Chapter 2
Naruto looked down upon the half-filled bag on his bed. Since the start of his shinobi career he never had been on such a long term mission. Of course there were the travels he had done with his godfather, but he didn't really categorize that as 'mission'. He wasn't sure how many clothes to pack, nonetheless what other items. Nothing that would personalize and thus endanger the mission, that was for sure. If he had been in Shikamaru's or Hanabi's position he would've been able to take something of personal worth, but not as an ANBU agent.
The Black Ops had strict rules. 'Never take off your mask' and 'never have anything on you that could identify you' were basics you got told on your first day and would likely never forget. Naruto guessed that Kakashi had invented that first rule, but he wouldn't like to bet on that. The odds were against him.
Up till now his bag was filled only with standardized clothes every member of ANBU got. Black pants, black sandals, black shirt, light gray armour for the upper body and protection for the forearms as well as a thick - but still very light - cloak available in either grey or black. All in all a pretty dark getup. Of course you could also get the armour in a dark gray put people never liked it if you asked questions. ANBU didn't ask. ANBU just acted. Even more so than Jounin or others. But for being so obedient they also had the highest numbers with fulfilled missions which all were very high standard and far above the regular assignments for lower ranked shinobi. They were the best. No matter what. As a unit and also as individuals. Hire an ANBU and you get an ANBU. Hire a team of shinobi and you get a Jounin and his just graduated group of Genin.
Sure, as a client you couldn't just order them around, since they only acted under the Hokage and nobody else, but you definitely got everything finished. Unlike with the little ones. Big names existed in the annals of the Black Ops. People who were known to actually be members, but later on retired back into the normal duty. Hatake Kakashi, Uchiha Itachi, Uzuki Yuugao, Gekko Hayate, Tenzo. Names with a big background and a tragic end. All of them.
Naruto looked to the right. The white mask with the stylized animal print sat on his night table and stared grimly at him. A fox. What an irony. He had wanted something else, but Tsunade had been quite stubborn regarding that. Everyone knew who he was, considering his use of Kage Bunshin and other high class jutsu. So no matter who he tried to fight the enemy would run away anyhow. And since there was peace between the nations it wasn't as if he was battling shinobi every day. Mostly it was assassination nowadays. Short, swift, that's it. It didn't matter anymore what was on the masks. It was mostly just a tradition they didn't want to break. There was even the rumor going around that they wanted to get rid of the animals and just adopt simple carvings such as Kiri's hunter nins had on theirs. It still awoke the fears of the victim, so who cares.
Every agent had only one of those masks. Breaking them also meant allowing others to see your face, which was not acceptable. But if you had cracks on your mask, or it was worn out after years of service you could get another one. Of course you had to fill forms over forms but you might be able to get it after a few weeks. You also had to hand it over if you were suspended or sick or just wanted to get out of ANBU. Every evidence that you once were a member would be deleted in a diminutive amount of time. Except one. The blood red tattoo would always be a part of you. Reminding you of deeds you had done, people you had killed and acquaintances you had made. It would probably haunt you until you died. Not that anyone cared about that.
Most of – what everyone else called – Rookie Twelve had joined ANBU some time ago. At least what was left of them. They were broken beyond repair, not able to heal in the devastated world the war had left behind. If they looked around they saw bloody masses, corpses littering the streets. They didn't see beyond the blood red haze. Didn't see children laughing around every corner never being one to see what had happened on the battlefields.
Naruto often wondered what would have happened if the war had broken out a few years later. If all of them had matured more and weren't only children dragged into it. He never found an answer to this and now he could understand fully what Pein had meant with sacrifices, why Itachi had made the decision to victimize his own family. Naruto had seen what war could make out of people. He had lost a lot of friends of his own, strangely his team had stayed in tact the longest and even now eighty percent were still alive. Only his sensei had...well...not everyone had left the blood soaked battlefields alive. Few had left with minor wounds, lots were left behind and died due to blood loss and infection were they lay. Some came back but took their own lives. Many came home but were so scarred inside and out that nobody claimed to know them anymore. Heaps were crippled and left to themselves, nobody caring what happened to them.
