If this chapter and the following one seem familiar, it was previous published under my story named "Flowers and Dragons." I removed F&D because I wasn't happy with some of the decisions I had made with it, so am now re-publishing with something I am happy with. I hope you enjoy, and I aim to upload once a week- F33B33blu

Chapter One: the Captain

The mission to the Land of Waves had been a complete success. The ineffective politician who had previously been in charge of the small island nation now lay at the bottom of the narrow channel of water between the Land of Waves and the mainland, his corpulent head sufficiently detached from the rest of his body. It was unlikely that anybody would discover Governor Ahiru's absence for a day or two. He had been a poor choice to lead, superfluous for most of the years he had spent in office, and famous for spending his days barricaded in his palace whilst his people starved, and criminal gangs ran riot across his land. The anbu squad from the Village Hidden in the Leaves responsible for the assassination had made sure the news reached a few key members of such… organisations. Now that Governor Ahiru was gone, the criminal factions would attempt to seize control of the Land of Waves, their blind ambition forcing the leaders to reveal themselves in the bloody battle for control, leaving them vulnerable to a quick, merciless annihilation. Once the proverbial slate was wiped clean, so to speak, a new leader would be chosen amongst those who still remained, a person whose leadership would be of benefit to more than just a redundant island community off the coast, specifically, the Land of Fire. Whilst the islanders would rejoice in the belief they had elected a new leader, one who was dedicated to repairing their broken home, the truth of the matter was that there would always be a higher power lurking in the background, pulling the puppet's string to make it dance. Of course, many of the citizens of the Land of Waves would suffer, and likely die during this complicated, yet necessary process, but it was a small price to pay for the intricate games of power played by the Five Great Nations, and a price the Land of Fire would not have to pay itself.

Such was the way in the ninja world. Needless to say, when the Land of Fire had plotted their silent, insidious take over, the services of its military power, the Village Hidden in the Leaves, had been required. The Hidden Leaf Village, one of several shinobi villages across the world, was home to the ninja, those who could manipulate the chakra in their bodies to create terrifying power, whose bloody history had carved a decisive pattern across the earth. At the request of Lord Moyasu, the right hand of the Feudal Lord, whose job it was to "take interest" in all matters that required a certain subtlety, a ninja squad- Team Ro of the Anbu Black Ops- had been selected for the task of performing the assassination. Although nobody outside of the Anbu knew of its workings, Team Ro were somewhat experts in this type of infiltration, which was why they had been chosen by Lord Hiruzen, the Third Hokage, and within a week the mission had been completed with no complications reported. As was expected of them.

Now returned to the Leaf Village, they waited deep within the private base of operations where most of the debriefs took place, situated within the famous monument known as Hokage Rock, keenly awaiting the orders to stand down.

"Chief Zō is late," The speaker was Yugao Uzuki, the squad's third in command, and it was difficult to miss the disdain in her voice as she glanced at the clock on the wall, "I was hoping that we would be done by now." She was eager for the twenty-four hours of leave promised to them as a result of completing such a high-stake mission. The Anbu Black Ops was a small force, less than a fifth of the size boasted by the Operations Unit, who made up the bulk of the Leaf's forces, and time off was a phenomenon that didn't occur often, "Sir? Surely the squad will be allowed to rest?"

The dark-eyed man she had directed the question at was Tenzō, whose use of the famous and incredibly rare wood-style chakra made him a valuable commodity to the Anbu. Whilst he secretly agreed with his subordinate, he was less inclined to voice it, choosing to take his role as second-in-command more seriously. He frowned at her lapse in decorum,

"You should learn to be more patient. Chief Zō will get here when he deems it appropriate. Besides, the captain isn't here yet either, and we can't debrief without her." Ignoring Yugao's eye roll, he turned his attention on the three junior members of the squad, casting a critical eye over them at what appeared to be leave taken prematurely. Sumūzu Aburame, who utilised his clan's secret bug-master jutsu to overwhelm his enemies, had his hand raised up to his face, murmuring under his breath to a beetle perched on the end of his finger. Bara Furano, the squad's taijutsu expert, was snoring loudly, her head lolling to one side as she sprawled on one of the threadbare couches, and Tamashi Isogu, a medical-ninja and the most recent recruit to Team Ro, was crouched on the floor, tongue poking out of his mouth as he healed a papercut. It was behaviour usually unheard of from any of them, and clearly the physical and mental exhaustion from the mission had caught up with them, but in Tenzō's mind it was no excuse for such a display of sloppiness. He clapped his hands loudly, rounding on them in anger, and all three jerked out of their stupors, "Hey! Just because the captain isn't present, it doesn't mean you can slack! Show some respect!"

