Adult-FanFiction.org : Naruto

Colourless Vanity	By : Cepheus Category: Naruto > Yaoi - Male/Male Views: 1746 -:- 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
- 12
- 13
- 14
This chapter is dedicated to my friends Re–chan and Ecchan, for their unconditional support ^^ I love you both!
StarsOfYaoi:I swear, I grow every day less motivated to write for the Naruto fandom. The more chapters come out of the manga, the less I want to write. It sucks. I want to kick Kishi’s ass.
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Oh, a reply for tealeavesgreen’s review on AFF.
Yes, yes, my Japanese is so rusty, I admit I’ve sinned in ego trying to create names that make no actual sense, so I went back and changed all of them apart Hyoo’s, of course.
I dislike Fangirl Japanese too but sometimes I also lose sight of what is right XD thanks for reminding me of that.
Still, I will keep Japanese hand signs and also the mask names, even if they are simple words. I don’t do it because they sound ‘exotic’ or anything of that sort, because I know ‘nezumi’ it’s just like saying ‘rat’ or ‘topo’ (in Italian). Yet I use them all the same. Why?
Er, because I also use Japanese attacks. I dislike the English version for them. It gives me sort of a language continuity. Does this sound stupid?
I despise greatly the English/American version of Naruto, as I do with the Italian. You don’t seem too displeased when I write Konoha instead of village hidden in the leaves, so I think that if we compromise on the names of the ANBU, you can very well accept the mask description. :3 but I thank you for approaching the subject, because probably I was moving towards obsessive fangirlism.
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Rating: M
Summary:(ItaNaru, GenmaRaidou, IruKakaIru) Naruto is tired of his life. But he would never run. He’s given an option instead, and decides to take it, becoming a member of the newest ANBU team…
Warnings:yaoi, boy x boy relationship, angst, torture, and such. Mental as well. Flames will be used to warm up food.
Disclaimer: do not own Naruto. Thankfully. I don’t like what’s happening lately.
“Talking”
‘Thinking’
–Flashbacks, memories, dreams–
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Colourless Vanity
Chapter 13: Organizing
It was with satisfaction that Naruto followed Anko through the corridors of the ANBU headquarters, even though he tried to pay attention to his surroundings, so not to get lost –the woman had a very fast pace.
He was actually feeling quite good, all things considered, as after a whole week of being tortured… well, trained and examined by Anko, at any given time, be it in the middle of the night or right when he was eating, he was finally gaining something back!
It had indeed been hellish. Anko would not keep a steady pace, making him work for some hours and then letting him go, only to demand him back unexpectedly, popping up from nowhere in order to test his attention skills…
And yet, despite that, he felt good.
The snake-user kunoichi attacked him with no apparent scheduled planning, so there was no chance to know when she’d appear next, but Naruto had managed fine, becoming more alert of his surroundings than he had ever been, up to the point where, to be able to keep himself up without being continuously under pressure, he had managed to set only a part of his mind focused for Anko, whilst the rest was allowed to relax and rest.
Even at night, his sleep had turned a bit lighter, as he still slept but some part of him, probably unconsciously, would always stay alert and slam against his conscious whenever he felt the small trickle of chakra Anko showed in order to give a flimsy warning.
Anko appeared determined to seriously kick his ass with that training, and giving him that small notice allowed her to trounce him if she noticed him still failing despite her ‘fair warning’.
Naruto was not aware of that, though –to him, Anko’s continuous attacks were simply granting on his nerves, and he only noticed he was getting a bit better when, by the fifth day, his wounds reduced in amount and gravity.
And yet, the pattern of attack Anko took, despite its unpredictability, was already familiar to a subconscious level, and without realising it Naruto had already gained a higher attention to his surroundings; when entering a room, he would check everywhere to see an opening where Anko could attack from, mentally mapping rooms and training grounds for quicker escape routes or hiding places, or for familiar spots where he could stand and counterattack.
All of this was thanks to Anko’s pressure, and the teen was barely aware of these changes himself.
Of course, that didn’t mean Naruto had stopped complaining about his not learning jutsu, but he never said this to Anko’s face in fear of retaliation.
“So, Anko–sensei, where are you taking me?” he asked, bracing himself for the worst possibilities –after all, not even three days before, she had closed him off in a jutsu–proof room just to see if he could get out of it by himself…
Anko turned to look at him with something as close to a warm smile as it could be on her face, and moved forwards to ruffle his hair. Naruto, not feeling any kind of ill intent, allowed her to without scrambling away. “You’ve been doing rather well, gaki,” she started, almost regretfully (despite the smile still being there), and Naruto smiled back at her. “So I guess a small reward is expected”.
Naruto, whom had been still unsure whether Anko would pass him or not until then, allowed his shoulders to relax instantaneously. If that woman, above everyone else, stated he was doing rather well, it meant his chances to become an ANBU were higher than he had hoped until then.
