"Take us down. We're a few miles out from the border, and we're going to be on foot from here," Anko said, studying the forest below.
The giant ink bird made its descent, spiraling down in wide circles before touching down in a grassy clearing. Anko, Yuiko, and Yamato hopped down, Sai staying put as the bird dissipated in a splatter of ink on the ground beneath him.
"We'll travel until 21:00, stopping just east of the border," Anko said, regarding her team. Yuiko and Yamato were clad in their Anbu gear, including their animal masks. Sai also wore a mask, although the creature it depicted was so plain that Anko couldn't make out what it was supposed to be. She had informed Sai that he didn't need the mask as they were leaving Konoha, but the boy happily replied that he didn't want to feel 'left out.' In the end, Anko was the one feeling out of place as she regarded the lifeless faces of those around her. "Keep an eye out for the border patrol," she said. "Lady Hokage has increased their numbers, so we have a good chance of running into one of them. If we don't happen to see anyone tonight, I'll break off briefly in the morning to collect the rest of our location detail. Let's move."
The group was gone in a flicker; they leapt through the branches, traveling nonstop for a few hours as the sun dipped below the tree line. Anko ordered them to stop, quickly checking their location on a map before directing them to the northwest. The group continued along the forest floor, Anko stopping them again when they came across a patchy clearing that appeared to be their destination. After a quick survey of the surrounding area, Anko gave the order to break and make camp. Yamato was quick to provide wood for a fire, and the group sat mostly in silence as they ate their rations. Anko's companions weren't especially lively to begin with, and a full day of travel with this being their first break for food only exacerbated that trait.
"Alright," Anko said, taking the last bite of her ration bar. "Sai, Yuiko, head to the lake just north of here to practice. Make sure you remove all traces of your ink."
Yuiko and Sai silently rose to their feet, immediately turning to leave the clearing. Anko watched them go, a dubious look on her face as they faded into the shadows. "How the hell do they not creep you out?" she said, turning back to the fire.
Yamato laughed. "I guess they don't know you very well," he said, regarding the forest around them. "Sai will take a little time. And even after that, the way he expresses his emotions is … different. As for Yuiko, she knows which side of the line you stand on."
Anko scrunched up her nose, turning away from Yamato. She derived her morality from a specific set of rules, some held more highly than others. Tied for the top spot were 'traitors to Konoha are scum' and 'uphold your comrades before all else'.
Anko had been fifteen years old when Noboru Takahashi was killed (or, more accurately, when she thought he was killed). She had been fast friends with the boy, whose charming wit meshed well with her rambunctious nature. Her crush on him came and went, Anko finding that their relationship was a lot more enjoyable when she dropped the bouts of jealousy that sprouted whenever she spotted Noboru with his arm around a new girl. After a while Anko figured that he was going to end up with Yuiko anyway, so there was no use in getting between that.
Yuiko followed Noboru like his shadow back then, so Anko saw her around quite often. The girl was funny in her own way, and acted as an inconspicuous accomplice when Anko pulled her pranks. Anko had been particularly proud of the time she spotted a group of her fellow classmates, transformed herself to look like the fourth Hokage, and cheerfully asked them to personally collect all the litter about the village. It happened to be Genma who spotted a few inconsistencies in her impression, and he started to call her out on it when Yuiko chided him on being disrespectful. Yuiko's insistence that the person standing in front of them was really Minato was enough to sway his opinion, and Anko's friends plastered fake smiles onto their faces as they went about doing what she'd asked. Anko recalled laughing so hard later that she could hardly breathe, Noboru joining in on her mirth while Yuiko smiled pleasantly beside them.
Everything had been going well until the day Noboru died. It had been hard enough already, dealing with the devastation from the Nine-Tails' attack scarcely a year before. The deaths of Anko's aunt and uncle in the attack hit her hard, and Noboru had helped keep Anko afloat during that time.
Anko nearly tore her house apart when she got the news of his death. What was worse, what made the anger inside her flow out in waves as she smashed bowls and tore apart the walls, was that it had been his friend. He'd died because Yuiko, his best friend, stabbed him in the back. He'd died because Anko, who had always thought she was pretty good at reading people, couldn't see what Yuiko really was. She had missed the evil festering beneath the girl's placid surface, and her friend had suffered because of it.
Over the years, Anko had been assigned on and off to squads following up leads on Yuiko. Every time, the tips were either fabricated, or Yuiko was quick enough to stay one step ahead when they got on her trail. Anko let her hatred fester, mustering an amount of patience that surprised even her. Someday, she was sure, she would face Yuiko again. And when that day came, she wouldn't give the traitor the satisfaction of seeing the pain behind Anko's eyes. No, Anko would finish her off well before that would even be possible.