The three scrambled upright immediately, and at the same moment the slightest gust of air blew across Tenzō's face. He glanced around, searching for what could have caused it, but then a shadow in the corner that had not been there a second before moved, and he had his answer, "Captain. Please accept my apologies for such an atrocious display of disregard."

"That's quite alright, Tenzō," The voice was low for a female, euphonically pleasing, although not to the point of being melodic in tone. Each word was enunciated perfectly, the accent betraying the speaker as somebody not native to the Village Hidden in the Leaves or, in fact, the Land of Fire, "The failings of the squad are my failings."

The captain stepped out from the darkness in which she preferred to remain, the true embodiment of an anbu shinobi. The moonlight illuminated her face as she crossed by the small window, and out of the corner of his eye, Tenzō saw Tamashi flinch.

At nineteen years old, Captain Hanami Hoshikusa was currently the youngest serving captain in the Leaf's anbu and had been even younger when she originally gained the title at age seventeen, although the title of youngest ever captain belonged to another. The story of how she had come to the village at the age of nine was infamous, despite its supposed secrecy, and she had risen quickly to the position she was in now, a rarity for ninja who were not native to their village. However, it was not her reputation that had made her subordinate shudder, although there were many who would have fled upon the news she was their opponent.

She was pale, her skin turned ivory by the moonlight and red by the sun, the smattering of freckles across her nose and cheeks stark against the whiteness, highlighting the rusty red-brown of her right eye. The left side of her face, however, told a very different tale. From brow to chin, her face was disfigured by the burn that had torn her childhood apart, scars running down in raised, discoloured knots in a cruel memento of her past that could never be pushed aside. The right eye sat unblinking in its socket, milky white and entirely unseeing, blinded by the flames. Though her uniform shrouded the extent of the damage, and the worst of it had been reserved for her face, it did not completely hide where the burn snaked down her left arm, torso, and leg in almost serpent-like shapes. It was something that was never mentioned, never spoken about, but it hovered over her, following her like a silent ghost, the first and last thing everybody noticed when she walked by. There were some, who probably believed they were braver than most, that whispered about how much of a shame it was, a woman who might have been breath-taking were it not for her face, but it was never said within earshot. They would not have dared. Hanami Hoshikusa was infamous for more than just her scars.

"Perhaps a few hours in training with Ibiki Morino will prevent any further lapse in judgement," She spoke as though speaking to nobody, lost in thought, eyes vacant. Ibiki Morino was the head of the Torture and Interrogation Force, and part of the anbu endurance training was to withstand his waterboarding torture technique, "He's a little disappointed. His training hasn't killed anybody this year. So far," She turned her gaze directly to the three junior members of the squad, and nothing more needed to be said. To their credit, none of them faltered, but the tension in the room thickened.

"Ha- Captain," Yugao stepped forwards, almost forgetting herself in her hurry to soothe things over, any sign of the dissatisfaction over having to wait for the chief vanishing at once, "It's been good to have you back with us for this mission." She didn't dare go into any further detail than that. The captain nodded,

"Yes…" She looked down and raised her right hand, flexing the fingers deftly, "My sword arm is still very stiff. I did not make the kill as cleanly as I would have liked." Once again, her expression seemed to glaze over, "Governor Ahiru was still conscious when I took his head."

"You took his life quickly, and the cut was clean," Yugao bowed her head respectfully, although there was little else that could be said in reply to such a statement, "Your skills in assassination are unmatched."

Had he and the captain been alone, Tenzō might have been able to offer a less formal response, but his sense of duty stopped him from doing so in front of the quad. Of everybody here, he had worked with her longest, had even been on Team Ro when she first joined the anbu as an angry, broken child six years ago, and in a somewhat distant way, they were friends, and he respected her greatly. Whilst he still felt the slightest prickle of resentment that she had been promoted above him when the previous captain was assigned back to the Operations Unit, he would have gladly given his own life for hers. He and a select few did not fear her the way others did. He took his usual place at her left shoulder, the other half of her eyesight,

"Regardless, the quad is better for your return." Nobody but him saw the slightest upturn of her lips, nor the gentle nod in his direction as she approached the rest of the squad.

They stiffened as she drew near, the medical-ninja Tamashi most of all. The most-recent addition to Team Ro, he had been recruited during the captain's mysterious absence, the one nobody talked about, and the previous mission had been their first time working together on a mission properly. In the medical corps, all of the seniors were significantly older than he, and he had been privately cynical about taking orders from somebody younger than him, let alone a mere girl. That cynicism had died within an hour, replaced with a fearful admiration he had never before known; she was unlike anything he had ever seen before.

He drew in his breath as she stopped in front of him, inclining her head in his direction so that her plait of thick, white hair swung loosely at the small of her back.