It felt great, and exciting, to know that.
“Really?” Naruto bounced closer to Anko, stepping into her privacy zone but not caring the least –had he been paying more attention, he would have yelped and run away, but he was too excited about her words to care. “What kind of reward?!”
She smirked sadistically, making Naruto wonder if she was really saying the truth.
The two stopped in front of an old–looking door, a bit rusty on the edges, and without much ceremony Anko kicked the door open and entered it, flickering the lights on and motioning for the teen to follow her in.
Gulping down his uneasiness, Naruto followed her, now more on edge…
Only to stop once his eyes adjusted to the dimmer light of the room, in awe.
It was… a weapons’ room!
And there were tons of weapons everywhere he looked.
The walls were covered with shelves and tables filled with all kinds of weaponry, some leaning on supports, some placed on neat cloths, some closed in cases, but everything looked taken care of; there was no rust, not even a speckle of dust as far as Naruto could see.
It had a strange sort of alluring beauty, from the way the blades shone in the dim light, to the ornaments and carvings on the various weapons.
Swords seemed to be the most common weapon of the room, of course, ranging from katana to strange, bigger and heavier–looking swords filled with carvings. Some were as big as the one Zabuza had, some didn’t even reach and arm’s length, and some were so different from anything Naruto had ever seen that he could barely guess how to hold one up.
Holsters were filled with kunai, shuriken, modified versions of them both, varying in width and appearance, and on a nearby shelf there were piled packs over packs of senbon needles, and balls of metallic wool.
Half of the right wall was covered with staffs and wooden sticks.
Some of them were metallic, some were in wood or other unknown materials, with blades on one or both sides, or even with what looked like bones over them, or strange opaque gems, all with some carvings on their shafts.
There were weapons hanging from the ceiling too –huge bows with feathered arrows, leaf springs, weapons Naruto had no name for, that all looked incredibly destructive or imposing.
On the opposite wall from the door, there were small devices that looked like metallic version of exploding tags, smaller knives, stone–looking weapons the teen did not recognize, and mid to short range weapons.
Naruto looked at everything in awe, eyes flickering over the whole room once then again and again, to make sure he was looking at everything.
Some weapons he did recognise from his academy books, and of course, the most common ones he knew the names for, yet some were so strange, so unusual, he was left confused at their sight.
This was… this was, in Naruto’s opinion, a paradise for any ninja. He was ready to bet that Neji’s teammate, TenTen, would die just to take a look inside there.
“Wow,” he breathed out, overwhelmed, moving along the walls to get a better view at it all. “Is this the ANBU private armoury?” he asked, turning to look at the woman behind him.
Anko did look like she was standing in the middle of her private heaven, actually.
Far too familiar and comfortable in there, if Naruto had a say in this.
The teen stopped to think for a moment. Yes, this room had weapons in enough numbers to give to a small nation and still have some left, but… why had Anko taken him there? Was she preparing to attack him inside this weapon room?
A cold shiver rippled his back.
He didn’t even want to think about it.
“What… what are we doing here…?” he hesitated, suspicious.
“Unfortunately, even though I would have loved to try some of these babies on you today,” was the blunt reply “you are here for a menial task –you will clean them all”.
Naruto blinked. Then he did it again. “What?”
Glancing around at the amount of arsenal around him, he blanched. She couldn’t possibly expect him to clean everything on his own, could she?
What kind of reward was that?!
“For today, I want you to clean every single weapon inside this room with the appropriate means” Anko continued, nodding her head. “If I find out you have not been using massive care for each of those babies, I will personally use each of them on your ass”.
With these amiably words, Anko side stepped and exited the room, closing the door behind her back.
A second later, a click –she had locked the door, too!
Naruto fell on the ground, speechless.
Clean all the weapons?! By himself?! How could this be a reward! It would be boring as hell, and…
Sighing, he knew he could not just stay there and mope, since Anko expected him to work. It wouldn’t do him well to protest, it wouldn’t be professional.
And still…
“Well, at least I’ll get help if I can use my Kage Bunshin…” crossing his hands in front of himself, Naruto concentrated on his chakra…
Only for nothing to happen.
“Ah, yes, I forgot to tell you,” Anko’s smug tone from behind the door made Naruto pause. “The room is chakra–proof. Now get moving. I want you to finish this by this evening!”
…–…–…–…
Iruka raised one eyebrow as Sasuke passed next to him, head up but shoulders tense, heading for his class.
It was quite an amusing sight; the pride of the Uchiha showed clearly in his stance, making it look like Sasuke was going to his execution instead of to a class of kids. More so, the Uchiha pride was actually preventing him from sagging in despair.
“Good morning, Sasuke,” he greeted the teen, who glowered towards him for a moment before grudgingly returning the greeting in a mutter. “How is your class? It’s your first lesson today, and I hope everything is going well!”
Iruka inwardly chuckled as Sasuke’s expression told him everything he needed to know without even speaking.
