Chapter 2 - Mission
They were standing guard outside the Third Hokage's office, on each side of the great, wooden doors. Itachi had never thought not moving for a few hours could prove more tiring than training for a whole day. Kakashi must have sensed his growing impatience, because he started a conversation.
"Are you getting used to the job?" he asked.
"Not yet," Itachi admitted.
"That's unlike you."
"I haven't gone on a mission yet."
"Protecting Hokage-sama is a mission in itself."
"Isn't the ANBU an assassination and special tactical unit?" Itachi hoped his questions did not make him seem impertinent. Kakashi responded quite calmly, though.
"Well, we're not at war right now."
Just then, the Third Hokage stepped out of his office. The two ANBU straightened up, but the old man spoke without looking at them.
"Kakashi."
"Hai."
"As Hokage, every deployment I order is an official one. However, I cannot ignore Danzo's view that there is an underside to this mission at the border with the Land of Woods. Hence, a separate, unofficial team will be dispatched."
"One which the Hokage didn't order?" Kakashi asked, clearly knowing and understanding a great deal more than Itachi did.
"You will work under Danzo," the Hokage said, ending the conversation, and tottered away, looking very small under the weight of the Hokage robes.
Kakashi turned to Itachi. "I'll explain it to you soon," he said. "Grab Akane from the headquarters and meet me at the village gates in half an hour. I'm going to see Danzo-sama for the exact details of our mission. It seems like you got your wish, Itachi," he told him, his voice carrying the hint of a smile underneath the mask.
Fifteen minutes later, Akane had just finished donning her equipment and the two of them walked out of the building and into the cave tunnel which led outside the ANBU compound. Two ANBU members were having a go at each other to test their taijutsu skills. Upon seeing Itachi and Akane coming down the stairs, they stopped.
"Hey, Itachi," one of them said. "So, it's your first ANBU mission."
"Right," he replied wondering what they wanted.
"I heard it's just Captain Kakashi and you two in a three-man squad. Watch your backs."
Akane said nothing, but their words had piqued Itachi's interest. "Why?" he asked.
"If it's for the sake of a mission, the Captain won't hesitate to kill a comrade," the first ANBU said.
"He's a shinobi of the highest degree," his sparring partner added.
"Unlike the two of you," Akane said, her voice full of contempt, and she and Itachi walked away, heading toward the exit.
"Is it true?" he asked her as they jumped across rooftops. Akane seemed to ponder his question before answering.
"It used to be," she finally said, "but Kakashi-senpai is not that kind of person anymore."
Kakashi was already waiting for them atop the village gates when they arrived, with five minutes to spare. Their Captain used that time to debrief them on the details of their mission.
"On the surface," he said, "this is a diplomatic mission. Maito Gai's group will be exchanging intel with the Hannya Black Ops of the Land of Woods at the border. However, Danzo-sama believes this to be an enemy trap, so the three of us will guard the team on their official mission. When the Hannya turn on the team and attack, we kill them. We are to leave no survivors."
"Total annihilation?" Akane asked, quirking a brow.
"We must show them that Konoha does not tolerate betrayal. Is that clear?"
"Hai," Itachi and Akane replied at the same time.
They watched Gai's team assemble below: two chunin and an elderly man, plus Gai himself.
"Okay, everyone!" Gai said. "Fire up your youthful passion and let's GO!"
"Please wait, Captain!" the two chunin said, breaking into a run to catch up with the energetic Gai.
The old man started walking too, while complaining of being way past his youthful days. Itachi turned to Kakashi.
"So they weren't told of the nature of this mission?"
"No," Kakashi said, putting on his ANBU mask. "The only ones who know are the top ranks of Konoha and the three of us."
With that, they jumped down from the gates and into the thick woods surrounding Konoha. They followed Gai's team closely for a few hours, until the group stopped for a lunch break. They had almost made it to the border. Kakashi, Itachi and Akane watched them from a nearby tree, as the four made a fire and cooked a meal.
"You're a godsend on long-distance missions, Kosuke-san," Gai told the old man, digging into his meal with obvious relish.
"Please have seconds if you like it so much."
"Everyone," Gai said, "eat up and replenish your energy and chakra."
One of the chunin spoke up. "But Captain, is it wise to burn a fire out in the open like this? It's like we're just announcing that we're here."
"Yes, what if the enemy attacks?" the other chunin asked. Gai swallowed his food.
"If they want to attack, so be it. I have a hunch this mission is to clarify whether they are friend or foe," he said, not looking bothered at all by the prospect of being caught unprepared.
"That's amazing," Itachi said. "He's only been told the superficial facts about the mission, but he's figured out its true purpose."
"Even so," Akane argued, "he's only inviting trouble with that fire."
Kakashi removed his mask and said: "We should eat too."
They all took out their pill supplies.
