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
- 14
- 15
- 16
Cepheus:I know I’ve been leaving you with some kind of… cliff–hanger last chapter, and for so long… I’ve been addicted to this new fandom you should try (Hetalia) and then Naruto kept deluding me, so I decided to cut it through otherwise I would never update.
Important timeline details as ending note. Please read through for further information.
Thanks to everybody who read and is reading this, to those who reviewed, to those who put this on their alert or favs. Nothing I write is discontinued (not even the SasuNaru).

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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: I don’t own Naruto. If I did, it would be yaoi, and thus, would not have so many fans. Nor fanfiction. So, are you glad I don’t own it?

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

…–…–…–…–…–…–…

Colourless Vanity

Chapter 15: Entering

The words Kei had said went off like bombs in Naruto’s mind, blood rushing to his ears so loudly he couldn’t even think at all.
A spy.
Kei was a spy.
“I have no satisfaction in knowing I’ve fooled you, Naruto, because you’re just a trainee,” Kei continued, apparently uncaring for the reaction his words had caused. “But to know I fooled the rest of the ANBU members… it is a great feat, even though your arrival, and Itachi’s as well, kind of helped. In all that uproar, no one noticed me selling away information…”
Finally snapping out of his shock, Naruto ran at Kei’s side, trying to grab his arm and demand some explanation, but the older teen did not allow him to, and slapped his hand away in clear disdain.
“I don’t have time to deal with you,” he grunted. “I’ve already lost enough time as it is”.
With that, Kei turned around and started running again.
Naruto’s eyes widened as he finally registered what the other shinobi was holding under his arm –a pack of dossiers and files, probably secrets and missions that had to be kept hidden from other villagers, and… he was taking them away.
“Stop!” he yelled, chasing Kei down through the corridors.
“It’s useless” Kei murmured, shaking his head.
Unfortunately for him, Naruto’s loud echoes had attracted unwanted attention from other closed rooms, and more ANBU members appeared to check what was happening. Naruto let out a growl of anger as Kei’s pace did not slow down, then screeched in shock as the hand that had been holding the kunai retreated in his cape and threw out some violet powder towards the ANBU in front of him.
The men had barely the time to react and were completely covered with thin purple dust.
Without a sound, three of them fell on the ground, apparently unconscious –or worse. Two others who had been only barely grazed by the powder started coughing and also fell, apparently paralyzed.
Naruto, who had thankfully been still catching up, managed to evade a cloud of the same poisoned powder simply because he’d seen Kei throw it, and his eyes narrowed in determination –he needed to catch him.
He still didn’t understand how, why and when this treachery had started, and the thought that Kei had been faking their friendship hurt to think about, but he didn’t allow himself to focus on that fact and kept trying to catch up with him.
‘Where is Itachi?!’he wondered inwardly, as Kei turned a corner and clashed through a window, running away from it. ‘Or Hyoo–nii?!’
He couldn’t be the only one chasing Kei around now, could he? His skills were nothing in comparison to Kei’s, who had been in the ANBU for years by now.
“Stop, Kei!” he yelled, even though he knew it was useless.
Trying frantically to find a way to alert the others without losing sight of the running traitor, Naruto allowed his chakra to spike up, knowing that it would probably be enough; seconds later, as he evaded a kunai thrown at him by Kei, he heard a familiar chakra signature flaring up behind him.
“Naruto!” Iruka reached at his side, his face twisted in a grimace. “We were just being briefed on Kei’s probable defection… Hyoo–sama found out about what’s going on and was preparing a way to use the information against him”.
Naruto bit his lips.
So it was all true; Kei was a traitor, and he could no longer deny the fact. It hurt. He’d thought he and Kei were friends, and now…
The older Uchiha appeared at his side, fast–paced, and assessed the situation with a look; Kei looked determined and ready to use anything at his disposal, so he’d have to go warn the Commander.
“Naruto, lock on his chakra signature and keep tabs on him,” Itachi said, eyes calculating Kei’s direction already. “We cannot risk to attack him now, he might decide to destroy our documents, and they are far too important. I will be going back to call Hyoo–sama and the Hunter squad. Iruka, please try to stall Kei until I come back”.
Both Iruka and Naruto nodded, and Itachi disappeared again.
“Naruto, don’t try to take Kei on your own,” Iruka instructed, his face grim, lips set in a thin line of displeasure. “We will have the torture section do their work on him, if we get him alive”.
Iruka’s words hit Naruto like a ton of bricks.
If.
If we get him alive.
Kei was a traitor and he couldn’t be allowed to escape; he’d have to be captured and interrogated, and if he resisted and refused to reveal who he had been working for, he would be surely tortured.
Suddenly, Kei’s chakra signature disappeared from their perception. Both the brown haired ANBU and the teen stopped, eyes flickering right and left.
“He’s hiding himself somewhere…” Iruka frowned. “Raidou would be the best one to track him down, now… Naruto, I will keep my search of the traitor, you go back and meet Itachi half–way and see if Raidou will also be joining the chase”.
Naruto felt a wave of anger hit him –he didn’t want to go back!
He wanted to find Kei, too… and demand an answer. Why? Why did he betray them? Why did he decide to sell information out?
But Iruka didn’t even stop to make sure he was following his orders, and disappeared in the woods, in the direction where Kei had been moving before he’d disappeared, leaving Naruto alone.
Painfully aware that he was shoeless and in the middle of the forest, with only a couple of kunai in his second pouch (his bigger one was still next to his bed) and no way to know where the older teen had gone, Naruto didn’t know what to do.
Part of him still refused to believe that Kei could have betrayed the ANBU (his family, Naruto’s mind supplied), and part of him wanted nothing to do with him… wanted to go back and ignore it all, because just thinking of what would happen to him once found out…
‘Tortured. Killed,’he thought.
Naruto was aware that this was how a ninja’s life was.
And yet…
He knew that if he were to join in the chase and Kei was captured, he’d be tortured, maybe even killed, but Naruto wasn’t sure if he wanted to do it; he still cared for Kei, even though their friendship had been clearly one–sided from the very start.
Despite this, he could not let Kei run. Not with the dossiers, whatever they were about.
So, instead of running back towards the ANBU headquarters, he took off sideways, lowering his chakra signature and trying to find out where the older teen had disappeared to –all of his senses stretched as much as he could, especially his ears and nose.
He would find Kei, and get back the files.

