Sometime later
The team shifted uncomfortably in the standard uniform for Konoha shinobi. Although variations on the general outfit of dark blue body glove and green vest, most shinobi tended to abandon those after the first couple of years.
After all, sometimes those flashy variations got people killed. Friends and team-mates too. The standard didn't get you paid a lot of attention, and was thus better at keeping you alive. It was pretty well designed as well, useful pockets and padding in just the right places, honed by years of shinobi making clever adjustments and passing them around.
Not that this team was used to the standard uniform. This was a team that spent most of its time in the tight, faceless grey of the Torture and Interrogation wing of the shinobi forces. They were the ones who loved the dark rooms and the indiscriminate noises. The surgical precision of their job.
Which is why they didn't like the standard uniform. It wasn't right for interrogation, and the fatigues were stiff and unusual. Effective, but not worn in, and altogether too colourful.
This mission was a fairly critical one. That was why they were going out to interrogate outside Konoha, as opposed to in their dark chambers, where unimaginable horror could be threatened to open a subject up. A thinker, given enough time, can crack someone. Anyone.
Being out in the sunlight, with a time limit? Much less welcoming. It needed a master.
They snapped to attention as their master approached. Standing at an imposing height, face marked by twin scars, Ibiki Morino was intimidating. His face bore a stern expression that unsettled people, as if he was staring through them, into their soul. Popular rumour that the official sources never truly denied was that he could break a man just by looking at him.
Right now, they were not looking because he was in a bad mood. There was no obvious tell, but the fact his fist had crumpled and destroyed the note he had been holding was a good indicator. Little shreds of paper blew out behind him like a comet trail as he walked towards them.
One of them found a bit of courage.
"So when are we going boss?"
"As soon as the other two charges show up. One I did not expect to be here on time, the other..."
The fist clenched a little tighter, and some last fragments of paper scattered on the breeze.
There were a few moments of terrified silence before a small commotion from a nearby street.
"Here's charge number one..."
The figure skidded around the corner, trench coat flapping as it turned. The figure bounced off a couple of civilians, then a wall. Then they skidded to a halt in front of Ibiki.
"Sorry Scar-face, there was a sale and I had to try and get another stick in!"
"Really Anko? Really?"
The figure tossed the stick which had previously been covered by the sweet treat over her shoulder carelessly.
"Alright, let's go!"
"You're not last to arrive Anko, we have a special team member joining us."
"Oooh, who is it?"
The figure opened his fist to try and read the note. The few crumpled remains yielded nothing for the master interrogator.
"Someone called Naruto. Apparently he's a stealthy one."
"Is he cute?"
"Is that all you think about?"
"I can wonder."
Ibiki sighed. If this Naruto was any later he would break him when the mission was over.
He turned towards the gate when there was a surprised yelp from the two guards.
"How did you get in here?"
"He scattered the cards!"
Ibiki effortlessly tuned out the idiot guards and took in the figure that now stood in the gateway. His brain analysed the figure and got very little. Loose black cloak that hid everything that wasn't black, a bulge at the back where weapons sat was all he could get.
Ah well, you weren't a master interrogator if you didn't have some swagger. He walked up to the figure and towered over it.
"You're Naruto?"
"Yes."
"You're late."
"I arrived at the gate two hours ago."
"You didn't reveal yourself to me until now."
"I wished to know more about my teammates. Lord Hokage tells me I should get to know people better."
"You do that by talking to them face to face, not by spying."
"I'm...not good at that."
"Pfff. Why did he send you with me?"
"I don't know."
Despite the figures appearance, Ibiki could just tell that wasn't entirely true. He decided to press.
"I think you do. Show me your face."
"No. Show me your head."
The team of T&I interrogators watched the exchange with awe. Their common consensus was that this 'Naruto' was going to suffer badly. And that he had balls of steel. Huge balls.
"I am your team leader. Do as I say."
"I believe I do not have to reveal personal secrets unless they are mission critical."
