a different sensei. “Yosh!”
He felt unusually good, and not tired at all, unlike his previous training when he depleted completely his strength and fell unconscious afterwards. Learning to feel his chakra and understand it had always felt stupid and yet now he craved for more information.
Besides, who would have known Itachi could be such a good teacher?
Thinking about before (before Hyoo’s offer, before the Valley of End, before when Itachi was still in Akatsuki) brought only melancholy to him. If he had chosen to go with Jiraiya, he would still think Itachi was a killer… he would still know nothing of the truth, and he wouldn’t be here.
He wouldn’t know Raidou’s name either. He wouldn’t have met Kei, and Tomoyo, and Hyoo–sama…
He was glad he’d chosen this path.
He was… happy. Accomplished.
“I’ve prepared your schedule for the remaining week together with Iruka and Raidou,” Itachi attracted the teen’s spacing out attention “You will wake up at five every day and have four hours of training with me, then three with Raidou, lunch period, three hours with Iruka, two hours of free time, then once again, until eight in the evening, you will be back with me for more training”.
Naruto felt a shiver run through his back; he was a training freak, yes, but this amount of training was worth of Gai’s crazy methods.
Was all of this really necessary?
As if reading his mind, Itachi straightened up and glared down at him, eyes darkened in seriousness, and Naruto gulped.
“Naruto, I will be honest, you have to understand that your skills are lower than those of an average Genin. Yes, you know a couple of jutsu that no Genin could ever learn, Kage Bunshin and Rasengan, but you know scarcely five techniques, and using most of them you achieve just barely acceptable results –each hour of training is dedicated to help you with that, and you won’t be able to slack off”.
Each word was like a stab in Naruto’s chest, more so since Itachi was right; to be able to thank Hyoo and the rest of the ANBU for their hard work, as they devoted their attention on him, he needed to show them he could do it.
He knew Rasengan, but he wasn’t able to do it without a clone to help; he knew Kage Bunshin and Henge, and Kawarimi, and the last two were basic academy jutsu that any pre–Genin knew already.
Yes, he could maybe blame that lack of knowledge on the fact that most children learned jutsu from their families, but he knew better than that –he couldn’t use a simple Bunshin, nor a dispelling jutsu, his Genjutsu sucked ass…
He was weak. He had been determined, yes, but to be Hokage without doing any hard work; he’d expected to be able to do things without trying, and whilst everyone worked hard and advanced, he’d been left behind, disappointed and helpless.
Sakura knew how to dispel Genjutsu and Sasuke could use his Sharingan, he also knew a lot of fire techniques, and learned everything on his own; Naruto instead had never really bothered studying, sleeping through his classes and boasting off without reason.
Even Shikamaru, Chouji and Kiba knew more than he did, and they had slept through classes as well.
With more attention given to his lessons, lowering his head and accepting he wasn’t as great as he thought he was… ‘I wouldn’t have been such a fool until now…’
Itachi, Hyoo, Iruka and Raidou were offering him this chance to show he was someone, and he couldn’t whine about training, since he had never bothered before.
Chakra control, Genjutsu, Taijutsu…
They were placing their trust in him, not just as an ANBU trainee, but as a ninja.
‘I won’t be second to anyone anymore! I am not a loser, and I will make sure they can see that –I will become strong and thank them!’
“I’m ready for that, Itachi–sensei,” he smirked determinately. “I’m not going back on my word –I will be the greatest ANBU ever!”

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At the end of a very boring academy morning, Iruka couldn’t but feel really, really satisfied with himself; Sasuke’s expression after his first teaching lessons left Iruka in a very good mood.
This lesson of humility and patience to the young Uchiha would benefit his growth and allow the brown haired teacher to get his revenge, at the same time; it all paid off, especially after the first day…
Sasuke was utterly defeated.
Teaching was not an easy thing. Not anyone had the attitude to do so, but to a person as self–centred as Sasuke, this was the perfect solution. He would learn and grow thanks to this, instead of wasting too much of his time alienating himself from others in order to learn new jutsu.