The blond sighed as he sat down on his bed, the white porcelain in his hand, a thumb softly running along the edges. How much blood and gore had he seen, how much death did he come across. He couldn't quite remember. He didn't want to remember anyway. It would only break him further and then he couldn't help anyone. Couldn't serve his village. Couldn't protect what was left. Who was left.
He had long since changed. He matured beyond the point he should have reached at age eighteen. Him being aloof was a thing of the past. His constant grin had left his face months ago. Haunted eyes looked at the world, most days hidden behind the white mask.
Joining ANBU meant either suicide or despair. Lost hopes for the future were buried deep inside the barracks of the headquarters. Nobody wanted to speak about it but being an agent was never good. Something inside you always was broken, cracked, splintered, fractured, ruined. Naruto was one of those who knew every single face of ANBU. Weeks before he had been named Captain Commander of all ANBU forces. Nobody complained. Why should they. He was strong, skilled and well respected within the village and outside. He had not come to the title by having a big name, rich family or was related to someone inside the council. Sure he had mighty allies. Was friends with more than one Kage or was allowed to called nearly every single Clan head by first name. But he had paid with blood, sweat and lots of time. As Captain Commander he only listened to the Hokage, nobody else. He liked that. Very much. He had announced his Second and Thirds in command barely a day after. People he trusted with his life. People he had fought side by side during the bloodiest of battles. The last battle.
"You ready yet?"
Naruto turned his head and looked at Raven who had turned up minutes ago, all the time starring at his Captain. He himself was an ANBU Captain as well but he didn't care if he was on Naruto's team. He knew he would get all the respect he deserved. Which wasn't too much considering his past. But they did respect him for what he was doing now, in a Konoha that needed strong shinobi to build a new military fundament and secure the village. In Naruto's team there was a ranking. He explained who had what position right at the beginning of a mission to prevent trouble. Raven always was Second-In-Command. He also was the only one to hope ever matching him in strength. Both knew that.
"Not really. Only got a spare of clothes and basic weaponry.", he explained to his comrade. Who in turn nodded slowly.
"Just pack another stack and pack the rest in storing seals.", Raven advised.
Naruto let out a breath and chuckled softly. "Sure."
Raven slid into the room, standing beside the blond, his hood all the way up to even hiding the upper edge of his mask.
"You're not really up to it today. What have you got on your mind?"
He grabbed some storing scrolls and pushed them deep into the bag and stashed some more in his hip pouch.
"I'm not sure. Time catches up it seems."
"Hn."
Naruto punched him in the shoulder. "Stop giving that answer. If you can even call that an answer."
A low chuckle resounded from behind the mask and Naruto could just picture the smirk forming.
"I informed the others of the destined meeting point and time half an hour ago.", Raven started again. "Why did you pick them?"
The blond stared into the holes of the mask and could see pure curiosity in the eyes of his partner. Not that anyone else would see it. But Naruto just knew. Every time. The angle in which his head was held, how he squared his shoulders or how he balanced his weight on his feet differently.
"Baa-chan chose Shikamaru who in turn wanted a medic. Of course I'd pick her."
"Hanabi?"
He simply shrugged. "Hinata asked me to do something about Hanabi a while back since she couldn't officially lift the weight off her sisters shoulders. So I thought to get the little one and let her tag along.", he explained. It was true. The heiress had often complained. Not in the open but behind lifted hands, when she had hugged Naruto or when they and others had met. She couldn't talk about that in a public environment. If others heard it then rumors would spread. Her father may have taken a more liberal stance with her but the elders were stubborn and stupid as ever. Hinata may be lost in that golden cage of hers, but Hanabi wasn't. So Hinata had asked him to look after her, work with her and maybe even take her as an apprentice. He didn't do the last one. He was too lost in the web of ANBU and his Hokage training, wasn't an ordinary Jounin anymore. She had accepted that but asked him to consider helping her sister as much as he could. He agreed.