"Yes, but I can extract them."
"I have seen Kakashi's face."
To his credit, Ibiki didn't react on the outside. Which is more than can be said for his colleagues. Internally, he was seething. He hadn't seen it, despite numerous efforts, and nearly kidnapping the man at one stage.
"How?"
"I won't say."
Ibiki decided he would crack him later. Right now they had a mission.
"You know what our mission is?"
"Yes."
"Your role?"
"Infiltration and distraction whilst extraction is performed."
"Define extraction."
"Removal of target information, or persons holding target information."
"Did you remember your headband like a good boy?"
"No. Because the mission documents declared this mission sensitive and hence headbands were to be dispensed with."
One of the chunin spluttered slightly as he remembered what he had remembered to bring.
"Good, let's move. Try to keep up Shorty."
"I will Scar-face."
Anko burst out laughing, unable to hold it in anymore.
"Ibiki, I like this kid already. You are a kid right, you can show the sexy Anko-chan your face if you want to."
Naruto merely shrugged. Anko licked her lips. Even if he was a kid, he was interesting. Very interesting. She would enjoy this time immensely.
The team halted as night began to fall. Travelling at night was possible, but somewhat discouraged. Bandits got more courageous at night, fueled by the extra cover of darkness, and anything they'd been drinking.
The chunin in the team began to set a fire as Ibiki sat in meditation. Anko was off killing something, having been deprived of said pleasure during the day. From the undergrowth, there was an anguished squeal and the sound of a knife doing some work.
"Look what I found!"
They stared at the boar's carcass that she carried nonchalantly in both arms, cradling the surprisingly undamaged corpse in her arms. The only signs of injury were a couple of small marks in its neck, and the thin line across the throat.
Naruto looked at the corpse and found himself warming to her a bit. The cut was clean, and aside from letting the pig make noise, she had killed it efficiently and without fuss. She didn't seem to mind the cold, or the blood that slightly stained her coat.
The chunin set about cooking the carcass, Anko wiped off the blood and leapt up into the tree where Naruto was sheltering.
He didn't turn, keeping himself hidden in the dark shadows.
"I wonder. What's under your hood?"
"My face. Like anyone else."
"No need to be rude to Anko-chan. I would like to see your face."
She licked her lips in an odd fashion, but then again most people had odd habits.
"Do you need to?"
"Well, no. But then I'll never know how cute you are. You've got the dark part down, but not the tall or handsome...as far as I know."
"Why do you want tall, dark and handsome?"
"It's a saying."
"What does it mean?"
"You don't know? What are you?"
"A ghost."
"You are clearly not. Tell me then, Naruto. Who are you?"
Whilst she talked, she idly played with her hands. Using his Byakugan, Naruto could see the hand signs subtly woven in by the focusing of chakra. This allowed him to grab the snake that tried to bite him a moment later.
"I'm an assassin, I'm twelve years old, and I don't understand people."
He tightened his grip on the snake until it poofed away in smoke.
"You meanie! He wasn't even venomous. He was only meant to distract you."
"Why?"
"So I can take off your hood."
"Oh."
Naruto prepared for the next jutsu, and suddenly found himself bound up in snakes. He didn't bother to resist.
"No struggling?"
"No point, I can't break the hold."
"So if this happened to you on a mission, you'd just let them kill you?"
"Well, not exactly. But yes."
She pulled back the hood and retracted the snakes.
"You are an odd one. Even by my books. Although...you do have the cute part down, perhaps handsome later. Even if you are too young for me."
Naruto became acutely aware of how she was leaning towards him with her arms pressing her chest inwards. He found himself suddenly unable to look away from the pleasant sight it created.
He had no idea why it was pleasant, but the shape was...no it wasn't that it was something else.
"Ooh, do you like that view Darkie-kun."
"Who is Darkie-kun?"
"You silly. It's a nickname. Something I call you because it's like you."
