Team Zero
By
Stray Cat Blues
I do not own Naruto or any of the characters therein, other then those of my own design
Stray Cat Blue: So, if you liked the first one enough to come back for the second, you have my thanks and the hope's you like the second to come back for the third and so on, if not well...I'm not sure why your here then but you're more then welcome to stay...
And now for what you really came to see!
Team Zero
Making up one's mind or When mothers attack!
Current Team Zero Status
Chris Mitarashi- Now 7 months old
Davis Mitarashi- Now 6 months old
Reese Mitarashi- Now 9 months old
(Team Zero, its very name implies that the team doesn't exist or that it lacks enough talent to be given a number. Perhaps a team of washouts or rejects that were too good to outright dismiss but bad enough to not warrant a true number? But if that is the case then how could Konoha with it's superb ninja academy and talented ninja produce such a embarrassment? The answer was of course that they didn't, when the term "Team Zero" was found to be reserved until eleven and a half years from the date the Third Hokage took office again, many questions and rumors were whispered among the administrative nin and those few who knew of the orders. However the Hokage wasn't talking, and neither was Anko Mitarashi; the secret caretaker and future trainer of three small children whose fates placed them almost entirely at her mercy and good mood...)
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Village of Konoha
Unknown location
3:00 A.M.
Two months since the start of project "Team Zero"
Anko wasn't exactly in the best of moods...
Actually she wanted to say she was pissed off, but was far to tired to let any sort of self righteous rage enter into her overworked mind at the moment. She wasn't too sure when or why she lost her mind and what little good sense she could still lay claim too by accepting this stupid patrol. After all, she had more important things to do right now.
Like sleep...
Oh how that had become such a scarce luxury over the past two months, along with being clean and having more then 5 minutes to herself. "And I thought all babies did was sleep and eat!" Anko shook her head, whoever had put that idea into her head better never cross her path again. "Right now I'd love to find some dumbass spy from another village...a easy kill would really perk me up..." Anko sighed aloud, there was little to no chance of that happening, and besides the babies tended to get upset with the smell of blood on her and that would generally keep them up for more then half the night.
It was why she was out here in the middle of the night, she had accepted a quick night patrol around the village that would allow her to get some quiet time to think and get out of her home for bit. Still this quiet wasn't solving any of her problems, she was still tired and generally irritable. Another reason why she was alone on this patrol; the other ninjas had noticed her mood and even that moron Gai had kept his mouth shut and agreed that she should take the patrol alone.
The Hokage had merely given her a knowing look and changed the patrol routes accordingly. It wouldn't do for one of his ninja to kill another one out of pure annoyance after all.
"If they aren't crying about something, then their throwing up their food or throwing it at me...mashed carrots isn't easy to get out of my hair!"
Ok so maybe they didn't cry all the time, or always throw their food, but dammit they did it far more often then she wanted them too
"Lets not forget the diapers I've had to change...one is disgusting enough but three pushes it beyond the line"
She did have to add the fact that she'd been fortunate enough that all three babies didn't need changing at all the same time, a small miracle that she truly thanked the Kami for.
"They sleep during the day sometimes and are up all night, other times it's the reverse...I haven't had a decent nights sleep in what seems like age's"
Something she was sure all mothers went through and to be fair the babies had to adjust to her mission schedules and meetings that all chunin ninja and above had to attend every now and then.
Anko shook her head to stop the argument's that bounced around in her head, there was no denying the confusion that she now held in relation to the children. The "Normal" parts of her refused to have anything to do with the babies and pushed constantly for her to get rid of them to some other unlucky kunochi. The parts of her that fought back were both new to her and were the major parts of her current confusion.
She DIDN'T like taking care of anyone else but herself, and more to the point little babies who didn't even know how to talk. Their complete innocence in the world repulsed her, Orochimaru had torn what little innocence she had once had and taught her to despise it as a weakness. Hard as she tried to wipe all of his teachings from her mind she knew that it would be a long time before she could look at the world without his taint clouding her mind.
But..
She couldn't deny that when the Hokage had handed her the boys official birth certificates and other such basic documentary that all newborns of Konoha received, that she had felt pride, and not just any pride but a special kind that she could only chalk up to motherly pride when she saw all three carried the Mitarashi name. Oh she knew that's what was going to happen when she agreed to the mission but it just really hit her to see it written in stone.
Chris, Davis and Reese all carried her name.
Mitarashi...
The clan wouldn't die with her, instead it had been given a new shot of life. A new hope that someday the name would mean something amongst the ninjas of the world. That other villages would fear the name and...
