A/N: Gyah! *collapses* I've FINALLY gotten the chance to write this chapter! I'm so sorry for leaving you all hanging for so long, but real life has been insane. I've had two papers, three assignments and a test. Plus work and a car wreck. My poor little car is totaled! *cries* Anyway, thank you again to everyone who reviewed - it really helped to be swamped and panicking, and then have this little e-mail pop up that said someone liked something I did. Those folks are: iNsAnE nO bAkA, Rangerfan58, Julieanna333, Antimatterannihilation, Auphora66, CrystalHeaven, WhyMustIWrite, Juniperbreezie, sadisticmasochist kitsune and x-smith.
Special notes to: Ruminate - You aren't out of line, there WAS an inconsistency. I thank you for pointing it out, and have since fixed it.
singing ferret - Your timeline is basically right, though Iruka got Sasuke before Hinata. And I made a mistake saying that Itachi found Hinata, though I've fixed it now. As for Kakashi's team, Bear was a typo (also fixed now). And, um, I actually haven't given them identities outside of ANBU. I gave Spider a name and a clan (Eisen of the Aburame clan - the clan is important later) but that's about it.
Code Names/Words: Akai (Itachi) means red. Shiro (Hana) means white. Kin (guess) means golden. Chairo (Chouji) means brown. Tetsu (Tenten) means iron. Aoi (Neji) means blue. Kuro (Shikamaru) means black. Momoiro (shortened to 'Momo' for Sakura) means pink. Shinkirou means mirage, and shinzui means core or essentials.
: The little girl peeked shyly from behind the legs of the scarred young shinobi, letting out a soft squeak and ducking back again when she found two pairs of eyes peering back at her.
One of the boys turned confused eyes up to her savior. "Who's she, Sensei?"
The young man chuckled, crouching down to coax the trembling child out from behind him. "This is Hinata-chan, boys. Hinata-chan, this is Naruto-chan and Sasuke-chan."
The little boys waved as their names were called, the little blond giving her a wide grin while the other nodded a bit more hesitantly. "Hi, Hina-chan!" the blond one, Naruto-chan, called. "Are you gonna stay with us now? You wanna come play? C'mon, I'll show you 'round. We'll help you be not lost no more."
"Not lost any more, Naru-chan." Sensei corrected.
The blond stuck out his tongue, even as the darker haired boy stepped up to her, his eyes serious. "It can get dark down here, and be scary. But we won't let it hurt you, okay Hinata-chan?" Even as the boy nodded, the other nearly shouted his agreement.
Looking around at the little group, Hinata smiled just a bit through her fear. 'Maybe' she thought, hesitantly. 'Maybe… it'll be okay?' :
-0-
The children chatted enthusiastically, in varying degrees of relaxation as they studied the papers spread in the center of their ring. Every now and then, one of the pre-teens would catch sight of Asuma and snicker, still giddy over their 'defeat' of the Jounin the day before.
Shikamaru, despite the grin tugging at his lips, rolled his eyes as he tried yet again to explain to Naruto exactly why his report had been graded as low as it had.
The blond just couldn't seem to understand that his teammates didn't have his abundant stores of chakra, and therefore wouldn't be able to do some of the things that the Kyuubi's energy allowed him to accomplish.
'And didn't Kakashi freak when he found out that we knew about that little piece of information.' The shadow-user thought. 'Don't know why he thought we wouldn't – Naruto has lived way too closely with these kids most of his life for them not to notice that something was different about him. Since they knew Naruto, they didn't react too much when Sensei explained it – and once it was common knowledge here, no one thought anything about mentioning it in front of us outside kids. And since they accepted it, we got over it pretty fast.'
His train of thought was cut off as a soft, low whistle split the air. Each of the group stopped, looking over at the entrance to the common room. Naruto didn't stop talking, but he did switch conversation topics. "I didn't think that anyone was supposed to be coming in today. Did I miss something?"
Heads shook all around the circle as each of the friends denied the possibility. "I hope nothing has gone wrong…" Hinata murmured, worry coloring her voice.
A moment later, and the silhouette of a man appeared in the doorway. They all relaxed, and Sasuke's eyes lit up as he recognized his brother's form. Itachi's rare visits were usually unannounced, since the older Uchiha brother was never able to be sure of when he would be able to get away without being observed.
Sasuke scrambled to his feet, surprise robbing him of his usual grace, but he slowed after only a few steps. The group looked at the boy, worry beginning to rise as they took in the slight confusion and concern on Sasuke's face as he looked at his brother.
Itachi, for his part, barely glanced over at the younger Uchiha. His face was calm, his eyes level – but his shoulders were tense, his spine nearly rigid. Something was wrong.
Across the room, Iruka stood quickly, gesturing the two Jounin back when they would have gone with him. He crossed to the teenaged ANBU captain's side, snatching up two cups of hot tea and ushering the young man into a side room.
