There's Only Regret
By
LigerJager
Naruto © Masashi Kishimoto
Chapter 4: For the Sake of Sincerity
It had been a few weeks since the 'Tanto Incident' and suffice to say the blonde terror had learned his lesson well. At least Tenzou hoped he had. The boy hadn't looked twice at another blade in all the time he was being punished.
Still, he knew he would have to introduce the boy to standardized weapons sometime soon. He just hoped to delay the inevitable for as long as possible.
The nineteen year old was currently meditating in one of the practice fields while his small charge was going through a set of kata. The teen didn't need to see the boy to hear when he mis-stepped or made a mistake in a series of movements.
It wasn't hard either. The Anbu had grown up in the Black Ops, much like his charge, and knew nothing but perfection. He'd been trained in the safety of the compound by the best to be the best. And having that in mind, body, and soul for most of his life, it's child's play to sense and correct the basics. And someday, sooner than he thought judging by the progress the boy made in his absence, he would be able to do the same.
Being able to read an enemy's movements just by the sound in the air was a deadly skill to have. It was almost as though he had a sixth sense and gave him the advantage over his enemies. It was also the reason he was gone more often than not and why he had to employ Genma's help in the first place.
His skill set, aside from the Mokuton, was one of the deadliest in the Anbu arsenal. Not because it was flashy or well known, but because it was unpredictable, unreadable, and completely Uzumaki. Since he was essentially his captain's child and charge up until her untimely death, he was trained by her to be apart of her personally selected team.
That was a particular skill passed to him by his captain. One she made sure he knew with the very fiber of his being. And it was also a part of the legacy that he was passing on to her son. It was only fitting after all.
It was peaceful here. And it was the only type of peace he found when it was just the two of them.
Being the most sought after amongst the ranks had its drawbacks. There were times on his missions that he found himself longing to return just to have this small bit of peace.
A small crunching sound met Tenzou's ears as his mind registered the newest presence. He remained seated, eyes closed, giving the appearance of meditation. Before the steps stopped right next to him. Naruto's soft rustles in the background as he went from one movement to the next in a series of kata.
"What brings you here, Aoba-sempai?"
The amusement in the other nin's voice was apparent as he answered, "I never figured out how you did that."
"And you never will."
"How annoying."
"I try."
Other than Genma-baka, Tenzou was hardly visited by the last two conspirators, while Naruto was around, for the obvious reasons. And it was even rarer for Aoba to be caught anywhere near the young teen because they could be easily linked if this all came out.
Genma, Wakai and Aoba had been his other squad members aside from the Captain. However they couldn't be seen associating outside of mission because they all would be suspect, not that it mattered in the long run. They were all each other had now until the newest Uzumaki could lead them.
Anbu Captain Uzumaki Kushina had done a fine job in making sure they were as close of a group as could be humanly possible. Their loyalty to each other came first before even their vow to Konoha. But when their captain died, so did the unity between them, or so that was what everyone was led to believe.
The older shinobi sighed and sat down next to him, all the while watching the young blonde with small smile tugging at the corner of his lips. The teen cracked open an eye.
"What is it you wanted?"
"I'm sure Genma has already apprised you of the situation?"
"Is there something you're not telling me?"
"Other than to confirm your suspicions maybe, no."
"Then it is true."
"Yes. Someone higher up smelt a rat and is investigating. I caught sight of the agent a while back."
"Ne or Intelligence?"
"Definitely Ne, he was too perfect in his cover to be anyone else…and Wakai didn't recognize him."
"Are y-Naruto lower your stance, right foot out more!"
"Hai, Sensei." The boy called back, fixing his defensive form. The younger male turned back to Aoba, who was smiling with amusement.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes."
"Damn. So what do we do now?"
"Wakai and I have done all we can on our end, it's up to you and Genma now to make sure our little storm isn't caught."
"Hn." Tenzou sat silent for a moment. This could turn out very bad indeed.
"Have any ideas?"
"Not really, no."
Tenzou said nothing but returned his attention back to his ward. The blonde was entering his fifth kata, his movements fluid and precise. A thought struck him. It was something that Genma had said. He turned to his teammate.
"You're working with the newer recruits, right?"
"Newer recruits? I don't know if you could call them that."
"But you- Naruto level your punch, straighten your posture!"
"Hai, Sensei."
Aoba had a quirk in the corner of his smile. It strongly reminded him of the time Captain trained Tenzou when he fist came to them. When the teen returned his attention to his sempai, the older man spoke up wryly.
"If this is what it's going to be like every time I try to talk to you, I might as well just send notes."
"Like you would ever pass up a chance when it comes spending time with Naruto." The younger man smirked, "Anyways, you have contact with them?"
