Ibiki had to hand it to Anko, the woman could get so much more out of a prisoner in such a nice, short amount of time. Yes, some of their budget had to go to redoing the sound proofing on the entire building, but hey, it was worth it in the end. He stood on the other side of a large one way mirror. He'd shed his long coat and was left in his black outfit. He was working tonight, real work, and not just all the stupid paperwork. Anko was on the inside of the interrogation room. There was blood, and a few other, less mentionable bodily fluids speckled around the room. The purple haired woman was grinning over her victi- her subject.
He suspected that she would be enjoying the company of several new people soon. He'd have to speak to the Hokage before making arrests, but he had little doubt that they would be making them. For the current prisoner, Anko would have to keep him alive until they were certain they had every scrap of information. Those who were involved in Naruto's situation may not be so lucky. For now, the purple haired woman was grinning over her victi- her subject. He was definitely terrified of her.
"So, you still don't know why someone hired you to sneak in here? Hmm, realllllly?" She was perched on the man's lap, a senbon in her hand, rhythmically tapping the space between his eyes. The man, a missing nin from Rain, was panting and shivering. Ibiki had been watching for nearly an hour, cataloguing each reaction, every flinch and twitch. It would be his turn soon.
"I -I -I d… gah! know who… No one particular…" He rasped, staring at Anko with a vacant and unhinged look. Ibiki turned and left the observation room. He tapped the door to the interrogation room twice. Anko emerged moments later.
"So, boss, what do you think?" He hummed and lead the way back to his office.
"He is nervous of someone outside of Konoha. He knows something." He shot the bloody woman a quick look. "What did you think?" She shrugged.
"I think I'll go get some dongo. Let him stew a bit. There's some info there." Ibiki let her go without another word. She was a good fit for T&I, but everyone had their own way of dealing with their jobs. If Anko had to indulge in a dango obsession, and a string of one night stands, so be it. He on the other hand, would be using T&I as his way of dealing with his other job. Jonin-sensei really was too much work.
Naruto sat at home, exhausted and sore. He had showered quickly after he got back. His clothes were in the tiny washer in the bathroom and he had a small pot of herbal tea steeping. The 'tea' was mostly mint and lemongrass he had picked outside the village, but it soothed his nerves most of the time.
The doctor visit hadn't been nearly as bad as he had expected. Naruto was still embarrassed about asking his sensei to stay, but other than that, he had held out fairly well, all things considered. Iruka had talked to him about recognizing his progress, and he was trying his best to focus on those things, and not the miles still left to go. He was out of energy today though.
He needed a break. It would be sunday in two days. They would likely have a rest day then, and he was looking forward to it. He absently stirred his tea and picked up the large book on seals. He'd read over the others already and he wanted to get lost in something other than his thoughts. It was common for him. He was eternally grateful to the Hokage for taking time to teach him to read, and to Iruka for helping him learn to understand bigger, more complex books. Without those two, he wouldn't have been able to learn as much as he had from his mysterious collection of scrolls and books. He picked up the large tome on sealing and flipped to the first page again.
"Calligraphy and base symbols… huh." He muttered. He studied the symbols and strokes closely. Then he got up and fetched a worn brush and a half empty pot of ink from his primary school days. A scrap of paper slowly began to fill with doodles and clumsy renderings of the base seals. Hours later, Naruto would run out of ink and drift off to sleep slumped over the table with the tome open next to him.
The next day, training went much the same, without any injuries this time. They were developing a routine. Shino and Shikamaru were worn out long before Naruto, but they frequently beat him in the pair spars. Ibiki, feeling much more settled after a nice evening of ahem, pg-13 activities at the office, spent much of their day putting the three genin through their paces. He was going to push them to the edge of their limits before backing off and focusing in on training. As with the other interactions the team had, Naruto was somewhat withdrawn and stuttered here and there.
There was improvement, and both clan heirs were more comfortable with their third teammate. Ibiki was becoming less and less intimidating to them as well. The normal day took a turn during their lunch break. Ibiki left them for half an hour.
The three boys had sat around the training ground and picked at their food. They were already exhausted. Shikamaru was almost asleep where he sat. Shino coughed, gathering up his nerve. He shifted closer to the other two.
"I would like to put forth an offer." He said formally. Shikamaru lazily blinked at him.
"Hmm?" He questioned. Naruto had looked up from his sandwich as well. Shino felt his hive buzz slightly, sensing their host's discomfort. The Aburame put on a calm facade regardless. It was practically a clan law to remain cool and detached in public after all.
"Tomorrow, it would be… our pleasure for my family to host a small dinner." He pushed up his dark glasses. "Why? Because eating together with my genin team is a good-" Naruto interrupted, shocking all three of them.
