Disclaimer: Naruto and it's characters aren't mine. This story has been inspired by Vixen Tail's story Deja vu No Jutsu and Hermionechan90's Inoue Shiori. Both authors have given me permission to use ideas and themes from their stories.

A/N: Almost 100 reviews and nearly 200 follows. 0.0 wow

You guys are awesome! Thank you for all your reviews so far.

Paper and fabric whispered against wood, as an aged hand set a disturbingly thin file beside a very unexpected document. Smoke slipped from thin lips, lazily curling passed weathered cheeks, and folding around the brim of a symbol of responsibility, before dissipating in the open air.

Firsts were becoming rare. When was the last time a First had occurred for him?

Sarutobi Hiruzen couldn't recall.

Before him lay two puzzles: one as curious as the other. The file he had just read was disturbingly incomplete on a kunoichi he knew only by sight. The document was a petition from the Genin Corp to participate in the Chunin Exams for the first time in Konoha's history. It was signed by the unknown kunoichi who claimed the title of Genin Commander.

That was a title he had almost forgot existed.

Rising from his seat, the aged shinobi paused to straighten his robes: an action done to hide the growing pain that came with his age. Not that his guards didn't recognize the action for what it was. They had served him for too long to be fooled by such tricks; even if they allowed him to pretend he could. Hiruzen was quietly grateful for that dignity.

The Hokage strolled around his office and pondered the situation, his steps slow to loosen his body from sitting for too long.

The kunoichi's file was thorough up until her graduation and entrance into the Genin Corp. Everything after that was strictly mission reports. There was little intel on where she lived, her abilities, or medical records. Such blanks were curious. Usually imposters had impeccable record. It was almost as if the kunoichi had simply been forgotten. And if that was the case, there was a serious problem with the system in place to keep track of Konoha's shinobi. He would have to see if there were more incomplete files like this.

The blatant claim of Genin Commander was also odd. Surely the woman didn't think she could get away with such a claim when that rank could only be given by a Hokage. He had not bestowed that title on anyone since before the Yondaime took office.

Catching sight of the petition as he began another circuit around his office, his thoughts changed topics. That document told the aged Kage a great deal about the woman's connections. He had dealt with Nara's and Yamanaka's for too long to be unfamiliar with their touch on negotiation; and that document had both clan's influences all over it. Among the numerous vouchers for fifteen complete teams, were the signatures of Chunin and Jonin from both major and lesser clans and even a smattering of clanless shinobi. He admired the woman's boldness for the effort she went into to guarantee at least garnering his attention. With so many people knowing about the petition, he would have many waiting for his reply. How he handled this would tell his shinobi and kunoichi whether or not he valued their opinion and trusted their judgement. If he tossed this unknown kunoichi to T&I without caution it would send them a negative message. He would avoid that for now.

Well played Kunoichi-san, he thought wryly. She most definitely had his attention. It was fortunate she had so many loyal shinobi vouching for her; otherwise the kunoichi would be enjoying services of T&I.

Hiruzen returned to his seat and looked over the problematic file and documents once again.

He really did admire the petition. It was well put together and if the Commander's identity weren't in question, he would have granted at least one team a chance without qualm. It was obvious that many of his shinobi believed the Career Genin should be given a chance.

Now that it was brought to his attention, Hiruzen recalled many instances when he had noted an improvement in the behaviour of the Genin Corp. Particularly in the missive runners' posture when faced with anyone of rank. At one time, he recalled bemoaning the lack of spine some of them had. Now, those same Genin (and the new ones) had a quiet dignity about them.

With some trepidation, the Third Hokage realized that he may have lost touch with one of his divisions. He could not pretend he knew much of the Genin Corp now. When he first took office, he could easily call up any information on how that division operated. Not so now.

"Bat." An Anbu materialized before the Hokage's desk. "Who keeps an eye on the Genin Corp?"

"We do not have anyone monitoring the Genin Corp specifically. Village patrol units would have the most information on them if you require it, Hokage-sama." The reply was preceded by a moment of silence, clearly telling the old shinobi that his guard had to think hard to come up with that answer.