"In a way, this symbolizes the ANBU perfectly," Kakashi said, popping a pill into his mouth. "They sit out and enjoy a hot-pot together, while we lurk in the shadows and eat food pills."
Itachi smiled. "I don't mind. I realize this is part of the job."
"After a while, these food pills alone will make you reconsider your career choice," Akane said in good humor.
Gai's team reached the agreed-upon rendezvous point an hour or so later. The three ANBU watched from their hiding place as four figures approached the team from the shadows of the looming cliffs around. The strangers wore white demon masks. Gai stepped forward to greet them.
"You're with the Hannya Black Ops of the Land of Woods, correct?"
Their leader replied with a woman's voice. "Indeed we are. Now hand over the scroll."
"Alright, then at the same time…"
"You first."
"Fine then," Gai said, and reached for the scroll to hand it to her. The kunoichi took it and opened it.
"There's no mistake," she said. "This is it."
"And your scroll?"
"Here it is."
She handed Gai a white scroll. Gai, however, delivered a swift kick to her face, causing her to throw the scroll upwards, where it unfurled and exploded.
"We're supposed to exchange scrolls, not fire!" Gai told her, but the kunoichi and her companions jumped backwards and up onto the cliffs.
"Konoha reneged on our agreement and attacked us," she declared. "We will seek retribution."
"What a bold-faced lie!" Gai protested. "You're the one who broke the agreement!"
The kunoichi began to laugh, and as the sound bounced off the faces of the cliffs, more shinobi appeared at her side, as if on cue. The two chunin on Gai's team looked at their Captain, cowering before the realization that they were now grossly outnumbered.
"They planned on betraying us from the very beginning," Gai said.
Kakashi decided it was time for them to intervene. The three Konoha ANBU jumped in front of Gai's team, facing the enemy.
"We'll take it from here," Kakashi told Gai over his shoulder. "Get your team out of here."
"You guys?!" Gai said, while his companions rejoiced with cries of 'ANBU!' and 'reinforcements!'. The Hannya kunoichi signaled her allies and they began the attack.
"Doton: Ganseki Kuzushi!" they all cried at once. (A.N.: Earth Style: Rock Collapse)
There was a terrible rumble as part of the cliff broke into rocks above the Konoha shinobi. Gai turned to his team, shouting at them to run, while Kakashi placed his hands on the ground.
"Doton: Doryūheki!" he said, causing a great wall to rise in the path of the falling rocks, which crashed against it. (A.N.: Earth Style: Mud Wall) The ground shook under their feet from the impact and a cloud of dust rose in the air, momentarily concealing them from the eyes of the enemy. Gai looked at the two frightened chunin behind them and told them to get out of there, which they did, this time around, realizing things were about to get serious.
Itachi looked at Kakashi. "Rumor has it that you'd kill a comrade for the sake of a mission."
"I'll never let my friends get killed," he said, apparently not bothered by his words. "That's why I was entrusted with this sharingan." He then turned to Gai and said: "You get away from here too."
"Like I'd turn my back on a mission!"
The Hannya kunoichi barked another order at her team as the dust cleared and she saw the Konoha shinobi were still alive. "Get on with it!"
"Doton: Ganseki Kuzushi!"
Gai's skin turned red and his body began to emit a green light as he said: "Hachimon: Fifth Gate of Limit!" He then launched himself toward the falling rocks, jumping upwards from one to another to reach the enemy's position. Itachi stared in awe.
"He did all that using only taijutsu?" he asked Kakashi, but the older man cut it short.
"Save the admiration for later!" he said, and the three of them jumped just as the rocks hit the ground with a thunderous crash. Dust rose once more. Gai suddenly jumped at the enemy from within the cloud, kicking two Hannya shinobi, while Itachi's shuriken pierced a third and Kakashi's Raikiri killed a fourth.
They heard the Hannya kunoichi call the retreat. The remaining enemies turned and ran, with Kakashi and Itachi right behind them. But as the real Kakashi and Itachi jumped in front of them, cutting their escape, and their clones vanished in a puff of smoke, the enemy shinobi halted, confused.
"Kage Nui no Jutsu!" (A.N.: Shadow Stitching Jutsu)
Akane's jutsu pinned them all in place in an instant. Itachi threw six shuriken, hitting two enemies and Kakashi's Raikiri impaled the Hannya leader. Gai turned around as Kakashi held out Konoha's recovered scroll. "Your mission is complete," he said. "Return to the village."
Before Gai could respond, however, the piercing scream of a man dying caught his attention. He looked at Itachi and Akane who, blade in hand, were finishing off the Hannya survivors.
"Hey, what are you doing?!" he asked, looking outraged.
"This is the mission we were assigned," Kakashi explained as another shinobi's life was taken.
"Even still, stop, Kakashi!"
