Chapter 1 - Double Agent
"Here's your equipment."
Itachi looked at the cat mask and blade sitting on top of his neatly folded ANBU attire.
"Thank you," he told the muscular ANBU who had handed them to him, before making his way down the hallway to the locker room.
His new teammates were already there. Four of them had their masks on and were sitting together, looking at him as if to suggest his entering the room had interrupted their conversation. Another one, a brown haired teen with large, black eyes, looked up as he finished putting on one of his metal armguards. In the back of the room sat a girl. They were all older than him, that much was obvious at first sight, but he did not let it intimidate him.
"I've been assigned to the ANBU starting today," he said, keeping his tone calm and polite. "My name is Uchiha Itachi. I would greatly appreciate your guidance," he finished with the perfunctory bow.
The brown haired boy approached him with a smile. "I see," he said. "So you're the one. I'm Tenzo. You can use the locker that's the farthest one from the back."
"Hai," said Itachi, and crossed the room to the one empty locker. On the bench across from it sat the only girl on the team, who looked up from a scroll as he walked by. Her long, dark hair was tied in a high ponytail and she wore the earrings of a member from one of the Ino-Shika-Cho clans. He immediately ruled out the Akimichi clan judging by her figure. She smiled at him and held out a hand.
"Nara Akane," she said. "Pleased to meet you. Welcome to our team."
He smiled back and shook her hand, though he was a bit taken aback by her familiarity. He was, however, pleased to remark that she could not possibly have been more than two years older than him.
"Thank you," Itachi said. From the corner of his eyes, he noticed the four masked ANBU chatting as they threw glances at him over their shoulders. He ignored them and proceeded to change into the ANBU outfit.
"Team Ro is to assemble at the Third Training Ground in five minutes," Tenzo announced.
"Hai," Itachi said.
Behind him, Akane rolled up her scroll and stood. She followed the others outside, leaving Itachi to change. Four minutes later, he arrived at the training ground and walked towards the four masked ANBU. Akane and Tenzo were missing. He had a sense of these four men's antipathy, but no idea as to what he had done to earn it. Surely as ANBU members they would not stoop so low as to begrudge him for his age alone.
Apparently not, he thought as kunai whizzed past him, followed by several shuriken. He kept walking. Based on the weapons' trajectory, they were harmless.
"What are you doing? Explain yourselves."
Itachi looked at the silver-haired man standing next to Tenzo and Akane. They all had their masks on now, but it was not hard to tell that the silver-haired man was upset. One of the four spoke.
"We wanted to make sure he had the skills to be one of us."
"Since he's too young," another one added.
"Do you have a problem with the decision of your superiors?"
"No, it's not like that…"
"Haven't you already sensed that he isn't ordinary?" the silver-haired man asked, then turned to look at Itachi. "I'm Kakashi, Captain of Team Ro. You're new, but I want you to learn the ANBU rules and formations quickly. Akane can help you with that after our training session."
"Hai," he said.
They all watched with interest as Itachi demonstrated his kunai throwing technique later that day. Akane stood with her arms crossed, leaning against a tree as their new teammate whirled in the air, head down, and threw two handfuls of kunai knives all at once, using an extra two to redirect some to unseen targets.
"He's good," Hiro said to his friends, who all stared in awe as every kunai hit the mark dead on.
"He's talented," she heard Tenzo tell Kakashi, "but making an exception for someone so young is rather unusual for the ANBU."
"Danzo-sama recommended him," Kakashi said.
"No kidding? He doesn't fit the mold, though. I mean, Danzo-sama has his own, personal set of criteria for ANBU and Foundation agents."
"And?"
"I just can't see him…"
Tenzo stopped as Itachi landed back on the ground, adjusting his mask. Akane smiled, remembering how her own had fitted her poorly at first. After all, they were not made for children.
"This will be all for today," Kakashi announced. "You are all dismissed."
Itachi went to Akane, who had stayed behind.
"Nara Akane-san…"
"Just Akane," she said, removing her fox mask to reveal a genial smile.
"Akane-san," he half-conceded, "I have read the ANBU rules and formations, but perhaps you could help me by explaining to me exactly how the formations apply to our team."
"You Uchiha are always one step ahead all the time, aren't you?" she asked, and he got the feeling that it was mean as a compliment. She then removed a folder from her satchel, handing it to him. "Kakashi-senpai asked me to give this to you. The files inside contain information about every member of Team Ro, stating our position within the team, detailing our strengths and weaknesses and so on – enough for you to have an easier time understanding how the formations apply within the team. Needless to say, I think, that this is highly sensitive information. No one must see this but you."
"I understand."
They sat together on the grass. She brushed her hair over her shoulder and began.
"Let's start with the most basic formation – the one we use when we travel over long distances. The problem is that we are seldom all dispatched together on the same assignment, so this traveling formation always changes accordingly, based on the number and specialty of the participating members. Also…"
They kept at it for another couple of hours, addressing most of the ANBU formations and their most frequently used variations, with Akane answering Itachi's every question on the matter, as patient as any Academy teacher. She also managed to make it less of a drudgery by asking for his view on certain hypothetical situations and possible outcomes or solutions. Truth be told, he had not expected to feel so comfortable in her presence, but she seemed to possess the rare ability of making herself pleasant for those around her.