The teen opened his mouth to talk but then his shoulders sagged slightly, and he thought better, simply averting his eyes; he had the distinct feeling that Iruka’s polite question was not as polite as it seemed.
It was preferable to keep silent.
“Ok then, I guess everything is indeed fine,” Iruka was getting some perverse sense of satisfaction out of this. “I’ll let you get back to your students”.
‘Should I ask Konohamaru to be a bit nicer to Sasuke?’he wondered to himself as he watched the dark haired teen strengthen his resolve.
Maybe he had learned his lesson already…
The door of Sasuke’s class opened and Iruka heard the kids double their efforts to be as noisy as possible, and smirked as Sasuke’s shoulders tensed tenfold.
Nah, he would wait a bit more. Definitely.
Still smiling, Iruka moved towards his own class; the day had started really well, first with Naruto being away all day with Anko, second with Sasuke getting what he deserved from his class, and third, Kakashi had not appeared all morning.
He could dedicate himself to his class and then correct some homework.
“Good morning class!”
Iruka stepped in his classroom and closed the door behind his back; waving at the sea of young faces in front of him. This was one of the younger batches of the academy, meaning they had yet to be disillusioned on the studies and profession they wanted to start (they had yet to understand that it wasn’t all games and training), but they also were the most compliant about homework.
“Good morning, Iruka–sensei!” they cheered.
Iruka froze in mid–step; there was one voice that did not belong to his students. Slowly, he turned around.
And of course, as he had feared, Kakashi was there, sitting on the teacher’s desk with no respect, holding his horrible porn book in one hand, and the other lifted up in a greeting.
The brown haired teacher stood speechless, staring at him.
Then, slowly, really slowly, a vein on his forehead started twitching. His good mood quickly dissipating, and there was now a mild headache developing over his temples.
‘I had dared hoping that… that…’ Iruka shook his head.
“Iruka, I thought I could come again today to see how you act with your students,” Kakashi chirped. Another free day with no real missions, it was truly bliss.
Iruka was tempted to shove the man out of the room by kicking his ass, but that would have ruined his nice–teacher image; so he restrained himself, managing a small, cold smile just for the sake of it.
His students, who had known him enough to recognize his mood swings, scooted backwards towards the opposite wall, not wanting to be on the receiving end of the wrath their teacher could pull off, and stared in awe at the drama unfolding in front of them.
Of course, Kakashi couldn’t know he had just stepped into the den of a predator. A sadistic one, at that.
“Welcome, Kakashi” Iruka’s smile stretched. “I guess the students still do not know who you are, so allow me to make the introductions”.
Kakashi nodded eagerly.
“Kakashi, this is Class B, second year of academy. Kids, this is the infamous Copy–cat Sharingan Kakashi…” the silver haired Jounin puffed out his chest, “a lecherous, lazy, perverted shinobi with too much free time in his hands”.
This was said with the same smile, and yet, Iruka was twitching and was hardly maintaining his composure. The best part had yet to come.
Kakashi’s cheerful behaviour turned a bit sheepish, “maa, maa, Iruka, that is not nice,” but laughed anyway, thinking it was just a joke on the Chuunin’s part.
“Now, since Kakashi is here, we might as well ask him to join us in a practice lesson, right?” Iruka continued, apparently without having heard the other man.
The white haired shinobi was only partially aware of what Iruka was saying, which was good for him since he knew that, had Kakashi truly been attentive, he would have felt the impending danger.
“Today’s practice lesson will be on how to retrieve something from an enemy ninja, by capturing and incapacitating said ninja,” Iruka continued, his smile slowly turning more menacing the more he spoke. “Thus, we will create a what–if situation in the class. Kids, please get ready”.
The class shifted forwards after some hesitation, as it looked like Iruka was not aiming his anger at them, and reassembled all around the teacher’s desk.
“Now, Hokage–sama offered us an important mission… Kakashi, I will have to borrow your book now”.
Iruka approached Kakashi, making it clear he was about to get the book, and of course, Kakashi noticed it with the corner of his eye, and shifted to the side, muttering something unintelligible as he kept reading his book, not wanting the Chuunin to get it –only to see his book disappear from his hands, face twisted in sheer surprise.
Kakashi looked up with his uncovered eye, staring as Iruka held his precious books between thumb and index, clearly partly disgusted by having to touch the book and partly satisfied at his feat.
“Huh?” Kakashi stood there frozen, unable to understand how the dark haired Chuunin could have just taken his book away like that.
Iruka’s smile turned devious.
“Well kids,” the teacher continued, rubbing his scar. “I now hold Kakashi’s possession. He’s an enemy, and he will surely try to get this back,” he pointed to the book, tone sarcastically worried.
And this was when Kakashi moved forwards; he was smiling amiably as he stretched his hand forwards, knowing it would take nothing to get back his book… and Iruka, still smiling, shifted as well, evading the Jounin without missing a beat.
