A tall, dark silhouette darted through the shadows in the thick canopy of the forest, jumping branch to branch at a quick, steady pace. There weren't any sounds of footsteps, breathing or even clothes flapping in the wind from the high speed the figure was traveling at—a true testament of their stealth.
The only source of light was the illuminating lunar glow of the moon, which extended its shining touch upon the figure as it jumped from a sturdy branch onto The Hokage Residence, soaring over the mighty wall that protected the village otherwise known as Konohagakure. The white mask the figure wore caught the moonlight, displaying the black and red markings resembling that of a fox.
The figure soundlessly landed on top of the building in a crouch, the dark cloak it wore snapping upwards, displaying its matte black Anbu gear and wakizashi before falling back around their broad shoulders. He rose to his full height, spiky blond hair blowing in the warm summer breeze as he looked over the village.
It was fairly late, there was hardly any noise outside of the song of chirping grasshoppers and the shrill, relentless whine of cicadas. As such, there weren't many people out, other than the occasional drunk stumbling about on their way back home; or the lost beggar sluggishly wandering around in search of a decent spot to rest.
This is what the cloaked man fought for; this was his home. It wasn't perfect by any means, but it was just that. Home. He wouldn't allow any danger to threaten his village. Not on his watch.
Almost seeming like he took in enough of the peaceful, quiet village, he vanished from the roof. Not leaving any trace of his existence, as if he was never there in the first place.
The man suddenly appeared in the Hokage's office, kneeling before the aforementioned leader's desk, startling the Hokage's advisor. Although the Kage was unfazed by the action of the man in front of him as he stared at him in a bored manner, almost like he had sensed him beforehand.
"Ah, Kitsune," the silver-haired Hokage drawled, lazily swiveling around from the large window he was looking through, "I see you're back from your mission." As the Kage leaned back comfortably in the chair, the man rose and stepped forward, pulling a scroll from within the cloak he was wearing and presented it to the village leader before stepping back into his previous spot. The Hokage accepted the scroll and gave it a once-over.
"Mission successful I presume?" the leader asked, receiving a simple nod in reply, "it's to be expected from an Anbu Captain after all. You haven't failed a mission to date, ne Kitsune?" He proceeded to open a drawer from the desk and place the scroll inside before closing it.
Kitsune gave another curt nod.
"Oi, Kitsune, you can talk, you know," the Hokage said, propping his arm up and leaning his head on his hand.
Another nod.
A young woman in her mid-twenties by the name Arisa Shida—who had been sitting quietly at her desk next to the Hokage—began to reprimand the pushy Kage.
"Leave him alone Kakashi, you know he isn't much of a talker these days. And as your advisor, I advise you to shut up and stop bothering Kitsune-san," she finished, leveling an exasperated look towards the silver-haired man.
"Ma, ma," Kakashi replied dismissively, waving his hand at her, "it's still strange to me, he used to be my cute little brash student after all..." he added, giving the man standing in front of him a nostalgic gaze. Although the man's face was covered by the mask, he gave no reaction to the statement nor the look.
"War changes people Kakashi, for better or for worse," Arisa sagely replied.
"Indeed," Kakashi sighed, "Kitsune you're free to go." With that, the man bowed, and before he could shunshin out of the office, the masked Kage called out to him.
"Ne, before you go, you mind enlightening me by taking off your mask? Not as an order from your Hokage, but a request from an old friend... It has been a while after all."
The young woman admonished him, yelling out, "Lord Seventh!"
Kitsune stared at him for a brief moment, seemingly put off at the request, although it didn't show through his body language. Kakashi calmly pressed forward.
"Technically, you are off duty. Considering that you already gave your mission report…"
The man stared a bit longer before finally relenting, reaching up and taking off the white porcelain Anbu mask obscuring his features, holding it in his hand as his arm dropped back to his side. His blond bangs fell back on either side of his face as he gave Kakashi a blank look. Arisa could only stare at him in shock as Kakashi took in his appearance, tiredly leaning back into his chair again.
"My, have you changed...Naruto."
He now held an imposing aura of power, seemingly filling the room with his presence despite not forcing any chakra or killing intent upon the people in front of him. Years of training in the Anbu forces physically showed in his tall muscular build. Naruto, now in his early twenties, stood at a proud six feet, putting him in the same height range as Kakashi. His rigorous work ethic, coupled with the side effects of puberty, melted any remaining baby fat in his face that he may have had, resulting in a sharp, chiseled jawline. His whisker birthmarks sat plainly on his face, barely covered by his hair which reached slightly past his ears. From the advisor's point of view, he was roguishly handsome, a far cry from the baby faced genin he used to be. It would be hard pressed for any woman not to ogle at the man Naruto has become.