Anko gritted her teeth as she lept from the tree she had been sitting in to another one, ever since she had started the mission she had been having silly day dreams about the children. About how they would become great ninjas, or even one of them becoming the Hokage himself. Anko began to leap from tree to tree; continuing her patrol path throughout Konoha, yes and someday they would get married and give her plenty of grandchildren who...
THUMP!!
The sound of a female ninja slipping from what should have been a easy landing on a tree branch sounded empty in the night air as one Anko Mitarashi sat amongst the soft pile of leaves that had unknowingly broken her fall and prevented any truly noticeable pain, not that she was in the mindset to really care.
"Grandchildren? what the hell am I thinking; this is simply a mission until their twelve, once their genin and have a team my mission will be over and I'll never have to see them again!"
A sudden quick pang shot through her heart at the thought, further confusing her. After all this WAS just a mission.
Wasn't it?
Of course it was more then a mission, hell according to the Hokage if everything went smoothly, then the results could change Konoha's policy of adoption and raising of foreign ninja children forever. A veritable new goldmine of recruits and techniques, as well as legitimate access to some new bloodline's. Her...THESE children would be at the forefront of the whole deal.
But technique and pure talent was not all that the Hokage was looking for, the children had to be happy and well brought up in order to prove the theory that the Fourth put forth. Ninjas with emotional baggage almost always proved to be even more trouble then those with little to no talent.
"Huh, great choice then oh wise Hokages, give a woman with more angst and self loathing then your average badass loner with a troubled past and a revenge fetish against one of the most powerful ninjas in the world three innocent kids and expect them to kick everyones ass and apologize while their doing it"
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Grove of trees near Anko Mitarashi's current location
"Tell me friend Kakashi, why is the lovely and slightly deranged Anko sitting amongst a pile of leaves like a child who just lost their beloved pet?"
Kakashi Hatake lazily rolled his only visible eye over to stare at his friend and "eternal rival" Maito Gai who had been orderd by the Hokage to accompany Kakashi in making sure that Anko was going to be alright on her solo patrol around the village. Following her had been easy and so had remaining undetected by her, strange for a ninja of her skill and ability. It had become so easy that Kakashi had taken to rereading his "Come Come Paradise Volume One" book partly to alleviate the boredom and partly to piss off Gai. When she had slipped and fallen into a pile of leaves was really the only time he had looked up, something was really going on with her to make her act like a fresh academy student on her first day.
"I don't know, and honestly I'm not about to go down there and find out" Which of course was the truth, acting weird or not, he wasn't about to go about interrupting Anko's thoughts, the last ninja that did that was still in the hospital...poor bastard wouldn't walk again either save for a miracle from the Kami. "She's not in any danger so just let her sit there and sort out whatever's been bothering her.."
"Ah but friend Kakashi, what if she needs the tender yet firm embrace of a true man in order to help her..." at this Gai gave his nice guy pose complete with the shine off his teeth, how he managed to do that in the dead of night eluded reason.
Kakashi simply fixed Gai with his usual bored stare before turning back to his beloved book.
"Humph...why you turn to that filth while a lovely young woman is in dire need of help is beyond me, it seems that a true man must take charge and come to her aid!"
With that exclamation Gai lept from the tree they had been hiding in, and headed down towards the still distracted Anko.
Kakashi sighed, looked like he was going to be dragging Gai's unconscious but hopefully breathing body to the emergency room whenever Anko got done beating on him. He frowned slightly, whatever was bothering her was major...he hadn't seen Anko this moody since her return from Orochimaru...something to look into if he ever had time and no "Come Come Paradise" to read.
Well, that would be a cold day in hell...
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Path to the Main Square of Konoha
Hour and a half later
"Thank the Kami for that spandex wearing idiot, a free beatdown was just what I needed to hand out to make myself feel better"
It really had been a godsend, after the fool had appeared before her declaring that his youthful passion or something would help clear her mind, she had been able to shake the heavy thoughts she had about the children.. and hand Gai a world class asskicking for bothering her in the first place.
"Heh, I really should send him some flowers or something to help him get better...along with a warning to never bother me ever again"
Anko's general cheery smile was back on her face as she walked down the path to the main square to return to her apartment, her patrol over and done with; she decided to go home and catch what few hours of sleep she could, after checking on the children first of course. The Hokage provided a babysitter at times when she was on a extended mission or the occasional patrol, but she couldn't sleep until she checked on her charges herself.
Sigh...