…–…–…–…

In the end, it had been quite a strike of luck that Naruto had managed to find a trace of Kei, and it had more to do with his strong sense of smell than anything else.
He had been running through the woods, thanking Kami it wasn’t raining, when his nose had picked onto Kei’s smell, coming from somewhere at his right; he had started running as quickly as he could, still unsure of what to do, but he had to keep following Kei, so he would not be able to escape with the files.
Still, he didn’t want to think about what capturing him would mean.
Especially since he had killed three ANBU members already, and paralyzed some others, with unknown results.
He was the enemy.
So, when Naruto’s eyes finally locked with the running figure of Kei, he did nothing to hide his own presence. He didn’t want to run, and wasn’t really sure about fighting Kei, either, but he would not hide.
“So you’re still here, admirable,” Kei sneered at him, halting his run. “Are you aware that you are not strong enough to fight me equally, Naruto?”
Naruto hissed, but nodded, not talking. It was hard to call this person an enemy, when all he could think about was how the two of them had laughed at a shared joke, or how the teen’s usually cheerful attitude had made Naruto feel warm and welcome.
They had been friends.
How could he fight against a friend?
“You still want to try?” Kei regarded him, and then nodded, pushing the files into his cape and turning fully towards the blond, the sneer still on his lips.
“I won’t let you run,” Naruto murmured, looking up and meeting Kei’s brown eyes with his own. “Kei, please, think it over… why did you betray the ANBU? Why can’t you just come back with me? I’m sure they’d be lenient with you…”
Kei’s reaction was unexpected; he started laughing –hard.
“Yeah, sure… lenient… let me tell you something –ANBU cannot be lenient. Ninja can’t, either… Didn’t you know that my mother was an ANBU, too, when she was younger? She left duty when she got married… unfortunately, she was accused of treachery and tortured… then killed,” Kei’s face twisted in a grimace, a flash of pain passing through his eyes. “She was innocent, of course, but even her own husband was against her. ANBU and shinobi of Konoha, they turned their backs to her when she needed them, and the weight of her death didn’t even graze the Hokage’s mind… he wasn’t even sorry about it!”
Naruto backed away, scared by the sudden outburst.
He didn’t know what to say.
Was that the truth?
‘What would he gain in lying to me?’he wondered. Unfortunately, he had already lied to him, so he wasn’t entirely sure anymore.
“I hate this village… this place that accused an innocent and didn’t even care to find the proof of it… I’ve been hated because I was the son of a traitor, too, unless her innocence was proven… yes, the ANBU offered me a home… they gave me family…” Kei continued, almost spitting the word out, “but it wasn’t enough. This village deserves to be destroyed!”
Naruto shook his head, “no!” he yelled.
It didn’t matter if it was a lie –although Kei looked positively pain–stricken, so it could be true…
“I know you’ve been hurt, but you can’t turn your back to Konoha and the people who took care of you!”
“Watch me,” Kei replied, sneering again.
Then, he attacked.
Naruto found himself evading the first few slashes of a katana in a hurry, biting his lower lip in worry; Kei would not hold back, not if he wanted to run and go as far from Konoha as he could… so he would try to make Naruto’s death quick and painless.
Yet, he had to resist at least until the rest of the ANBU arrived. He had to have faith in Itachi and Iruka… and Raidou, too –the man would pick up their tracks. They would come.
But until then…
Naruto twisted sideways, evading another swipe of katana and straightening back up, a kunai clutched in his hand.
Until then, he would fight.
Kei moved forwards, blade lifting above his head and slashing down, and Naruto blocked the blow, feeling the strength of it rush to his arm, making it tremble in strain, but did not back down, and threw a punch with his left arm.
Unfortunately, lacking the strength due to his recent hit on the shoulder, his punch held less power than usual and was easily stopped, as Kei twirled around and lashed at his feet with his blade; Naruto jumped upwards, coating his hand with chakra and sticking it to the tree branch above his head and using it to lift himself up lightly, dropping down on Kei’s head a second later.
Kei moved out of the way, but could not prevent a foot from hitting his right shoulder, sending him backwards.
Naruto rolled on the ground and attacked again, forming a familiar hand sign and sending three of his clones against his opponent.
“Tch… didn’t your teacher tell you how weak this jutsu is?” Kei laughed out, and disposed of all three Kage Bunshin with ease, hitting all of them with quick blows, running towards Naruto once again.
