Note: I do not own any characters from Naruto. All Naruto characters belong to Masashi Kishimoto. The OCs are the only characters I own. I do not own any other character.
Mission 1: The New Recruits
A lone figure was sitting behind a desk made of cherry wood, a very durable but heavy material, his feet on its top. He was leaning back in his chair dangerously close to the point where he could fall with the chair and onto the carpeted floor. The carpet would cushion his fall somewhat, but not by much. His eyes were closed and if he were to open them, he would see the pure white ceiling that hung above him. His long, orange hair hung off the back of the chair in a ponytail, a style he normally used. His hands were folded across his abdomen, covered with snow white gloves. He was wearing a dark gray uniform that had badges upon the left breast pocket, showing that he was someone not to be messed with.
A knock on the wooden door across the room made the figure open his eyes, revealing the Rinnegan. He took his feet off the desk and placed them on the floor underneath him, making him sit up in his chair. The door yielded and someone stepped into the room, the carpet masking almost every particle of sound the person created. As the door closed, the figure at the desk smiled somewhat and spoke in a deep male voice,
"What news do you have for me, Deidara? You usually don't come into my office without a good reason." The person named Deidara chuckled at the last part of the statement and looked at the black clipboard in his gloved hands. His fingers flipped over a couple pieces of paper before he came to what he was searching for and looked back up at the figure behind the desk.
"Well, Pein, it seems we have new recruits. Two of them, to be exact."
"We do?" The man asked, confusion somewhat apparent in his voice.
"Yes. Markus just brought them in last night."
"Then why didn't you report this to me sooner?"
"I don't like interrupting your beauty sleep, sir." Pein laughed a bit at this. He remembered that he had told him to never awaken him from his sleep unless it was something seriously important. And Deidara had executed this order efficiently to this day, which pleased him. "Who are the new recruits?" Pein asked, getting back on topic. Deidara nodded and his eyes trailed to the paper in front of him.
"First recruit: Itachi Uchiha. Age, twenty-one years. Height, approximately five foot eight. Family, no one except a younger brother named Sasuke Uchiha. No known military experience before coming here. Second recruit: Sasori. Age, thirty-five, although he doesn't look it, on a personal note."
"What do you mean he doesn't look his age?" Pein was baffled slightly at the last remark.
"He is thirty-five, but he doesn't look much older than sixteen or seventeen, which is bizarre to me." Pein thought about this for a moment. Someone not looking their age only meant two things; one was that he/she was a spy, or two, he/she did something to his/her body to make the signs of his/her age invisible for their own reasons. Either way, he was already skeptical of this new recruit.
"Is this recruit a spy for anyone?" He asked in a serious tone.
"I highly doubt it. He doesn't seem to have the right kind of personality for it. Although, to make sure of that, Lieutenant Sam is interrogating both of them more thoroughly now to eliminate that possibility."
"Hmm." Was all that Pein offered. Deidara continued,
"Sasori's height is approximately five foot three. Has no existing family members, and has no known military experience before coming here. That's all the information I have."
"Where are the recruits located?"
"In the interrogation room downstairs."
"Good." A small smile came upon Pein's face. Deidara was now wondering what the other captain could have on his mind. He had joined him for a couple reasons: he had the intelligence to be within the military and he also had an evil side to him, just like himself. He swept some of his long blonde hair from his face and looked at Pein.
"Do you wish to see the new recruits, sir?" Deidara asked, a tint of curiosity seeping into his voice.
"Later. I have other errands to attend to first."
"Very well. I shall see you then."
"Yes. You're dismissed." Deidara turned swiftly around and headed for the door. As soon as he left the room, Pein stood up from his leather chair and walked over to one of the three windows that were behind the desk. He stared out of the glass, it clearly not trying to hide anything from him. He suddenly had the feeling that today was going to be a very good day. A chuckle escaped his lips as he watched the soldiers training in the front yard of the mansion.
