Symbiosis Chapter 1
No Hands, No Problem.
The Sandaime Hokage looked over the two genin in front of him with a critical eye.
"Uzumaki Naruto. Uchiha Sasuke. You have been accounted as missing in the course of action and, as such, declared rogue. What do you have to say for yourselves?"
The Uchiha stepped forward. "Uchiha Sasuke reporting for duty sir, as delayed as it may be."
Then Naruto stepped forward. "Hey, hey, some beancounter can't declare that I missed any action on that mission! We just missed coming back! But yeah, what he said."
The Sandaime peered at the genin. He detected no lies in them, but they hadn't said much to begin with. Legendary he may be, but he needed more substance than a single sentence to determine allegiances. Consciously or subconsciously, they may be compromised. And the container of the fearsome Kyuubi No Yoko, as well as the Last Uchiha, were not people you wanted as resident sleeper agents.
And all of this was if they were even truly Uchiha Sasuke and Uzumaki Naruto.
With that in mind, he spoke. "You boys realize you'll have to be interrogated and put on watch, correct?"
Sasuke gave a tight nod, while Naruto frowned, scrunching up his eyes. "Yeah, we do. It's gonna suck, but we're here, aren't we?"
The Sandaime smiled. "Yes, indeed you are. If it may relax your worries, we don't tend to do 'messy' interrogations on friendly nin. You'll likely feel as if it's just a particularly grueling aftermission report. But please do not hold anything back. You have no reason to, so you doing so tends to make the interrogation department..."
Here the Sandaime paused, clearly thinking of an appropriate word. "...antsy? Yes. Antsy," he said, smiling warmly.
The bone-chilling implications were not lost upon the two.
"My name... is Ibiki Morino. I am the head of the Torture and Interrogation Department."
Sasuke nodded from his position on a reinforced metal chair he was secured to.
"You have five minutes to try and explain to me why I should believe you are, in fact, Uchiha Sasuke."
Six tomoe swirled.
"Four minutes, fifty-three seconds. As your own sensei proves, having a doujutsu means nothing to me."
The sharingan flicked off.
Sasuke smirked. "The ability to turn it on and off, however, should."
Ibiki Morino looked severely at the young man, and then nodded. "A fair point, but I'm going to have to ask for more proof than that..."
"My name... is Ibiki Morino. I am the head of the Torture and Interrogation Department."
Naruto squinted. "Interesting career choice, all considered."
The blatant reference to Ibiki's scars failed to phase the interrogator.
"You have five minutes to try and explain to me why I should believe you are, in fact, Uzumaki Naruto."
A brief flicker of red, and the chains and seals keeping the young man secured dripped to the floor, flaming slag.
Shirt lifted, the seal of the Yondaime Hokage was bared.
A pause.
"Touché, Uzumaki Naruto."
"I can't believe they pulled this."
Sasuke's tone was light, as if he was discussing the weather. Almost polite, really.
Obviously, their 'parole' of sorts was about to get very strained, because that tone meant someone was going to end up in a... questionable situation. They would need alibis.
For now however, Naruto just nodded. He was rather displeased about the events himself.
You see, Naruto had, of course, been unable to pay his rent while he and Sasuke were 'away' for two years. So he had been evicted long ago, and his belongings auctioned off.
Sasuke's predicament was similar. As both he and Naruto had been declared missing nin, his estate and clan had became void. With the full repeal of their missing status, his name was restored, but his estate was already gone, sold to a few merchants who pushed some... likely rather suspicious paperwork through.
One way or another, though, the Uchiha Clan Estate was now known as the South Market.
Sasuke was, quite understandably, furious.
Naruto had only lost personal belongings that he hadn't even touched in years. Sasuke had lost everything that his family had ever had. Reparations would be had- Naruto didn't doubt that, or heads would roll. But that didn't replace the only link Sasuke had to his family was now gone, earth teched to the ground, and replaced with shops.
So Naruto was companionably quiet as he let Sasuke vent his rage to him, just as pissed about the turn of events as they walked through the dubbed South Market.
"Perhaps we will just have to meet and discuss the appropriation of my estate with the gentlemen who bought it. Surely all will be solved, no?"
Naruto snorted. Sasuke wasn't using contractions anymore and was slipping into a more eloquent speech pattern. They were going to need several alibis, it seemed.