"It seems we have a hole in security. Send two of our infiltrators in. I want an overview of their observations by tomorrow evening."

"Hai, Hokage-sama," the Anbu bowed, fist over his heart, and vanished to deliver the orders.

For a moment, the Third simply enjoyed his pipe, idly wondering what would come of this investigation. With a gusty sigh, Hiruzen finally returned to his paperwork, envisioning increasingly creative ways of destroying the never ending pile of tree shavings.

A:CG

When the term Career Genin comes up in casual conversation, it is often tied to failures and ninja-wanna-be's. It is spoken with pity and undertones of dismissal by other shinobi. They were the ranks that other shinobi were thankful they were not a part of and were considered as useless individuals. Yet, for Anbu agents Ferret and Mouse, that mindset was not what they were seeing.

Within the bowels of Genin Corp headquarters, the Anbu were perched in the deepest shadows above what appeared to be a training hall. The room was vast, taking up more than half of the HQ's usable space, and made primarily from stone—suggesting that it was made from materials found during the founding of the village. In those early years, the people had used whatever was dug up while clearing an area to build whatever they were clearing the land for. The stone formed the floor and the two longest walls. Numbers were carved into the two long walls and beneath each number was a space dedicated to a specific type of training: Numbers one through ten seemed to be where Academy jutsu was practiced; Numbers eleven through twenty: meditation and strategy games; Twenty-one through thirty: kata's and sparring. Every skill available to Genin was divided among the other numbers, and all numbers had a minimum of one Genin squad practicing beneath them.

Beyond the training hall was a wall with black windows, two and three stories up, that looked over the training Genin. At the base of the wall were three different entry points. Wordlessly, the Anbu split up; Ferret going to the middle entry and Mouse taking the left, both covering themselves in genjutsus to encourage people to ignore them. Neither saw more than one Genin pause to watch them.

Mouse, also known as Sarutobi Isa, was perpetually grateful that her partner was not with her at the moment; otherwise, the man would tease her relentlessly for the constant twitches of surprise escaping her control.

The path she had chosen led to a series of classrooms. Out of the eleven total classrooms, five were occupied by groups of Genin of various ages. The first one she snuck in on nearly caused her to panic when she realized what they were discussing: Protocol on dealing with known foreign spies. They were using a known spy from Iwa, who was masquerading as a gardener for civilian nobles, as an example. The teacher, a shinobi of roughly twenty five, was laying out scenarios that would require immediate interference. He asked the class how they handle it and to defend their chosen method. The current scenario was the spy seducing Lady Shimitagoa, wife of a member of Konoha's Merchant Guild: Shimitagoa Zhoa. Mouse couldn't decide if this was a real case or a made up one; she would have to check ANBU intel later.

The other classes were just as bewildering. Why would the Genin need to review the Academy curriculum when they were unlikely to ever use it?

Slipping into the empty rooms, Mouse discovered that each room was dedicated to some aspect of theoretical knowledge available to Genin. The training hall was where they put that theory into practice. The Genin Corp seemed to be a more indepth version of the Academy. With that realization, Mouse combed through each room to see how complete the curriculum was. She had until tomorrow evening but she had a feeling it would take much longer than that to see everything this Corp had to offer.

Ferret wasn't fairing much better than Mouse in the surprise department because, kami, could these Genin use traps. The hall he had chosen had been cast in a subtle genjutsu that clung to an intruder and twisted their perception of its size and length. Luckily, Ferret was familiar with the genjutsu and had shaken it off before it had taken root.

Using far more caution than he originally thought necessary, Ferret investigated the doors that lined the halls. Each were trapped to Suna and back and he didn't dare try his hand on them. Anbu he may be, but non-chakra based traps were not his forté. This was an observation mission only. As much as it hurt his pride that traps made by Genin were blocking his mission, he was also impressed at the same time. Scouring the hall, and the two above, he tried to figure out what lay behind the doors but without a key to the colors and symbols on each door, he had no way of knowing without getting inside, a feat he only managed by slipping in behind a couple Genin.

Records: the room was filled with neatly filed records on missions the Genin did.