The blond gritted his teeth. He had already noticed how easily all of his clones were dispelled during a battle, but still he had hoped… ‘I need to find a better use for it!’
So he attacked again, this time forcing more chakra into a single clone.
Kakashi had once said something about the amount of chakra used to make a normal Kage Bunshin; the chakra wasn’t split evenly, and only a fraction went to each clone, but… what if he managed to put more chakra into a single one?
Then maybe…
“Aren’t you tired of such lousy, useless techniques?” Kei laughed, grabbing the clone’s arm and sending him towards a tree.
Naruto frowned, and quickly sent a wave of chakra to the already made clone; to his surprise, it worked –the Kage Bunshin hit the tree’s bark but did not vanish. It flickered for a second then jumped towards Kei, ready to take him on together with the original.
Naruto smirked.
“It won’t help you! Biransei no Jutsu!”
Kei started a jutsu, hands flowing through seals so fast Naruto had barely the time to react; Kei’s mouth bulged and he spit out a thick cloud of deep violet mist, that surrounded Naruto’s clone, whilst Naruto jumped away, missing being hit by a hair’s distance.
There was a cry of pain from inside the cloud, then the sound of his clone disappearing, and Naruto cringed, as the ghost pain of his skin burning away hit his brain, almost too realistic; he landed hard on a nearby tree, painting out.
What…
He’d actually felt the Kage Bunshin’s pain when the clone had dissolved?
Had it always been like this? He could not remember… but there again, he usually felt his Bunshin disappear through kunai or shuriken hits, not due to something this different.
Maybe he hadn’t noticed before because he had been too busy focusing on fighting, and kunai hits were not something he’d concentrate on.
A part of his brain filed this information away, deeming it interesting, but the remaining of his attention was still on his opponent.
He attacked again, throwing one of his kunai at Kei, who blocked it with the side of his katana; Naruto used this moment to throw himself upwards and slash at Kei with his second kunai, but the older teen was faster –the blade slashed upwards, making Naruto retreat before it could hit him.
Doing a back flip, Naruto grabbed his other kunai and pushed it in his pouch, knowing he’d probably need it later on, and ran at Kei again. Whilst it was apparent Kei was barely using his strength against him, Naruto knew he was at least stalling him. Maybe he could at least tire him a bit…
It would be enough, if Hyoo managed to get there…
“Naruto, you’re far too nice,” Kei sighed, shaking his head. “Do you think it’ll be enough? You are not fighting with your all, and you’re underestimating your opponent… you’re truly a rookie”.
Naruto gasped as the blade cut through his right arm, making him lose his kunai.
He fell on his back, clutching his bleeding arm and rolling away to avoid the blade falling on his neck; his unsteady hands grabbed the kunai again, holding it high and blocking the katana again.
“How can you be a ninja if you’re all words and no action, Naruto? You are not up to kill someone… you’re not even fighting me with the intent to kill, because you still hope things will work out…” Kei growled, his grasp on the katana handle tightening. “Killing is part of your job. No matter if you don’t like it, unless you accept you’ll have to kill when there is no other choice to take, you’ll only be weak!”
“No! It doesn’t matter! Killing isn’t everything!” Naruto replied, kicking at Kei’s legs.
The brown haired teen easily jumped out of reach, allowing the blond to stand up again.
“You thought I was your friend, so you can’t face me. You are really pathetic,” Kei spit out again, looking at him in distaste. “What if you were to ‘let me go’ and I were to return to hurt your precious people? What would you do then?”
Naruto blanched.
Would it be like this?
“Would you kill me to protect them, then? Even if I was your friend, once?”
Naruto didn’t know. He had always thought he would, because to protect his precious people he would do anything, but… a friend? Choosing between sides…
Was there really a choice?
“What about people you don’t know? People who cannot protect themselves? Would you kill me to save their lives?”
Kei’s words were strong blows to Naruto’s world. They hit him with sharp accuracy, and did more damage than any physical blow could have.
He wasn’t sure, not even of this.
And yet, this was the life he chose for himself… was he already backing away, offending his dream and his status as ninja, by thinking this? Not all choices were good, but… what if he was faced with a choice he couldn’t make?
Maybe he didn’t have to choose yet, but he would have to.
He charged again, mind in turmoil.

