["Iris"- Your Friendship Means So Much to Me]
"I expect you both to be on your best behavior," Danzo said curtly, watching over the two operatives with a critical eye. "You will be representing ROOT, and your manner should reflect such. Understood?"
"Yes, Danzo-sama!" Raiden chanted alongside his partner.
Danzo nodded sharply, leading them out into the village. Kinoto leapt into the trees, trying to keep out of sight, and Raiden followed. They silently followed the elder, staying in the shadows even as Danzo strolled up to the Hokage Tower. There was an important meeting today, and Danzo was expected to make an appearance. And as such, Kinoto and Raiden had been chosen to go along as bodyguards.
He was practically vibrating with anticipation, and his partner seemed to realize that, slowing slightly to tug on his cloak.
"Don't do anything stupid, Nezumi," Kinoto advised, using Raiden's hated code name.
Seriously, Rat? That wasn't glamorous at all.
"I know, I know," he huffed, pulling his cloak out of the other's grip. "But can't you at least let me have this? We're gonna see the Hokage!"
Childish glee welled up at the thought. Namikaze-san was a legend. Not nearly as amazing as Danzo-sama of course, but still pretty cool.
"He's not that great," Kinoto grumbled. Raiden couldn't see his face, due to the stupid masks they had to wear, but he just knew that he was pouting.
Raiden grinned, allowing himself one last moment of frivolity until he had to act professional. "Don't worry, Tsuru. You're still my favorite."
Kinoto didn't say anything in reply, but Raiden could tell that he was smiling.
/=\
Melting into the shadows of the meeting room, the two stayed carefully alert. It wouldn't be a huge deal if people noticed they were there- someone would have to, considering who would be attending this meeting. What mattered is whether or not they were identified. A nameless ANBU agent was a lot less sinister than a nameless ROOT agent.
Raiden didn't really understand why, to be honest. They were all working towards the same goal, weren't they?
As usual, Kinoto seemed to understand the motives better than he did. But for some reason, this was the only one Kinoto had refused to explain.
Still hanging back in silence, Raiden didn't get the best view of all the people coming in. It was only until they had all gathered at the front table that he was able to see clearly.
Namikaze sat at the front, as was tradition. He had a serious expression, eyes cold and determined. Absently, Raiden wondered why. Though the man was a talented and near revered leader, he wasn't known for having a straight-laced demeanor.
The meeting must have been more important than Raiden thought.
On his right side, sat Katō Dan- the jounin commander. Raiden didn't know much about him, except for the fact that he was married to the head of the hospital, Senju Tsunade, and that he used a very interesting technique. Something along the lines of spiritual projection? He couldn't quite recall.
The terrifyingly strong Kunoichi herself, sat on the Hokage's other side. Next to her, looking like they very sincerely did not want to be there, were her genin teammates- Orochimaru, head of scientific development, and Jiraiya, the Spymaster. The three of them were arguing heatedly, with threats of being punched through a wall being heard every few minutes.
On the other side of Katō, was Uzumaki Kushina. Wife of the Hokage, head of the cryptography department and all around badass. It was... strange, to see her. In his mind, it seemed like only yesterday he'd been accosted by her at the festival. Raiden thought about that day sometimes. Wondered about how, if things had been different and he hadn't been a member of ROOT, she might have been his jounin-sensei.
And even though he would like to say that he immediately and viciously destroyed that daydream every time it emerged in his mind, that would have been a lie. He loved ROOT, loved his people and his home. But still, sometimes he wondered. And he kept that safely tucked away in the very corner of his dreams, left alone until the next time he would need to cradle it.
The rest of the group started to file into the room, department heads, high profile civilians, and the council elders. Not seeing anyone else even remotely interesting (the clan leaders were usually their very own circus production, but it looked like none of them were gonna be showing up) Raiden almost immediately lost interest.
He sighed inaudibly, starting to get sweaty under his mask. This was gonna be a long wait.
/=\
Raiden lulled in and out of the conversation, half-asleep in his daze of boredom. He wasn't even sure who was talking anymore- he'd gotten lost when they started talking about taxes. God forbid if he was ever tempted to go into politics.