Besides, it would be interesting to watch as the Konohamaru troops slowly destroyed the younger Uchiha.
Iruka watched amusedly the teen curled in a corner of the teacher’s lounge, moping about all the atrocities he had to face during his very first day, and dreading the ones to come; Sasuke looked up as he heard someone snickering, and came face to face with Iruka. Even though the man was not laughing, he was having hard time keeping his face schooled into an even expression –it was clear he was dying to laugh out loud.
Groaning in pain, Sasuke slowly stood up (he couldn’t believe kids could hit shins so hard… not to mention manage to tire him out), wincing as he put pressure on his feet and legs. Everything protested at the movement, his body demanding him to slouch back down, but he was Uchiha Sasuke –he couldn’t allow a bunch of kids to reduce him that way.
Sasuke winced as he felt a chewing–gum under his hand.
Despite how his body hurt, he refused to show that to the world (in this case, the world consisted in a very amused and smug Iruka), and stood up, glaring lightly at the older teacher; despite that, he had a renewed respect for the man, because if he could manage that every day for years, he deserved respect and awe.
His morning had been hell.
Sasuke inwardly vowed to never ever teach a group of kids ever again, after this adventure ended –especially if they were angered at him for hurting their elected ‘leader’.
‘Besides, who told them I hurt Naruto?’Sasuke hissed. Yes, it was true, but the blond had long since forgiven him, and helped him forgive himself.
“Well done, Sasuke,” Iruka nodded at him. “I guess that’s it for today, you may come again Thursday around the same time?”
Sasuke groaned, nodding, and turned around, doing his best not to limp on his way out; when he finally put enough distance between himself and the Hell building, the dark haired teen straightened his back, popping a few joints and wondering what the hell possessed him when he tried to betray Konoha.
Even though he was going through this hell, even though he would be left without chances to grow stronger jutsu–wise, even though he couldn’t become Chuunin…
He didn’t feel bad at all.
Why was he feeling this way?
Once he would have resented Naruto from preventing him to leave, hating him because Naruto was allowed to leave and he wasn’t…
And yet he didn’t think it that way.
Facing the consequences of his actions and learning from them… it was good to know he still had a place to call home, despite everything; if he’d left, he would only have had Orochimaru’s teachings to look up for.
No home, no friends…
When had Naruto turned so important to him that he wanted nothing more than start from scratch again, as teammates, as rivals, but mostly as friends?
Maybe… maybe this was what he lacked.
He’d wanted the strength Orochimaru promised him to be able to finally get his revenge on Itachi, destroying his brother’s world brick by brick until nothing was left, until he would see Sasuke as a worthy opponent, and not the child that had ran away from him that night.
But Orochimaru’s power was not Sasuke’s. would he feel accomplished if he managed to kill Itachi with a strength that was not his own? Would his revenge mean something then?
Would it feel fake, to win with that kind of power?
It hurt to admit it, but he was weak. He had been plagiarized by that Snake, and only Naruto, with his fierce determination, had managed to make him realise the truth. Naruto could be strong because he did it to protect his precious people, whilst Sasuke only did it to get revenge.
‘Maybe I don’t have to ruin my life to get what I want… I cannot allow my brother to win over me like that!’
He would not partake in the Chuunin exams, he would be followed, monitored, not trusted; he would have to do crappy missions for a year. And yet he deserved all that. He deserved Iruka’s smugness.
He would never allow his name to give him what he wanted –he would grow up and be strong on his own.
And in the end, with Naruto back, they would proceed together onwards.
Friends.
His first and only friend.
‘You forced this friendship on me, I didn’t want it, because I knew I would end up doing the same as nii–san did… kill my best friend,’Sasuke closed his eyes, hands curling into tight fists. ‘I didn’t want to have that choice to make. And yet, I will never thank you enough for what you offered me –the right path to real strength’.