The next time Anko saw Yuiko was on a sunny day outside a dango stand. She had just returned to Konoha from a month-long mission, and since the bars were still getting themselves set up, she decided to reward herself with a sweet treat. Anko cheerfully grabbed the two skewers presented to her, turning away and finally noticing the figure that approached her. Anko's dumplings fell to the dirt, her eyes locked on the violet ones looking back at her.
"Oh, that's right. I'm sure you remember Anko," Kakashi said pleasantly, tilting his head to the side as his eye crinkled in a smile. "She's the kind of person who makes a big impression."
Anko was frozen in place, for once at a loss for words. Yuiko looked at her sheepishly, her eyes darting between Anko's and the ground. She halfway stooped behind Kakashi, almost as if she were a child.
Something inside Anko clicked, and in a flash a kunai was in her hand, driving toward Yuiko's throat. Kakashi moved so fast it took Anko's brain a moment to catch up, but when it did she found his hand wrapped firmly around her outstretched wrist and his opposite forearm planted against her collarbone. He pushed her back with his forearm, twisting her wrist to break her grip on the kunai as she took a step back. The sudden silence around her pressed down on Anko, anger and frustration building up as she felt the eyes of everyone on the street burning into her.
"I think you need to check in with Lady Tsunade, Anko," Kakashi said coolly. He appeared as relaxed as before, but Anko knew better.
"I don't know what's happening," Anko spat, "but don't you dare tell me you're defending the person who murdered your friend, Kakashi!"
Kakashi didn't answer, watching her passively. At that moment, Anko noticed that Yuiko had disappeared. She couldn't spot her anywhere nearby, but she had a hunch that she hadn't gone far.
"Breaking the rules makes you trash, but betraying your friends makes you worse than trash, right?" Anko growled, stepping forward to put herself face-to-face with Kakashi. "Isn't that your thing? Or have you forgotten that too, just like you forgot about Noboru?"
Something flashed behind Kakashi's eye that caused Anko to step back. He hadn't moved an inch, but Anko could sense that she was on thin ice. She couldn't help but smirk from the satisfaction it gave her. She turned away, walking down the road toward the Hokage's tower.
After meeting with Tsunade, Anko admitted that the story the Hokage told her was plausible. However, Yuiko's word was the only proof that she was coerced into betraying the village all those years ago. Considering how close she was to Noboru back then, Anko had a hard time believing that was true. However, the Hokage's absolving of her crimes technically put Yuiko in the category of 'comrade,' and Anko had a duty to uphold her well-being along with everyone else in Konoha. Anko was an elite jōnin, and she'd be damned if anyone made her forget that.
"Anko?"
Anko blinked, having nearly forgotten that Yamato was there. He smiled at her, his eyes conveying a look of pity that made Anko prickle in irritation. "I understand where you're coming from," he said kindly. "I can't tell you how to feel, but I think you'd be happier if you gave her a chance."
"A bridge has to be built from both ends," Anko said lazily, leaning her chin into her palm. "You think Yuiko would give me a chance?"
Yamato chuckled nervously, rubbing the back of his head. "Well, she isn't particularly fond of you …"
"Then we'll just agree to hate each other; it makes things simple," Anko smirked, regarding Yamato from the corner of her eye.
Yamato frowned, staring back at her.
"Ugh, you're such a bleeding heart," Anko laughed. "It's disgusting."
—
"The answer is blue; always go for blue," Yuiko said, nodding her head in certainty.
"What flavor is 'blue'?"
"No idea, but it's the best one. If you ever have a choice between anything else and blue, you must always pick blue."
Sai nodded vigorously, scribbling down notes in his notebook. "And what other things come in the flavor 'blue,' other than shaved ice?" he asked.
"Erm …" Yuiko scrunched her eyebrows, looking up into the night sky. Sai's drawing scroll lay rolled out between them, but the two had deviated from their given task at Sai's insistence that Yuiko tell him what festivals were like. There was one coming up in a few weeks, and when he had asked Naruto about them, he was simply told that they were fun when you went with friends. Sakura had given him a little more info, but insisted that he wait and see for himself.
Sai found that he rather liked asking Yuiko questions, since she gave him straight answers and seemed to know what the 'best' of any given thing was. She had already informed him of the best food — pork buns — although as she talked she ended up dividing 'best food' into a number of categories, such as 'best food when you feel like something salty,' 'best food when you're not really hungry but still want something to eat,' and 'best food that's easy to share.'
They had moved away from food momentarily to talk about the fireworks, but Yuiko quickly backpedaled into 'best food to eat while watching fireworks,' which was how the topic of shaved ice came up.
"I think there's some candy that's blue," Yuiko said, nodding her head. "The ones on the sticks that look like crystals."
"Does this category of 'blue' also include blue crab?" Sai asked, watching her intently.
"Hmm," Yuiko said, resting her chin in her hand in thought. "Sure, why not?"
"This is very helpful," Sai said, returning his attention to his notepad as his brush flew over the page.