So much for shaking her thoughts on the children, more and more she was naturally listening to the voice inside her head that insisted that these were her kids now. She struggled almost daily with the thoughts, so much that she almost forgot her ever present guilt and burning desire for revenge on the snake. It had even started to affect her ninja skills to the point where the Hokage was having her followed, why else would Gai suddenly appear from no where and start preaching about springtimes or whatever dribble he bellowed when entering a room.
She knew she had to resolve these issues soon...make up her mind on her true feelings for the children, or she's be caught napping at the wrong moment and that almost certainly spelled death for a ninja. Of course she forgot to add in the twisted revenge plot and terrible guilt she carried as issues...oh and the cheerful bloodthirstiness as well.
"Dammit I just want to know what I should do!, should I listen to the voice that begs me love and care for them like they were my own or the other one that tells me they are simply the mission and nothing more!..."
It would seem that Fate would grant her the opportunity to resolve her problems, though much sooner and in a way she most certainly would not have wished. But such is the..."Fate" of those who would will its help even inadvertently.
A buzz of noise emmenating from the main square caught her attention, judging by the volume it was a crowd, possibly an angry one at that. "It's four thirty in the morning, why would a angry mob form?"
Disturbed by this prospect Anko took to the tree's in order to get a higher point of observation and a place to keep her hidden in case the crowd was in fact a angry mob. Leaping from tree to tree she heard the noise of the crowd get louder and louder and could begin to hear small snatches of conversation that made little sense to her until she started hearing the word demon or child in most of them. Her mind filling with worry at the prospects she sped up until she reached the last tree on the outer edge of the square, what she saw put truth to her fears.
There standing upon a homemade platform of crates was a ninja of the leaf, a chunin by Anko's estimate and not a very good one either, holding up in the air a small object wrapped in a blanket that seemed to hold most of the crowds negative attention. It only took a peak of bright blonde hair for Anko to piece together exactly what was going down, something that spelled certain death for many in the crowd if what they had planned for the young babe actually took place.
"Damn...Damn...Goddamnit I can't believe these fool villagers or that idiot ninja, do they have any idea what might happen if they actually kill him...kill the Fourths son!?"
The Fourth Hokage's son, or as he was known Uzumaki Naruto, was indeed in the arms of the nameless chunin who held him with a mixture of disdain and fear. Barely five months old the baby demon container's life seemed to hang in a desperate balance, the crowds anger at the Kyuubi's attack was still very fresh in their minds and most of them thirsted for young innocent blood to be spilled that night.
"Where the hell are the other Jounin patrols or the ANBU?"
It was truly a shame, the only other Jounin on patrol who might have interceded were currently at the hospital, one getting his severe injuries treated and the other hanging out in the lobby getting hit on by lustful nurses while reading his favorite book. The ANBU also seemed to either be nowhere in the area or of the same mindset of the villagers...few were unaffected by the great nine tails attack on the village.
"Villagers hear me, I the great Shinichi, ninja of the village of the leaf have captured the terrible demon who mere months ago laid waste to our village" The now not so nameless chunin begin what seemed to be a long planned speech. " Though he now is in the guise of a young child, do not be fooled...he is indeed the great demon lord Kyuubi...and it is my duty as a ninja of the leaf to slay this beast before it rises again to...
Anko had stopped paying attention to the rant, after all if she wanted to hear mindless dribble she'd hang out with...well people who considered themselves normal. All of Anko's attention became focused on the small bundle of cloth that had the Fourths son and the hero of Konoha wrapped inside it. She knew it was her duty by the Hokage's orders to save the child and to slay the rogue ninja and villagers who went against the laws, she also knew how much she truly owed the Fourth and that saving and protecting his child would definitely be one of the better things she could do...
But something else hit her, not in her mind but deep in heart, like something awakening that had been sealed away for far to long. To her minds eye the picture wavered and Naruto was replaced by visions of her own charges...no children, thoughts and emotions were bubbling forth to the surface of the young woman's mind and heart. Some might call it a new mothers instinct and fierce protectiveness, but that would imply that Anko Mitarashi now thought of the three orphans as her own and had truly made up her mind. Others would call it a reawaking of her moral compass and something that would lead her to the path of a less cruel and callous woman who might one day be a normal person who could walk in the daylight without fear of scaring small children and the elderly...
No chance in hell of the latter being true.
"That son of a bitch just breathed his last"
With this last thought Anko prepared some seals for a very special and painful surprise for the self important moron who dared to spill the blood of the innocent and disobey his Hokage's laws and wishes.
"Earth Style: Earth Spikes no Jutsu!"