"Oi! What kind of an idiot calls someone by their name while they are on an ANBU mission?"
"You…" Gai began and stopped as another shinobi died under Itachi's blade. He and Akane approached them then, with blood glistening on their armor and their hands.
"Don't worry, Captain," Itachi said. "No enemy survivors remain."
Gai looked at the two, eyes open wide, face frozen in an expression of horror. Akane wiped the blood from her blade with an enemy's cloak and sheathed it.
"Kakashi…" Gai said, a shadow of sadness and understanding in his eyes. "I understand now why Hokage-sama told me I'm not fit to become an ANBU. I lack one of your most important qualities. A quality called darkness," he finished with a wan smile.
"What did he mean by darkness?" Itachi asked Akane a while later, as they were heading back to Konoha after a short break.
"Deception and killing are part of ANBU missions, the darkness associated with our job. Not everyone can stomach that."
"I do not enjoy killing."
"I doubt any of us does. But we understand why it must be done and we are willing to do it for the sake of the greater good."
"I see."
They arrived at the village a little before sunset, as the westering sun turned the sky carnation pink. The two groups split up at the gates, as Gai had to report to the Third Hokage.
"I'm going to report back to Danzo-sama," Kakashi said to Itachi and Akane. "Your part of the mission is complete."
Itachi stepped forward. "Captain… that sharingan wasn't originally yours, was it?"
"No."
"Aren't you uncomfortable about possessing a power that wasn't your own?" he asked, hoping Kakashi would not think he was taking it too far. "You're not an Uchiha, but you possess the sharingan, so you wield the same power as the Uchiha. Whose side are you on?"
"I've never thought about it that way," Kakashi said. "A friend entrusted this sharingan to me and he made me promise never to forget what's important. To never let a friend get killed."
Kakashi left. Akane started to walk the other way and Itachi followed. They dropped by the ANBU headquarters to change into their civilian clothes.
"Where are you off to?" he asked her as she washed the blood off her hands. As her long ponytail swung over her shoulder, Itachi noticed she had a tattoo of the Nara clan's family crest on the back of her neck.
"I'm swinging by the Academy to pick up someone."
"I didn't know you had a younger sibling."
"Ah, no," she said, smiling. "I only have a much older brother. I'm picking up my six-year old cousin."
"He must be in the same class as my little brother, Sasuke."
"Shall we go together, then?" she asked and Itachi nodded.
They waited together in the Academy courtyard as the bell rang. The first to come out was Sasuke, who cracked into a grin at the sight of his older brother.
"Nii-san!" he said, and hurried up to him, casting a curious glance at Akane.
"Sasuke, this is my friend, Akane-san."
"Nice to meet you, Akane-san," Sasuke said, performing an awkward little bow.
"You two look very much alike, Itachi-san," she said with a warm smile. "Ah, there's my cousin. Shikamaru!" she said and waved. The little boy came with a scowl.
"I take it mother asked you to pick me up? You women are always so troublesome."
"Cheer up, cousin. I'll challenge you to a game of shogi tonight."
"Who wins?" Itachi asked.
"Him, usually," she replied, laughing. "I'll see you around, Itachi-san!"
Itachi waved and turned to his little brother. "Let's go home together, Sasuke."
"Okay! So you're done with your mission? Is she your teammate?"
"You know I'm not allowed to talk about work, otouto," Itachi admonished him gently. Sasuke nodded cheerfully and changed the subject.
"Nii-san, guess what? Sensei praised me at the Academy today!"
The Uchiha shinobi all gathered in the underground bunker of the Naka Shrine that night. Itachi sat next to Shisui in the back of the room, while his father presided over the meeting from the front.
"Some of you may already be aware, but my son, Itachi, has joined the ANBU. Being in close vicinity to the Hokage and the top ranks means access to more information and that is a boon for the Uchiha clan. Itachi, do you have anything to report?"
Every head in the room turned to look at him. Itachi was feeling tired and he would have done anything not to have to deal with this right now, but he knew there was no way around it. He stood up and spoke, as Shisui smiled at him encouragingly.
"Well… I'm still new, so there's not much to report. However," he said, thinking of how the Hokage and Lord Danzo had dealt with his mission for the day, "I don't think there's solidarity in the higher ranks of Konoha. It is my belief that how the Uchiha clan deals with this will determine the future of Konoha."
"Exactly," Fugaku said. "By all rights, the Uchiha clan must be involved in the future of Konoha."
Itachi sat as his clansmen erupted in shouts of assent. He felt as if he was balancing himself on a rope above an abyss, trying to cross, and not even his best friend's reassuring smile managed to make him feel better. Tread carefully, he told himself. This is only the beginning.
A.N.: I have the whole story handwritten in a notebook, so I will post new chapters as I type them up. Updates will most likely be daily. Thank you for reading!