"I'm glad," Yuiko smiled. "People don't ask me for my opinion much. Naruto asked me once what I thought of his jacket. I told him the orange was a bit overpowering, but it turned out he was just asking my opinion on how he patched a hole. He didn't like that."
Sai nodded in understanding. "Yes, I'm still working on studying Naruto's behavior. It's a little … overwhelming," he said, finishing up his notes.
"I'm glad you two are friends," Yuiko said, bringing her hands together. "You're a very nice boy."
"Thank you. I've been working on making my personality less off-putting," Sai said, closing his notebook. "I do still make people upset sometimes, but I'm coming to realize that may not be the worst thing. For example, many people don't think very highly of you, and you still seem quite happy."
"Y-yes," Yuiko chuckled, "I supposed that's so."
"Shikamaru, in particular, has made some complaints," Sai continued. "And there are a few jōnin who say —"
"Yeah, I get it!" Yuiko interjected, trying to keep her cheerful demeanor as she slammed her palm on the scroll. "Should we practice some more with the ink beasts?"
"Oh, no, I think it will work as we intended. That's why I changed the subject, since our main objective was completed."
"Great!" Yuiko said, getting to her feet. "Let's head back to camp."
—
"'Bout time," Anko said, watching Yuiko and Sai as they stepped out of the tree line. "You two better have it working perfectly for all the time it took you."
"I believe the results will be satisfactory," Yuiko said curtly, keeping her eyes lowered. Anko nodded, watching her companions take a seat around the fire.
"Alright," Anko said, "Yamato took first watch, so one of you can relieve him."
"I'll go," Yuiko said without hesitation, springing back up to her feet. She removed her mask from her shoulder, placing it over her face before bounding off into the night. Anko and Sai sat in silence, Anko eyeing Sai warily as the boy smiled at her with an expression that was a little too pleasant. She sighed in relief when Yamato entered the clearing, removing his mask.
"Sai, you should get some sleep," he said, settling himself down. "You'll be on next watch."
"Of course," Sai said, taking out his notebook. "But I believe I may have said something to hurt Yuiko's feelings earlier, and I would like to ask you some questions so I can avoid doing so in the future."
"Sai," Yamato said, sounding tired, "you don't have to make a psychological profile of everyone you want to be friends with."
"But that would be unfair," Sai said, regarding Yamato sternly. "I already have one of everyone else I've met. If I wish to be her friend, I must treat her equally."
"Ooh, you got one of me?" Anko said, her interest piqued.
"Why yes," Sai said, turning a couple of pages. "I have —"
"No," Yamato interjected, reaching over to pluck the book from Sai's hands. "Trust me, you do not want to hear it."
"You're such a stick in the mud," Anko sighed, rolling her head back on her shoulders.
"Oh, because he uses wood-style?" Sai asked, a pleased expression on his face.
"Yeah, exactly that," Anko chuckled. Yamato shook his head, handing the book back to Sai.
"If you would like me to refrain from sharing Captain Anko's profile," Sai said, turning a few pages, "then please help me with filling out Yuiko's."
"One question," Yamato sighed, kneeling down to undo the ties on his bedroll.
Sai stared intently at his list to locate the question he felt would yield the greatest amount of data. After a few seconds, he nodded slightly as he made his selection. "Alright," Sai said, focusing on a question toward the bottom. "I have observed that you and Yuiko spend a lot of time together. Can you tell me the nature of your dates? Knowing what she likes to do in her free time would help me greatly with her profile."
Yamato froze, staring at his bedroll. Anko burst out laughing, not even caring in that moment if her voice traveled all the way to Amegakure. She doubled over, gasping for air between her bouts of amusement.
"That's not … the nature of our relationship," Yamato said, his face red in embarrassment.
"Yeah," Anko gasped. "Your captain here doesn't want to be struck dead by a bolt of lightning."
Yamato glared at her, causing Anko a new bout of giggles. Sai frowned as he looked between them. "Is this a turn of phrase I'm not aware of?" he asked.
"No, it would be pretty literal," Anko smirked. Anko may not have liked Yuiko, but that didn't mean she was unobservant.
"My feelings for Yuiko," Yamato quickly interjected, "are similar to my feelings for you, Sai. You both are comrades who are very dear to me."
"Oh," Sai said, his eyebrows rising. "Would I be allowed to ask another question, if it's related to you? One of the books Kakashi-Sensei gave me touches on polyamorous relationships, but this is the first time I've met someone with that inclination. Can you tell me about it? And I would also like to inform you that while I am flattered, I do not think of you in a romantic sense, Captain Yamato. I do thank you for your consideration, though."
"I'm going to sleep," Yamato mumbled, crawling into his bedroll as Anko burst into another round of laughter.
A/N: Oh Sai, you little oddball. Writing for you might help to fill the hole in my heart left behind from Jiraiya.