Kakashi paused and then moved forwards again, still smiling but a bit less convincingly than before, and again Iruka shuffled away at the last second, making his smile quickly turn into a frown.
What the…
“As I said, Kakashi will surely try to get the book back, but our duty as Konoha ninja is to prevent him from doing that, and render him incapacitated, too!” Iruka stated cheerily, gaining a strong satisfaction in watching Kakashi’s attempts fail one after the other.
The class finally caught up what their teacher was doing, and after a grand total of three seconds, they pounced on Kakashi, completely taking him by surprise.
“Let’s go, class!” one of the kids yelled.
Kakashi had no time to cower. He had no time to even see the attack coming, at all. When he did, it was too late –the twenty–five students were already tackling him, swarming on him like a wave.
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It was quite late in the evening when Anko finally made her way back to the armoury, after what she could easily consider a good day (mostly because she had fun torturing Genma and looming over him, lazy butt he was); she was munching on a dango as she walked down the corridor, wondering what would greet her when opening that door.
“Anko, how is it going?”
The woman turned around, waving with clear respect in her dark eyes as she saw Hyoo there –mask still on his face, of course.
For all Anko knew, Hyoo had never removed his mask unless certain he was alone, and never without placing a concealing jutsu first; when she had been a new arrival at the ANBU compound, Anko had been filled with curiosity in regards to his identity.
Had anyone ever seen him without the mask? Did someone know about the life the man had outside of the ANBU department?
As soon as the questions had popped up, though, they had also died down, because Anko respected the man too much to consider prying into his personal life; besides, everyone was entitled to their own secrets.
In a way, Anko was at home only when between the four walls of the ANBU compound; it was where she had been accepted when Orochimaru, her master, had betrayed the village. It was where she was known to be Anko and could be herself, without having to bear the glares of people who would still think of her as the ‘evil spawn student of that paedophile bastard’.
After all, she was a Special Jounin, not allowed to take in students. The higher ups, those bastard Council members, still feared for her loyalty even after the last Chuunin Exams.
Still, after that more normal ranked shinobi trusted her, and it was, in a way, thanks to her being in the ANBU –to the fact that Hyoo had accepted her without second thoughts.
This was also why she could understand Naruto’s situation better than many others could, and why she tried talking things out with him instead of working on him like she did with Genma, for example –with people like Naruto, something more was needed, and that something more had been taught to her by Hyoo.
“Evening, Hyoo–sama,” she replied to the man, eating off the last of her dango. “I’m going to the armoury, where I dropped Naruto to clean”.
Hyoo nodded at her, coming to her side and walking with her down the corridor.
“So, is he keeping up with your test?” he asked after a few steps, genuinely interested. It had been a busy week and the commander had to let Naruto out of his sights for a while.
“He’s a bit rusty, or at least he was when we started,” she answered truthfully, tapping her chin with the dango stick. “I’ve never seen any other ninja learn so much in so little time ever before… he’s like a vacuum cleaner, and it makes me speed up his training the more he learns,” she admitted then. “I’ve been putting him through hell, and he’s coming out of it every day with less scratches”.
Hyoo smirked under his mask, undetected. “I think this is the nicest thing you’ve ever said about someone,” he commented.
Anko pouted, but her face twitched to hide a smirk. Well, yeah, it was the truth. Until now, at least.
“His chakra control is way above average as it is now,” she continued. “Itachi–san is working hard on him… his Taijutsu is coming up well, Raidou–san has been taking the training up a notch, already on Level Three stances… his Genjutsu keeps being poor in comparison, but maybe It’s because he truly dislikes it… that makes him the most adept at recognizing one and snapping out of it, though”.
Hyoo nodded again, thoughtful –he suspected Naruto to be of the Wind Type, like his father and his previous teacher Jiraiya, and Wind users had a better chance at becoming seal masters or Ninjutsu users.
Not all of them chose that particular path, as it actually was the most uncommon one, but Hyoo wasn’t sure if Naruto would like to be always compared to his father if he were to start learning sealing techniques.
“Ok, let’s see how he’s coping up!” they had reached the armoury door and Anko quickly dispelled the jutsu that made the room chakra proof. “Yo there brat!”
She had to pause at the sight in front of her.
Naruto was sitting in the middle of the room, holding one of the swords he had taken from the wall, and was looking intently at it, inspecting the carvings on the blade with attention he rarely showed.
A closer look at the room allowed both Anko and Hyoo to realise that the weapons looked positively cleaner than before, whilst Naruto’s clothes were actually really dirty. The blond didn’t seem to notice the door had been open and that he wasn’t alone anymore, too lost in his contemplation.
“Naruto–kun?” Hyoo smiled when the blond gasped out and jumped in surprise at the unexpected voice, scrambling to his feet with the hold tight in his hands. “Hyoo nii–san! Anko–sensei!” he screeched, running to the wall to place down the sword.
