Chapter 19 - The Mission.

Pairing: Naruto x Uchiha Mikoto.

THIS WILL NOT BE A HAREM

A/N: So close to chapter 20, hopefully, we'll hit 100k words on the story before that! If we haven't already… I don't know haha.

I just want to quickly say, that I'm back in my dorm room. So, I only have a laptop with me, as my desktop computer is at home. This doesn't mean that I won't write while I'm here, I will occasionally be delayed with chapters since writing on a laptop is a pain in the ass.

This is also why I got to apologize, school is a pain, homework is a pain, I'm way too busy to keep my promise about a chapter every other week. I have finals all the time right now, and I got to read thousands of pages to even have a chance at passing these finals, so yeah… I'm afraid I can't release chapters every other week. I'm going to try to write as frequently as possible, but school is taking priority right now.

And also, per my beta's influence, I've been playing World of Warcraft and Pokemon for childhood nostalgia, on the weekends. So to say that I've been pulling more all-nighters lately, would be an understatement.

I've also been sick for the past two weeks, so that doesn't help either. Oh well, tons of excuses, let's just get on with it.

Oh, and I'm lazy.

Forests of Hi no Kuni

In the depth of the night, a hunting owl could be heard calling out within the dark woods. The gloomy tree trunks covered it from sight, as it flapped its wings and flew throughout the shadowy paths.

Beneath the owl, a dark figure could be seen making its way forward on the path. A large black hooded cloak flowing at the touch of the chilly night air, and metal reflecting the light of the stars above, as it closed in on the end of the road it was following. In the distance, campfires, tents, filled the place.

The place filled the woods with a nasty smell, just like the people occupying the spot gave out a nasty sight. People worse than trash, the kind of humans that took pleasure in stripping the lives of innocent people, just to steal their belongings and values. Taking the survivors as slaves, selling them in black market trades.

The hooded figure waltzed slowly in the direction of the uplit part of the woods. The fires from within the camp casted shadows of the tent across the ground as the figure clenched its fist tightly around the handle of a blade swinging beside its hip and down. As it got closer to the fires, the flickering light started to dance up the blade's metal.

And with a few more steps, the light revealed his entire figure, revealing the physique of a male, yet the hood shadowed his face, hiding all of it from view except just enough at the bottom to show his mouth. Being this close to the camp now, he figured it was only a matter of time before he was found out. He had done nothing to hide his presence after all. Because, what other way was better to catch filth? This was easy. They'd surround him like mosquitoes upon entering their camp, giving him free access to cut them all down.

He didn't plan to stop there, no, he wanted them to feel pain like they made everyone else suffer due to their endless greed and thirst for violence and bloodshed. Make them feel miserable and alone in their final moments. It may have been sadistic, but their misery was joyful to him. Because it would mean that they were getting the punishment they deserved, for all the horrible things they had done.

And as if on cue, two figures with swords held high entered from their respective side of the woods, and if you looked closely enough, you could see a smirk on the lips of the hooded male.

"Oi! Who the hell are you?! Got a death wish or something?!" The one on the left roared out with laughter, the slurry tone of speech revealing that the fool was clearly drunk, as he elbowed his companion in the side.

With a snort, the hooded man lifted his blade a bit up from his side, the tip still resting below hip height, the broad side of the metal facing in the direction of the supposed guards, "You guys are even stupider than I had originally thought, if they thought putting two pathetic drunks on guard duty is the clever decision, this will be even easier than I thought."

The one on the right almost tripped over his own feet, being inches away from falling down on his sword and slitting his own throat as he giggled like an immature schoolgirl, "This dude really got it in for him, doesn't he Kosuke? If we called the boss then we could bet on a new sword! I wouldn't mind getting a new one for my collection!"

The guy on the left gave a very mature snort and kicked his fellow guard in the knee cap, "Oi! It will be my sword! I did way more than you when we kidnapped those villagers! It should be mine, especially since I'm gonna be the one who kills him!"

Roaring out with laughter, his companion promptly smacked him with the back of his sword, which made the newcomer sweatdrop, "Kill him? You? You've been drinking so much sake that you see naked women all over the place!"

'This is going to take forever.' The newcomer sighed to himself, and reached into his cloak and pulled out a book, and walked over. As the two guards were arguing, he tapped one on the shoulder and said, "Here. That's for you." In a way too friendly tone.