Poor young Shinichi's joke about two demons and the farmers pig was forever put on hold as two earthen spikes burst from the ground; right into and thru the heels of his feet all the way up to his knees effectively trapping him where he stood. It also made him scream (to Ankos ear's) a rather pleasing sound of utter and sudden pain. Naturally the chunin dropped the now crying Uzumaki in a attempt at grabbing his legs in a vain hope to lessen the pain.
A swift and sure leap over the head's of the now confused and frightened crowd ensured a quick rescue of the young Naruto as well as placing her in an excellent position for what she planned next. Placing baby Naruto on a nearby crate well within reach and somewhere that she could keep an eye on him she turned to the now sobbing self proclaimed hero of Konoha and the crowd of villagers.
"You knew of the Thirds laws concerning the child, so I won't repeat them to you, you villagers will now disperse and return to your homes as I deal with this traitor to the leaf. If any of you wish to object, speak now so I can count how many kunai I plan to waste tonight!"
With this official proclamation Anko calmly walked behind Shinichi and drew one of her kunai and laid the edge along his throat, as per orders she was to execute him, but orders didn't specify how much it had to hurt or that she couldn't terrorize the bastard even further.
"Listen you sick fuck, you're going to die tonight but you drew the short straw and had to deal with me tonight..." whispered Anko almost seductively into the terrified young man's ear. "You see, normally I'm a sadistic bitch who'd just slice you up a little before letting you die, but you know, I just became a mommy recently...isn't that a wonderful thing little man?"
Shinichi (who at this point was praying to every kami that he knew of) nodded as quickly and forcefully as he could with a knife at his throat. 'It..it's a wond...wonderful thing...oh please please...for..forgive me..." Shinichi quickly scanned his tear filled eyes over the crowed hoping that one might shout or scream or come to his rescue.
A vain hope as he could see, for what he could not see was the look of Anko's face, a look that all the crowd could in fact see well. It was the look of a woman who seemed to have discovered something, something important to her, something that had just been threatened in a way...that and the look of sheer pleasure she was having thinking of the torture she planned for the poor man before her.
"Yes, I do have to thank you ya know...threating to kill a small baby like a coward made me understand just how important my own children have become to me...sooo" continued the soft and somewhat seductive whisper in Shinichis ears.
The edge of the knife slowly but surely backed away from Shinichi's throat, the foolish chunin gave a small gulp of relief as he heard her sheathe the knife, it seemed he might just escape aft...
"Fire Style: Flame Edge no Jutsu!"
Two easy hand seals and good chakra control skills meant that the edge of the kunai that Anko now held in her hand suddenly burst into a red hot searing flame, something that she planned to use to the utmost.
"So I'm going to make a MAJOR example outta you, this is what happens to those who would dare threaten a child with ME around!" No soft seductive whisper there, just the sure tones of someone who was more then going to enjoy the next few moments...
Shinichi could only scream, and scream and scream...
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Village of Konoha
Anko's Apartment
6 o'clock A.M.
Humming a simple yet happy tune from her youth, Anko Mitarashi stepped out her bathroom with a towel wrapped around her body and another one wrapped around her hair. She came to a stop in front of three cribs which contained what she now considered her greatest treasure's and the one's now most precious to her...
Well in Reese's crib there was an extra passenger... she wasn't willing to take Naruto back to the orphanage that had let him been easily captured and put in such danger, if she hadn't gotten her rage and bloodletting outta her system with the now deceased Shinichi she woulda gone back and...
Well it didn't matter, she would return Naruto to the Hokage tomorrow and try to keep an eye on the tyke from now on, she knew it wasn't likely that she would be given the task to care for him and she honestly doubted that she could. Three kids were enough in her opinion and even that was stretching it. She only hoped that Naruto would wind up somewhere where he could live in a bit of peace. But she knew he wouldn't have to worry about being lonely...when she had placed the exhausted and still scared baby into Reese's crib (Her smallest one, Davis started to fuss a little when she placed Naruto in his crib) he simply stared at the blue eyed intruder before giving a small grin that Naruto quickly returned before both babes quickly fell asleep once more. Perhaps a sign of the future? or just something that babies did, Anko didn't know which to chalk it up too.
"At lest he's safe...and he will be as long as I'm in the village...after tonights..."warning"... there shouldn't be many takers in the future...and boy am I glad I put a quick sleeping Genjutsu on him before I went to work on that idiot...the poor kid woulda been traumatized for life seeing that.."
Giving what would be a cute giggle if the circumstances weren't so twisted, she quickly gave her...her children another look...
"It's true...I can't believe it but its true...I think of them as mine now...my children...my babies..."