"In case you were wondering why I also wanted Do-"
"No.", Raven intervened. "I know why your choice was like that on this front. And I trust you there. You know I do."
He put a hand on the blonds shoulder. "Relax. That mission's going to pale in comparison to our usual ones. A bit of guarding on our part and a bit of talking on Shikamaru's. No killing, no rushing, no infiltrating."
Naruto grinned. One of his old grins. A rare one.
"Yeah. I guess so."
Raven then did something he actually didn't do that often. Actually really only once in a lifetime. Or so. He put his forehead against Naruto's and the blond swore he could hear a soft clink-like sound occurring. He could see his best friends dark orbs gazing back at him through the holes in his mask and decided not to ask him what he thought.
"Naruto. Never forget we're here for you. Always at your side." He poked him in the chest, his long finger outstretched, tapping in a slow beat against a point directly above his heart. "Always with you, no matter what happens. 'kay?"
The tried to nod as best as he could with Ravens head in the way.
"Thanks."
"Sure. Brother.", the masked one said. His voice lazed with emotions even though he would never admit it to himself.
He let Naruto go and leaned against a wall in a quite good replication of Shikamaru's daily behaviour. He had crossed his arms in a display of boredom in front of his chest, resting one of his feet against the wall, the other stretched away.
He wanted Naruto to finish his packing without openly asking him to do so. As always. It was a process of 'not-mothering' him. Because an Uchiha doesn't mother. Especially not a male one and heir and last living legacy of the Clan. Not that Sasuke would openly admit that his ANBU name was 'Raven'. Definitely not the reason he had chosen that name. Because he did choose it himself without a superior interfering there. Raven. For his brother Itachi. Naruto – of course – knew of that. Itachi had always dissolved his genjutsu in a flock of ravens. And taking his own snake summons as a print for the mask wouldn't really shed a good light on Sasuke. Snakes – still – were a sign of Orochimaru. Even Anko was reluctant to use them these days. Though they did help while fighting.
"I got a last minute appointment with Baa-chan before we depart. She wanted to tell me something else about the mission. Probably.", Naruto broke the silence after a few minutes.
Sasuke nodded. Actually right now he really was Sasuke. He had taken off his porcelain mask just moments ago. He only told it Naruto but Sasuke didn't like the mask. Your skin always got clammy underneath it and after every cleaning season it smelled of bleach and sodium carbonate. Handy tools to get rid of stains. Especially blood and related fluids.
"Want me to come as well?", Sasuke asked.
Naruto shook his head.
"Nah. No need for that. Just go get your stuff and meet with the others, I'll probably be there just a few minutes later. Depending on what she has to tell me."
Sasuke decided not to answer. Instead he looked at the small frame contain the old picture of team seven, resting beside Naruto's bed on his table.
"I've been wondering since I've read the mission scroll. How do we get there? To this 'other dimension' I mean.", the black haired wondered. Actually it was the colour a raven had. Funny.
Naruto wasn't to sure how to answer the question. Of course, as Hokage in training he knew most to all secrets out in the world. At least those that had something to do with the Kage, shinobi villages or the history of the Elemental Nations. When he had first heard of this particular secret he had gaped all day long and some more all the while staring at the sheet of paper in front of him and from time to time even at Tsunade and Shizune in front of him.
"Well. You know...I don't really know how to explain", he stated while rubbing the back of his head with a hand. Sasuke was nearly glaring at him for knowing something he didn't.
"At the beginning..or whatever you wanna call it, the world was one. Due to some incident – don't look at me like that, I don't know what happened – the countries we now call 'Elemental Nations' got split from the 'Main World' and got somehow thrown into a subdimensional space. Of course there are ways to enter the main world. But to do so you have to get over the barriers that keep us safe. Outsiders don't get in if they don't have contacts within."
"But we can get out?", Sasuke interrupted. Naruto nodded.
"Sure. Fuinjutsu helps there from what I heard. Mostly one of the reasons I'll be there. To get us in and out. How exactly all of that is going to work...I've been preparing these past two days and it's a hugely complex thematic."