Of course, being too drunk to actually notice the pattern on the paper, the guy just gave a triumphant "HAH!" And turned to his fellow guard and put up the book between them, opening it up instantly for the world to see, "Even this guy thinks I'm better! Look at this, the new Icha Icha: Paradise! A Kumo Experience edition… Jackpot!"

The other one's eyes widened, and he waved his hands rapidly into the air as the guy instantly opened the book, to reveal blank pages with the exception of a little piece of paper in the middle, "You idiot! That's a paper bomb!"

The one holding the now identified paper bomb, looked down at it with narrowed eyes before a nervous drop of sweat rolled down from his forehead, "That's bullshit-" And without getting to finish his sentence, he promptly exploded them together. Giving them a nice happy ending together. At least they could enjoy their favorite book series in the afterlife. Or not really, the book was blank. Oh well, who cares.

"Idiots." He scoffed with a light chuckle as he watched the cloud of ground debrief clear to reveal a small crater in the ground. Kind of satisfying how they just 'poofed' out of existence, leaving no remains behind. Well, the remains had probably just scattered into the forest around him. Never mind that.

Shaking his head, he adjusted his cloak and tightened his grip around the sword's handle. Panic was already spreading across the entire camp, the explosion from the paper bomb had started a fire in a nearby tent, lighting even more of the forest up with the flames. It was a thrilling sight, the lowest scum of the earth gathering together like cockroaches from left and right.

It was like the typical crowd of bandits, standing there in their ragged clothing. Their sickening sake stinking breath traveling through the air, and their low-quality weapons made out of the worst scrap, raised high so they could look more intimidating.

"Who the hell are you?!"

"You scum… What did you do to Kosuke and Eichi?!"

He didn't really feel like answering them. What would the point be? They were all just going to die anyway. And he didn't feel like talking, it would mean that he needed to breathe in this hell hole. That couldn't be good for your health.

However, he also felt like it would be a very pleasant sight to see them quiver in fear. To declare that today they'd all die and be tortured for eternity by the Shinigami for their sins, that he'd take great pleasure in spilling their blood, and would love to see their lives leaving their bodies.

So with a blank face, he raised his blade slightly from his side. A bright blue light exploded around the blade, lighting up his face to show the stone-cold expression covering his features.

The next thing that happened wouldn't be a story for children.

Naruto sighed as he snuck back home that morning, entering through the window with the early morning sun in the background, signaling that it was just about four in the morning. Pulling the hood down from his face, he stared at himself in the mirror. The dried bloodstains on his face made him cringe with disgust.

His cloak was soaked, and he was afraid to even try and count the number of people that had left the five elemental nation's surface this night.

It had been like this for a month, in the night, he snuck out of the house. While everyone thought he was sound asleep in his room, he put on a cloak and traveled to the next spot on his list.

There were large dark spots under his eye, and he looked generally tired. Ever since that family dinner, he had sworn to make this world a better place for those he cared about, but it was a large task to do on his own. And he felt like he was getting nowhere at the moment. As quick as he could terminate a bandit camp, two more would pop up.

The largest number of camps he had managed to take down in a night was seven, and he didn't bother with the small ones. Those were mostly reserved for newbie squads that had to experience their first kill or just chunin squads in general. So to say that he took down seven large camps that consisted of a mix of nuke-nin and bandits, would be preposterous in most ears.

He had also been beyond tired when he returned that morning and almost didn't bother with getting the blood-soaked clothes off of his body before collapsing in his bed. He had to, however, because if he left bloodstains in the house, there would be questions. And he also didn't think about even attempting to wash these clothes in this house. No, he used his old apartment for that.

Speaking of his old apartment, which had been his new base of operations. Base and base, he used it to store weapons and cloaks, along with a list of last-known camp and nuke-nin positions, and that was about it. Yet, it was a safe space, a place where he could slump down against the wall after a long night and not worry about some specific people walking in.

With a grunt, he pulled the reeking cloak off of his body and sealed it along with the rest of his clothes into a scroll before any blood could hit the ground. And with tired, unmotivated steps, he forced himself into the shower to wash the stench of sweat, blood, dirt, and whatnot, away.

By the time he was finished, he felt way more refreshed. Today would probably be an all-nighter, it was already morning, and he had matters to attend to today. He was going to the ANBU Headquarters for the first time in a long while, mostly to get a new uniform since the one he had worn last… were destroyed.

But at the same time, he wanted to see what was new over there. Due to the Uchiha massacre, he felt like he was probably going to either be reassigned, or Team Ro had gotten a new member to replace Itachi. Or perhaps, they would just continue with their remaining members. Hard to say at the moment.

