Full Summary: Apparently, having previously survived two decades in a world crawling with zombies was a good training experience for his next life as a ninja. Who would've known? Note the sarcasm. [OC Reincarnated as Nohara Rin's twin brother. M/M]
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, obviously ༼ ಥ ‿ ಥ ༽
Sakumo stood rigidly in front of his Hokage's mahogany desk, stiff in the face as the older shinobi abruptly announced that he was to be demoted- ahem, appointed as a sensei for a young and newly graduated genin. Sakumo felt that the intentions behind this order were downright shoddy as he was better placed for border skirmishes than being rostered inside the village.
Hence, with persuasions and denials at the forefront of his mind, he parted his lips. Just as the words were on the tip of his tongue, ready to be regurgitated, they were swallowed back into his throat by the Sandaime Hokage's sharp and expected gaze.
Sakumo deflated, shoulders slumped in reluctant acceptance. He knew that once Hiruzen had that look in his eyes, no amount of arguing would work. Even if it was for a legitimate cause and reason.
Although wholly unwilling to be responsible over a new-grad, it did, however, poke at Sakumo's curiosity.
Why was Sakumo the one selected for this amongst many others who could do better?
He never stays in the village for long, even with a 3-year-old toddler waiting for him at home (he pushes down the guilt and compartmentalizes, knowing that he was an absent father and loathes that he could not do anything to change that).
Currently, the only reason why he was in the village at this point in time was due to the injuries he was afflicted with from an ambush (a few stabs and burns at the abdominal region that required surgery and rest). After he recovers enough to know that his wounds would not limit his mobility, he would be back at the front lines with the snap of a finger.
However, by giving him an apprentice, it could only mean one of the 3 things.
One, Sakumo would be pulled out of the frontlines for whatever reasons for an undisclosed duration. Two, this new apprentice of his was not suitable to be inside the normal genin cell program. Or Three, this particular graduate has the potential to be sent to the front lines as soon as Sakumo's injuries were healed.
One did not seem to be the case, as Sakumo, who was one of the strongest shinobi Konoha has to offer, was needed in the upcoming war against the other hidden villages. Two was a possibility. Three, however, was the most likely scenario.
When Sakumo was handed a manila folder with the word CONFIDENTIAL stamped at the front, he hesitated for a split second before reading the documents inside. What caught his immediate attention was the genin's photo. He was startled by how young the boy in the picture was.
"Is this an updated photo?" Sakumo couldn't help but wonder out loud, eyes locking with his leader's. Hiruzen answered only after taking a long drag of his pipe.
"Taken just a week ago."
Inwardly, Sakumo rolled his eyes at his leader's dramatics. Outwardly, however, he nodded and returned to studying the photo.
The boy, Nohara Ryou, appeared to be an extremely adorable little guy, what with his fluffy brown hair flying everywhere, plump cheeks, and delicate features. If the Hokage himself did not give this folder to him, Sakumo would have believed that this was all an elaborate prank (the kid was tiny!).
Not wanting to focus solely on the kid's outer appearance as looks can be deceiving, Sakumo turned his eyes away from the young face and began skimming through the kid's bio.
Name:
Nohara Ryou
Rank:
Genin (assigned to Jounin Hatake Sakumo)
Sex:
Male
Age:
5
DOB:
15 November
Height:
94cm
Immediate Family Members(s):
Nohara Ren (Father)
Nohara Momo (Mother)
Nohara Rin (Twin sister)
Known Associate(s):
Uchiha Obito (Playmate)
Uchiha Kana (Former babysitter)
Academic Results:
Written - 50.5%
Taijutsu - 100%
Ninjutsu - 100%
Genjutsu - 100%
Personality:
Antisocial
Quiet
Skittish
Extremely paranoid
History:
Active chakra at 2 years old, as noted by father.
Brought to the KMPF at 3 years old for unintentional chakra usage against mother. Parents both agreed to enroll Nohara Ryou early into the Academy.
Seeing Yamanaka Inoue weekly for counseling.
...
Observations:
...
...
Special Notice:
...
...
The more he read, the more perturbed he became.
There were a lot of notes and observations made by Ryou's teachers in the Academy, but they were assumptions at best because the boy tended to ignore conversations - which meant Sakumo could not trust them at face value (he would also need to request Yamanaka Inoue for her notes on the boy).
There was neglect, poor upbringing, abuse, and all sorts of other speculations about Ryou's home life and why he acts in a way that veteran shinobi would normally behave after many exposures to trauma.
Although he wasn't one to believe rumors without confirming facts, Sakumo, too, felt the need to check up on the boy's family to set his mind at ease. With these many reports, Sakumo would not brush it off just in case Ryou was acting out as a silent plea for help.
Anyway, other than the boy's concerning home situation and anti-social personality, all his teachers praised him for his talent in combat.
Reflex, strategy, concentration, accuracy, everything was praised to the high heavens. The boy was said to be a combat prodigy; as if he was born in the wrong year, as if he should have been someone born from the warring clan eras.