A brown-haired woman sat across from a red-haired male, a small wooden table between them. The male seemed a bit riled up, which was normal to see for the woman. New recruits were usually nervous and shaken up from the rough handling of Markus Collins. She knew Markus even before they joined the military. He used to be a tracker in his days, and he was one of the best Hell had ever had. He quit after some tragic incident, of which she still didn't know the details, and had ditched Hell to come to the surface of the Earth, where he had stayed for the last thousand years or so. Markus was the type of person that was easy to get along with most of the time and people normally enjoyed his company. She knew that his rough handling was most likely due to him not being able to smoke, which kept him from becoming angry and hostile. She felt pity for him, and sometimes broke the rule and bought him cigarettes from a local market. She knew full well that if she was caught, she could get expelled from the military and live out the rest of her life in misery. Like it isn't already. She thought bitterly to herself.
She focused her attention back on the male, who was looking at her with big brown eyes, almost the shade of brown that one would find associated with tea or really light coffee. I hadn't noticed that before. She sighed softly and stared at him with her startlingly blue eyes.
"So, you said that you don't have any military experience before coming here, right?" The male only nodded. She continued,
"You also said that you weren't a spy for any organization."
"I swear, I'm not! I wouldn't do anything like that." He said in a shaky voice.
"Calm down, Sasori-san. I'm not going to hurt you. You have to worry more about the other high-ranking officials here."
"Like who?"
"The two captains, Pein and Deidara. I almost always have a bad day when I run into them. Only a few times have occurred where my day wasn't ruined by them." Sasori gulped down some saliva in his mouth, his throat becoming dry. The woman noticed this and put on a soft smile.
"Relax. I know the one person they fear more than anyone else here." A devilish smile came upon her features. Sasori flinched somewhat at that. The smile disappeared from the woman's face and looked at him softly.
"Don't worry. I'm not going to go evil on you. Anyway, about the person the captains fear. They fear the general. He runs this whole place, even though he's currently not here. He's a serious man who doesn't like to play games and doesn't accept failures, but he does care for his men. I've seen it."
"Who is the general?" Sasori managed to stutter out.
"His name is Azaja. We've known each other for about three to four years now. We're on good terms, don't worry." Sasori finally managed to take a deep breath and exhale without it shaking so much. The woman noticed that he was looking down at his hands, shaking like crazy. She sighed again and spoke in a whisper,
"Stop worrying. The general doesn't come out here unless it's an absolute emergency. That's the fun part for me."
"How?"
"Pein and Deidara get frantic. They scramble to make sure everything is perfect, from the soldiers to the furniture. It's hysterical. But don't tell them that. I'll get in trouble." Sasori nodded once, making the woman smile.
"Also, whenever you see them, call them sir or captain. It's a sign of respect. I've already told Itachi this. If you need any advice, go to him or me. We'll be glad to answer your questions. During the day when you're walking around the base, you address me as a First Lieutenant. When it's night time, things get a bit easier. Whenever you want to speak to me in private, you may call me Sam. Otherwise, call everyone by their ranks or by sir or ma'am, depending on their gender."
"Yes, ma'am." He said. The woman suppressed a laugh at his statement and smiled. He's going to be a good soldier. I know it. She stood up from her chair and pushed it in. Sasori didn't move from his spot. The woman walked over to him and placed a hand on his shoulder, causing him to flinch. She didn't take her hand off his shoulder, but squeezed it instead, making him turn his head to look at her.
"Since I'm done interrogating you, you may report to your room, which is on the second floor, left wing. You'll find it. I'm sure." Sasori blinked a couple times, confused. He honestly thought he was going to get scolded or tortured until he cried uncle and sang like a bird. Instead, he was helped through the process, which was unexpected. The woman, who was known as First Lieutenant or ma'am, and Sam when they were alone, warned him that other interrogations would not be like this one. They would be harsher, more brutal, and a real test to se whether or not he was fit to be a soldier in the military. He finally stood up from his chair and left the room on shaky legs, eager to get to his room and try to sleep for the rest of the day.