Speaking of Team Ro, he felt like he hadn't seen Yugao or Kakashi-nii in forever. Would probably be awkward, especially meeting Yugao… The last time he had seen her, if he recalled correctly, would be when he was having a miniature rampage. Scrap that, he had a major mental breakdown. No reason to sugarcoat it.

All the more reason to get stronger, and become a more reliable Shinobi. And he had made progress by leaps and bounds lately, if he wasn't out massacring poor shitheads, he was training his ass off at the usual mountain. It was also one of the only places where he wouldn't be found unless Hiruzen himself came there to drag his ass back.

His kenjutsu had improved to the point he preferred engaging in fights with his sword instead of with taijutsu, he had usually done that since with his chakra reserves, he could get a pretty mean chakra-infused punch in if he managed to strike first. But, he had recently experienced that there were some aspects of kenjutsu that gave some completely different upsides at the engagement of fights.

Extended range, chakra infused blade improving the cutting and tearing potential of the blade, ninjutsu infused kenjutsu where you could throw lightning blades at people at the swing of your blade. It had some pros and cons, but he felt like the pros far outweigh the cons.

He hadn't slacked off with his taijutsu just because of that, but the only real focus he had put on it was the things Hiruzen made him do during their training. Like, climbing up the steep side of the mountain with a boulder chained to his ankles. Yeah, that had not been enjoyable. Not only did he have to lift all of that weight and keep himself to the side of the mountain, but he felt like he was going to fall every time he had to drag the boulder further with his feet.

Instead of going 'hunting' that evening, he had decided to just settle for some more training without Hiruzen's torture being present.

Shaking his head free of all these flashbacks, Naruto skipped down the stairs silently to not wake anyone up, with each stop Naruto came closer to the kitchen, but as he was on the final step, he started hearing sounds from the kitchen.

Which was odd, it was quite early. So unless they were having some breaking and entering the action, then someone was up quite early.

So, waiting for a second, he finally stepped into the kitchen only to see the sliding door to the porch open, revealing a familiar mop of raven hair sitting out there with a cup of water between his fingers.

Lifting his head up to gaze at the clock, Naruto raised a brow… It was only four-thirty, give or take, in the morning. What was Sasuke doing up this early? Well, only one way to find out.

Stretching his back, the blond walked over and crouched down, unable to keep a grin off of his face as he let out a silent, "Boo."

It was, however, enough for Sasuke to completely do a one-eighty on him, and almost smacking him in the face with the cup.

Naruto couldn't keep the grin off his face as he slumped down next to the raven, ruffling the young boy's hair as he muttered, "That's not funny…"

It was a bit funny though. "So, what are you doing up this early?" Naruto questioned with a small yawn.

"I could ask you the same thing, Naruto-nii." That was somewhat true.

Humming slightly, Naruto leaned up against the wall of the house, "I was out training, but don't tell your mom." Well, that was true if you could count killing as training. Not that Sasuke needed to know about that yet. Hell, even saying he was out training this late at night was a risk in the first place.

Sasuke looked curious, but his cheeks slowly became redder as he fumbled with his words, trying to figure out what to say, or rather how to say it.

The blond did already have a slight idea of where this was going, "Nightmares?"

With a look of surprise, Sasuke looked up to his older brother figure and mumbled, "How did you…?"

Naruto just smiled and folded his fingers behind his head and closed his eyes, "I get them too, y'know? It isn't some taboo topic, after all, it's perfectly normal."

The younger boy didn't really seem to feel that much better about it, "I just dream that I'm there again, in the middle of it all… Watching everyone die without being able to do anything." He muttered with a frown.

Placing a hand on top of Sasuke's head, Naruto ruffled the dark locks once more, "Not everyone died, your mother is still here. I'm still here. Karin and Akari are also here for you, I know it's hard… Trust me I feel it every day too, but we just have to look on the bright side sometimes. Fight to protect what we still have, that's all we can do."

"I just want to get over it… I hate feeling like this!"

"Me too Sasuke, me too. The sad part is just that it never goes away, it just becomes something we have to live with. Some days will be worse than others, but eventually, you'll be able to handle it. Take it from someone that has already experienced it, it's just a question of time." Naruto mumbled out while swinging an arm around Sasuke and giving the young boy a brief squeeze.

Sasuke didn't seem to say anything after that, and Naruto just guessed that the boy needed time to process what he had just said. Maybe that had been too harsh to say, but lying about it would have been worse.