"My heart just bleeds, perish the thought of wasting their valuable time." Naruto chirped.
Two could, of course, play that game. They had posed as young nobles enough.
And really, Naruto wasn't at all disinclined with... well, any idea, really, that required multiple alibis.
Just meant it was worth their time.
"Ibiki-kun, what did you find?"
"Both of them are, as far as I can tell, who they say they are. Their stories match up reasonably well, with acceptable differences in point of view or bias. Their personalities are also within reasonable changes for what happened to them."
The Hokage took a long drag. "So they really are alive..."
"Indeed, Hokage-sama."
"What of their skills?"
"Both say they favor and offensive mix of taijutsu and ninjutsu, and they use genjutsu only defensively, and sparingly at that. Classic Kiri style, from what I understand, which makes sense considering their little adventure. That is where the similarities end, however. Uchiha-san says he prefers faster taijutsu mixed with kenjutsu, with ninjutsu being the bulk of his more powerful attacks. Uzumaki-san backs that up, and indicated that he, on the other hand, prefers powerful, dynamic taijutsu. His ninjutsu tends to be rapid and unpredictable. They already know their elements, and both have dual affinities- Fire and Lightning for the Uchiha, and Water and Wind for the Uzumaki."
The Sandaime nodded, deep in thought. "How fitting. Even their elements reinforce and defend the other's. I'll pass this on to Kakashi so he won't be going in blind. Is that all, Ibiki-kun?"
"Yes sir."
Hatake Kakashi was early, and thinking.
He was many things. Well aware of the past was one of them.
The students he had failed...
I don't let my comrades die! I'll protect you with my life.
...had somehow lived, despite his failure.
He didn't know what to expect, just what he last remembered of them...
"Kid... lend me your kunai."
It loped through the air, before being snatched by the demon's pointed teeth.
He slowly smirked around the kunai.
Zabuza raced ahead, snarling around the kid's kunai: "Mizu Bunshin No Jutsu!"
His proudest achievement: handseal-less water clones. It would serve him well that day.
And the fate of the world quaked that day for the same reason.
The able-bodied clone smashed into the group of bandits with all the subtlety and grace of a shark fired into a sand dune.
That did not stop the doomed men from meeting their maker.
The real Zabuza had taken guard over Haku.
Gatou's head slowly rolled to a stop, and Zabuza hunkered down, slamming the tip of the Kukubiri Houchou into the bridge by its strap across his chest.
"Prepare yourself!" he rasped, snapping his feet under Haku's body to hold it, even as he hung in the cradle of his sword's harness.
A second later, another previously unseen water clone at the end of the bridge revealed why. With an angry spike of chakra and a yell, the Great Waterfall Technique slammed down the bridge.
Kakashi grabbed Sakura and Tazuna, anchoring them with chakra to his feet, even as Naruto dove to do the same for Sasuke.
When the wall of water had passed, Kakashi dropped both Haruno Sakura and Tazuna with little decorum, ignoring them as the rasped for breath.
He had more important things to worry about.
At each side of the bridge, grates were built to allow rainwater to wash off the bridge and down into the sea.
Kakashi shakingly walked over to the nearest grate. Lodged in it were several things Kakashi didn't want to see... and a distinct lack of two things he did.
Two Konoha hiate-ai, Naruto's beloved frog wallet, and one of Sasuke's arm warmers.
That's what was caught in the grate. No Naruto. No Sasuke.
The only other thing that remained on the bridge was a single sword with a broken strap, lodged into the stonework of the bridge.
Naruto and Sasuke... were gone.
A trail of liquid slowly flowed down the left side of Kakashi's face.
Kakashi blinked, hearing footsteps, and looked up from where he was leaning against the bridge.
So... this is them, now.
Superficially, they didn't appear much different. Naruto was loud, gesticulating wildly, while Sasuke was quiet and reserved.
But Kakashi had a favorite saying, so he applied it. And there was far more than just the superficial. Even their clothing alone told a great deal about how the boys had changed.
For one, the clothes were bigger. Both had shot up in the two years, with wider shoulders and awkwardly long limbs.
Sasuke was wearing a black t-shirt and a pair of white shorts. His hair was tied back, and the eerie resemblance he had to Itachi with it made Kakashi's stomach do an unsettling flop sideways before he could master himself. A small sword lay sheathed in the small of Sasuke's back.