"-this kind of experimental research just isn't enough at this stage, the data needs to be corroborated before I can allow it to have any measure of application-"
"You said that two weeks ago, we can't afford to wait anymore! Your input is highly valued Orochimaru-san, but we need results-"
"We need proof! Just because something has worked once doesn't mean that it will every time! If you actually want any kind of improvement, Councilman, than I suggest-"
"Enough!" Kushina interrupted, smacking her hand down on the tabletop. "Nothing is getting done here. Orochimaru is working as fast as he can, making allowances for food and sleep, right?"
Orochimaru nodded stiffly, but something in his expression seemed to warm. "Yes, Sakumo drags me out of the lab on regular intervals."
Raiden perked up, almost leaning out of his hiding place in his haste. Hatake Sakumo was a bit of an oddity to him. A renowned jounin who had declined any seat of power, had worked on training generation after generation of shinobi, and yet by all accounts was described as a kind and easygoing man. The files he had access to on the war veteran were slim pickings, not even a picture inside, but Raiden had always thought admirably of him.
Oh, right- he and Orochimaru were married, weren't they? Raiden had forgotten that. Though to be fair, he didn't tend to pay much attention to shinobi's personal lives. It was their skill set that really mattered to him.
But as Raiden eagerly listened for more, Danzo interrupted Kushina from whatever teasing comment she'd been about to make, bringing the conversation back to their boring science experiment.
He found himself inexplicably disappointed. That quickly turned to shame when Danzo, having caught sight of his disgraceful behavior, gave him a sharp look out of the corner of his eye. Raiden cowered back, immediately returning to his position and going on alert.
He had to be better than that, no distractions whatsoever. Raiden could never bear to let his savior down.
/=\
Several hours later, on their way back to base, Kinoto seemed suspiciously quiet. Even after Danzo had dismissed them, commending them for their good work while simultaneously reminding them about the way their actions would reflect on him, Kinoto still didn't say a word.
Back in their room, Raiden had seen enough. He took off his mask, throwing it down without a second thought and turning to his partner.
"Something wrong, Kin?" Raiden asked, cocking an eyebrow. Kinoto only scowled, dropping his equipment down onto his bed with a huff.
"Danzo interrupted Kushina-san," he said, looking very put-out by the thought. "I wanted to hear what she had to say."
"Oh, really? And why's that?" Raiden teased, moving to sling an arm over Kinoto's shoulder. "Do you have a crush on her or something? She is pretty amazing, but she's also married with a kid. Don't know if you've got much of a chance there."
"What, no!" Kinoto yelled, face turning a marvelous shade of red. "It's- I mean- it's just professional admiration! Completely platonic! Why would I have a c-crush on anyone?"
"Well, she is a bit old for you," Raiden mused, continuing on as if he hadn't heard a thing. "So it would be kinda weird. But I'll support you, man. Even if you are a homewrecker."
Kinoto groaned, falling onto his bed and landing on his gear with a heavy sigh. He immediately stuffed his face into his pillow, attempting to suffocate himself. "I hate you. I hate you so much."
"Ah, but that's your problem," Raiden said, patting his head soothingly. "You don't hate me. You wouldn't hate me even if I tried to set you up on a blind date with some nice redheaded Kunoichi."
"Do it and I'll kill you," came the muffled reply.
He chuckled. "You can try!"
/=\
Kinoto turned over in his bed once more, a frown marring his expression. Something about that whole experience was bothering him.
Why had Danzo reacted like that towards Raiden? He hadn't said anything. Hell, he'd been doing a pretty good job of acting professionally, especially considering Raiden tended to have a lot of trouble just concentrating long enough to do his damn paperwork.
It didn't make sense. What was it about the mention of Hatake Sakumo that had put Danzo on edge?
Something began to ring in the back of his mind, a memory he'd been trying to suppress. All the strange things that had happened in ROOT, all the secrets that were kept from even their longest-serving members. Fuck, Raiden had been part of the organization practically since he was born, and he never seemed to have a damn clue on what was going on.
Kinoto shook his head before nestling back under the sheets, trying to sleep. This line of thought would do him no good.
After all, it one of the first things an operative learned in ROOT: don't ask questions if you're not prepared to handle the answer.