Kakashi then met Naruto's eyes, inwardly sighing at what he saw. The sharp, frosty, calculating look of a professional killer. He understood that it had to happen eventually, it was a part of their livelihood as ninja. Of course, he knew personally from experience what the terrors of war could do to a person, however, that didn't mean he had to like it.
"That is all, thank you for humoring your old sensei for old times sake," the Hokage resigned, not wanting to draw out the awkward staring contest, "feel free to leave whenever."
With that being said, Naruto put his mask back on and bowed before vanishing via shunshin.
"He's definitely changed since then huh," Arisa spoke up from her desk, witnessing the whole ordeal. Kakashi sighed once again.
"Hai, he's grown up too fast. It makes me feel old. Hell, I think I may have a couple of grey hairs now."
"Well Hokage-sama," the advisor quipped, "I hate to break it to you, but you are old. You're practically his grandpa!" Kakashi ignored the barb at his age, instead, he pulled out a book from within his Hokage robe and opened it.
"Not too old for the wonderful literature of Make-out Tactics," the middle-aged pervert replied with a proud eye smile.
"You're just ridiculous, you know that?"
"Hm? You say something?"
Asida could only shake her head at his antics. Some things never change, but, maybe it was for the best.
Naruto finally arrived at his apartment in the northeastern part of Konoha, he had long since moved once he had enough cash accumulated to afford a better home. However, upon reaching his apartment building, instead of going through the door and walking up the stairs to the unit he resided in, he simply walked to the sleek black wooden wall, smoothly pressed his foot on it, and continued walking up the wall as if it was an everyday occurrence—which ironically enough, was. One of the many perks of being a ninja. Naruto kept his pace until he reached a sizable window that had been cracked open, and slipped into it. If one weren't a shinobi, it would be baffling to witness such a sight, luckily for him, no one was around.
As a ninja, large windows weren't the norm, they were considered a big no-no. Ironically enough, there weren't any laws against them by any means. It's not like many people like to have attempts on their life while sleeping. For some odd reason, that didn't bother Naruto. Then again, when you have monikers in the bingo book such as Shi no Fukoku-sha (Herald of Death), Kitsune no Akuma (Fox Demon), or The Wetwork Prodigy, most normal people wouldn't bother trying to infiltrate your home.
Naruto graciously jumped down from the window into a spacious bedroom, narrowly avoiding landing on a rather large bed, and quickly hid within the shadows of the room. Inside the dark corner, he put his hand on the wall to the right of him and channeled his chakra into a security seal. He made use of his near-perfect chakra control by not overloading it, which would cause it to deactivate improperly, resulting in… unfavorable events. Once he deemed the coast clear, he walked from the corner of the room and sat on the large bed next to him to begin undressing, not bothering to turn on the light since he preferred the natural light of the moon.
Shrugging off his cloak, Naruto took off his black Anbu sandals and kicked them off to the side before unwrapping the white bandages from his legs and arms, exposing his Anbu tattoo to the surprisingly cool air of the room. Tossing the bandages into the bin beside the bed, he began taking off his Anbu armor beginning with the black vest. It was dirty and could use a cleaning so he tossed it into the hamper residing in the left corner of the closet, not bothering himself with the task at the moment. Naruto then began working off his arm guards, slinking off his long black elbow-length gloves in the process, casting them on top of his nightstand.
After taking off his gear, he went to the desk sitting to the left of the room and began placing his weapons inside the drawer, starting with his matte black wakizashi.
The wakizashi itself wasn't anything too special, Naruto got it as a gift from a priest in the Land of Demons after saving the man's granddaughter on a mission. The sheath seemed to ignore any form of light as if it were an object crafted from the purest darkness. However, the blade was also black and seemed to absorb any form of light. The guard was the only source of color. It was a deep red crimson, seemingly mimicking the color of blood. The sword hardly made a sound when it was swung, and was insanely durable, making kills easy for those who behold it. It was no wonder that Naruto had decided to name the blade Shadōburēdo (Shadow Blade). Besides the fact his new favorite color is black.
After placing Shadōburēdo inside the desk, Naruto took off both of his kunai pouches—one from his waist and one from his leg—and put them next to the sword. He then turned around and headed for the bathroom, taking off his navy undershirt. He got to the door before pausing as if realizing something. Turning back around he took off his kitsune mask and hung it on a nail next to the bathroom, and continued in for a much-needed shower. His body language showed very little, but he was happy to shower again, much less a bed.
You suppose being on a mission for two months without either amenity would cause other people to miss the little things in life as well.