Sam stared out the window of her room, watching the soldiers in the front yard as they did push-ups. The drill sergeant, whose name she couldn't remember off the top of her head right now, was making some of them go beyond their limits, which was her job. She was once told by Pein that she would make a good drill sergeant because of her attitude. It was one of the only compliments that she received from either captain in her four years of service. She sighed as the thought went through her mind. She continued to watch the soldiers, wondering what in the world the two captains were doing.
The door opening behind her made her turn around and cringe in slight disgust when she saw who it was. The person shut the door behind him and Sam standing there, annoyance and disgust crossing her normally smooth features.
"Come on, now. I didn't come to make fun of you or anything. I promise." The figure said, as if trying to defend himself from the death beams he was receiving.
"I know. I just get annoyed every time I se you." She replied, irritation layering her voice.
"You're still mad about that incident? Honestly, it was a mistake."
"Deidara, please." Deidara sighed in slight annoyance. He was starting to wonder more and more often why the general hired her to be in the military in the first place. He sometimes didn't like her attitude toward him, but he understood why she acted the way she did around him. Their relationship did not get off to a good start. The first meeting that they had wound up being a disaster. Ever since then, Sam held a resentment toward him and Pein, although he could swear that she got along with Pein a bit better than she did with himself.
Sam noticed the look upon his face and wondered, just for a second or so, what he was thinking. She looked down at the floor and saw the black cat that was sleeping underneath the windowsill. A small smile crossed her lips as the cat blinked its eyes open and stretched its lean body before curling back up to sleep again. She looked back up, the smile, disappearing, and stared at Deidara.
"Is there a particular reason you're here?" Deidara seemed to snap out of his trance and refocused on the situation at hand.
"Yes. Did you get any new information on the new recruits?"
"A little bit."
"Tell me."
"Itachi grew up in your basic family, except his father was the leader of the clan, and since he was the eldest son, he was next to assume the role of being the leader of the Uchiha. His father worked in the police force for many years. When he was thirteen, his parents and the rest of his clan were killed and he was forced to take his younger brother Sasuke away to a safer place. They lived in a small cabin in the forest near village where he grew up and Sasuke still attended school. He had to work two jobs just to get money to pay for simple things in life. And I reconfirmed that he has no prior military experience. But I did find something interesting."
"What"
"At age thirteen, before his clan was killed, he was a chief for the group called the ANBU Black Ops, a special group of people who capture criminals and interrogate them for their secrets before locking them up for the rest of their lives or executing them. It's not exactly military experience, but he does have some fighting experience. This of his job as...a professional way of living as an assassin and recon, if you would."
"Hmm." Deidara offered. Sam suddenly saw a glint in the corner of his visible eye, making her a smile a bit. She had interested him. Deidara noticed the look on her face and grimaced slightly.
"What?"
"Nothing. You want me to tell you about the other recruit or not?"
"Sure."
"Sasori's parents disappeared mysteriously when he was five and lived with his grandmother for ten more years after that. He disappeared when he was fifteen and no one was able to track his movements. From what he told me, he was a rogue, traveling from place to place to find a permanent home. He does have some fighting experience, having to fight off thieves and other small-time crooks to survive, but doesn't have any military experience." Deidara noted the information on the clipboard while Sam watched in silence. When he was finished, he simply turned away from her and walked out of the room. Sam turned back to the window and looked through it, but didn't actually see what was there. The smile returned to her face, a little victory under her belt.
Itachi and Sasori were in their rooms, Hidan the tech could see from the monitors that were facing him. He was sitting in the slightly uncomfortable turquoise cotton chair that he normally sat in, watching the monitors as they displayed whatever images they had to present. He did not know how he got such a lame job in the first place, despite being a high-ranking private. A sigh escaped him as he placed his feet on top of the metal desk which contained the controls for the monitors. He leaned back in the chair as his scanned the monitors, looking for anything out of the ordinary. He was starting wish, however, as he sat there for longer and longer, that he would have something to entertain him. It got boring watching the monitors without something exciting happening on them for long periods of time.