"So, you want me, and Shikamaru, to come to your house?" Shino blinked.
"Yes, logically, this should cause to issues with your schedules, as it is our team rest day, but if this does not accommodate your personal life-" Naruto interrupted again, looking confused, as he had the first day as a team.
"You want me to… Won't your parents mind having me there?" Shino didn't move, but his eyes met Shikamaru. The other boy had a wan look.
"It will be no inconvenience. The Aburame clan cares little for village politics." A subtle barb of anger entered his voice. "After all, logically, Aburame have more reason than most to ignore such things." Shikamaru understood the veiled anger at the attitude towards Aburame, and also Naruto. The blond however, just shrugged and blushed a bright pink.
"Er, well, that is nice. I mean, uh-umm. Sure." He turned around to hide the blush. "T-thanks, I-I'll be there." Shikamaru rolled back and stared up at the cloudless sky.
"Yeah, what time? My mom will throw a fit if I don't tell her where I'm going." Shino felt an odd sense of satisfaction. His plan for team bonding, and dare he hope- friendship- had been excepted. Naruto's doubt was worrying, but this meeting would also start on his idea to fix that as well. He continued eating steadily. They had training still.
"If you arrive around 5:30, it would be convenient. Why? Because supper will be served at 6." The talk died after that. There was a quiet acceptance that settled on the group. An unspoken agreement to further their connection had been made. Ibiki returned to find the training ground soon after, and they resumed his grueling practice drills.
Naruto once again found himself engrossed in his book on sealing. He was tired, two days in a row with Ibiki was making him wonder if the jonin understood their rank as genin. But, the ideas and symbols he'd read the night before had been swirling around in his head all day. He couldn't stop processing them, even when it cost him his sparring matches on occasion. The blond boy had no idea, but the pace he had going in the book was extraordinary. He had already read and understood almost a months worth of study.
That night, he blazed through another chapter, and delved into his other scrolls on the subject. He'd glanced and skimmed them years ago, but now, with the base from the new book, he re-read each one closely. It took him much longer than expected. It was past 1 o'clock by the time he put down the scroll he'd been studying, one on combining and layering matrixes, and crawled into bed.
Morning dawned over Konoha. Several important events were to occur that day, starting with a meeting between four people of great influence. Ibiki Morino, Shikaku Nara, Inoichi Yamanaka and Hiruzen Sarutobi congregated at the Hokage's personal office in his family estate. The room was sunny and filled with books and armchairs. It fit the image of the elderly Professor kage. The meeting being held was a bit of a last minute affair. After reading Ibiki's summary of his ANBU surveillance and investigation, Sarutobi had sent out a very quiet message to the three men summoning them. Shikaku had been the first to arrive, and had promptly taken up residence in a squashy armchair by the fireplace. Ibiki and Inoichi arrived at the same time. The Hokage perched behind the much smaller desk with a cup of suspiciously dark tea.
"You all know why I requested you?" The elder man solemnly asked. Inoichi answered.
"The Uzumaki boy."
"Yes. You have all observed him, and Ibiki has been looking into his situation." All three jonin understood what 'looking into' was. Shikaku was please to know that both the new jonin sensei and the Hokage were seriously invested in the Uzumaki.
"What I have been informed of does not reflect well on the village." Ibiki intoned. Shikaku shrugged.
"I haven't been able to do much digging yet, to many stupid morons who think being a jonin gives the carte blanche to run amuck." His long-suffering sigh brought a smile to the lips of the village leader. "But," Shikaku sobered. "My son has started poking around. He came back that first day and said that Naruto was a mystery. Since then, he's spent a couple of afternoons in the family archives." His dark eyes were proud, and worried. "He is sharp, maybe even more so than me." The statement was calm, no pride or arrogance in it. The other men knew that it was a true statement. The Nara was jonin Commander for a reason. "Shika is likely to find out some things that… shall we say, ought not to be spoken." Insinuation was heavy. Ibiki nodded.
"Both Shikamaru and Shino have been paying close attention to Naruto, subtly. It wouldn't shock me to find out that they had worked out the truth somehow." Hiruzen sighed.
"Yes, both boys are quite intelligent, and it seems that Naruto is as well. I haven't had much interaction with him since he started the Academy. He has to be better at lying than I thought for me to have not noticed his behaviour." He sighed again. "I thought he would have thrived in the Academy. I miscalculated greatly." Inoichi frowned.
"What have you found out?" He was still trying to piece together a picture of the boy from the brief interaction they had during the graduation exam. Hiruzen waved a hand toward Ibiki.
"My people found a disturbing amount of slandering and vicious verbal abuse has and is going on. There are also instances of corporal punishment unfairly given and blatant attacks on his person and home." Inoichi nodded.