"You performed well."

He felt his cheeks colour, and he sensed, rather than saw, the look on his teammate's faces that told him he was going to be teased mercilessly for his reaction later, "Th… thank you, Captain."

"Medical ninja were only recently introduced into the anbu. I hope you will continue to set-" She broke off, tilting her head towards a sound nobody else could hear, "Chief Zō graces us with his presence."

For a moment longer, there was silence. Then, faint footsteps began to echo down the hallway outside the room, becoming gradually louder as they drew near. All but the captain turned towards the door, the eagerness to be dismissed from duty for the evening palpable. The last week had been a long one. Tenzō could see the captain frowning, and he too shared similar concerns; the rhythm of the footsteps indicated urgency, and although they were unhurried and controlled, they bore the signature of restraint, that the person approaching was holding themselves back. The survival of those in the Anbu relied upon their ability to remain unwavering at all times, even in the most trying of circumstances, and if nothing else, the Chief of Anbu was the personification of that skill.

Chief Zō was one of the tallest men in the village and had to duck his head to fit under the doorway as he entered the debriefing room. Everybody dropped to one knee as he approached, heads bowed in respect, although the captain remained standing. If this offended their leader, it was impossible to tell, for all he said was,

"You are all to return to duty immediately."

The juniors exchanged confused glances, and Yugao bristled visibly. The captain eyed the chief without reaction.

"My squad hasn't rested for several days. If you redeploy us now, our performance will likely be less than optimal. Team Fu and Team Sa are both waiting for assignments."

The chief's demeanour remained unchanged, but the atmosphere changed at once, as if all the heat had been sucked from the room, "I sympathise with your position, of course," He said evenly, "However events have occurred that require all available hands to be back in the field without delay. I sincerely hope you aren't refusing your orders, Captain," There may have been a slight smile in the curl of his lips, but it was not friendly.

She did not waver, "I am not. But it is my job to question poor choices if it does not benefit my team."

Tenzō's heart sank. Chief Zō's eye twitched, and he closed the distance between him and the captain so that their faces were inches apart,

"Choose your next words carefully, Hanami," He spoke in a murmur, so that only she could hear, "It would be most appalling for me to have to… take action against you so soon after your return." His smile was poisonous. Unperturbed, she took a calm step to one side, and headed towards the window, back to the dark corner,

"Such a quiet night. You would not think the village was under attack. I can think of no other reason for such urgency," She leaned on the window ledge, "Team Ro receives its orders directly from Lord Hokage. Did he issue this order?"

The friction was almost unbearable, and Tenzō winced at the exchange. As second, more than once he had been the one left to appease the chief after his disagreements with the captain, and it was often her who experienced the brunt of the chief's ire on the subject. It had never been like this when Kakashi was captain.

A titter of some unknown emotion had broken from the mouths of one of the junior members, and Zō had heard it. He took a long breath, maintaining his composure, but he was glaring at the young captain's back with the most intense hatred imaginable, and it was difficult to disguise. His history with Hanami Hoshikusa was too long for his liking, and little of it had been a pleasant experience. He did not falter, but the longer he waited, the clearer it would become that he was fighting an inner battle with himself over what step to take next. Damn her for making him look weak.

He made his decision, and addressed the rest of the squad, his smile returning.

"Somebody has broken into Lord Hokage's archive and stolen one of the Forbidden Scrolls. Nothing has been confirmed yet, but evidence suggests that our main suspect is Naruto Uzumaki." He did not have to explain who this was, "All available units have been despatched, including yours." The last words were spoken with the slightest of force, indicating that this was a threat just as much as it was an order, "As soon as he is found, he is to be brought before Lord Hokage or myself."

"Naruto Uzumaki is a twelve year old boy," The captain spoke again, still staring out of the window, "Is it protocol to send out the entire anbu force? I thought we only killed children when absolutely necessary."

The chief sneered.

"I believe you are the expert in that matter."

What happened next happened quickly. One moment the captain was by the window, the next she was behind the chief, her sword drawn across his throat, the other hand entangled in his hair, pulling his head back for maximum jugular exposure. For anybody to move, or make a sound, would have meant death. On the table in the centre of the room, glasses of water began to shake violently, their contents spilling over. It was pure killing intent. The Chief's hand had shot out for his own sword when he realised what was happening, but a thin string of water was wrapped like a rope around his wrist. It sprouted from a plant in the corner, that two seconds ago had been thriving, but now was completely dehydrated.

She manipulated the water in the plant to stop him from making a counter-attack, Yugao could not help but be impressed, Such mastery of the Water-style…

The Chief choked as the sword bit into the skin of his throat, but his eyes narrowed in triumph, "You may be amongst Lord Hiruzen's favourite's, but even he will be unable to let you walk away from this."