Giving a short sigh, Naruto stood up from the porch again, "We should go back to sleep before someone catches us being awake this early in the morning." He chuckled a bit at that, scratching the back of his head as he walked in with a still quiet Sasuke in tow.

The blond watched silently as Sasuke waltzed down to his room on his lonesome. Naruto would lie if he said he wasn't worried in the slightest. Nightmares were expected, but Sasuke had yet to really act out yet. The young boy acted a lot like he usually did, but he was more silent at times, and then these short episodes of a nightmare.

And even then, not a lot happened. Internally Naruto waited for him to act out in a more extreme way. He knew he had done so when his parents died, he had been angry, devastated, and beyond sad. And that had resulted in him lashing out at the people around him until someone decided to put their foot down and say that enough was enough.

Shisui had been that person. One of the only people that had the guts to tell him that it wasn't just black and white out there in the world, but an endless amount of grey variants.

The problem was just that Shisui had also been kind in the process, even if it had been a hard truth to learn, he had needed to hear it, so it had also helped that Shisui was also comforting in the process.

But Shisui wasn't here anymore, and Naruto felt hopeless in comparison to him. He didn't know what to say, or if he had the right. He wanted to help, he tried, and at times it seemed like it helped, but what would he do if Sasuke really acted out one day? Just like he had done...

Upon entering his room again, Naruto sunk down in his bed and stared up at the ceiling, and decided to sleep on it. He really shouldn't go to sleep, since there was a good chance that he'd likely oversleep at this point… but he felt so tired. And the bed was beyond comfortable right now. Maybe a little nap wouldn't hurt...

By the time he came around again, he groaned slightly as someone shook his shoulder gently while calling out, "Wake up sleepy head…"

That had to be a first. Had anyone woken him up like this since before his parents died? No… This was the first time he had actually been woken up by an outside source other than sunlight or the sounds of birds chirping in the early morning.

Groggily opening his eyes, Naruto came face to face with the gentle expression of someone sitting on the side of his bed. "Mikoto-basan?" He asked while rubbing his eyes, shifting his gaze out of the window to see that at least a few hours had passed. Had he really overslept as he feared?

"Don't worry, it's just a little over nine-thirty. You had to leave a ten, right?" She asked in a soft tone, yet for some reason, she seemed a lot more… happy and relaxed. Had something happened while he was asleep?

Sitting up on the bed, so his back rested against the headboard, the blond looked on curiously as the older woman just smiled, "You seem in awfully good spirits this morning, what's the occasion?" He smiled back, unable to even attempt to stop himself. Why? Well, he liked the sight. It was nice to see her happy.

Shaking her head slowly, she giggled softly, "No reason, in particular, just the first time in so long that I've actually witnessed you deciding to sleep in and take it easy."

Naruto had to fight the urge to choke on his own salvia as she said that. He'd definitely ruin the mood if he said what he had actually done to get this tired. "Well, once in a while won't hurt. Thank you for waking me up though, would have been a real pain if I had overslept." He grinned sheepishly and gave a grateful look.

"If this is your definition of once in a while, then please update your mental dictionary a bit." She snorted and flicked his forehead.

What the hell? With an annoyed grunt, Naruto poked her in the side, "Hn, whatever."

Rolling her eyes at her blond idiot, Mikoto stood up from the bedside and pulled the curtains completely open, "I saved us some breakfast, I thought it'd be lonely to eat on your own so I waited until you woke up."

Feeling his cheeks warm up a bit, Naruto scratched the back of his head, "Thank you, uhm, I'll join you in a minute then."

"Then I'll go reheat breakfast, take your time, with your speed then you should be able to make it to wherever you gotta go within five minutes." And with that, she left the room and went down the stairs.

Still sitting on his bed, Naruto sighed before kicking the sheets away and standing up. He felt a bit guilty, she had looked genuinely pleased and happy about him taking it easy, while he in reality had done the exact opposite by mass-murdering scumbags the entire night till the point he couldn't even wake up early on his own.

Did it really please her that much? He assumed so. It just made him feel even worse. The whole family and mission coexisting were really tough. He wanted to make a difference, but also be there for his family. Yet it just seemed to backfire. In all honesty, he felt terrible about having to lie and sneak around.

Was this also why he felt hopeless when thinking about helping Sasuke? Having no idea, Naruto clenched his eyes shut for a moment.

Rubbing his face with his palms, the blond started going down the stairs to feel a heavenly aroma entering his nostrils. Did breakfast always just smell better after just waking up? Well, he had to sleep in more often, because the smell made him even more hungry than he should be.