"That fits with the profile I came up with." Shikaku felt sick at the admission. He should have kept an eye on the boy, for him if no other reason.
"How long?" Ibiki had a dark look that promised pain and misery on someone decorating his normally stoic face.
"At least six years, possibly longer."
"Damn it all!" Inoichi stood up to pace. "This is such a… a screw up!" Hiruzen motioned him back to his seat.
"I need a drink for this conversation." He reached out and poured himself another cup of 'tea' and pushed the pot towards the others. "I have let the village council get away with many things over the years, but this is drawing the line. Punishment will be dealt." A dark aura crept over the 'God of Shinobi' and Ibiki grinned.
"I can guarantee you Anko will volunteer, along with several other ANBU." He offered, almost gleeful. Inoichi nodded.
"Some of the Yamanaka can be there to help profile and catalogue data." Shikaku just sighed.
"Good. Ibiki, have ANBU start to identify any possible ringleaders and have them brought in. Let me know when you have them. Inoichi, keep an ear out for anything else that can be used to add to this investigation. Shikaku, I want you to check through records and find out if any of the shinobi have taken part in this." A cold look flashed across his eyes. "If there are any, I want them removed from their ranks." Shikaku shrugged.
"It's gonna be a troublesome few weeks." They separated then, each off to their own tasks.
Naruto woke up with ink all over his face and a crick in his neck. Tables were definitely not on his list of recommended napping spots. He yawned and stretched before carefully tucking away his new books. He was going out today, and he would not risk anyone getting at his precious books.
The boy yawned again and meandered off to shower quickly and went to dress in one of his now frequently worn 'normal' outfits. I really should just get rid of those orange jumpsuits. Ibiki would never let me wear them, and I don't really want to be that way. Naruto fingered the worn sleeve of the nearest orange outfit. He had to get rid of them at some point. They were nearly to small as it was. He sighed and pulled them out of his closet and stacked them up on the floor.
"I guess no one will have to see 'that orange abomination' again. Huh, wonder if anyone will be pleased." He muttered somewhat morosely. He looked at his closet. He'd never had much, but now there were only three sets of clothes left. At some point, he'd need more.
Ninja's clothes didn't last all that long, sturdy though they were. Dirt, blood and who knows what kind of damage from jutsu and sparring did them in much more quickly than a civilians'. Money was going to be an issue, along with shops that would sell to him.
Naruto shrugged off the negative thoughts and memories with some effort and just pulled on a blue long sleeved shirt and brown cargo pants. He taped the ankles to his legs and put on a sleeveless vest with a hood. Iruka had encouraged him to try shopping using a henge. He'd tried at one point, but at the time he couldn't hold the jutsu steady and was found out. That encounter with angry shopkeepers had made him to weary to try again.
It would have to be time to attempt it though. He had used up all his ink, and to use real seals, he would need both chakra paper and ink. Neither thing could be replaced with a more common, household variety. The blond whiskered boy was just going to have to get some.
Out in the village, there were many people coming and going. It was Sunday, and the working class villagers were taking advantage of the weekend to spend the day out. Naruto was henge-ed to look like a pale young man a few years older than he was, with grey-green eyes and dusty blonde hair reminiscent of the Yamanaka clan. He was wearing his hitai-ate and a utility pouch on his belt. He had his money, saved from who know how long ago.
He had quite a bit of ryo saved, but he had no idea what he would have to pay for all his supplies. New kunai, a pack on senbon, a sharpening stone and the sealing materials were immediate needs. Clothes and some food would be nice if he could swing it. He had so far gone unnoticed, a huge relief after the week he'd had. The shops that sold ninja gear were clustered together, near a gym and a few restaurants. The first place he stopped in had the sharpening stone, but their kunai and senbon were… lacking. The boy was disgusted to find that student quality weapons were a fraction of the price he'd been forced to pay for them. He'd just grumbled and moved on to another store. Both the other weapons he found easily in a larger store. He failed to locate any sealing materials though. He hesitantly asked the clerk at the counter.
"Ha? Chakra paper? Kid, I dunno where you think you'll get that stuff. Nobody around here has practiced sealing seriously since the Fourth died. Jiraiya-sama, of the Sannin, still practices it, but he hasn't been back in the villages in years. Hatake-san may also, but really kid- there's no chance of anyone else being half as good as those two." Naruto had frowned through his rant. Does this guy mean it? Sealing isn't common, I guessed that. But really, only two good practitioners in the last fifty years? It can't be that hard. He just shrugged.
"Yeah, I guess you're right."
Author's note: Hey, all! Sorry for the abrupt end to this chapter. I had to cut this scene off right in the middle. This chapter was really quick, I got it all done in a couple of hours. Some stuff is finally starting to take off. Naruto and company are in for a trip. See you in two weeks!