The kids spent one moment looking at one another, and then split up to gather their respective weaponry. Just in case.
-0-
Iruka pushed to stoic young man into his own quarters, locking the door behind him before turning to face the teenager. "Are you alright?" were the first words to leave the teacher's mouth. Once the other man nodded, then the next words were "Is it an emergency?"
Itachi made a slight negative gesture, but Iruka cut him off before he could speak. The teacher pushed one of the cups into the captain's hands, speaking more softly now that he was sure there wasn't a need for immediate action. "Sit down, Itachi – you're far too tense. If it can wait, then drink your tea and let it wait."
The younger man's eyes narrowed slightly, but he sat as ordered. He did not, however, drink. "Iruka, I have discovered a… disturbing matter, and have been attempting to –"
'Whap'. The soft smack to the back of his head cut off the ANBU captain's words, causing him to blink twice in surprise. And then a slight, wry smile twitched at his lips. His next words were spoken in a very dry, but slightly bemused tone. "All right, how am I being stupid this time?"
Iruka sat himself down beside the younger man, savoring a sip of his tea before he answered. "Itachi, you are a very bright young man. You are a very skilled shinobi, and are probably more observant then I'll ever be. You know that I respect that."
One of Itachi's brows rose as the older man continued. "But. You are eighteen years old, and while I know this is hard for you to understand, you are actually not single-handedly responsible for Konoha, or even this group. So sit down, close your eyes, drink your tea and relax a little. Stop trying to do everything yourself. You can't. Deal with it."
A few more surprised blinks, a sip or two of tea, and Itachi opened his mouth again – only to be cut off by a hard look. "I-tachi." The warning tone in the teacher's voice was enough to make the younger man think twice about disobeying.
Itachi vaguely entertained the thought that Iruka could teach some of his fellow ANBU captains a thing or two about controlling one's squad. But mostly, the younger partner settled back and closed his eyes, allowing his usually busy mind to empty.
He savored the taste of his tea, and more importantly, the company of someone who never expected perfection from him. Slowly, a tiny bit at a time, the tension drained out of his back and shoulders, leaving the younger man feeling as if a great weight had been lifted from him.
Finally black eyes opened, and a small but honest smile graced thin lips. "Thank you" he nearly murmured. "I keep forgetting that I need that sometimes."
Iruka simply inclined his head slightly, taking in the new posture and deciding that it was enough. "That's what friends are for. I'm going to call the others now, alright?" A definitive nod was his reply.
A moment later and Iruka had summoned the two resident Jounin into the room. "Now, what's going on?" Itachi had straightened slightly, as had Iruka. Each man now in their shinobi mindset, Itachi began what was essentially a mission report.
-0-
"Danzo-sama, the shinobi of the western sector are beginning to watch the operatives assigned to that area's search more carefully, and are questioning among themselves the reason for such activity."
Danzo frowned at the boy's words, thinking for a long moment before he responded. "Then pull the operatives out. We'll have to wait a few months before resuming activity in that sector."
A slight hesitation on the boy's part, and the Hokage spoke again. "You wonder why we pull out if we believe that there may be a clue about the rebels, do you not, Sai?"
If the boy had been less well trained he would have flushed in embarrassment. "Somewhat, Danzo-sama."
"Do you remember what I told you a few weeks ago?"
"Yes, Danzo-sama. We must be careful not to allow the public to discover the existence of the rebels."
The man finally turned and looked at the boy. "And what does this tell you?"
Sai hesitated, but then he continued. "If I might guess… Even though we know that they exist, the rebels are only an irritation to us. Even if it takes us another eight years to find and eradicate them, it is far more important that we do not raise the people's suspicion by searching too carefully. So essentially, the rebels can be tolerated as long as they remain low-key."
Danzo allowed a rare nod of approval as a reward for the boy's shrewdness. "Correct. Now go, we cannot afford to have the people looking too closely at our search. If they discovered what we seek, it would be disastrous for us."
-0-
"…and while I am aware that we are not in a position to aid those already incarcerated, I could not allow this discovery to pass unremarked upon."
One pair of serious eyes met two pairs of shocked and angry ones, followed by one pair of thoughtful eyes.
"You've been rescuing children from under guard, though most of those haven't been actual ROOT operatives. But still…" Kakashi paused for a moment, but then resumed his train of thought. "Could we warn those who are in danger? Somehow let them know that they're being watched?"
"Hm, maybe. It'd be risky, but…"
Asuma broke in as Iruka trailed off. "We could probably use the mail system. Wouldn't even have to go to a post office – a lot of folks would put a letter in the mail if they found it already stamped and addressed but lying on the ground."
And so, they continued to form rough potential plans even after Itachi had to make his excuses and return topside.