…–…–…–…

Tsunade sat in her office, alone, with the moon peering from the glass windows as the only light in the room, and sighed.
Sipping from her favourite cup (one with a small drawing of a slug) a delicious sake she had hidden away from Shizune, Tsunade allowed her mind to wander; it had been one of those days, for her, and she wanted nothing more than rest.
On her desk, there were piles of papers waiting to be read, and the form for the Chuunin exams she had to check over and sign was on top of them, as Sunagakure had offered to hold them for the year, as some sort of peace–offer to Konoha.
Clear brown eyes stared out of the window at the village, then shifted towards the great mountain that protected it day and night, faces long since gone looking down on it, remainder of the great Hokage that had been in charge before her.
On the right corner, there was a scaffolding ready to start the carving of her own face, right next to Yondaime’s ageless one.
It was a quiet night.
There was a soft knock on the door and Tsunade did not bother with hiding the bottle of sake, knowing that Shizune would not berate her, at least this time.
“Hokage–sama?” Shizune peered through the door and watched her mentor sip her sake again, but decided not call her on it and instead stepped in the room, walking towards the desk and sitting on it.
Not even turning to look at her, Tsunade gently offered her a cup; the younger woman hesitated then accepted it, allowing herself a small taste of alcohol.
“It’s quiet here at night,” Shizune stated after a moment. “It was never this quiet before, when we were travelling”.
“Yeah,” Tsunade sighed. In a way, she missed the chaos, the yells, the lights of casinos and the noise of roulettes rolling… but this kind of peace… it was just as satisfying, in a different way. “Konoha has changed a lot, I have to say,” she added.
“It has?” the brown haired woman shrugged. She had never known the village except through her mentor’s words, and even then, they had mostly been insults thrown when drunk. “I like it”.
“I like it, too. Now. Certain things have yet to change, of course, but…”
“But it feels good to have roots,” Shizune concluded.
Tsunade assented.
“Things will keep changing. It’s like rolling a wheel down a slope,” the blonde stated after a moment of silence. “Maybe they are slow, and if it wasn’t for him, I would not want to be there, observing it. And yet…”
“And yet, it’s still pleasant to watch”.
Shizune smiled, amused. They had travelled together for years, and she was Tsunade’s first apprentice, her first student… they knew each other far too well, but it was a familiar, warm knowledge.
Still, Konoha had been a wall between them, at least until Tsunade had accepted to go back, face her ghosts, and become Hokage. Shizune had to thank that young, loud boy that had forced her to look back and accept.
“Do you think he’s going to make it into the ANBU?” Tsunade sipped from her cup again, savouring the tangy taste.
“Of course,” Shizune smiled brightly. “He’s Naruto, after all. He will do it”.