And the food was reheated, so how much would he starve if it was freshly cooked? Only Kami knew.

Breakfast ended up being mostly a small affair with some small talk before Naruto eventually had to find his way to the ANBU Headquarters. Honestly, he wasn't looking forward to it. He had, after all, been isolated from the world ever since the massacre. Not to the extent where he didn't go outside, because he did, but he put effort into avoiding too many familiar faces.

Mostly because he didn't want the pity. People looking at him like he'd break, and he couldn't even start to imagine how Mikoto or Sasuke must feel when they are out in the village. Speaking of Sasuke, it was about time he returned to the academy too if he recalled correctly.

And he had promised the young boy that he'd come along. Because he wanted to ensure Sasuke was completely okay with it, and that there weren't any issues. But also because he wanted to shield him slightly from all the stares that he'd receive without a doubt.

He'd have to ask Mikoto about the specific day again, he was almost certain that it was either tomorrow or the day after, and he didn't want to screw things up by not showing up or being too tired to even get out of bed on his own. Just like he had been this morning, where Mikoto actually had to wake him from his deep slumber.

'Even if waking up to her smiling was a nice sight.' He mentally mused before a pink blush formed on his cheek as he clenched his eyes shut for a brief moment as he walked through the village, 'Wait what?' He thought slightly amused. Well, not that there was anything wrong with it. Seeing people you care about smile, was probably the best thing to him at the moment.

Before too long, he found himself at the entrance to the underground base. Yes, the ANBU Headquarters were placed underground. Which made sense to him, where else would it be more secure and hidden away? Plus it would be a whole lot harder to infiltrate this way, especially since no one aside from members, commanders, or the Hokage knew the secret entrance and code phrases needed. Also, if you didn't have an ANBU mark on your shoulder when arriving, then you were likely going to see the nice man Ibiki.

The base was beneath the Hokage tower, or at least the first part of it was. The ANBU Headquarters and base were in general huge, to say the least. There was everything you could dream about as a military figure. Barracks where you could sleep in case you had missions back to back and you didn't have time to go home, which consisted of a private room with a bath.

The cafeteria for nutritious food and rations for the missions, and an armory in case you needed to replace gear, armor, weapons, and even your mask. There were more down here, but the rest was not of importance at the moment. After getting cleared by stating his name, code name, and his reason for coming, he was politely told to show proof of his status and thus he revealed the mark on his right shoulder by pulling his haori off of his arm and pulling the sleeve of his shirt up.

He knew it was protocol to do this, but people mostly knew who each other was down here unless you were new to the team or ANBU in general. People in ANBU worked closely together, and it wasn't against the rules to show your face to the people within your squad or other ANBU, only those outside of it when you were on duty. So him having to say who he was and having to put on his mask before entering was kind of annoying in a way, but he had to respect it, at least he supposed so.

Walking through the underground base was a bit odd, mostly because he was getting a lot of stares. It was no secret that he had been one of the more active members alongside Kakashi-nii, so they were probably curious about the sudden leave. It had been quite a long time since he had last had a mission. A lot had happened, and those who knew who he was, also knew the reason why.

Upon reaching the armory, Naruto walked inside the darkroom to see a hooded figure with a mask symbolizing an eagle behind a pair of iron bars. Lifting his hand up in a casual wave, Naruto responded slowly, "Raven, here to pick up a new uniform."

After having stated his name, and what he was after, Eagle gave a quiet nod without saying a word before disappearing out into a backroom. It only took a few minutes before the hooded ANBU member came back carrying a neatly folded uniform that he pushed through a small gap at the bottom of the iron bars preventing outsiders from entering the armory.

Naruto nodded his head and changed into the uniform before folding his clothes on a nearby bench, and afterward sealed them into a scroll that he put into his shuriken pouch. Looking at the mirror, he did a few stretches to test if the uniform was a good fit, and it fitted him perfectly.

As he was about to exit the armory, Eagle stood up and said something for the first time since he had arrived, "Raven-san, I was to inform you that Inu-san wished to see you after you picked up the uniform. Please go ahead and see your Taichou." Eagle nodded and sat down again.

Under the mask, Naruto sweatdropped. Eagle had always been a bit of a stick in the mud, he was honestly certain that the man beneath the mask was a Hyuuga at this point. The amount of formality he spoke with, along with his body language, gave that away almost instantly.