"Well, yes." The glasses wearing nin was eyeing the younger man. His eyebrow arched over the rim, "what did you have in mind?"
"Well…"
Aoba followed Tenzou's line of sight to the small boy practicing alone and then looked back at the teen. A light bulb went off in his head.
"They have at least a few more weeks before we release them."
"Un."
"Genma talked you into this, didn't he?"
"Does makes sense, wouldn't you agree?"
"Yes, but how are you going to account for him." He gestured at the small blonde. "Anyone who's not a complete idiot will connect the dots as soon as they see him."
"Will they? As far as I know they believe he's dead along with sensei."
"Are you blind? They'll know it's him. Who else has those eyes? Anyone who's seen Yondaime when he was younger will draw similarities, they look almost identical."
"We're ninja, deceiving others to cover ourselves won't be a problem."
"Just because we can deceive others also means that we are equally capable of detecting such deception as well."
"They won't know."
"How ca-"
"Aoba-jisan!!" A blond blur barreled into the older man, bowling him over. Tenzou reflected later that it was an effective way to end a rather uncomfortable conversation.
"Naruto." Tenzou scolded lightly. After all he couldn't fault the child's behavior for something so trivial. And Aoba was family in a sense.
"It seems he finally noticed." The glasses wearing nin commented wryly as he had the life squeezed out of him. The younger man just grinned in return. After all, Naruto tended to get carried away with his affections every once and a while.
"I would say so."
"Ne, Ne Aoba-jisan, did you know…" The blonde excitedly chattered a mile a minute at his favorite uncle. The normally stoic nin looked helplessly at the younger man.
Tenzou just smirked in return. After all he had to look after the little ball of energy daily, it was only fair that they be partially subjected to Naruto whenever they dropped by.
The smirk faded into a small smile as he watched his charge jabber away at his former teammate. It wasn't often that they could just enjoy each other's company. As ninja it was hard to keep a schedule and with their occupation it was more than likely that at least one of them would die on a mission.
That sentiment especially rang true for those in Captain Uzumaki's former squad. Since they were particularly sought after because of their remarkable abilities to level out just about any team,
Since he was the youngest of the crew, he could provide the most stable environment for the kind. It would be a few years yet before they started sending him on the more dangerous missions (in Anbu terms at least). He was quite sure that the quartermaster in charge of their division wanted him to mature more as shinobi before risking another life in the line of duty.
It was already a common consensus within the ranks that both Hatake Kakashi and Uchiha Itachi were too young to be taking the missions they were. Skilled and ingenious they might be, but their social skills and general humanity were lacking a good number of areas. Granted Hatake was better because he had his sensei to get on his case, but the same could not be said for the Uchiha.
The clan had practically demanded perfection from the boy and had in effect nearly destroyed him as they pushed. It was troubling considering the human psyche could only take so much before it totally collapsed. If the kid snapped one day, no one could really blame him.
The wood user was brought out of his musings when he heard his name being called. He was greeted by a raised brow and two questioning looks.
"Yes?"
"What were you thinking?"
"Nothing really," At the curious looks he continued, "just how our unit never really comes together."
"Hn, that's true. We never get together anymore. Not even to have drinks."
"Perhaps we could arrange something?"
"I don't think that's possible, Tenzou."
"Why not?"
"I'm being transferred to another unit, as is Wakai." "You'll be seeing barely anything of us from now on."
"Which ones?"
"Wakai's going to the fifth squad for assassinations and I'm going to the third squad for Intel."
Tenzou's eyebrows shot up. He definitely hadn't expected that.
"Those… are the two busiest divisions."
"You'll both be on the frontlines."
"Yeah. That's part of the reason I wanted to drop by. Genma will still be around to help, but from here on out you'll be on your own."
Tenzou turned over the information in his mind. Most would consider those divisions promotions, the teen didn't. It meant that his teammates were at higher risk and their lives more than likely to be ended.
Aoba looked on with understanding as he watched the younger male contemplate the news. He wasn't all that thrilled with it either.
"Take care Tenzou."
"Yeah, you to."
Naruto, who had been quiet for the time and was happily situated in his uncle's lap, spoke up having decided all the melancholy was boring. So he turned in his uncles lap and hugged the man tightly.
"Ne, Aoba-jisan, you won't stay for lunch?" The boy's previously happy expression had lost that spark as he became a downcast. He barely saw his uncles as it was.
"Not today, mini storm." The glasses wearing nin replied kindly to the disappointed child.
He couldn't blame the kid. Most of the Captain's former team were busy with their careers and hardly had anytime to spare him. It was fortunate enough that he had Tenzou there for most of the tie.
"Maybe next time, ne." He ruffled the blonde spikes, causing the young boy to protest. The jinchuuriki glared at his honorary uncle as he pushed the hand away.
