AN: My first Naruto Fan Fic. It's just a little one shot that I hope is fun to read. FYI I've seen this same title used in a story written by Random1377. That story is about a bi-curious female and a guy who can't get over his old girlfriend. This story... is not about that. That story is also pretty good and an enjoyable read with a nice plot twist. I hope after reading this you'll say the same thing about this story. And then go read the other one for good measure.
It's not for Everyone
Branches passed by his head in a blur as he leapt silently through the trees. Sunlight streamed through the gaps in the canopy illuminating their path. When he was a chuunin they used to send him on many night missions. It was easier to conceal himself at night. And even though such low level missions where a waste of his talents, he did enjoy the mental freedom that moving without the need to be careful allowed him. But he supposed such assignments were behind him. If it were an easy job, they wouldn't need ANBU.
Naruto resisted the urge to adjust the mask on his face. He didn't want the others to know that it still bothered him to wear it. Dog would openly laugh at him, and Bear would probably snicker. He wasn't sure at all what Tiger would do. Tiger rarely spoke to anyone. It made Naruto uncomfortable to be around her, and maybe that's just how Tiger liked it.
Dog explained it simply. It takes a special kind of person to make ANBU. You have to experience pain and not feel it. You have to see things that you aren't allowed to remember. There are things that you'll do to other people that you will never be able to tell anyone about. Not just because of their secret nature either. You just won't be able to talk about them. ANBU don't even have other ANBU for comfort because other ANBU are just as screwed up as you are. But if you can handle it, it's worth it. It's the greatest service you can ever do for the village. Second to none.
Naruto wasn't sure at first, but he found that indeed he could take it. He could take the near torture inflicted upon them by training. He could handle the actual torture inflicted upon them by Ibiki. He even learn to adapt to the rapid speed with which they were required to take commands. He watched as one by one other chunin failed their tests. He saw men break down and cry from the strain. Nobody really blamed them for it. It's not for everyone.
That's what Dog says anyways. It's what he said to Naruto when he first suggested he join. Dog said that it would help him with his overall goal. After all, three of the five Hokages once belonged to the ANBU. If Naruto could make it within their ranks, it would be a great stepping stone for him. Now finally he had made it.
His first ANBU mission.
They came across an old cabin in the middle of a clearing. Dog motioned for them to stop and and signaled Tiger to check for traps. Tiger was a Hyuuga, which was rare for ANBU. They were seldom selected because of their strong family ties. If it came down to the wire would they protect the family, or protect the village? Dog assured Naruto that Tiger would choose the village a hundred times over. After a full minute of scanning with her Byakugan she raised her fist in the air. All clear. Dog nodded and jumped to the roof of the cabin. The rest of the team followed.
There was a glass window in the top of the structure which functioned as a sun roof. It was a poor choice as far as security went, but probably a nice feature to have on a warm day like this. Naruto had seen far too much in his training with the ANBU to ever be comfortable in such an open place.
Dog executed the hand signs for a tracking jutsu and inhaled deeply through his nostrils. He raised one finger, made a fist, then raised two fingers and traced them across his throat. One enemy of moderate skill to be assassinated. He pointed at Naruto. His first ANBU mission, his first ANBU kill.
Naruto nodded back at Dog and took a deep breath. The person in that cabin, who ever it was, was an enemy of Konoha. That enemy would be eliminated by his hands as the Hokage willed. The enemy could be a father or mother. The enemy could have everything in the world to live for. It could even be a sick little orphan petting a puppy dog crying for their paraplegic caretaker who traveled out in the blizzard to find them food. It didn't matter. The Hokage's word is law. Or at least that's what Dog said... maybe Naruto had paraphrased it a little.
In any case, there was a job to do. Naruto pulled out a tiny mirror from his pocket and threw it past the window. He used chakra manipulation to make the razor edged mirror pass silently through the trees. The mirror traveled perfectly parallel to the window allowing Naruto the briefest of looks inside the cabin. From the training he underwent he was able to reconstruct the image perfectly in his mind. If anyone happened to be looking up through the window when he threw the mirror all they would have saw was a glint of reflected light. It was one of the niftier tricks he learned from the ANBU.
He went over the mental image in his mind. A sparsely decorated room with a single chair at its center. Bare walls all around. A small fire place with a rug near by. In the chair sat a man 5'10" tall. Weighing roughly 150 pounds based on his build. He was not under a henge. Tiger would have told him if that were true. His hair was light brown. He wore a leaf symbol on his forehead protector. There was a slender scar just above his nose stretching horizontally across his face. His eyes were soft and kind. He was the only person in the world who actually offered to pay for ramen. He was unmistakably Iruka Umino, Naruto's old sensei.
Naruto swallowed heavily and looked at Dog. He crossed his arms at his wrists and formed an X.