Just nodding at the fellow masked man, Naruto set out into the base to try and figure out where Kakashi-nii would be at this time. It was still early, and if he had specifically requested that he came around when he had picked up the uniform, then he was most likely not on a mission. Unless something urgent came up of course.

After waltzing around for a few minutes, Naruto came across the familiar mop of gravity-defying hair sitting up against one of the pillars holding the ceiling up with his favorite book in hand. Lifting his hand in a casual wave again, Naruto watched as Kakashi clapped the book shut and stood up from his seated position.

"I heard you were looking for me?" Naruto greeted with a slight smile… not that anyone could see it due to the mask he was wearing.

Kakashi gave a visible nod and stretched, "Hai, I heard that you were coming to get that uniform of yours today. So I figured it would be a good time to talk about how the team is going to operate from today and onward."

Nodding his head in understanding, the blond crossed his arms over his chest, "So, what is the plan? Did we get a replacement, or are we continuing with just our remaining four members?"

With a slight hum, Kakashi shrugged, "We haven't been informed of that yet, so far the commander thinks that we'd work well as a four-man cell. He has to confirm it with the Hokage first though, so at the moment we are just going to operate with the people we have."

Naruto just raised a brow in confusion, "Isn't it a bit extreme to go consult the Hokage about a single ANBU team?"

"Well, given that the commander thinks we're the most efficient team, and possibly the strongest in ANBU at the moment, he'd like to be sure. It isn't rare to see teams operating in uneven numbers, but given our previous mission records, then there is a question about whether or not we'd perform as efficiently as before."

"He should also know that he could slow us down a ton, should he decide to add another person to the team that isn't on our level… Wait, that sounded arrogant…" Naruto sweatdropped.

Kakashi just chuckled at that and patted his shoulder, "It's nonetheless true, and the commander knows that much. He won't assign anyone he thinks isn't on par with us or close enough. The slightest change could mean life or death out there, so rest assured he'll think hard about this."

"Well, alright then. So when do we start going back out in the field?"

Scratching his chin, Kakashi looked to be deep in thought for a couple of seconds. "Hmm, we should be deployed fairly soon. We just got back from an assignment recently, so we have a couple of days to rest. You know the drill, by the time we have a mission, someone will come and fetch you."

Nodding his head in understanding, Naruto stretched and sighed, "Well then, I guess I'll see you then. And don't worry, I'm not out of shape or anything, I'll keep up." He smirked underneath his mask.

However, Kakashi seemed to frown instead, "I'm not concerned about whether or not you'll keep up, you always have. The only thing that could concern me, is whether or not your head is in it. Let's be honest with each other, a lot has happened. Will you be able to focus?"

"Don't worry about me Taichou-nii." Naruto chuckled with an amused grin as Kakashi smacked his forehead over the mask at the nickname, "I'll keep a clear mind, otherwise Oji-san wouldn't have allowed me to go back into duty. Much longer away from missions and I'll become rusty, all that paperwork can't be good."

Even if he was still worried, Kakashi realized he had no reason to doubt Naruto's words. No matter the turmoil, he had always kept a clear head while on duty within the ANBU. If he began to doubt him now, it would just make him a bad captain of Team Ro. "Alright then, until next time then. And don't be late." Kakashi grinned and promptly shunshined out of the area.

Naruto just scratched his neck while shaking his head, turning around as he started to walk toward the exit of the hideout. 'I should be the one to tell you that, I'm not the one that's always late whenever we go out to train…'

Naruto got out of the ANBU Headquarters and immediately seemed to relax more as he breathed in the fresh afternoon air beneath the edges of his ANBU mask. As he was about to leave and go home, he felt a hand trap his wrist in an iron grip. It startled him slightly as he turned his head, he had been a bit too lost in thought to notice someone walking up behind him.

With a bit of an annoyed huff, Naruto sighed, 'What now…?' He groaned mentally to himself as he turned his head, only to have his breath taken away at the furious… no… sad-looking woman gazing up at him.

Ah yes, this had been what he had wanted to avoid. Since he had basically gone underground after the massacre, hiding behind the walls of his house, he hadn't looked forward to meeting Yugao and several others again. Nothing lasts forever, so here she was, and her eyes were demanding answers.

"Ohayo?" Naruto answered a bit nervously. He mentally had a game of roulette with himself. If it landed on black, he'd get punched. If it landed on red, then he'd get kicked. And if he somehow managed to get green, he'd get saved by unknown means.

Yugao's face remained in the same expression, her grip tightening on his wrist as she stared directly at his eyes through the ANBU mask. "Take. It. Off." She retorted seriously.