"Is that a promise, Aoba-jisan?" Naruto was giving his best squinty glare, "'cause if it is, you can't break it."
Tenzou almost broke out laughing when he saw that particular face. It was almost as bad as Naruto's supposed thinking pose. The older teen supposed that it was his way of looking grown up and somewhat serious, not that it achieved either.
"No Naruto," Aoba looked truly regretful, he didn't want to miss anymore moments with the kid that he already had, "I can't promise you that."
He gently lifted the kid off his lap and handed him over to the younger male before hopping to his feet. He had a team to meet up with and their briefing would be shortly after.
"I'll drop by when I can." With a last ruffle of the boy's hair, the older nin turned and made for the field's entrance.
Tenzou just nodded. It was all they could ever say. Promises didn't last long in Anbu, especially since the mortality rates and the stakes were higher.
Naruto watched forlornly as another member of his family walked away. Even as young as he was, he couldn't squash the feeling that he was being left behind. It happened every time he was left at home while Tenzou was away, or when one of his other family members left abruptly. And it was always for a mission.
The blonde stole a quick glance at his guardian and caught the teen in one of his unguarded moments. He just knew that his older brother missed their family as much as he did.
"Nii-chan."
Tenzou glanced down at the boy in his lap. He couldn't completely hide the feelings of loss and abandonment, no matter how irrational, at that moment. He felt like he was losing his family all over again.
"Yes, Naruto?"
"You miss them, don't-cha?"
"A little."
"I miss them too."
The teen looked at the blonde. He seemed to be thinking hard with his scrunched up nose and squinty eyes. In spite of his mood, the older male had to keep from smirking at that face.
"Why do you want to know that?"
"'cause."
"Naruto, that's hardly an answer."
"Were you on a team?"
"Yes. The teen looked at the boy quizzically, "we were all led by your mother. You know that."
Naruto was thinking as hard as his seven year old brain could. It was like a puzzle. He knew what the picture was supposed to look like but he needed to find the right pieces first.
"Did she pick you?"
"Yes."
"And did you have to go away?"
"For missions as a team, yes."
"No, I mean did you have to go away to other teams, like Aoba-jisan and Genma-sensei?"
"No. We were a team and we stayed together." He watched the blonde. What was the kid thinking? He had an inkling of what the blonde was thinking about, but then again, this was Naruto and he was unpredictable…just like his mother.
"So…when I grow up I'll get my own team right?"
"Yes, that's if you make captain. Then you can chose your own team."
"Like Kaa-san chose you?"
"Exactly."
"Then, I'm going to be a captain."
Tenzou blinked. What?
"A captain?"
"Yeah!!" excitement seeped into the blonde's feature, "then I could chose you and Genma-sensei, and Aobi and Wakai-jisan and we could go on missions together just like you used to and I could be captain and do really cool justu and…"
The blonde blabbered away at a hundred miles and hour completely unaware that he caught this guardian by surprise. Tenzou looked at the blonde. He definitely had the same spirit and gusto as his mother.
He'd be lying to himself if he said that he didn't want that to happen. It was a good, solid dream and he wouldn't discourage the boy especially if he could do that in the future. Tenzou realized he made up his mind right then.
"Naruto." The blonde stopped in the middle of his speech to look at his adored brother. The older male wore a serious expression as he addressed the boy, "Are you sure? It'll be lots of hard work."
The small boy gave him a solemn look right before he shook his head vigorously. Tenzou wondered if the boy was going to give himself whiplash with how fast he was going.
"There's going to be a lot of pain and heartache, are you sure?"
"Yes nii-san!! I give my word and I keep it. That's my nindo."
Tenzou couldn't help but grin. "Then you got some pretty big shoes to fill."
"Hai!!"
"Alright then," he got up, "what are we waiting for?"
The young boy's cheer rang through the clearing.
:Tsudzuku:
A/N: Yo, Minna!! So sorry for the once in a billion year wait. I have no excuse to offer you so instead…I hope you enjoy!! I know, I know, not the most exciting plot, but it's fun.
……
For those of you worried about code names and what not being Fox or Kitsune or the like…Hell No!! That's not original and extremely boring. So, no worries. There won't be reiterations of the Flash and the like, that's just cliché…even dragon and frog/toad (which sucks) are a bit too obvious and overdone. Besides, they don't exactly fit to me.
The only time you'll hear it is when Genma is teasing Naruto with his pet names.
I love it when reviewers actually speculate somewhat about the plot. Especially, when some imaginative reviewers actually peg parts of the story (so, for those you who guessed correctly for the future chapters, I congratulate you on a speculation well done). Of course they get bragging rights on top of everything else.
Happy Easter!!
LJ 4/10/09