…–…–…–…

Naruto’s hands trembled as he blocked yet again another katana blow, but he knew this was not going to last; his arms, tense and forced to keep up with the attacks, were quickly drained of strength, and he would not keep up much more.
And yet, he didn’t stop, attacking with all he had.
“You’re quite persistent,” the smirk had disappeared from Kei’s face, turning into a frown. “Stop this nonsense!”
“No!” Naruto threw himself at Kei again, but was sent spiralling backwards once again, his kunai flying away from his hand, this time out of his reach.
“Stop!”
Naruto allowed his muscles to relax and his head fell back on the grass, as Hyoo, followed by Itachi, Tomoyo and a group of other ANBU, appeared in the meadow, quickly surrounding Kei and preventing him from attacking.
“Naruto! Are you ok?” Iruka jumped at the blond teen’s side, checking him for injuries. “I told you not to do things on your own!”
Naruto panted and straightened up, feeling his heart clench painfully in his chest. “I… I couldn’t…”
He halted, and stared at Kei, who was being held down and searched through for the documents. He moved a bit closer, still unsure about the whole situation, and not liking what would soon be happening to his once friend. Some of the ANBU, after securing the traitor, left to report to the headquarters together with Tomoyo, who flashed Naruto a small smile, which left only Itachi, Hyoo, Iruka and two other unknown shinobi with Kei.
“Naruto, you should go back to bed,” Itachi stated, pushing Naruto away from the rest of them.
“No, I want to follow the escort,” he replied, biting down his lip.
Hyoo and Itachi shared a look, then the older Uchiha nodded. “Fine”.
With a small nod towards the two ANBU, who went on both sides of Kei, grabbing him and keeping him between each other, Hyoo leaned forwards, to stare at the prisoner straight in his eyes through the holes of his mask.
“You will talk,” Hyoo’s voice was serious and absolutely sure about it. “No one betrays the ANBU”.
Kei snorted and shifted his hands inside his sleeves, the movement almost invisible to the ANBU at his sides, and completely unseen from the three on the front, and brought them back out filled with the same poisoning powder he had used before on the ANBU in the corridors.
Naruto was the only one who noticed this.
Kei’s arms tensed and he shifted as if to stand straight up, at the same time making it look like he was tripping on his own feet –with that he was suddenly closer to Hyoo’s face, ready to use the powder on him.
Naruto saw all of this, and knew that no matter how fast he moved, he would not be fast enough.
The powder was already in the traitor’s hands, and it’d take less time for Kei to throw it forwards than for him to yell and the guards to act accordingly –and even a brief exposure at the powder had appeared to have paralyzing effects…
Naruto could only stare in horror, transfixed, as Kei slammed the powder straight on Hyoo’s masked face, through the eyes’ holes, sending the man sprawling backwards.
Then everything happened so quickly he had barely the time to breathe–
Kei flashing hands into seals–
Itachi and Iruka attacking him…
… but having to move out of the way as the brown haired teen used the poisonous gas technique once again–
The two ANBU at his sides falling on the ground, coughing and rasping in pain–
Kei turning around, protected by the cloud, ready to run away, after having hurt and killed three more members of his old ‘family’…
Naruto felt something snap inside him.
So… he acted accordingly.
The only way he knew how to –as a ninja.
Before Kei could even attempt to run, Naruto had already attacked, kunai clenched in his fingers, and had buried it into Kei’s chest, where the heart was…
…
Or he would have, as Hyoo had been faster than him, and was holding his wrist still millimetres from Kei’s chest.
Naruto’s eyes were wide open as he stared at Hyoo, face still hidden behind his mask, apparently untouched by the powder, not even affected by its paralyzing effect, and was also protecting Kei from attacks!
Naruto flushed in shame.