"What, no date first?" Naruto tried joking, but all he got to do was wince from her grip tightening to the point it felt like his bone was going to snap in half.

"Now." She hissed, her eyes narrowing dangerously as veins started showing on the arm she was holding him back with.

The blond was a bit too shocked to really do anything. Here he had expected more of an earful, but Yugao seemed to be in a mix of anger and sadness. Should he just do as she said?

The sweet time he took to decide ended up biting him in the rear because before he could do as he was asked, her hand reached up and grabbed onto his mask.

Yugao watched intensely as she lifted the porcelain object away from the blond's face, and with each passing second her eyes widened slowly… and her tight grip lessened. It felt like a crack in her heart was spreading from top to bottom as she looked over the blond's tired features. The dark rings around his eyes, and the pale sweaty skin.

"You poor fool…" She sniffled slightly and released his hand, before her arms snuck around his midsection, engulfing him in a light hug.

As this happened, Naruto had yet to really understand what was going on. The look on her face had startled him like she had seen a ghost. "What's the matter Yugao-chan? I can't possibly be that ugly." He chuckled, mostly to himself.

"Baka… You aren't ugly, but you look sick... Are you even sleeping?" She asked softly after releasing him from her embrace. Slowly she raised her right hand to press against his face. He truly did look terrible like this.

Naruto just sweatdropped, "Isn't that basically the same thing?"

"Dodging questions as always I see…"

Sighing with a small frown, Naruto scratched the back of his head, "Sorry, I'm not going to lie, it has been a rough time since we last spoke."

The purple-haired woman just shook her head and gave him another squeeze, that he for once returned, "I know that, I couldn't find you anywhere… So I got worried, I couldn't imagine what you might have been doing to yourself. Genma-sensei also asked around, but no one knew anything."

Naruto tried his best to smile, "It was bad at first, to be completely honest. I wanted to run away. I know that was cowardly to think about, but I wanted to get the hell out of here. Just run and not look back until I could finally face Sasuke-kun and Mikoto-basan."

"Why would you have to face them? It wasn't your fault that everything happened." Yugao retorted with a slight glare. This blond idiot always beat himself up over absolutely everything, especially when it had nothing to do with him in the first place. Taking other people's pain upon himself, with no purpose.

Shrugging his shoulders, Naruto bit the inside of his cheek, "If I hadn't rampaged against sensei, then I would maybe have been awake to do something." He lied, of course, he knew the truth but doubted he could tell anyone unless he got permission from Hiruzen. Telling Mikoto that he knew had been a risk in itself, but the difference was that she already knew.

As he stood there thinking, he felt a fist to his chest that made him raise a brow. There hadn't been much force behind it, but enough to be noticeable. "You are such an idiot, you know that right? Beating yourself up over absolutely everything."

She was probably right, but he never was a good listener, was he?

"I'm sorry for worrying everyone, I just needed time to… regroup." Naruto apologized, trying to pull off another smile. It felt fake though, he didn't really want to smile.

The woman just gave a slow sigh and nodded her head, "I see. I have to go, for now, I have border patrol. Please don't go hide again, I want to be able to find you when I get back. Got it?"

"Haven't you just come back from a mission, and been told to rest for a few days? Taichou told me."

"Don't dodge it Naruto."

The blond grunted a bit and scratched his scalp, "Fine, I won't go hiding again. I've come back to ANBU anyway, so it's not like I can even if I wanted to." He pouted, crossing his arms over his chest.

Yugao just giggled and patted his shoulder, "Good, then I can keep an eye on you. Someone gotta make sure you stay out of trouble."

Feeling like he had been slapped in the back of the head, Naruto lost his footing for a second before glaring at her, "I don't get into trouble… that often. And you dodged the question about the border mission too, don't be a hypocrite."

With a mighty snort, Yugao gave him the most unbelieving look in the world. "Oh yeah sure, you never get into trouble. Like anyone who has read your mission reports, or even taken a look at your bingo book, would believe that. And well, I like to stay busy. Border patrol may be boring, but it gives some extra money. And I want that new sword, as you know."

Naruto couldn't help but actually smile at that. Yugao and her swords, were like Naruto and his ramen, "Yeah, I definitely know that. Oh well then, have a pleasant border patrol." He teased and waved toward her.

Shaking her head, she sighed, "Because we all know that border patrol is a joy."

"Definitely, no lies at all, it's definitely my favorite time of the month."

