"It takes a certain kind of person to do the work required of an Anbu. You must have nerves of steel, a focused mind, and most importantly; an unwavering heart."
A mysterious figure dawning a feline like mask skulks inside a dark room; gloved hands rummaging through sealed and secret documents. Documents only the Hokage is in possession of; Documents that, if someone caught you stealing, death was the price you'd pay for it. Koneko wasn't stealing, however, just browsing. At least that's what they told themselves. The aroma of manilla envelopes filled the room as they skimmed through hundreds of files with a delicate finger. The slightest wrinkle, the slightest misplacement of paper, or smudge of ink could give them away. An investigation could start immediately- and Koneko wasn't taking any chances. Hell no. Not when they were so close to uncovering….
Light infiltrated the otherwise moonlit room, the door swung open by a Jounin ranked Ninja who worked under the Hokage. As they peered into the dark room, they found it to be vacant. Without doing a sweep, the Jounin seemed to be satisfied with what they saw, or didn't see, and shut and locked the door behind them.
Ameteur, the Anbu thought angrily.
What if I'd been an enemy? Just who do we have defending our sacred house?
Nevertheless, the stealthily hidden figure emerged from the shadows and eyed the file they'd been searching so long for:
[ Uchiha Op: Classified Information! ]
The document shook in the Anbu's hand as fear, disappointment, and then disgust quelled in Koneko's belly. Fear of what they would discover, then disappointment that they had discovered nothing of value, and disgust that they took such a great risk for absolutely nothing. Their informant had been dead wrong. That was a problem. After carefully returning the useless information in its assigned folder, they then slid back into the vent they'd originally entered the secret room from. Returning to their post on the roof, no one ever noticed their absence. An exasperated sigh escapes from behind the porcelain mask, and Koneko feels disheartened. They'd dedicated years to finding out the truth, and the closer they got to it, the more it evaded them. Just how much more of themselves could they sacrifice until there was nothing left?
Another person appeared on the roof; a man with perfectly controlled chakra that was almost undetectable.. Keyword being almost. Kuma was still a rookie, and Koneko was excelled for their rank. Few words were ever spoken between Anbu, so when Kuma came to take over Koneko's shift, their communication was simply a nod and a wave of acknowledgement. The feline like Anbu jumped from the roof into the nearby trees, and made their way home.
Koneko declothed in the woods behind their home, taking extra steps to avoid being identified by a neighbor. There was no such thing as being too careful when your entire career relied on anonymity. They quickly disrobed to reveal a feminine figure, and tan skin that illuminated in the moonlight. Seafoam green eyes surveyed their surroundings carefully, nimble and calloused hands shoving the uniform into a strategically placed book bag hidden in the nook of a tree. Pastel pink hair spilled in waves over the shoulders of Sakura Haruno, as she released it from it's tight bun. She made her way into her humble abode, her eyes already closed before her ever head hit the pillow.