“Well done, Naruto,” Hyoo stated, ruffling Naruto’s hair affectionately. Under the mask, he was smiling.
“Huh? What?” Naruto stared upwards in shock as the two ANBU stood up and stretched, unharmed.
Kei, who had straightened up as well, turned around massaging his arms. “You could have held my arms with a bit less strength –they’re gonna bruise!” he pouted, half–glaring at the two ANBU.
Iruka and Itachi, who until seconds before had been alerted and ready to attack and defend themselves, were now relaxed and moved towards Naruto and Hyoo.
Naruto felt like he had been sent under the cold jet of a waterfall. “What… he… why did you let him go…?”
Kei lowered his gaze to Naruto, and pressed his hand on the younger teen’s shoulder, grimacing when Naruto flinched away. “I’m sorry, Naruto… this was the test”.
The… test?
“What do you mean with… the test?” he screeched, not understanding.
“Every trainee has to go through a similar test, of course, the test varies depending on the trainee… usually it’s about a choice to be made… a betrayal of a comrade, something that will have the trainee react accordingly. If you had refused to fight, or ran away, at any moment, you would have been deemed not fit for your position,” Hyoo explained, his tone as soft as he could.
“You did the best you could ever do, Naruto,” Iruka added, gently. “It was constructed fitting you… the reactions you could have had, or not”.
They had all gone through a similar test that had destroyed their faith, restoring it only much later, and all the ANBU present knew what Naruto was going through now.
This almost heartless test was to see how seriously the trainee would act depending on the situation, even if someone close to them was not just included in the action, but actually the one against whom they had to fight.
Heartless, yes, but only the best could survive. Many had backed down during the final tests, out of fear, lack of control or fright at a real dangerous situation against someone stronger than they were.
Naruto had managed out well.
“I was appointed to be the traitor, Naruto,” Kei sighed, looking away. “I didn’t want to do it, but… I had to. I am truly sorry, I didn’t want to cause you this pain…”
Naruto stared deep into Kei’s eyes –the same warm eyes of the friend he had first met in the common room– then looked at Hyoo, Itachi and Iruka. Then as an afterthought, he also looked at the two masked and unknown ANBU shinobi.
“So… he didn’t really… kill… anyone…?” Naruto’s voice trembled, and he looked down, suddenly overwhelmed.
“No,” Itachi stated seriously.
Kei, knowing how the blond was probably feeling after having his world turned around, was ready to back away and leave him mull over things, also fearing Naruto would hold a grudge against him for having to act that part out, and made to stand up again, only to be stopped by Naruto’s hand grasping his sleeve. “Naruto?”
Unexpectedly, Naruto clutched at Kei’s arms, holding him still and he half–hugged him, pressing his face in the other’s chest; the brown haired teen blinked in shock when he felt his shirt wet with Naruto’s tears.
“I’m really sorry,” he murmured, fearing he had hurt his friend.
Naruto’s words shocked him even more. “I’m glad you’re not a traitor… I’m glad it wasn’t false… I’m glad you’re really my friend…”
Kei was really taken aback, but a hesitant smile made its way to his lips.
Iruka held Naruto’s shoulder, making him stand up and fussing over the already healing wound Kei had been forced to leave on his arm. The blond teen wiped away his tears, feeling a bit faint out of fatigue and adrenaline rush leaving his body.
He was still in shock, and the adults present could clearly see it.
“We’re going back at the headquarters now,” Itachi mumbled, as not to break the fragile mood the blond was in, keeping him upright when his legs trembled. Naruto nodded at him, grateful for the concern, but still not looking up.
“Naruto,” Hyoo made the younger teen turn his way, and leaned forwards, the eyes behind his mask staring at Naruto’s even when the teen tried not to stare at him. “You are officially promoted to the ANBU”.