After he stopped Naruto glared up at Sasuke. "Stop chuckling!"
"I didn't chuckle."
"You wanted to!"
"No. But..well..you sounded so professional."
Naruto blew him a raspberry. "Well. I'm a grown up."
Sasuke couldn't help himself but he did smile. Stupid Dobe.
Naruto dragged a hand through his hair.
"Anyway. Baa-chan has been sending the client a few documents regarding the seal. A complementary seal actually. He will prepare that at the place where we will be arriving in the 'Main world'. I will be drawing up the other part of the seal at a room. Where this room is I don't know. Yet. Baa-chan tells me later."
Sasuke looked at Naruto's fidgeting hands. He was unused to seeing his friend so nervous.
"What bothers you?"
The blond didn't look at him.
"The seal will have a component in it which will require not only a drop of my blood as the fuinjutsu-master but ..uhm.. it will have to be drawn purely out of our blood. Each ones. Like a blood contract.", he stated. He rubbed his nose and closed his eyes. "It's not one of the safest methods of travelling. Even though our world is still somehow connected to theirs it counts as inter-dimensional travel."
Unknown to Naruto Sasuke clenched his jaw. Both knew of the dangers of blood contracts. No shinobi willingly gave his blood. There were always risks involved. But he trusted Naruto. He was no Orochimaru, no Kabuto, no Madara. Naruto was his best friend who forgave him for things others would've just ripped his head off for. That was one of the reasons he just let Naruto do whatever he wanted. Because he knew that Naruto wouldn't betray him. Wouldn't willingly hurt him. Would always be there for him.
"You'll get it. You studied fuinjutsu intensively the last years. You are better than Jiraiya. Probably on the same level as your father. As an Uzumaki sealing is in your blood. You know that. I know that and all the others know that as well. Do what you have to do.", the Uchiha conceded.
Naruto raised both eyebrows and pressed his lips together. He didn't like it if he lost faith in himself but he liked it even less if Sasuke or anyone else noticed it that much that they tried to cheer him up.
He grunted and stood up, shouldering his bag and placing the white mask on his face. Afterwards he pulled the hood of his cloak up and motioned for Sasuke to jump out of the window. Not that it would kill him. He then closed the window and scowled at the plant that stood lonely on his windowsill. He considered a few moments and picked it up only to walk out the door – plant in hand – and looked everything. He had placed seals around his home ages ago. Actually it was Jiraiya who had started that. Naruto had just picked it up and added a few more in. Not only around his own place but also around the ones of his friends. Safety was something rare after the war. People lived in barracks until groups upon groups of builders had heightened the living standards once again. Thieves, vandals and the likes had roamed the streets not even thinking that there was always a well paid Jounin around the corner looking for someone like them and arresting them. So Naruto wanted to make sure all of his loved ones were safe. First one was Iruka who was still only a Chuunin and an Academy teacher. By that he had no idea how to even activate seals such as these. Of course he was happy when Naruto had turned up. Who wouldn't have been.
The blond held the plant tight to his body as he jumped across the roofs of Konoha. A fully new build Konoha. Destroyed more than once during the last five years.
Stopping at a familiar door he knocked and had only to wait some seconds until a tired looking Tenten opened it. The weapons mistress had just come from a mission last night and totally looked like it. Pale complexion and hair done in a lazy ponytail at the base of her neck. Copying Neji it seemed. For a second Naruto wondered if the Hyuuga was somewhere in the flat as well. It was kind of a standard procedure that teammates moved in with each other these days. Naruto hadn't come around to it since his apartment was spammed with paperwork and unfinished reports.
"I'm not already on a new mission, am I?", the brunette interrupted his train of thought with a low growl. He shook his head and pushed the plant into a surprised Tenten's hands.
"I won't be here for a while. Look after her, will you?", he asked of her and knew he had won when she smiled softly and without answering smashed the door close in his face. Grumpy kunoichi.