Hanami tightened her grip in his hair, "You make the assumption that you'll be alive to tell him!"

"Captain, please!"

It was Bara Furano, the taijutsu expert, who had finally caved under the pressure. She threw herself onto her knees in front of them in a desperate bow, "Please! I don't mind returning to duty! It isn't worth this!"

Blinking, the cloud of rage faded, Hanami seemed to become aware of herself. Looking at her sword arm, she saw it was encased in wood, preventing her from moving any further. Tenzō's hands were clasped together in the snake seal, sweat trickling down his face with concentration. He had manipulated his chakra so that the knots in the wood spelt out the words, "KAKASHI TAUGHT YOU BETTER THAN THIS." It was enough to distract her long enough for Chief Zō break free. Dusting himself down, and dabbing a finger lightly at the shallow cut to his neck, it was Bara he turned towards,

"Thank you, Bara, for remembering that this squad obeys any order it is given, regardless of who bears the title of "captain."" He turned on his heel and marched towards the door, putting a distance between them and Hanami, who had been released from Tenzō's jutsu, and was staring straight ahead, breathing heavily, "You will find the Uzumaki boy, and you will bring him to me. Or Lord Hokage," He added, almost as an afterthought, and then pointed to Hanami's back, "And you, Hoshikusa-" To use her clan name within a force that depended on secrecy was deeply disrespectful, "Your time as a captain in my anbu is done. Lord Hokage will not allow you continue when he hears what you have done here." He could barely contain his excitement at such a prospect, "Dismissed!"

The members of Team Ro remained motionless after he left, all of them looking towards their captain. He face was turned away, and the full moon through the window cast a pool of silver light around her. There was blood dripping between her fingers where her clenched fists had embedded her nails into her palms. She did not seem human.

"You heard the chief's orders," Yugao snapped to the subordinates, "Get out of here!"

The sound of her voice seemed to bring the captain out of her reverie, "These are my orders; if you find the boy, take him only to Lord Third. There is no need for our chief to be further involved. Understood?"

"Yes, ma'am!" The exclaimed in unison, and sprang into action, some of them vanishing instantly, using the Body Flicker jutsu, others making for the door. Bara was the last to leave, and she paused to say something at the doorway, but one look from Tenzō sent her dashing out into the corridor. Once it was just the three of them; himself, Yugao, and the captain, he lowered his guard, and rounded on her angrily,

"What the hell were you thinking? What was that about?"

"You can't attack Chief Zō, Hanami," Yugao raised a shaking hand to push her purple hair out of her face, "There are some things even Lord Hokage can't make excuses for. You get away with so much already- you have to be careful."

The captain did not speak. She had closed her eyes, and was breathing in deep, controlled measures, her chest rising and falling in rhythm. There were very few people in the world who were able to speak so freely to her, and this time, her remaining teammates weren't appealing to her as their captain, but as their friend. How she missed the Team Ro of before, when Kakashi had been the captain and she, Hanami, was content to follow as his third. How she wished that Itachi-

No. Her own voice spoke firmly in her head, blocking out those thoughts. No. She opened her eyes and inspected the sticky blood on her palms, but then a thought crossed her mind, and her hand short to the back of her shoulders, fingers running down her spine as far as they could reach.

Tenzō frowned. "Is something wrong?"

Everything felt normal. She shook her head. In the past, it had been easy to withstand the chief's jibes, a game she used to enjoy playing, in fact, but the fun had long gone, and he was getting better at playing. He knew how to get under her skin, what words to use to get her to break. To have used his own orders against her, to make the sword seem the monster instead of the swordsman… she had been so close to killing him, if Tenzō hadn't…

"My apologies," Her voice had returned to its blank, neutral tone. Push it down, push it away, "I suspect my recovery is not as complete as we thought." Before either of them could reply, she waved them away, "There is no need for all three of us to face the Blood Prison tonight. Go and find the Uzumaki boy. I will join the search shortly."

Yugao retreated at once, but Tenzō remained, his dark eyes hard. He placed a hand on her shoulder,

"Do not doubt my loyalty to you, or our friendship," He said, "But when you are my captain, you are my captain first. You know what the duty of the Second is."

""To eliminate the squad captain if they are a risk to the mission or the safety of the village."" She repeated it verbatim from the rulebook, "I would expect nothing less from you, Tenzō. You should do what you feel you must."

"I nearly did." It had been the decision of a split second, to send his wood jutsu around her arm instead of her neck. She placed her hand over his, where it still lay on her shoulder,

"It would have been better if you had." Then she was gone, leaving his hand swinging down into the empty air.