…–…–…–…

Thinking back with a clearer mind, Naruto could easily see the little flaws in the test he had been subjected to –how could Hyoo be so irresponsible as to have only two shinobi at his side when facing the traitor?
And Itachi could have taken Kei on his own, he was stronger than the teen, more experienced…
Of course all of the… mistakes… were there for a reason, knowing that under stress and adrenaline, a trainee wouldn’t notice anything amiss…
And at that time, Naruto’s mind had been so confused and shocked…
Besides, his new realization about how rough a shinobi’s life was had struck so powerfully Naruto wouldn’t have had time to analyse the details. In order to protect, there were many things that would have to be sacrificed, and blood had to be spilt. Yet, he had acted accordingly… he had to. Deep inside, he knew he would have to kill and the experience would probably be carved in his conscious forever, but he was a ninja, and he would do it if times demanded it.
Before, he had used these words to convince himself, never truly giving them a second thought, but now… now he knew they were true –he had been close to killing Kei on his own, and that had changed everything.
Besides that, despite feeling a deep anger, and a sense of betrayal towards the cruel, painful test, Naruto found himself unable to hate any of the ANBU for that.
He couldn’t truly be angry at them either –hecouldn’t.
He was resentful but also understood why they had done it… a part of him, stronger now, calmly took in the information and accepted it; he was an ANBU now, but that didn’t mean he would have to change his nindo.
At the same time, he could see things he had overlooked before –and could understand them. There was nowhere to hide, he only had to stand up and accept his life, showing how despite that, he would not allow himself to stray away from it.
The fact that every ANBU had gone through the same test, or similar ones, also made him feel less bitter and offended. Hyoo had done it, too, when he was just a rookie. Itachi, Iruka…
It made him less bitter… sharing that same pain…
Betrayal, Naruto had known it already –Sasuke had betrayed him at one point, but he had brought him back to the village then.
What if things had gone wrong instead, and Sasuke had gone to Otogakure?
This test had offered him a possible answer. The void feeling… the hurt… but something was different –he was the slightest bit wiser this time around.
He could accept the test without freaking out or yelling in anger because he had understood that he would give his everything to be the awesome strong ninja he wanted to become. There was no malice, no fury, no hatred, just the raw need to be taught how to become one.
It hurt, he couldn’t deny it, but it didn’t hurt as much as it could have been.
As for Kei…
Kei had been subjected to a similar test as well, and yet Naruto had the feeling that for the older teen the hardest test had been to act as a traitor just then, not feel the pain back then.
He knew that had it been him, he would not be able to do it as convincingly as Kei had done.
“Are you ok?” Iruka’s warm voice breached hesitantly through Naruto’s swirling thoughts, and the teen stiffened slightly, looking up at the man he considered close to a father and knowing he would never be able to despise him for the test. Ever. “Naruto, I–”
“Save your words, Iruka–sensei,” he smiled, and strangely, smiling was easy. “It’s ok… or at least it’ll be. It was something I had to go through, I guess… but I understand. Give me just some time… it’ll be ok then. I will be ok”.
It would heal, he would recover, and return to his cheery attitude, but for now…
For now, he needed time.
Iruka, apparently understanding, pressed his hand comfortingly on Naruto’s head then left the room, closing the door behind his back.
Naruto sighed.
A part of him wanted to know how it had been for the man, what test he had to go through –what test Raidou had been subjected to, and also Itachi– but he suppressed his curiosity.
It was still too raw –the desire to know was too personal.
From the window, still without a proper cover–up for the morning, the moon shone above the forest of Konoha, throwing awkward shadows over the trees and the rest of the building; following a sudden impulse, Naruto stood up and ran to the window, opening it and jumping out, his hand grasping on the edge and helping him move upwards, towards the roof.
The air was chilly, premonition of the autumn advancing, but the cold air felt heavenly on his skin, and blue eyes lost themselves admiring the forest.
Somewhere in front of him was Konoha, hidden from sight.
The village he swore to protect, his home.
It all felt so… unreal, and yet, sharply real at the same time. He was not the same person he had been in the morning, and yet it was still him.
He was confused –things were changing and he was not sure he wanted them to… but all the same, he wasn’t sure if he wanted them not to.
Although there was no shift nor chakra signature alerting the blond that someone had joined him, the teen felt it anyway; the figure of the older Uchiha, his captain, appeared on the rooftop at his side, not speaking and not even looking at him, content in staring at the peaceful sight in front of them.
Naruto breathed deeply, glad for the silence, and allowed himself to observe his team captain –now for real, since he was finally an ANBU– knowing why he was there.
The man was worried for him, just like he was worried for Kisame.
Another side of an Uchiha that Naruto had only seen once before, when Sasuke had still showed some emotions and Orochimaru had not yet appeared in their lives. Itachi worried over him as a teammate, as a comrade, as a person.
It felt good.
There was a newfound respect in his blue eyes as Naruto smiled at the older man, his eyes then returning to the sleepy night around him.