Shaking his head, Sasuke straightened up again, ignoring how his body hurt. He knew the next months would be hell, and he was going to face them without fear –now, he needed a shower and a good sleep.
From the top of a nearby tree, Double Wielder watched, motionless.

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Naruto quickly ate his lunch, not wanting to get under Itachi’s skin again, and looked around the dining room again, curious about how other ANBU interacted.
There was something that irked him but he didn’t know what it was –some sort of uneasiness he couldn’t explain; it was not unhappiness, because Naruto was happy, and yet…
Shaking his head, Naruto decided not to linger on this feeling of his –he would only grow restless, and right now he didn’t want that. He would explore this feeling, if persisted, after he became an ANBU.
Maybe it was just his desire to become an actual member…
Around him there were many shinobi once again, and only now he realised there were different outfits that differentiated the ANBU from each other; some had completely back clothes, others had dark brown parts, and some had light brown cloaks as well.
Probably those were meant to distinguish what each team specialised into –he could remember Kakashi–sensei saying something about different ANBU types, and maybe he could ask Itachi about it.
The older man was eating sushi at his side, so it wouldn’t hurt to question him, right?
Pausing in his munching, he glanced at his right, watching Itachi eat; the man’s eyes were lost in the distance and he was chewing almost mechanically, and Naruto wondered if he was perhaps thinking about Sasuke.
Both him and Itachi had a connection with the younger Uchiha, and this kind of link brought pain to the three of them. At least Sasuke was still in Konoha… what could have happened if he’d gone to Orochimaru for real?
Itachi would be hurt even more, and Naruto… Naruto would have left with Jiraiya, believing he wouldn’t be able to concentrate on doing anything else than rescuing Sasuke.
There again, had Itachi refused to go to Akatsuki, showing that the real perpetrator of the Uchiha massacre was not him, what would have happened? Would the two of them still be friends?
Hyoo had admitted that Sasuke was not a candidate for ANBU, at least not right now, because of his weakness; Naruto considered himself Sasuke’s friend, but he could understand why he’d said so. They had grown up differently, despite their similarities…
Sasuke had never looked up after being defeated, and Naruto… he couldn’t allow himself not to stand up again.
He was shaken out of his thoughts by Itachi’s eyes turning towards him, and the stare made him shudder. “Ah, Itachi…” he cleared his throat “I wanted to know… if I pass the test, what will my team specialise into?”
The Sharingan user lifted one eyebrow, “so you are aware that there are many types of jobs ANBU can take?” there was a mild amusement in his voice. “Is that something Kakashi told you?”
Naruto nodded absentmindedly, remembering the silver haired man’s words back in Nami no Kuni.
“As it is,” Itachi placed down his chopsticks and clapped his hands together, signalling he’d finished eating “the possible choices are multiple –killers, hunter–nins, guards, or information–gatherers”.
Naruto munched on his fish, looking intently at the raven haired shinobi.
“I was mostly a hunter–nin, even though sometimes I had to do my fair share of killing, and then I became a spy in Akatsuki, to gain useful information on the organization. Iruka preferred being a hunter–nin, and Raidou worked both at collecting information and as a killer… as his name says”.
“Does that mean you can be skilled in more than one category?” the younger teen blinked.
Itachi allowed another smirk to grace his lips. “Being an ANBU is actually not much different than being a normal shinobi, except for the level of missions and training and the fact that we are loyal to ourselves and the Hokage alone…”
Naruto frowned, noticing something in the man’s voice, but thought it to be a fluke, so he didn’t linger on that. Finally swallowing his sushi bite, he realised he wasn’t hungry anymore, and was now playing with his food.
If he really ended up joining the ANBU ranks, maybe he could keep himself from killing unless he had no other choice. He knew he would have to do it one day, despite not wanting to…
Killing…
Shinobi had the power to end a life way more easily than any other person, and even though he knew it well, he didn’t like to know he had this kind of power over another person. Kakashi had killed, and Itachi as well, and Haku, and Gaara… probably any adult or young prodigy had already killed.