“You looked pretty much lost to the world,” Hyoo shifted closer to the blades, inspecting them, satisfied to find them decently clean. “Did you get bored?”
Naruto’s cheeks flushed.
He didn’t know how to admit this aloud, but after the first hour of constant complaining, muttering whilst he took each of the weapons and cleaned it carefully, he had slowly started to notice things about the weapons.
Like that there weren’t two completely identical items in the whole room. Sure, there were many of the same type, essentially similar and yet, the different carvings, the different metal, things made it possible for him to recognise and differentiate all the weapons of the same type.
Since then, he took more time cleaning each weapon, curiously observing the carvings, wondering about their meaning, interested in every single one of them, in a strange sort of fascination that kept him still for the longest time since his birth (unless he was sleeping, but then again, he moved a lot in his sleep, too).
It hadn’t been a boring matter either; the blades carved dents and small hints that showed how they had been repetitively used through time and by many hands, and Naruto had been fascinated, wondering how the weapons had served their masters.
He didn’t have the right words to explain what he had felt whilst cleaning all the weapons, but he would have felt… disrespectful not to treat them with the outmost care. He had come to understand what Anko had meant then.
It was the first time since ever that cleaning something made him feel this accomplished.
“As an ANBU, not having an aptitude towards weapons would hinder you in your job,” Hyoo looked back at the teen. “I guess you did enjoy your work”.
Naruto nodded, smiling up at the older man. “They all look so awesome! I don’t even know the names of all of those, and yet they do look formidable!”
Anko slapped his back in appreciation, making the teen cough. “Well said, brat! Now, pick one up!” At Naruto’s shocked gaze, she pushed him towards the closest wall. “As an apprentice, you will need to choose your weapon. You will of course be taught to use all sort of blades, from katana to wakizashi, but you will also receive a weapon of your choice to make it your own. Like my tekko–kagi, or the twin blades of Tomoyo”.
“Any weapon?” Naruto’s eyes were wide in surprise and delight as he stared around him in amazement. There was a longing in his eyes that told Hyoo and Anko about just how much Naruto liked the weapons, and probably even wished he could own one himself.
“Yes, Naruto–kun,” Hyoo answered, smiling under the mask. “Of course, if you do choose a katana, you won’t have the double training needed to master both blade and another weapon of choice, but you are free to look around and take whatever you feel is more appropriate”.
Anko grabbed a short knife–sized sword from the wall and twirled it around through her fingers, not cutting herself even once, graceful and yet looking extremely dangerous as she did so.
“Choose well,” she admonished. “Respect your weapon because it will be always with you, learn to consider it part of yourself, an extension of your arm and will…” with these words, she straightened up, showing Naruto her seriousness.
The blond teen slowly nodded. He understood what she was trying to say.
Even though he had held each and every weapon present in the room in his hands, he had not dared to hope one of them would truly be his… and now he didn’t know which to choose.
At first his mind pointed towards the obvious choices, the swords –he would still have to learn to use them, so why complicate matters by adding more weapons to that?
… and yet…
And yet, he did want something else. Something only his, or at least, something unique.
Slowly he shifted through the room, observing the weapons in front of him with different intentions from before, trying to see what he could use and what he should drop back down again –passing the bows without a second look, the staffs held his attention only for seconds before he moved towards the other blades.
Finally, his hands closed on a couple of small scythes, with a long chain coming from the end of the handle.
Those, of course, were not normal scythes; the blade was not half–moon shaped, for once, but bending with a smoother, much cleaner curve, barely visible. The handle was wooden made, and wrapped in greyish bandages, with a hand–protection on one side to ease the hold.
At the end of the handle there was a long metallic chain with a small weight at the end, and Naruto wrapped the chain around his ring and pinkie fingers, so it wouldn’t fall down after he grabbed it.
There were two, and Naruto hesitated before taking both of them; he guessed he would start with using one, and move to two the moment he learned enough with the first.
Turning around, the blond teen was greeted by a lifted eyebrow courtesy of Anko; Hyoo stared at Naruto’s weapons, taken aback a bit by the strange, unusual choice, but his mask covered up his reaction.
“Ah, a couple of kusarigama then,” the man murmured, shaking his head lightly. “That is… interesting. Why that sort of weapon?”
Naruto felt a bit of insecurity at that question, but shook his head. “I don’t really know… but they fascinate me… and when I hold them up, they feels good in my hands,” he blushed a bit, unable to convey the feeling.
He had just… liked the weapon the most, as if it somehow suited him.
“Well, first things first, you will have a hard time learning how to use them… so let’s start with one for now,” Anko smirked. “It’s not an easy–going weapon, and it’s quite tricky to use, because of the weight on the end of the chain… the backlash you receive if you mess up could break your arm”.