…–…–…–…

“Mask?”
Naruto blinked and stared down at his white mask, the one he had been given as a trainee, then stared up at Hyoo.
“Actually, trainees only get the white mask, but the moment they turn into ANBU, they are allowed to paint it,” the commander explained, smirking under his own mask. “It’s yours the choice of what animal to use, of course, depending on your status, skills and general attitude…”
Naruto grimaced and returned his gaze to the white mask he had only worn a handful of times, unsure about what to draw on it –he had absolutely no idea, and he did not want to have a fox painted mask just because of Kyuubi.
“Err… I really don’t know,” he murmured, clutching the white surface.
He had no affinity whatsoever to animals, except with the Kyuubi and Jiraiya’s toads, but he wasn’t that keen in painting a toad on his mask –despite their usefulness, he didn’t think he wanted to be compared to one!
Honestly, he wanted to use a cool animal, maybe a dragon, or a tiger (he had seen pictures of both in his books) but he knew he had nothing to spare with them, and the animal had to be a hint of him, so…
“Is it ok if I think about it a bit more?” he scratched the back of his head and laughed sheepishly, sighing in relief when Hyoo nodded. “I don’t really have any idea on what quality I have that would be like an animal so… well,” he shrugged. “We’ll see”.
Hyoo chuckled and patted Naruto’s head.
“To tell you the truth, very few ANBU end up knowing what their mask will be for the first month or so… they train first, and determine what can be complementary to their skills”.
Naruto nodded, understanding this, then straightened up, placing the mask above his head and waiting for Hyoo to continue, under the amused gaze of the rest of his teammates –now that he could refer to them as such, he felt even closer to them.
“Well, I called you here because now that the team is complete, it can be called back to action,” Hyoo sat down at his desk and stared at the four shinobi in front of him. “Team Six, composed by Uchiha Itachi, captain, code-named Death Wings, Umino Iruka, code-named Silent Depths, Raidou, code-named Shadow Tracker, and Uzumaki Naruto, code-name as yet undecided,” Naruto flushed a bit, embarrassed, “you are hereby called in active duty”.
Itachi nodded, exchanging a glance with his fellow teammates, Naruto as well.
It was probably then that Naruto finally realised that, status wise (forgetting his experience for a moment, of course), he was an equal with Raidou, Iruka and Itachi.
ANBU.
‘I did it…’
“Well then, currently one of the ANBU teams is working constantly on the young Uchiha,” Hyoo stated, turning a bit more serious as he regarded the new team in front of him. “It will also remain in Konoha to keep track of him, as previously decided. As you might know, the Chuunin exams this year will be held in a few weeks, as well, and your team as well as three others, will follow the Hokage to offer protection”.
Naruto gasped out in shock –the Chuunin exams already?
“Wait, wait–” he interrupted, remembering then his disrespect for his commander and backing down, unsure whether to raise his hand or what. “Err… I mean, excuse me, Hyoo–sama…” he heard Raidou’s snort at his side, “Chuunin exams?! But they were just held…”
Hyoo chuckled.
“The Chuunin exams are held twice a year, whilst the Jounin exams and the special ANBU exams are held once a year each,” Iruka explained, smiling at the younger teen. “This year, Sunagakure formally asked to hold the Chuunin exams. The Suna elders hope that with such move, their alliance with Konoha will be completed, and the unpleasant incident of the previous Chuunin exams will be forgotten”.
Naruto’s eyes brightened up at the mention of Suna.
“Really? In Suna? Awesome! I can see Gaara again! Maybe I can even spar with him!” he cheered, then stilled. “Oh, right –I won’t participate…” he deflated.
Iruka, Raidou and Hyoo chuckled together at this.
“You will be going there as your first official team mission, in two weeks,” Hyoo continued, shuffling some papers on his desk. “For the moment you need to train and learn how to work with each other”.
Naruto’s smile threatened to split his face in two.
He would be going to Suna! He had never seen the desert, nor the outskirts of Konoha apart Nami no Kuni, of course, and the town in the Hi no Kuni where Jiraiya had taken him, so this would be awesome…
Besides, he would be able to follow the next Chuunin exams as a cool guard! It even beat being a participant!
“Wait, are my friends participating?” he stopped, looking at Hyoo. “Sakura–chan, Shikamaru… Kiba…”
Hyoo shrugged. “The Jounin instructors have not filed a list yet, and Suna might make the exams differently than what we did last year, so it might not be obligatory for teams to participate, but I think your teammate Sakura won’t be participating this time”.
Naruto blinked. “What? Why?”
“Tsunade–sama said she became her apprentice, so she might not allow her to participate in order to train her,” Hyoo explained. “As for your other friends, I am not sure”.
Naruto pouted a bit, but he guessed he shouldn’t be as depressed –this was his first official mission, and he was going to Suna!
Wait… did Hyoo just say Tsunade had taken Sakura as her apprentice?
“… a–apprentice?” suddenly a mental image of an older Sakura with Tsunade’s giant boobs, sipping sake and sleeping her day away, only to wake up and punch the hell out of him, popped up in his mind.
He didn’t like it.
‘I think I might have to pay attention what I tell her from now on,’ he thought, feeling a shiver run down his back.
Hyoo motioned for them to leave, and he strolled down the corridors of the ANBU headquarters with a perplexed grimace. To be able to watch a Chuunin exam this closely without participating… it would be awesome to watch, but he hoped he would not get bored…

…–…–…–…–…–…–…

Cepheus:I know some readers had caught on my plot, whilst some were left a bit confused. I had this planned for a few months already, and I hope I pulled it out well enough.
If you liked, I’d appreciate a review. :) thank you ^^
Date notes:
Let’s say that Naruto got promoted to Genin around September. (it’s an hypothesis). This would make their Genin D–rank missions last what, one or two months? It would be plausible ‘weeks of low rank missions’ to amount to one or two months. Then the C turned A–rank mission against Zabuza and Haku. Then, some more weeks, and the Chuunin exams. So they would be held around December, maybe January. Second part of the exams is held one month later, so February. March is used to cope up with everything, then let’s say Naruto and Jiraiya leave to find Tsunade, and travelling would probably take some weeks, too, maybe a month? Kishi does not specify this, of course, and it seems so much less, but temporarily wise I’d give it a month. Tsunade starts controlling Konoha, and remains there. I’d also give this about four weeks, give or take, until Sound Four come to get Sasuke. Means we get to end of April or early May.
So in this timeline, all May is spent by Naruto as a trainee, and the Chuunin exams are held in late June and December/January.
Does this work for you? Because I will use this timeline to work it all out. Thank you for reading! ^^
Glossary:
Biransei no Jutsu– Poison gas technique. It creates a cloud of poison smoke that envelopes the enemy ninja.
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