Feeling tempted to sigh and shake her head again, Yugao put her mask in place and turned around, "You should go home and take a nap. You look terrible." And with that, she was gone in a swirl of leaves.

And nap he would, but probably not in the most appropriate place. Because as soon as Yugao had left his side, he had waltzed up onto the Hokage monument and promptly laid down on top of his father's stone face. His back resting up against one of the many rocks that should resemble his father's spiky hair.

As he laid there, he fidgetted around with his ANBU mask between his fingers. 'Do I really want to do this?' He mumbled mentally to himself. He had loved ANBU, yes he had. Even if he had several complaints about the mask and some of the protocols, he couldn't disagree that he had learned a lot and gotten several dozen times stronger from serving.

The problem was just that… he had gotten kind of used to life outside of ANBU. When he had first joined, he had lived alone. He could come and go as he pleased, and he didn't have anything better to do. Now, he had people waiting for him at home. And… it was also people he looked forward to getting home to.

It had felt quite good to be in his uniform, even his mask had given him a slight sense of security. This was a norm he had been used to, the life of an ANBU operative. It was a safe space, where he knew how stuff worked.

It just didn't help him on a personal plan. He had a family, responsibilities, goals, and his mission. ANBU felt like it could get in the way. Yet, it felt wrong to just throw it away. Well, just because he resigned, didn't mean he'd never come back.

Sighing while running a hand through his blond hair, he leaned back and stared up at the sky while resting the mask on his lap, contemplating what decision he should make.

"You seem thoughtful this afternoon." A voice proclaimed to his right, and Naruto instantly recognized the voice as Hiruzen's.

Without moving, Naruto kept staring up at the passing clouds, "I guess you could say that, yeah." He chuckled for a brief moment.

Nodding his head, Hiruzen sat down next to him and shared the view of the skies above with his grandson, "Care to let an old know what it's about?"

Shrugging his shoulders, Naruto tapped his fingers gently against the front side of the mask in his lap, "Just don't really know what I'm supposed to do now. I got my ANBU uniform today, yet, even if it felt good. It also just feels like… I'm walking in circles."

Not really getting where this was going, Hiruzen gave him a look, "Elaborate."

Lifting his hand to slightly scratch his cheek with his index finger before letting it drop again, "Being in ANBU, and in general Team Ro, makes me feel like I'm just in the same spot I've always been. I guess I'm not sure if this is what I want to do anymore. For as long as I can remember, ANBU was 'the' normal in my life."

Hiruzen scratched his beard for a second as he leaned in against the stone monument. Naruto had indeed been in ANBU for almost the majority of his life at this rate. It wouldn't be weird for him to consider this as one of the most normal things he had experienced in his life, but, as suspected, the blond had started to question his involvement in the ANBU program after getting some perspective.

Because this was in all honesty the reason he had gone out of his way to find Naruto at this time of the day. They didn't have training yet, and he didn't have a mission, but he had known that today Naruto would have to pick up his uniform again. And be forced to look at the future from a certain standpoint between two worlds.

One world where he was a public figure, Hiruzen's apprentice, and a person able to spend a lot more time around the people close to him. ANBU didn't have as much free time, they knew that when they signed up, but a decent quantity of people did so anyway.

In the end, Hiruzen just chuckled slightly to himself, "In the end, when you start growing up, your desire for change happening starts to grow. Even if ANBU is a sense of security, it was always just a question about when you'd start to grow out of it. You got into the ANBU at one of the earliest ages, which is too early to decide where in the system you wish to be."

Naruto raised a brow at that, "You never expected me to stay in the ANBU, did you?"

Hiruzen shook his head briefly, "I didn't. For a while you actually almost changed my mind, I would've thought you had a change of heart long ago, but I guess the real trigger was the two Uchiha, the two Uzumaki. You never really had to think about much else, so when they appeared in your home, stuff started to change."

"So what should I do?"

Hiruzen took a deep breath, before answering, "Well, since you're now my apprentice in public. There might not be as much time for ANBU, but you could always keep the mask in case you want to go back."

"Are you giving me an excuse to quit?" Naruto chuckled slightly.

Hiruzen stood up after that and slowly started to leave, mumbling a quiet, "No idea what you're talking about. Just think about it."

Naruto could almost sense the old man smirk.

So this wraps up chapter 19. Took forever. I had all my excuses listed at the top, so well, there were enough of them as you can see. Don't know when the next chapter is coming out, time is uncertain at the moment.

Question:

Is Naruto going to quit ANBU?