Ferret didn't have time to learn more than that before the Genin finished storing files pulled from their storage scrolls. Where those scroll had been, the Anbu hadn't seen.

For the next several hours, Ferret stole into rooms when Genin (always two) entered to store whatever files they had in their storage scrolls. It did not take the Anbu long to become overwhelmed by the amount of information the Genin Corp had within these walls. One room held reports on civilian criminals and their activities; many of which, Ferret hadn't even been aware existed. Come to think of it, he couldn't recall the last time civilians had complained about crime. With a shiver, Ferret acknowledged that something very, very strange was going on.

When the two met up again, they quietly exchanged information. Both decided this was one of the more bizarre mission they had done within the village walls.

A commotion below drew the two infiltrator's attention. The raised voices hollering greetings to a kunoichi both Anbu recognized as Shojikina Aioka: the Genin claiming to be Genin Commander. They had orders to shadow her if she made an appearance.

The woman was welcomed with warmth and respect that bordered on worship by all present. Her response was warm, greeting a few by name and inquiring after family members. The atmosphere in the hall intensified when the Genin returned to their training; feeling very similar to anticipation and that of students wanting to impress their sensei.

For an hour, the woman mingled with those in the training hall. Talking, teaching, and laughing with any who wished her company until she excused herself to the third, and final, hall the Anbu had yet to explore.

Exercising caution usually reserved for assassinations, the two infiltrators followed. The third hall held numerous offices and an exit, through which a few civilians came and went. Mouse deviated to observe that situation while Ferret continued to follow their target.

The woman went to the top floor; a space that was completely open and clearly her office. Two of three large desks faced a large window that looked over the training hall, each bearing the weight of an Akimichi in paper. The third faced the staircase they came up.

Ferret swallowed a yelp when two copies of the woman suddenly appeared with half a hand sign and a faint screen of smoke. Kage Bunshin. A Genin performed a Kage Bunshin with half a seal. Ferret couldn't do that. He didn't know anyone who could. He also didn't know many people to use the technique at all. It was forbidden for more than the amount of chakra it required: The technique was known to cause brain damage from memory transfers.

The three women sat at a desk and began to work, pausing only when Genin entered to remove the completed papers.

As Ferret observed the woman and her bunshin, he also took in the office itself. Shelves lined two walls, neatly filled with scrolls. A tapestry bearing the crests of all clans that had ever been connected to Konoha hung on one wall. Above it, a quote of sharp calligraphy was painted. 'Honor Konoha, Protect Her people. Protect Konoha, Know Her People.' The rest of that same wall was painted with other quotes on leadership and service.

It was nearing nine in the evening when the woman finally set her pen down and the last of her paperwork was taken away. With a heavy sigh, the woman hunched over her desk and one of her Bunshin dismissed itself, while the second came up behind the original and began gently massaging her neck and shoulders. Ferret decided it was disturbing to see a Bunshin comfort its creator.

For several moments, Shojikina simply breathed. It was obvious that absorbing her Bunshin's memories was not easy on her. When the second Bunshin was dismissed, the woman hissed a low whine but otherwise remained immobile.

"Aioka-san?"

Ferret glanced toward a Genin who had entered while Shojikina dealt with her first Bunshin's memories. The other Genin was a young woman in her late teens or early twenties.

"I'm alright, Ai-chan, just more information than usual," Shojikina replied to the younger kunoichi. Ferret noted the familiarity the two shared; none of the other Genin had spoken to Shojikina without calling her Commander, and Shojikina had never used -chan before.

"Do you need anything before I go?"

The older woman replied with a negative as she stood and stretched. "No, let me walk you out. I'm done for the night."

As the kunoichi left, Ferret felt unease slip through him. He did not know the woman's usual habits, but based on the younger of the two's brief look of startlement, some step had been skipped. Warily, the infiltrator remained where he was for several long minutes until Mouse found him and the two began combing through the office. They made note of everything, from childishly drawn pictures on her desk to the framed documents that hung on the walls. The scrolls on the shelves were not trapped, so they investigated their contents and found what appeared to be new recruit orientation packets. Within the packets were copies of policies, a breakdown of ranks, something called Hitai-ate Code Key, a list of mandatory exercises, and mission protocols. The Anbu tucked one of the packets into their vest and returned everything to its proper place before retreating to the main hall to rest and wait for a new day to begin.