After thinking for a few moments, Sakumo decided that he needed to confirm everything for himself, his entire mind burning with curiosity at this tiny genius (could he be compared to Kakashi?). He has always placed his trust on his own observation skills rather than reviews written on paper. Comrades from the same village they may be, but from his own experience, a healthy dose of suspicion was always best.
'Coincidentally', today was also the day before the graduates were asked to attend their team placements. How fortunate (note his sarcasm).
Saluting to his Hokage, he left to stalk-ahem, he left to gather information about Nohara Rin. Fortunately, the day was just beginning (no wonder Hiruzen summoned him so early into the morning) and he would be able to witness the day-to-day life of his new student.
Sakumo gave the address one final look before he sealed the entire folder and slipped the scroll into his pouch.
Fifteen minutes later, he landed on Ryou's roof with the grace and silence of a panther, unseen and unheard by all. Although the boy's house was located inside of the Nohara clan's compound, the majority of his clansmen were medic-nins who were at most chuunin in rank whilst the rest were oblivious civilians.
Hence, Sakumo's presence went unnoticed.
He mentally notes to report this to Hiruzen, as skilled medics like the Noharas could be specifically targeted by their enemies in order to cripple their hospital forces. Rostering an ANBU squad should not be a problem – or if it was, including more patrol around the clan's compound would ensure a higher percentage of their safety. Better than nothing.
Nonchalantly, Sakumo sneaked into the boy's room and made his way to the kitchen, where the sound of human activity was the loudest. The first person he took note of was Nohara Ren. The boy's father had his back facing Sakumo, and was dancing about the kitchen, humming whilst he cooked brekky for the family of two.
This serene picture somewhat gave him a sense of deja vu – but with Sakumo the one doing the prancing and his own son tugging at his pants for him to hurry up. He quickly pushed the happy memory aside and went back into mission mode. This was not the time to reminiscence.
It took Sakumo two seconds to notice Ryou, who was tucked at the far most seat at the dining table, away from the stove. Sakumo was pleasantly surprised and impressed by this.
A newly graduated genin who knew how to conceal his own presence and suppress his own chakra was a rare find. This would mean that said genin would make an excellent assassin or medic-nin, as both specialties require delicate chakra control and manipulation.
Sakumo knew how to train a mini-ANBU, but to train a combat medic was not something he could do (and he couldn't just chuck the boy into the hospital program, as the Hokage clearly wanted Ryou out on the field). He would have to have a wait-and-see approach to sort Ryou's future path.
Sakumo was soon brought out from his train of thoughts when Reo placed a plate in front of Ryou. The portion was tiny when he compared it to Kakashi's. When he checked Reo's body language and facial expression, however, he relaxed his tensed muscles.
Reo clearly loves his son.
This meant that the small portion could only be due to the boy's poor appetite in the morning. Sakumo would need to rectify that in the future. Shinobi like them needed an insane number of calories to burn – all due to the heavy activities and training they do.
Anyway, compared to Ren's cheery aura, Ryou was covered in an aura that screams 'stay way'. The boy was expressionless as he ate, giving no outward signs that he was even acknowledging Ren's one-sided conversation.
Sakumo had to commend Ren's patience for that. Not many civilian parents could cope with children who became eccentric due to early activation of chakra. Most of the time it was because they become more mature and lose their childhood in the process.
Chakra was a double-edged sword.
It was not well known to civilians, but the more talented a shinobi was, the more peculiar their personalities would turn out to be. The majority of his colleagues all have shitty childhoods and more shitty adult lives thanks to the tension of an upcoming war.
Jounins were the prime examples, as the more they were assigned to higher ranked missions, the more bizarre they become due to unhealthy coping methods. Clearly, Ryou was one of the more extreme cases. Sakumo feels that being friends with another abnormal child (Kakashi, as heartbroken as it was for him to admit that about his own son) might benefit this student of his in the long run.
With a ghost-like presence, Sakumo follows after the father-son pair for the whole day, watching as the silly father constantly tries his best to smother his son with affection and the son trying his best to remain unapproachable, but was unable to deny any of his father's requests. It was amusing as it was adorable. Sakumo might even refer to Ryou as a tsundere from now on.
By the end of the day, Sakumo returned home and mentally promises to be a better father to his son, just like Ren.
A/N:
Ah, my apologies for the late update (´ж｀;). It slipped my mind to inform the readers that I would be going for a rural clinical placement for an entire month! But, no worries, I'm back now! Though I'll have to do a lot of catching up uni work after this…_φ(･ω･` )
Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed Sakumo's interlude ( ﾟ▽ﾟ)/! I'm not really sure about Sakumo's personality due to the lack of screen time he has, but I know that he's a loyal man. Oh, and an absent father. Probably because he's such a badass ninja. I respect the man for putting his comrades above the missions, but I'm also kinda pissed off at him for abandoning Kakashi via suicide.
Next up, a formal meeting between teacher and student!