“I don’t care –I want this!” Naruto assured seriously. He was a bit taken aback, but he guessed any weapon could be dangerous for any newbie. Staring at the handle, he noticed a small kanji right where the blade melted into the wooden handle, next to a small dent in the wood.
The kanji read ‘wind’.
“What’s that?” he asked, not sure if it was important or not, but still curious.
Anko leaned forwards, grabbing one of the kusarigama. “Ah, It’s for wind users,” she stated, hushing Naruto out of the room. “It might be a great advantage if you end up being a wind user too…”
“Ah… you mentioned that previously,” Naruto’s face lit up with curiosity. “What is a ‘wind user’?”
“Someone who can use wind type jutsu with more effectiveness than any other kind,” Anko waved it away, but was met by a blank stare.
Hyoo smiled.
“Each ninja’s chakra can lean more towards a certain element than another, and they can use that at their advantage,” he explained. “If you are a wind user, as I suspect, you will be able to push chakra into the blades to make them sharper. Of course, even if you aren’t a wind shinobi you could eventually do that, but it would make you tired at a faster place, depleting your chakra twice or even thrice as fast”.
Naruto’s eyes were wide in awe –that would prove to be so useful!
“Well then, I think the next step is to find out exactly what type Naruto is!” Hyoo straightened up. ‘Which was exactly what I was going to do anyway,’ he added to himself.
…–…–…–…
Naruto grimaced, hiding his face deeply into his pillow; even though he was in his room, sprawled on the bed, he was still holding tightly onto the twin kusarigama he had chosen in the armoury, unwilling to set them down.
He felt excited, because he would soon learn to use them (even now he wasn’t sure if he was holding them right) and at the same time, he was apprehensive because he wasn’t sure if he could be able to control them –especially after Anko’s words.
And yet… they felt so good in his hands, and they were unique, a weapon no one else had… there were so few kusarigama masters in the Element Countries, or at least that was what Hyoo had said.
The way the chains rattled comfortingly, the way the wood felt under his fingertips…
It felt good.
His weapons.
Finally, his hands relaxed and the kusarigama fell on the mattress at his side as he curled on it, sighing deeply, and lifting his hands so he could look at them.
So, he was a wind user, in the end.
Hyoo had subjected him to the test only minutes before, and it had been quite simple –sending chakra into a small piece of paper, which was created to react to chakra waves.
The most curious thing had been to find out that Yondaime had been a wind type as well, and so was Jiraiya, despite his lack of jutsu based on that –he only worked with the frogs, after all…
Hyoo had also explained about the different types that existed, how it would be easier to learn a jutsu of the same type as the user’s chakra instead of a technique of the opposite type; it was quite understandable how he had managed out Rasengan so easily, now, since the technique obviously utilised that type.
Something that had come as a shock to Naruto was to know Kakashi knew Rasengan. Yeah, the silver haired Jounin was Lightening type, but he was a prodigy on his own, so he had managed to learn Rasengan almost as effectively as Naruto himself had, with better control, even.
The teen knew he shouldn’t feel this cheated, but a nagging part of his brain kept whispering that had Jiraiya not been there at the Chuunin exams, he would have never learned that attack from Kakashi, who had at the time been too much into Sasuke to care about him.
Without the Rasengan… Naruto wouldn’t have survived against Sasuke’s Chidori.
He shrugged the thought away, since the past was the past and he didn’t want to mope about Kakashi –the man had shown regret for his attitude already.
Hyoo had then explained that the paper used in the chakra–type test was made from a special concoction that reacted to human chakra, and each type caused a different reaction to the paper; Hyoo’s had started dripping water, whilst Anko’s had crumbled down to dust, showing they were respectively Water and Earth types.
Earth chakra was strong and it destroyed the molecules in the paper, turning it into soil, Water chakra attracted the humidity from the air around the paper, soaking it and making liquid drip from it. Fire chakra apparently self–combusted, burning the paper to ashes, and Wind type cut right through the paper, splitting it neatly in two… which was exactly what had happened to him.
After the test, which didn’t take any energy to perform, Hyoo had allowed him to go rest. The next weeks would probably end up being the hardest so far, and he would learn how to use his new weapons, too…
Two weeks for Anko to see if he was good enough to be an ANBU.
He couldn’t even think about failing –about what would happen if Anko were to say he was not cut to be an ANBU.
He would go back to his life, knowing he had failed, knowing he was not good enough. After tasting this kind of life, he didn’t want to renounce to it. If he wasn’t skilled enough, he would work hard and earn a place there.
If he wasn’t strong enough to be an ANBU, he would never even hope to be strong enough to be Hokage, as simple as that.
And because of that… Naruto smiled.
He had always wanted to be Hokage, of course, but he had also wondered, in the solitude of his childhood daydreams, what it would feel like to be an ANBU… a figure hidden in mystery and shadows, to protect the village without anyone knowing who he was.
Exactly like Hyoo was doing.