Yet, he felt that killing was wrong, even if with a reason.
He once had believed that a person killing another was evil, but this was wrong, and he knew it now. Gaara was his friend, and was not evil. Itachi was his sensei now, and he wasn’t evil despite his past.
Killing with a reason was still killing, was still wrong, but Naruto knew that it was not done without feeling the full weight of the action.
Besides, Konoha…
“Itachi… about that…” Naruto found himself speaking without even realising he’d wanted to, hesitantly, and met the older man’s eyes.
Itachi was staring at him, almost as if waiting for him to say something and Naruto closed his mouth, shaking his head.
Suddenly, he felt his mouth go dry, and gulped down, the words dying on his lips. He felt as if the question he needed to ask wasn’t the right one, at least not at the moment… besides, he didn’t even understand what he’d been about to ask anyway.
“N… nothing,” he mumbled.
Itachi simply nodded. He knew what Naruto was going through, being into a situation that was so different, so not familiar, but this was still too soon for him. There was still time to think things over, and watch where he was going without anyone hating him for his choices.
He needed this place, just like Itachi had needed it. With the same desperation to go back, ignoring everything. Just wanting to go where he could feel… if not safe, at least where he could belong… a home.
Home… a word Itachi had thought he would never be able to say again. The ANBU were his home. They were Naruto’s home, now. A place where to be himself.
But then… Naruto had always denied himself everything, he wouldn’t know yet what others had –he was still in denial, still too young to understand.
Small steps.
Itachi was back in Konoha, but he was not back for Konoha.
He was back for his family –the ANBU. What had accepted him as he was, helped him, related to him –not his clan, not the village…
Naruto had yet to see this side of the deal, and yet he was slowly understanding already. Teaching him… maybe it was helping Itachi more than it was helping Naruto. Having someone that needed him, needed his knowledge.
Dark eyes fixed on the teen at his side, who was staring down at the food with mixed emotions bare in the blue orbs, and right then saw who the teen could become, if helped. Someone just like him, in a way –a person that could read people well.
Even though, he had always used that ability to manipulate others, and Naruto used it to heal, help and soothe.
Besides, Naruto could look up at Itachi and only see a person. Not a killer. Not someone to be afraid of. This was the reason Itachi knew it –Naruto was going to be part of the ANBU. Part of that…. deranged family of his.

Naruto’s own mask, built with pain, denial and ignorance, had hidden away his true self. He was recovering now… the ANBU would force to see another way, to finally confront the doubts and the pain inside.
The raven haired shinobi had the urge to smirk, despite the direction of his thoughts –he wanted to see how the real Naruto underneath that mask was like.
The one that instead of smiling and acting like a blond idiot would learn and grow.
The one he’d seen some flickers of during many fights, and during their training. The one that had looked at him, with uncertainty, but looking at him, Itachi, whilst trying to ask something he wasn’t ready to know yet. Not at the weapon Itachi but at Itachi the person.
Would this new Naruto accept the truth? When he showed so much his love for his village, even when everybody could see he was faking it if they were to look just a bit deeper?
Itachi nodded again at the teen and stood up. “If you’re finished with pushing your food around, we can get started again –Raidou won’t be able to come today, but Iruka’s ready for you”.
Naruto nodded and felt his need to train resurface. It would help clear his mind. Brightening up, he followed his sensei out of the dining room.

…–…–…–…–…–…–…

Cepheus:I am trying to write training, which sometimes is neglected by other authors –not that I’m going to accuse anyone or something! Most of the fics go well without explaining the training, but I work differently. I hope you will keep on liking despite that. :D
Will you please review, then?
Glossary:
Kinjutsu– forbidden technique, such as Kage Bunshin.
Tenketsu points– the points in the body where chakra can be collected and used. Blocking all Tenketsu points results in the receiver makes him unable to use chakra at all, if shut close completely the person can’t use it ever again.
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Colourless Vanity