Abort.
Dog shook his head and drew his two fingers across his throat.
Naruto's eyes grew wide. Iruka was unarmed. He had no way of defending himself against an attack. He was a school teacher, not a threat. Naruto crossed his wrists once more and again Dog drew his fingers across his throat.
Naruto looked over at Bear. Bear made no motion at all. Naruto turned to Tiger. Tiger was so still, she might not have been breathing. Naruto had a Konoha headband in one of his weapon punches. It was a headband that once belonged to Iruka. He crossed his wrists again and pleaded with Dog through the eye holes in his mask. Behind that mask there was no Dog. There was a rational man named Kakashi Hatake who would throw himself in front of a poisonous kunai to protect any member of any team he had ever been on.
Dog pointed at Bear, then motioned his fingers across his throat. Bear nodded.
Bear would move quickly because Bear was skilled. He would break through the window and drop down into the cabin while simultaneously throwing three kunai at the target. One kunai would pierce the targets throat and the other two would pierce his chest. Then Bear would descend upon the body of the target that had most likely died upon the impact of the kunai and stab him in the back of the neck for good measure. The target would be dead. The Hokage's word is law.
Naruto didn't think. He moved. He rushed at Bear, kunai drawn and attacked to kill. Naruto didn't want to harm Bear, but Bear was not defenseless. Naruto knew that Bear's progress would not be hindered by anything less than a full on assault. He yelled loudly as he charged. Hopefully Iruka would hear the noise and flee. But before his kunai even came in contact with Bears he felt his arm go limp. Tiger closed the chakra in his arm. He tried to attack Tigers legs with a kick, but she was much too fast. Before Naruto new it, all his limbs were numb. From the side of his vision, he saw Dog break the window of the cabin and jump down inside. He screamed as loud as he could before he felt a sharp pressure on the back of his head and the world went black.
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It was still black when he woke up. There were no windows or other light sources so he couldn't see a thing. Feeling carefully along the walls he realized he was in a small empty room made of cold concrete. A holding cell. He sat back on the floor and waited. They would come for him and he didn't know what he would say. He was a traitor. Iruka was dead. There was nothing to talk about.
He felt a slight chakra signature approaching. Whoever it was made no attempt to conceal it. He knew it was probably Ibiki, but he hoped he was wrong. As the chrakra signature grew stronger he began to hear footsteps as well. Familiar footsteps. It was Kakashi... no... Dog. Iruka's murderer. He would have rather preferred Ibiki. The door opened and light hit Naruto's eyes causing him to squint in pain. A maskless Dog began to speak.
"Uzimaki Naruto," he said with an air of authority. "You have failed the final test to become a full fledged ANBU member. You will clean out your locker, return your mask, and report to the Hokage with these results. Is that understood?"
"Yes sir."
"The person you encountered in the cabin was not Iruka Umina. It was a corpse disguised under a forbidden henge technique. Understand?"
Naruto's eyes widened briefly. He opened his mouth once and closed it before nodding. Iruka was alive. It was all a test.
"I understand."
"You are hereby banned from ever joining the ANBU ranks and ordered to take a three week paid leave from active duty. When you return to duty you will again be delegated the title of Special Jounin. You will no longer be allowed in or near ANBU headquarters. You will not speak of anything you've seen during your recruitment period under penalty of death. Do you understand?"
Naruto felt like a fool. He rubbed his eyes to stop himself from crying.
"...yes"
"You're dismissed," Kakashi smiled sadly through the dark mask that covered the lower part of his face. When he spoke again his voice was much softer. "Don't take it too hard, Naruto. We execute that last test for a reason. I know it doesn't seem like it now, but we've done you a favor by failing you. Most people... they just don't have it in them."
Naruto hung his head. "I was going to be Hokage," he said bitterly.
"Who says you still won't be?"
Naruto looked up in confusion.
"Only three hokages started off as ANBU. The other two found a different way."
There was brief silence as Naruto considered this. "What about The Fourth Hokage?"
Kakashi shook his head. "Everyone has a their own path in life."
"... so, my father passed that test?"
"All ANBU do," said Kakashi.
"I see." Naruto briefly wondered who his father was ordered to 'kill'. Perhaps it was that pervy sage Jiraya. Or old Grandma Tsunade. Or maybe even his mother who the man had killed on the Hokage's orders. It didn't really matter, he supposed. He didn't know how anyone could ever be so cold hearted.
"Cheer up," said Kakashi with his murdering hands and sympathetic smile. "It's not for everyone."
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AN: I edited this a bit. Cleaned up a lot of the passive language hanging around. (Everyone "had" done it, insted of just "did" it). And I fixed some spelling errors for Chuunin and Hyuuga. Also I made Tiger a girl because... why not? Thanks to Jade Rozes for the input.