Becoming an ANBU meant he had taken a step closer to his original dream to be Hokage, which was, at least for now, still out of his range; he had to grow stronger and mature, and learn and show his village that he was worth it.
On the opposite, ANBU was a closer kind of goal, one that he’d never believed would be at his reach, and now that he was offered a way to get to it…
He was going to try his hardest to grasp that chance fully.
Nothing would stop him.
…–…–…–…
As he walked home, passing through the empty streets of Konoha, Iruka was glad for the company of Raidou, as the collected shinobi’s presence was helping him relax.
Iruka and Raidou had managed a friendship even outside of the ANBU headquarters, so when both of them had retreated from their positions in the ANBU, they had been able to keep seeing each other; this allowed them to talk about things that no one else could know –fights, experiences they didn’t want to forget– as they had been forced to cut ties with all other ANBU members… Iruka only had Raidou to reminisce with.
Unfortunately, Raidou was a Jounin, while Iruka was ‘only’ a Chuunin, so they had not been able to talk much while trying to settle down with their normal shinobi lives.
Iruka had missed this –talking with a fellow ninja with whom he shared a good part of his life… and a friend, at that. It was another plus of having gone back to the ANBU.
Besides, Iruka had always felt a bit jealous of Genma, since the two were both Jounin and they were friends outside of the ANBU, too (they had been friends way before the ANBU, actually), so they didn’t have to hide anything.
Genma was Iruka’s friend too, but not outside of the ANBU, which meant Iruka couldn’t approach the man without looking suspicious –a simple Chuunin getting friendly with a Jounin… not without a good reason.
Sometimes, in the course of the few years Iruka had worked as a teacher at the academy, he had wished he could be free to just get up and go to Raidou’s house and talk, or seek out Anko for a friendly speech (as much friendly as one could get with the crazy woman, of course), but his sense of self preservation and his instincts as a ninja had not allowed him to.
He was a low–level Chuunin, and he had to act as such. He had given up on being an ANBU.
‘At least now… I will be able to spend time with my friends again,’he thought, a small smile gracing his lips. Raidou smiled back at him, even though he didn’t know what Iruka was thinking.
“Say, Raidou…” Iruka scratched the scar over his nose and looked to the side, grinning, “if Naruto passes Anko’s examination… let’s celebrate, what do you think?”
Raidou’s face lit up, “are you saying you will allow Naruto–kun to drink sake?”
The teacher’s eyes flashed dangerously, his smile twitching into a grimace. “Of course not –let him try that, he won’t be able to sit for an entire month!”
Quietly laughing at Iruka’s motherly side, Raidou shook his head. “Then keep Genma away from him –and on a second thought, Anko too”.
The brown haired Chuunin blinked, his mind already devising plans of torture and pain if said two shinobi were to try as much as to offer Naruto some liquor.
Reaching Iruka’s apartment, Raidou, who had been paying more attention to his surroundings than his companion, stopped at the outside staircase and bit his lower lip, hesitating.
“Goodnight Iruka–san,” he stated blandly. “Thanks for the help with Hokage–sama’s papers again… I don’t know how I would have managed without you”.
Iruka, who had been spacing out, too happy about his return into the ANBU to really pay attention to his surroundings, blinked and stared at his friend in confusion –why had Raidou’s countenance changed so abruptly…
Then, his senses picked up on a familiar chakra signature and he sighed, politely waving as Raidou disappeared down the street.
Moving towards the door of his house, Iruka licked his lips and straightened his back, knowing already what had caused Raidou to leave like that and not feeling up to it.
Kakashi was standing right there, his back pressed against the wood of the door, obviously waiting for him, and Iruka felt his mood shift for the worst; as he approached, wondering how to evade this encounter, Kakashi’s eye spotted him and darkened.
The brown haired teacher grunted; it didn’t matter if his anger had abated during the day, he was still resentful towards the Jounin, and he didn’t want to be mocked by him again.
“Kakashi–sensei,” he murmured, switching back to the suffix to show clearly his current standing.
His prank had been quite wild and vicious, even for Iruka’s standards; twenty–five students had tied him up, as he had been too shocked to be able to defend himself (though he wouldn’t have hurt them, of course), and he had to assist as Iruka burned his precious book in the schoolyard.
Iruka had enjoyed that last part quite a lot, muttering “burn, burn,” under his breath as he watched it turn into ashes.
Then, he had to stay tied until Iruka finished a long speech about how perverted books could ruin a person, unable to free himself –much to his surprise and chagrin– and then, Iruka had closed him in the broom closet until the remaining lessons ended.
Then ‘forgot’ him there.
Oh, he knew that keeping Kakashi inside a closet for a full day wasn’t the best way to make him understand, but he was truly fed up with the Jounin –besides, maybe shutting him in there could at least help with that attitude of his.
More so, it kept Kakashi away from him for the whole day, as he had managed to make some knots not even genius Kakashi could disentangle too easily.