They took a long-overdue lunch break after a while and Itachi allowed his curiosity to get the better of him.
"Forgive me, Akane-san, how old are you?"
"Thirteen. I was the newbie before you. I joined the ANBU only a couple of months ago."
"How come you're not part of one of the famous Ino-Shika-Cho formations?"
"I was born either too early or too late, I suppose. There are no Yamanakas or Akimichis my age, so I trained to make something of myself alone. Besides, not all members of our clan become part of such a trio. Sometimes our paths take us elsewhere. One way or another, we all do our best for Konoha, after all."
Itachi nodded thoughtfully. He found himself thinking of her words on his way home that evening, even as he tried to instead commit to memory all that he had learned.
"Itachi," his mother called from the kitchen as soon as he entered the house. "Your father asked to see you before dinner."
He walked down the hall and entered his father's office. Fugaku Uchiha was doing some reading for work, it seemed, but he put it all aside and motioned for Itachi to come closer.
"I started doing my duties today," Itachi said, kneeling on the tatami before his father.
"Is that so? That's my boy. I'm very proud that you've joined the ANBU."
Itachi bowed, humbly accepting his father's praise.
"But you must never forget one thing," Fugaku added. "Before you are a Konoha ANBU, you are, first and foremost, Itachi of the Uchiha clan."
"Hai."
"The Uchiha clan has been entrusted with the security of Konoha, but because of that, our clan has been relegated to living outside the village boundaries. It is essential that our clan has one of its own there. I am counting on you, Itachi."
It was not until he reached his room that Itachi allowed himself to think about what his father expected of him. He sat in the dark for a while, musing on it, until his eyes fell on the ANBU folder Akane had given him. He decided it would be of more use to him to study that instead, for the time being, so Itachi turned on the light and opened the folder.
Kakashi's file was first, listing him as a team leader, giving a brief history of his career and an in-depth analysis of his strengths and weaknesses. His codename for use during missions was Ookami. Itachi wondered what codename Kakashi would pick for him. He browsed through the rest of the files, trying to memorize the information, until he reached Akane's file. Codename: Hime. Itachi smirked.
"Nii-san," came his little brother's voice from behind the panel door of his room. Itachi looked up and saw Sasuke's shadow through the paper panels.
"Come in, Sasuke," he said.
Six-year old Sasuke came in, all pouty. "You missed my entrance ceremony into the Academy," he said, crossing his arms.
Itachi beckoned him closer. Sasuke obliged, only to be poked in the forehead.
"You always do that," he complained, rubbing his sore forehead as Itachi smiled. Then Sasuke's eyes drifted to Akane's photo on the file. "Who's that?"
Itachi closed the folder. "No one of importance, otouto. Now, what is it that you wanted to tell me?"
"Oh," Sasuke said, suddenly remembering. "Kaa-san said to call you for dinner."
"Then I guess we'd better go," Itachi said, ruffling his brother's hair.
After the quiet family dinner and tucking Sasuke in amid protests of 'I'm not a baby anymore, nii-san', Itachi returned to his reading. Akane's file listed her as an experienced user of ninjutsu, especially skilled in her clan's shadow manipulation techniques. That was to be expected of a Nara ANBU, of course, but what he found more interesting was her secondary status as a medic-nin in training. So, she had some skill in healing too, though she had yet to undergo the official exam. Medic-nins were in high demand within the ANBU, he knew. It seemed even those still in training were deemed qualified enough to become part of it.
Itachi pored over the data for a while longer, until he sensed that everyone in the house had gone to sleep. He closed the folder and made the hand seal Akane had taught him to make all the files in the folder appear blank, then hid it under a loose floorboard. He then donned his ANBU outfit and mask and stole away into the night.
It was past midnight and Lord Danzo was waiting for him. Itachi briefly wondered if the man ever slept.
"You asked to see me tonight, Danzo-sama?"
"Yes, there is something I must tell you," the old man said, and, as Itachi had expected, he cut to the chase. "It is about your clan. Fugaku Uchiha has stood out as one of the shrewdest security captains in generations. I'm not surprised that you're his son. This is not a criticism," he added, though Itachi would not have protested otherwise. "Because Konoha ordered the Uchiha clan outside the village limits, but granted them self-governance, we cannot intervene in their matters." Itachi noticed the use of the word 'their' instead of 'your'. Danzo looked at him with steely eyes as he continued: "Hence, we need our own set of eyes and ears there… I am counting on you, Itachi."
"Hai."
If this is what it took to help the Hokage and his advisers find a peaceful solution to prevent the Uchiha clan's coup d'état, he would gladly do it. Forgive me, father, he thought, but your actions will lead our clan down a path I cannot follow.
A.N.: "Ookami" means wolf. "Hime" means princess or beautiful woman.