"What did you find out about the civilians?" Ferret asked, curiously looking through the packet they had nicked from Shojikina's office. He would have to return and look for this Details of Genin Rank/Type Duties mentioned in the section covering what ranks and types of Genin there were.

"The civilians were filing complaints; I'll look into it more tomorrow."

Ferret grunted an acknowledgement, reading the Hitai-ate Code Key with interest. He had noticed that the Career Genin all seemed to wear their hitai-ate's differently than most but hadn't thought it meant anything beyond preference. Summaries were given on each type and rank and how to identify them. Type was easiest to spot. Color and placement told those who knew, what a genin's primary and secondary functions were. The only rank that was remotely possible to visually identify, was that of Commander. The Commander's Hitai-ate was always grey for Clerk but the secondary function changed; no other Career Genin's secondary function changed once they gained the rank of Private—which only occurred once a Genin could perform the Mandatory Skills. All other ranks were simply known by other Genin from familiarity.

Passing the packet to Mouse, Ferret took her place on watch. The HQ was not completely deserted. Three teams of Trainer/Scouts (Genin whose Hitai-ate were maroon and worn as bandannas) erratically patrolled the building. There was no set timing and no matter how long Ferret watched he could not figure out a pattern. He really wanted to know how they did it.

Darkness still claimed the world when Genin started to trail in. Both Anbu recognized the young Kunoichi, Ai, but the others they couldn't place. The group split into teams and began doing a variety of warm up movement and stretches. There were eighteen genin in total, twelve had Clerk as their Primary function, the others had either Scout or Trainer with a variety of other functions.

The group were beginning to cool down when their Commander arrived.

The woman's Hitai-ate was around her thigh today, signalling her secondary was a Trainer, versus the Clerk/Clerk she had been yesterday.

"Good morning."

"Good morning, Tachio," the others replied, flashing grins at each other for their synchronized greeting.

Shojikina chuckled and began her own warm ups. "Duzo-kun, start us off will you?"

A shinobi Clerk/Trainer stepped forward and began to give a summary of what needed to be accomplished today. Each of the twelve shinobi and kunoichi with Clerk as their Primary Function had a chance to speak.

To the Anbu's chargain, their presence had not been undetected yesterday. More than one of the twelve reported reports on intruders by genin in their division. And wasn't that interesting, there were divisions within the Geinn Corp. Ferret and Mouse were not sure what to feel at the confirmation that there was far more to the Corp than met the eye. They would need far more than today to give a comprehensive report to their Hokage.

"Excellent, thank you Lieutenants. Duzo-kun, Ai-chan, Hitomi-chan, please make time to see me today. Jin-san, Soba-san, Nyuki-san, inform today's Captains to keep a sharp eye out for newcomers. I sensed strangers on my way home last night." Shojikina gave all twelve various instructions to fulfill on top of what they had already reported. "As for the intruders, leave them be."

The twelve gave varying signs of dissatisfaction at that final instruction, but did not question her. That was either great trust or great foolishness on their part.

"Right, whose turn to spar with me today?"

Mouse and Ferret watched the following training with unease. All nineteen Genin sparred on levels closer to high Chunin, low Jonin. None of the Genin used skills above their rank, but they used them with incredible mastery that neither Anbu was certain they could imitate. It was rare when these genin used seals to perform their jutsus, and when they did it was with less than half the required seals and next to no smoke.

The spars ended an hour later and the twelve Clerks, along with Shojikina, settled down to meditate, while the other six began working on techniques that had required them to use seals. It was about this time that more Genin started to arrive and begin opening window shades, turning on lights, and setting up the training hall for use.

Shojikina and the twelve came out of their meditations and went their separate ways.

Mouse followed the shinobi named Duzo, Lieutenant of the Enforcers, while Ferret stayed behind to figure out which Lieutenant was going to assign teams to todays D-ranks. This was going to be a long day.