Sasori was pacing around his room like a tiger in a cage. He was still feeling uneasy from the first interrogation he had undergone only a few hours before. He was asked some basic questions about his past and some questions that pertained to his line of work. The woman that had talked to him seemed like one of the nicest people he had met since coming here, besides Itachi. He still recalled how he and Itachi sat in a small café, talking over tea and dango. He couldn't exactly remember what they had talked about, but the memory of him feeling like he was at home still burned in his mind. That was before they were recruited into the military.
Going back to the woman: she had said to call her First Lieutenant or ma'am when he saw her any time of day and he was to call her by her name when they saw each other at night. He was somewhat comforted by that thought, but then another one hit him: What is a woman like her doing in this sort of place? Shouldn't she be somewhere better, like being happy married to a rich man and living out her dreams? Why is she here in the first place? The questions that ran through his mind made him feel uneasy again and he gave up on pacing. He was probably being watched, and pacing around the room signaled to whoever was seeing it that he was either trying to figure a way to get out or was simply anxious. He sat on the bed and sank slightly into it. He hadn't expected that. He wasn't used to having a bed this soft. The bed that he slept in when he was a child was a bit harder, but this one was still comfortable enough to actually sleep in. He laid down across the width of the bed and stared up at the ceiling, counting the number of cracks he could find.
A while passed, and his eyes had become clouded and dull. He was no longer counting the number of cracks in the ceiling. He didn't even see the ceiling. He saw something beyond it, but not even he was sure of what he saw. A knock on the door broke him from his trance. He shot upright, his back straight as an arrow. The door opened and he was surprised to see who it was.
"You doing alright, Sasori-san?"
"Y-y-yes, ma'am." He replied. The figure laughed a bit at this.
"You can just call me Sam here. I've told you this, remember?" He sank slightly into the bed and Sam shut the door behind her so no one else would enter. She didn't wish for any intrusions on this private meeting. She walked over and sat on the bed next to him. He looked over, his expression full of surprise and anxiety. She looked straight back at him and smiled.
"Don't worry. The captains aren't going to know about this. I always do this with the new recruits. It's a habit of mine."
"Do the captains know of this habit?"
"They suspect it, but haven't done any actual investigation on it. I doubt they will anytime soon. But that's not the reason I'm here." Sasori raised an eyebrow, bewildered at the last statement. Sam sighed and placed a gentle hand on his shoulder He tensed up, but he didn't flinch like last time, she noted.
"How did you hear of the military? Do you even know why you're here?" Sam asked. Sasori averted his eyes away from the lieutenant and looked down at the floor. This concerned Sam a bit. She kept staring at him, allowing a bit of worry to slip into her features. Sasori finally spoke after what seemed like an eternity,
"Well, my...my grandmother's come down with an illness. I found this out from my grandfather, who somehow found me. I heard of the military when it was mentioned in the little village I was temporarily staying in. I decided to go into the military to somehow help my grandmother. But I'm seriously beginning to doubt my decision."
"A lot of recruits do. The military isn't exactly the...friendliest place on the planet. I know. I've been here for four years now."
"How old are you?" Sasori blurted out. He instantly covered his mouth, thinking that he just said something that could get him punished. However, instead of getting a scolding, like he expected, nothing happened. He looked at Sam with shock. Sam noticed this, but ignored it answered calmly,
"I'm eighteen. How old did you think I was?" The last part was said with a smile. Sasori was dumbfounded. She was only eighteen?! How could that possibly be? Sam saw this and chuckled a bit to herself.
"A lot of people give me the same reaction when they find out how old I am. Even the captains were shocked at how old I was when I entered the military. That was four years ago, though. They're used to it by now."
"What are the captains like?"
"My friend, I'm going to let you figure that little part out on your own. I have too negative of an opinion of them. It's best to see them first before I tell you my opinion of them." She said, a bit of strain in her voice. Sasori nodded once in agreement.
"Yes, ma'am."
"You'll make a good soldier. I know it." She patted him on the head a couple times and stood up from the bed. Sasori watched dumbfounded as she exited the room. He was going to have to get used to the military, if he was going to understand what the hell just happened to him.