Leaning over into each crib she gave each of her children (including the young Uzumaki) a quick kiss on the forehead before heading towards her room to turn in for a well deserved and content night's/day's sleep
"Hey at lest I got to avoid all that labor bullshit right? heh heh heh"
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Konoha Main Square
8 o'clock AM
Current Murder Scene Investigation.
Blocked off from general public by the Third Hokage's order
To anyone but a ninja it was a sick and disturbing sight, a dead body of a young man still standing due to his feet and lower legs being pined to the makeshift platform by long and narrow spikes from the earth, his cut throat had all but stopped dripping blood though an occasional drop or two still splashed down towards the black pool of dried blood at his feet, but that wasn't even close to the worst part...
Kakashi watched as another new genin lost her lunch after taking a look at the corpses back, even he had to admit that his stomach turned a bit after reading the message that had been...seared/carved into the dead chunin's back.
:Attention to all who would harm the Fourth Hokage's child and break the law set by the Third Hokage, this just might happen to you! so hands off the kid you hear me!!...:
Love.
Anko Mitarashi
Jounin of the Leaf
The warning was followed by what Kakashi had to admit was a fairly artistic rendering of a smiling chibi Anko holding what looked to be a baby and giving the V sign with her fingers, impressive considering she was working with a knife and what had to be a writhing squirming human being in almost complete agony...
Kakashi simply rolled his eye skyward and prayed to whatever was out there that something was done about that womans tendencies to take things to the extreme, almost the entire village was buzzing with fear and rumors about the incident as well as a deep disgust/intense fear of Anko.
It was a certain thing that she wasn't going to be allowed to roam the streets for a long time after this...
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Village of Konoha
Hokages Tower
Saturobi's Office
Another day another mountain of paperwork, it could be said that sometimes the Hokage's job wasn't exactly what it was cracked up to be. Ninjas tended to cause problems even on the home front, and the latest report he received was no exception, especially when you had such ninja as Anko Mitarashi...and what a problem she created with that latest fiasco...if one could call it that.
Perhaps fiasco was too light a word, total public relations disaster was more like it. Ninja leaping on roofs in the middle of the night was annoying the townsfolk as it was, and the occasional lovers spat between ninja couples was also enough to make most ordinary folk dive for cover. Still in the end, the townsfolk put up with it all knowing full well the price you paid when living in a hidden ninja village.
But this really was asking too much, already word had gotten around to most everyone in the village...
People had already wanted to declare a witch hunt to find Anko and try her as a spy or traitor for Orochimaru. Saturobi had put a stop to that by warning any who wished to take vengeance on her would have to do so without any help from the ninjas from the village...
That had silenced a lot of the most vocal ones...
Of course some ninjas, mostly the friends of young Shinichi, had also wanted to hunt her down. He had put a stop to that too by reminding them that harming or attempting to harm Naruto was punishable by death on the spot so that Anko was well within legal right to slay the fool. Of course he had to give ground that the...manner...in which she had carried out the law had been far to the extreme. A couple of promises to speak with her later on in the day over the matter to discuss severe punishment sent them away without much more trouble.
"Indeed" thought The Third "She truly made a mess of things this time...what a twisted sense of humor she has..."
A quiet and relaxing puff on his pipe gave him another pause for thought.
"At lest I can use her as a threat from now on to those who keep bugging me about killing the poor child"
Certainly a thought to bring a slight smile on the overworked Hokage...
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Current OC list.
Shinchi ????- Chunin ninja of Konoha- Age 16- Currently Deceased/Anko's billboard
The Naruto File
Uzumaki Naruto- Age 5 months- Confirmed as Fourth Hokage's son (in my fic anyway). Now mostly feared due to demon/anko's wrath
SCB- Well, another chapter gone and done, and I think I touched on Anko's indecision about the children as well as some of the depths of her...uh...sadism I suppose. Still, I really did enjoy writing and coming up with that part...which somewhat scares me a little.
I'll be starting up a Naruto File to go along with my OC list, I plan on using it to keep track for major things that happen to Naruto through this story as I plan to have him as the other key character in this fic, so look for it in any chapter he appears in. It will contain the typical stuff such as age and up to and including whoever I decide to pair him with (something I already know but won't reveal just yet) but until then, mostly just stuff about him.
In any case, once again I hope for reviews that express opinions both helpful and informative to my work. (Read: Reviews that boost my ego to greater heights) but in reality I'd love some help with developing Jutsus either real or streamlining any I happen to make up. I could also use some help with getting the spelling right on most of my stuff, as I'm using subbed episodes I found on the net as reference.
Later people, and until next time.