Naruto, on the other hand, was wearing a pair of long dark pants and an black t-shirt. Over the shirt he had a white hoodie with blue stripes. He had elastic cords at his calves and thighs, as well as on his forearms and biceps, to keep his sleeves from flapping. Kakashi hasn't seen those since the time of the Yondaime- bandages tended to be cheaper, if not as reusable. His hair hung down, and was likewise tied back like Sasuke's.
Kakashi hid a grin. They were playing a stereotype for their own benefit. They looked like civilian sons of a moderately well-to-do family that tried to play itself off as higher in rank than it really was, and desperately trying to seem more like a ninja... which was the current civilian fashion for young men. He remembered the Yondaime used such cords as well, making them look much like a tribute, instead of the viable alternative to taping down the sleeves that they were.
The smaller things too- like when Sasuke pushed off with his foot, Naruto was landing on his own. And vice versa. Neither were ever in a position where at least one of them couldn't immediately push off the ground into a jump, dodge, or run.
Things like that were deadly important in an ambush. He wondered, briefly, when he would be cleared for their files. Whatever they ended up in, it was big. Big enough that they got both training and a hefty dose of experience- both from and against people who were good.
Very good.
Kakashi grinned under his mask. "Heya kids. It's nice to see you again."
Naruto waved, and then his mouth dropped. "Whoah, look!"
Sasuke turned to nod at his sensei, and then smirked.
Naruto started laughing. "Oh wow, Zabuza was pissed about that!"
"So that's what happened to the Kukiburi Hocho." Sasuke added, an amused look in his eyes.
Indeed, there it was, balanced on top of Hatake Kakashi's shoulder in a disturbingly casual way for a sword that was as long as the jounin was tall.
His other hand, of course, held his book. Some things just shouldn't change.
Kakashi laughed airily. "Good to know he was miffed about losing it. I was rather miffed myself about losing my students. Sakura-chan will be here shortly."
They both nodded, gazes briefly alighting on his form- in calculation?
"It's good to see you too, Kakashi-sensei."
Kakashi hid a smile. So they figured that out, hmm...?
That was the other thing that was different. They watched. They listened. And, if Naruto's nose was any indication, they smelled too. And they paid attention to it, thought about it, and communicated about it. Even now, they seemed to still be making nonverbal jokes about his sword with nothing more than a few shoulder twitches, thinly veiled smirks and a head slide.
They were also fairly paranoid. That was a bad trait for a nin in their home village, but given they hadn't had a home village for the past two years, that was probably acceptable. The way they refused to let their watchers out of their own sight, however, was rather amusing.
Other people might consider it worrying, that they would distrust ANBU of their own village that much, but Kakashi was privy to the kind of paranoia you could gain being out on an extended mission with only one other person to keep you sane.
Besides, it was almost absurdly funny watching ANBU trying to hide from two brats and failing.
A slight displacement of air disturbed his thoughts.
Haruno Sakura had appeared. She raised one hand in a wave and chirped, "Yo!"
Both Naruto and Sasuke took a moment to digest the changes in their teammate.
She stood loosely, but steadily. A chuunin vest adorned her form, under which she wore the standard chuunin uniform. A mask covered the bottom of her face, and the hilt of the White Fang poked over her back. Her hair was longer that when they had last saw her, tied back in a thin ponytail down her back, two bangs framing her face.
She surveyed her erstwhile teammates with a set of lazy-looking, cautious eyes.
Kakashi's knew his own influence on her was obvious, seeing as he had been her sole friend, confidant, and master for the past two years. It was especially obvious in how she tried not to reveal anything behind a mask of apathy. She was trying not to react to their reappearance.
Kakashi turned to his formerly erstwhile students when he heard a slapping sound. Naruto had a palm raised in front of him with his other cupped next to it, a mocking grin on his face directed at Sasuke.
His hands dropped immediately after with a satisfied smirk upon seeing Sasuke's fierce scowl.
I wonder what that exchange was about?
Naruto then waved, while Sasuke offered a rather friendly nod.
"Hello to you as well, Sakura-chan. As you can see the boys are back, so our first order, from the honorable Sandaime Hokage-sama himself, is to see where they stand. So I'm thinking Sakura-chan and I against you both. Sound good?"
Thanks to SEG-CISR for putting up with me never writing half the ideas I have, and helping me with the ones I do.