"Oh. Like a mission name or a code-name."
"Yes, but it's more friendly. It's something that friends give each other."
"I don't have friends."
"Seriously, what are you?"
"Why do people keep asking me that?"
Anko studied him carefully. He wasn't lying. The question was genuine, the confusion real. She realised suddenly that this was a boy who hadn't had a normal childhood. Someone who was in some ways, just like her. Only she'd become an outcase once she'd been cursed. He was an outcast who had only just discovered other life existed.
Her face softened slightly as she sat down on the tree branch opposite him.
Naruto watched her body language change, although he didn't fully understand it.
"Tell me about your childhood Naruto."
"I don't know if I'm allowed. Also why did you stop with the nickname?"
"Because we're alike. Well, a bit. You haven't had friends and you seem to be an outcast."
"I haven't been cast out of anything."
"Well, an outcast by choice then."
He considered. The appraisal was correct.
"True."
"Then tell me what you can about your childhood. Did you have parents?"
"Yes. They are essential to being born."
"I mean did you know them?"
"No. I spent my early years in an orphanage. Lord Hokage sometimes checked on me."
"You too huh. I was an orphan too. I try not to remember those early years."
"The food was bad."
Anko laughed.
"Some things never change."
She saw his lips twitch from the flat line they had held for the entire time they had talked.
"What then Darkie-kun?"
"Why am I Darkie-kun again?"
"Because we're becoming friends."
"We are?"
"This is the start of friendship I think. I'm not big on friends either. I have a problem that means people don't trust me."
"I don't trust people."
She smiled again.
"Why not?"
"They don't think. I've seen the genin teams my age and they don't think right."
"Define right for me Darkie-kun."
"They don't make the logical choice for the mission. They seem to dislike courses of action that lead to harm. We're shinobi, we cause harm."
"Harm to whom though Darkie-kun?"
"Anyone within the mission parameters who it becomes necessary to cause harm to. I'm an assassin, killing is my job."
"Can I pose a question for you?"
"Yes."
"Right, you're on a mission. One of your teammates has got captured and you have a choice between rescuing them and completing the mission. Which do you choose?"
"The mission."
"Even if it means they die?"
"If the mission were to be compromised by saving them then yes. It is likely not eliminating my target would lead to further deaths."
"Even if you had to watch them die?"
"Yes."
"Listen to them plead for you to save them? Listen to them scream?"
"Yes."
His voice only faltered slightly.
"Really?"
"Yes. I think. Depends on their relative worth."
She was almost shocked by this. Almost. She knew that line of thought far too well. A certain sensei of hers had had a similar line of thought. Sacrifices made using cold logic. Except her old sensei had never cared about feelings and took joy from his malice. The boy before her seemed to be only using logic for his decisions.
"I've found where your thinking differs Darkie-kun."
"Where? It would be interesting to know."
"When people form friendships, teams grow stronger. Eventually, people may have to choose between their friends and the mission. You've worked with Kakashi right?"
"Yes. He told me 'Those who abandon the mission are trash, but those who abandon their comrades are lower than trash'."
"You understand that more now?"
"So I might have to choose between saving a teammate or a friend or completing the mission? And choosing the mission may be harder because of the friendship?"
"Yes. Other people think with their emotions, which can be good. It can drive people onwards. What drives you to do your missions and get better?"
Naruto thought. Then he crossed his legs and continued to think. He opened his eyes to find a hand waving in front of his face.
"You in there Darkie-kun?"
"I...don't know. It's what I've always done."
"Huh. I think you'll find out eventually."
He didn't respond.
She couldn't help but just observe the young man. He wasn't a boy, he definitely wasn't a child. He was mature beyond his years and if what he said was true he'd never had a childhood. He was a weapon, he saw himself as a weapon through and through.
She felt a deep pang of pity for him, despite herself. He was content, even if he didn't know it. He was everything he wanted to be.
