Tsunade smiled as she led the two jonin into her office. She seated herself across from the two lovers. "As I had said the day before, you will be going on a mission. It is going to be an S-class, but only because it's going to be a deep undercover mission. You two will be posing as civilian lovers banned from your village for homosexuality.
"You will be going to a refuge in a province of the Village Hidden in the Rock. Your profiles are here," The amber eyed woman motioned the folders on her desk, "Read them over and memorize them. Luckily, you get to keep your names though you have a changed last name.
"Your objective is to spy on the director of this refugee camp. He is a known rebel to Leaf, and must be exterminated. The only thing stopping me is, I have no proof. That is where you two come in.
"Included is a background on the rebel leader, Kabuto Yakushi. I'm sure you've heard his name before. He was once from here. He is ranked an S-class criminal and is to be treated with extreme caution at all times.
"Now, everything else should be included in your reports." Tsunade sighed, rubbing her temples.
"Yes, Tsunade-sama." The two jonin chorused together, still standing at attention.
"Oh yes, one more thing. Two ANBU will be joining you. An ANBU meeting is in progress at the moment. In a few minutes we will be joining them."
"Understood."
"You are also being joined into a long forgotten unit called USOP; Undercover Special Ops. You will basically be receiving ANBU training doubled with extensive medical training."
"In a week?" Kotetsu asked incredulously. "We were just promoted to jonin!"
"In a week. Though, we'll start with medical training here because you're ANBU partners can teach you the physical and mental training on this mission. Yes, I understand, but you do have the capability to do this. Your former captors widened your chakra pathways unknowingly, beyond what is normal for even a jonin, and after being put back together, strengthened your muscles as if you had been training vigorously for years. You have received some good in your…capture, regarding your lives as shinobi that is. Though, it will be difficult."
"We understand Tsunade-hime." Izumo said grimly.
"You, Izumo, are going to be Hawk." She said, pulling a porcelain mask from her desk drawer. It was styled the same as the ANBU, painted in semblance of a hawk. "You Kotetsu are going to be Hound." She pulled another mask from her drawer.
"I will be tattooing you after you get into your uniforms." She then pulled out two uniforms that looked like ANBU but was entirely black and held decoration strings on the chest armor and boots.
"Now?" Kotetsu asked.
"Yes."
The two stripped and pulled on their new uniforms quickly, shivering as the blonde woman's trained gaze assessed their scars. Tsunade then walked up to them. "Now, your tattoos."
"I'll go first." Kotetsu stepped up.
"Alright. I suggest you brace yourself because this will hurt."
Tsunade focused chakra into her fingertip and began tracing lines onto Kotetsu's shoulder as he gasped in pain. She dragged her finger along Kotetsu's skin, marking it.
"Shit that hurts!" Kotetsu hissed, eyes wrenched shut. His fingers grasped at the desk beside him as if it would lessen his pain.
After working a seal into the tattoo itself and then onto paper, she finished. "Izumo."
Izumo took a deep breath and stepped up to Tsunade. He zoned out instead of listening figuring it was better. Before he realized, it was done. When he came back to himself his shoulder burned.
"Done. Now, let's go."
That was all the warning they got before they were chakra teleported into ANBU headquarters, right in front of all of the ANBU. The ANBU watched warily, not knowing who these masked strangers were.
"ANBU, quiet!" Tsunade's voice boomed. "These are USOP. As you are ANBU, they are the medically skilled version. They are Leaf."
"I'm sure you've heard of the S-rank mission that two of you will be sent on. I need two volunteers of the same sex who are willing to pose as lovers."
Thirteen ANBU stepped up. "Thank you. Now, the rest of you are dismissed."
All the other ANBU shuffled out, leaving the thirteen volunteers. "Alright. Line yourselves up by amount of time served undercover."
The ANBU moved themselves around until they were in the correct positioning asked for. A woman with purple hair was first, then two males, one tall and one shorter by an inch, both with brown hair. Tsunade stood before these two males. "You two will be serving. The rest of you, dismissed."
"Yes, Tsunade-sama." All of the ANBU said simultaneously as if practiced.
Once they left Tsunade sighed. "To my office."
This time Izumo and Kotetsu were left to get there on their own terms. They chose the same way as before, coming in shortly after the ANBU.
"Alright, Fox, Tiger, remove your masks. You won't be needing them on this mission." Tsunade commanded, taking a seat behind her desk.
