AN: NaruSasu. Eventually Yaoi. AU.
DISCLAIMER: I don't own it.
SUMMARY: After being forced to retire from the secret government organization Naruto had been raised to work in since infancy, he goes to Konoha, expecting to live a boring and peaceful life. He should've known better.
NOTE: This takes place in an AU Fire Country. It's basically the modern world; no ninjas or chakra. ANBU is a governmental/military-oriented organization.
WARNINGS: Eventual yaoi, violence, language, political conspiracies
/FLASHBACK/
'THOUGHTS'
"SPEECH"
(DOCUMENT)
"Our obligations to our country never cease but with our lives." – John Adams
/Naruto stared openly at his commanding officer, mouth ajar. Ibiki continued.
"As Team Seven's captain is retiring, we've chosen a new team leader. Subaku Gaara, codenamed Shukaku, you are now promoted to the rank of Captain."
Gaara nodded, a slightly puzzled look crossing his features. Naruto couldn't help but wonder how confused his former subordinate must really be to actually be showing puzzlement.
"Nii Yugito, codenamed Nekomata, you will now be promoted to Second-in-Command, to take the captain's place in case of emergency." Even Yugito looked bewildered. "You will receive a new third member to be introduced at a later date. Dismissed." The two left the room, Yugito throwing her former captain a pitying look and Gaara with a stony glance at Ibiki, lips thinned to the point of invisibility.
When the door was shut behind him, Ibiki motioned for the blond man to sit. "You have permission to speak freely, Uzumaki."
"Why have I been selected?" Naruto asked. "I'm only twenty-four years old! I have at least two years of service left before retirement should be considered!"
"I understand," Ibiki said slowly, "but this wasn't any one person's decision. You were chosen to retire to civilian life by the ANBU council."
"What did I—"
"You did nothing wrong," Ibiki cut him off. "You've completed enough missions to be considered. Your record is flawless. You were the logical choice. ANBU members can only go civilian when they are trusted implicitly to not be a security threat."
"Great, that's wonderful," Naruto sighed, running a hand through his shaggy blond hair. "But what do I do now?"
"All the information you need is in here," the older man pulled out a sealed manilla folder. "Don't read it until you've arrived at your new residence. This," he pulled out a letter-sized envelope, laying it on top of the folder, "you may open when you've been delivered to the safe point by way of ANBU provided transportation. It will contain the whereabouts of your new residence, as well as how you will get there." He handed them to Naruto, gesturing towards the door. "Your transport guides will be in the front office. Good luck, Uzumaki." /
He had done exactly as instructed. He'd gotten into the unmarked black car with two senior ANBU members and had been dropped off at a nearby public parking lot. The envelope had contained a car key, a description of his new car—"A gray sports car? Do they have no taste?"—and directions to his new abode.
After two hours, Naruto had arrived in Konoha, the capital of Fire Country, and found said abode. It was an inconspicuous three-floor apartment complex, painted an offensive shade of green.
All of his things—excluding his vast collection of weapons and various ANBU necessities—had been moved in already, he noted, right down to his plastic, orange martini glasses. He'd freshened up and then opened the folder, pulling out a thick booklet.
(ANBU CAPTAIN NO. 7-335 "KYUUBI" RETIREMENT INFORMATION:
Date of Retirement: August seventh
Name: Uzumaki Naruto
Residency: Apatment 2C, Leaf Apartment Complex, Konoha City, Fire County
Birth date/Age: October 10th/24
Sex: Male
Occupation: High school teacher, History/Geography, Konoha City Public High
Occupation commencement: Monday (August 12th, 0730 hours)
"They want me to teach? At a high school?" He shook his head, looking at the following page.
(CIVILIAN HISTORY: Attended Fire Country University on the independent study program. Graduated May of current year with a 3.4 GPA. (Diploma enclosed) No close Family. Raised through the foster-care system in Wind Country. Moved to Fire Country at eighteen to attend college. Moved to Konoha for employment. No close friends to speak of.)
It went on to speak of his medical history, documented injuries, what car he had, and so on. Naruto had to admit it was well done. He was content to spend the next five days memorizing the information when he opened it to the back page. "What the hell?"
Attached to the inside of the back cover was another letter-sized envelope. He ripped it off, mindful of the tape, and opened it. "Holy shit," he whispered, astonished. Inside was a letter of two pages. But that's not what startled him. No, he'd dealt with concealed letters before. This, however, was a coded and concealed letter.
It was written in the code he had developed as a joke on Ibiki. The man had forced him to show him how to decode it upon finding the mission report he had written it in. He was the only other one who knew about it. With shaking hands, Naruto began to read it.
(CODENAME: SCARS) 'So Ibiki did write this then,' he noted, continuing. (Uzumaki Naruto—
I sincerely hope you still remember how to read your self-invented code. If not, we're all fucked.
Fire Country is in danger. I am asking you not as Kyuubi the ANBU captain, but as Naruto the civilian to help me. I recently received intelligence from one of our branch operatives that the ANBU side organization dubbed "ROOT" is planning a cabal(1) against not only ANBU, but the whole of the Fire Country government.
The informant was killed in the line of duty the next day.
Understand what's occurring: if you choose to accept my request you will not be backed by ANBU. You will be completely alone.
A ROOT member will be approaching you within forty-eight hours of arriving in Konoha to issue you an offer. You are to accept. Although after that, the information becomes vague, I believe they will offer you a position as a solo ROOT officer. With your knowledge on the inner-workings of ANBU and the political secrets of every country you've taken a mission in (including Fire Country), you will be invaluable to their cause.
I am the only one aware of the situation with ROOT, and their interest in you. If you are discovered, ANBU will deem you a traitor to the organization and Fire Country. DON'T GET CAUGHT. You are the only one who can take ROOT down.
I have faith in you, Uzumaki. Do us all proud.
-destroy this letter immediately upon completion-)
Half-way through the letter, Naruto was shaking. By the time he finished, he felt ill.
"Fuck," Naruto said emphatically. "Fuck." He was pretty sure this wasn't how retirement was supposed to be. 'Note to self: retirement is a sham.'
(1) – Basically a hostile takeover, like a coup d'etat. The main difference is that it's not an outside organization attempting to overthrow the government; it's from the inside.
"A conspiracy is to be contrasted with a cabal. The two are similar but have quite different connotations; in contrast to a cabal, a conspiracy usually looks to overthrow a fixed power instead of usurping it from within." – Wikipedia article, Cospiracy(political)
AN: Just so you know, this is going to be a long story, quick for action, slow for /action/. So don't be expecting hot NaruSasu action for a while.
All that aside, I hope you enjoyed the prologue despite its shortness. It is a prologue, though. If you like involved plot and length chapters, this will be your story!