She acted on impulse hugged him. The fact they were sitting on the tree meant that his meant grabbing his shoulders and pulling them into her chest so his head rested on her shoulder meant the motion was quite sudden.
Naruto quickly stowed the kunai that his slid into his palm when he realised this wasn't an attack. There was contact, but it was warm and odd.
He found himself held close, his arms sticking out awkwardly as he didn't know what to do with them.
The entire situation was odd. But it was nice in its way.
Anko held him in the hug for a few seconds before sitting back. She realised she had a slight blush on her cheeks, mostly because of the look of confused bewilderment on his face. Then she saw the kunai.
"Really? You had to stop yourself stabbing me?"
Naruto's brain fought for coherence as it processed the hug.
"Yes? What was that?"
"That was a hug. They're what friends give each other when they feel that person needs cheering up. I think. As I said, I'm not big on friends either."
"Oh. It felt nice. I don't understand it though."
She laughed a loud and open laugh.
Naruto looked down into the camp, and realised that the three chunin, who were busy cooking something in a large pot, were staring up at the scene. He read their lips as they whispered to one another.
"Did Anko...the one who..." Naruto didn't fully understand the next few words, he was sure he misread them because the words like 'kunai', 'handcuffs' and 'appendix' didn't belong in the same sentence as far as he knew, but kept reading. "Just hugged Naruto. Hugged. What kind of genjutsu does he know to make her do that willingly?"
He decided to give them a moment before he called down to them.
"The only genjutsu I know are to distract and disable opponents or to hide myself. I don't know any people controlling ones."
The T&I specialists decided it was best not to stare and shut up very quickly. Anko smiled.
"We're going to get on just fine Darkie-kun. Who's your sensei?"
"I don't really have an official one. I think I'm going to seek training from people who could improve my skills. I'd like to know more assassassination style jutsu and techniques."
"Do you know about poison?"
"Only a little, do you know someone who can help?"
She flashed him a smile and stood into an elaborate pose.
"Darkie-kun, the amazing and sexy Anko will become your awesome Anko-sensei!"
Naruto didn't understand why it had to be so flashy, but hey, he had a new sensei. Who had just nearly overbalanced and sat down quickly.
Ibiki had been quietly ignoring the conversation the whole time whilst he was meditating. The last outburst had broken his concentration just a little too much.
"Enough Anko. You get the second watch tonight."
She groaned. The second watch was the worst. First watch and third watch your sleep came in one burst. Second you got two lousy, unsatisfactory sleep periods.
With the food prepared, the team went to sleep quickly. Naruto stayed sentinel in his tree, eyelids shut, but the Byakugan constantly searching. He left out a breath as he mulled the events of the day over.
'Friends...are they important?'
I think this is an opportune time to add a little bit of an author's note to the story as there are a couple of things I'd like to say.
1) Thanks for all the reviews, favs, alerts etc. great to know people are enjoying this. As a bit of a request, if there is something you don't like in any given chapter, put it into a review. I really want feedback on things to improve, and I'm happy to explain any particular things I won't change.
2) Apparently there are now pictures available for stories, and tbh I think not having a picture kinda suits the story better.
3) There will be a slight uploading gap in a couple of weeks because I'll be on holiday away from all the internets. So it's not the story disappearing, just lack of internet.
4) As most everyone is aware by now, the site admins of posted about story ratings and that explicitly sexual or violent stories could face removal (in effect, they actually just clarified their policy on what is allowed.
Now my story would almost definitely fall under the overly-violent banner (it is about a Naruto who kills stuff, and it will get pretty bloody later on), and would thus fall under this category. I'm not overly worried about my stories disappearing in part of a purge of the Naruto section along with every lemon on the site, but would remind everyone that if you disagree with the policy, there is a petition to sign somewhere. But basically, I'm not panicking about this, and hope you all continue to enjoy the story
TL;DR? Thanks, no picture, small gap in a couple of weeks, not too worried about getting purged