They removed their masks as they were told, clipping them to their belts. The taller one had long, silver hair, and gray eyes. The shorter one had blonde hair to his shoulders and blue eyes.
"This," The large breasted woman waved towards the taller of the two, "is Airen, and this," She waved to the blonde, "is Kyra. Your two will be using those names on this mission."
"Understood."
"Now, here are your profiles. All of you, after you memorize them, write another report containing everything a friend would know about you. Odd eating habits, birthdays, that sort of thing. Exchange them and memorize those. Now, you have your instructions for now. Any questions?"
Various answers of no resounded.
"Then, scatter."
The shinobi in the room left in a cloud of smoke.
0o0o0
Izumo and Kotetsu stood in their apartment, dumbfounded.
"Shit, I can't believe this. Is it really happening?" Kotetsu asked.
"Yeah, it really is."
"Damn!" Kotetsu proceeded to swear viciously before calming down and collapsing on the bed.
Izumo laid beside him. "You know, I already know about USOP. My mother was part of it before it was shut down by the Third. He didn't believe in them. I'm actually immune to a large number of poisons and sedatives because of her."
Kotetsu froze. "I thought our mothers said they worked together?"
Izumo paused a moment. "They did…"
Kotetsu forced a grin. "What do you say we visit my mother, hmm?"
Izumo smiled back, just as forced. "I think that's a good idea."
The two hid the folders in a secret compartment in the bathroom counter and built a quick seal on it. They changed into their jonin uniforms. The two set off for Kotetsu's mothers on foot, walking like any other person.
They arrived ten minutes later. Kotetsu knocked and waited for his mother to answer.
She opened the door with a weary smile. "Kotetsu, Izumo. It's so nice to see you two."
Kotetsu hugged his mother before taking a seat on the couch. Izumo kissed his boyfriends' mother on the cheek and sat beside him.
"So what brings you out here?" Mrs. Hagane asked, seating herself in an armchair across from them.
Kotetsu looked to the floor, then Izumo who nodded encouragingly. "Well, you worked with Izumo's mother, right?"
"Yes, you know that." The brown haired woman chided softly.
"Were you part of a unit called USOP?"
Kotetsu's mother started, her eyes green eyes widening. Her voice was harsh when she spoke. "How do you know that?"
"Izumo's mother told him she was part of it."
"What is so relevant of it at the moment?"
Kotetsu tensed, expecting a bad reaction from his mother. "We've been joined into it as the first members under the Fifth."
Kotetsu looked up, expecting an angry expression, only to see tears running down her face. Kotetsu's eyes widened. "Mom?"
She took a deep shaky breath before looking up. "I'm okay," She paused, taking another breath, "Will you give me a moment?"
At Kotetsu's nod, Mrs. Hagane stood and walked over to a bookshelf and pulled it away, undoing a complicated seal in a matter of moments, and pulling out a scroll. She bit her thumb, and ran the blood down it.
She set the scroll down and walked back to her seat, not bothering to move the bookshelf back. "We'll have a guest soon," She said, "I want you to know that this work is far from easy."
"Yeah, I know."
"Are you sure you know? Did you know that it was that organization that took yours and Izumo's fathers?"
"But, they were KIA…" Kotetsu protested.
"Yes, killed in action against terrorists of the Leaf whom we failed to catch."
Kotetsu paused, taking in the information. He felt Izumo's shaky hand entwine with his own, which had long gone cold. "Is that what you think?"
"Yes."
"It's not your fault. Every mission doesn't always go accordingly." Izumo said softly.
"But it is! If I'd caught him…"
"You can't catch everyone. Some people are just careful enough. It's not your fault."
"Maybe your right…" Mrs. Hagane felt herself sag, giving into the soft-spoken man's words of reassurance.
Everyone sat in a tense, awkward silence for a few moments before Kotetsu's mother spoke again. "You know, I love just like you're my own, Izumo? I raised you just as much as I did Kotetsu, and your mother with Kotetsu."
Izumo smiled. "I know."
A feather light brush of chakra alerted the two jonin to someone entering the room. They tensed and hands went straight to their shuriken holsters.
"Calm down. I said we'd have a guest." Mrs. Hagane said.
A soft woman's voice addressed the three in the room. "Kyn, Izumo, Kotetsu. It's nice to see you all again."