It still didn’t make Iruka feel relieved. Kakashi’s attitude towards him was… wrong, weak cover or not.
The silver haired shinobi didn’t seem to want to move away from the door, so Iruka shifted slightly to try and grasp the handle, fingers vaguely trembling… then stopped. A part of him wanted to know what the man wanted this time, and why he wasn’t speaking.
“I did bother you, did I?”
Iruka sighed, his shoulders relaxing a bit, and turned towards the Jounin, who was not looking at him.
There was no way to deny the statement, as it was the truth.
Kakashi did bother him. All the time. He acted all high and mighty and he didn’t even realise it! Which was why it hurt more, he guessed. It made Iruka’s blood boil in anger.
He didn’t reply.
“I didn’t realise I had overstepped my boundaries, honestly,” Kakashi continued, sounding sheepish.
Which was true.
On his part, Kakashi had so easily overlooked Iruka’s position that he had acted on his impulses without really caring about what the Chuunin could think; he had treated Iruka like he was inferior, and even though their status did show that Kakashi was a higher rank than Iruka, that still didn’t mean Iruka didn’t deserve being treated with respect.
Kakashi’s brain had long since decided that joking around was a way to keep away people –that by offering them a big, fake smile, he would be able to keep people at the right distance –not too close, but not too distant, either.
Most of the time it worked, though there were a few exceptions –Gai didn’t like to be underestimated, and despite his strange quirks, Kakashi respected the man too much to deny their friendship.
Still, it wasn’t easy to stop this attitude, look back and admit that he had acted like a prick.
“I just thought we could form a friendship of sorts. Something closer than just mere acquaintances…” he continued, his voice slowing down into silence.
Something closer. Something more?
Iruka shook his head. Was Kakashi finally being honest?
“I might be a Chuunin, and I’m no genius… but I’m a person, and I deserve respect, even from you, Kakashi,” he replied slowly, tone calm but serious.
He was acutely aware that with Kakashi this was the closest he could get to a ‘sorry’.
Kakashi’s past was painfully known. Iruka knew it too. He had lost a father, a teammate, then a teacher, in a chain of events that pushed him further from other people, making it almost impossible for him to create real bonds with others that wouldn’t be hindered by his cheerful attitude.
Iruka’s past, too had been dark on its own –they all had their own scars to nurse.
“I messed up badly… right?”
Iruka, against himself, felt a small smile appear on his lips. Seriously, Kakashi was probably more hopeless than his students. In a way, he was a bit like Naruto. Surely, Kakashi would call himself more similar to Sasuke and be done with it, but there was a certain resemblance with the blond haired klutz as well.
Iruka knew how to look out for kids, because he could still remember his own childhood, how he felt back then.
Children needed to learn properly.
“It’s nothing that can’t be mended,” he admitted, trying to keep the smile off his face. “To admit you’ve done wrong… that’s a first step”.
The way he spoke had Kakashi’s visible eye widen in surprise, finally turning around to look at the Chuunin.
The taller shinobi finally moved away from the door, looking down at the other teacher with a weird expression.
“Does this mean I get another chance?”
There was a certain quality in Kakashi’s tone –something behind the forced happiness… it made Iruka realise just how much this sort of… relationship meant to the older man.
It made Iruka feel appreciated, in a way, and it embarrassed him too.
“Well, we can always… start from scratch, I guess,” he replied, honestly.
He’d felt good the time the two of them had managed to talk seriously with each other, for once –how grateful he had felt for the presence of another adult then, how he had thought that maybe… maybe Kakashi wasn’t that bad of a person to spend time with.
Maybe that feeling was worth trying this again.
“Well then, I guess it’s good enough,” Kakashi whispered, his tone filled with relief.
The humiliation Kakashi had gone through by the hands of what he had considered, unconsciously, a lowly Chuunin, coupled with the disappearance of his dear book and the following three hours spent alone in a closet, had actually helped him a lot.
“See you tomorrow, Kakashi,” this time Iruka didn’t hide his smile as he turned the doorknob and entered his apartment.
A smokescreen exploded in the corridor, and when it faded away, a second later, no one was there anymore.
…–…–…–…–…–…–…
Cepheus: took me long enough, huh. Please drop me a review!
Glossary: (have patience if you know most of those, some might still do not)
Tekko–kagi– it’s another name, more proper, for the neko–te, the weapon Anko uses… you know, the metallic claws.
Kusarigama– ancient weapon exactly as described. It can vary the length of the blade, its curvature and the amount of weight from weapon to weapon. Some have no chain nor weight at all. For further info, Kohaku from InuYasha uses a simple one.
Sake– well, Japanese alcohol.
Dango– it’s a Japanese sweet, chewy and soft, round and made into small balls which are piled on a stick. Can be of different colours, or made out of bean paste, or anything. I did taste it but the bean paste one was kind of too much.
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Colourless Vanity