He pushed his hands in a Ram-Seal and Shunshin-ed to the top floor of the Hokage Tower. The present ANBU agents hadn't even moved an inch after noticing his chakra flaring since it was a near daily occurrence. He already belonged to the establishment for them.
A quick salute on their side and he silently slipped inside the Hokages office.
"Your right on time.", the busty blonde greeted him and now it was him doing the salute.
"Goes on Ravens credit.", he granted.
Tsunade sighed and handed him a stack of papers.
"The client has send me those. It involves a blueprint of the castle you will be guarding as well as other necessary information.", she concluded while he flicked through the paper, only taking glances at the content. He didn't even glance at her as she pushed another paper into his hand. Black and white photos were printed onto it. Moving photos. Naruto hid a frown as he analyzed them. People wearing masks and hoods up, a pointy end sticking towards the sky.
"Those people are called 'Death Eaters'. They were and are the minions of the so called 'Dark Lord'."
"We will be guarding against them I take it?"
Tsunade nodded and tapped against the photography.
"You may have noticed that they are wearing white masks to hide their faces. Obviously because they want to mingle in the crowd of other followers and because they are afraid to loose their social status."
"As well as invoking old fears from past wars. They are cowards. Nothing else.", Naruto butted in again and shot a look at Tsunade's face were a satisfied grin was hiding underneath an even more devious smirk.
"So it seems. Anyhow. Since they do wear masks I'm afraid that the client or any other people will ask you to remove your masks."
Naruto grinned behind his own porcelain mask.
"Which I – as the leader of the mission – will not allow of course. A no can do for members of ANBU. You probably didn't tell him that."
The Hokage started chuckling and raised a cup of sake to her lips.
"Nope I didn't. He didn't mention anything about a problem with hiding your identity – in any form possible – so I thought I shouldn't mention you not showing your faces."
He joined the chuckling even though his sounded more dark and throaty. The porcelain right in front of his face didn't help there.
"What should I do if he's adamant about it?"
"Well. You can't just yell at him like you did the last time with that … whatever he was. Just tell him it's in the contract. Which it actually is, just not in big print and you may have to read between the lines but we're shinobi and as such you always - "
"Have to look underneath the underneath."
Tsunade smiled and sat down behind her desk.
"I got another good message for you."
He listened so she continued.
"I wanted to know what exactly this 'magic' was he was warning me about so I asked him to send me something were the essence of magic is displayed. He did send me a curious little thing, I didn't want to go into too much detail here but … well. Since both of our world obviously once were only one it seems that both his 'magic' and our 'chakra' are.."
"The same?", he asked, curious as he was.
"Not exactly. Whereas chakra is – in short – a mix between physical and spiritual power 'magic' lacks the physical part. If you got a great will and aren't to dense you might be as strong as a cowardly clever person. Due to it lacking quite a certain aspect our chakra includes – namely the whole bodily aspect in addition to the process of molding both parts together it – of course – is not as potent. Furthermore it is easily repelled by chakra."
"How?"
The busty blond coated one of her hands in the green chakra she normally used for medical purposes. She then held this hand up to him.
"Think about the Hyuuga. Coating yourself in chakra. Think about breaking genjutsu. Emitting short bursts of chakra. Or by just dodging as well as using something material to shield yourself with. Most forms of magic are displayed in rays of colourful light." Here she needed to snort and Naruto soon joined in. It was such a ridiculous idea that both just needed to laugh about it. A few moments later Tsunade resumed her monologue. "Some of the easiest 'spells' as they are called emit neither light nor sound but only so many of them are harmful. Still. Keep an eye out for them. The client also told me that the strongest forms of magic are those which are partly unspoken – silent magic – and most don't use their beams of light to shot directly at an opponent but they work indirect. Like Suna's puppeteers. Any questions?"
Naruto shrugged and leaned against the far wall.
"Not really, no. I guess through observation we will gather even more information on this magic. And even if it is harmful we – by a far amount – are stronger than an average human being. Faster, stronger, more cunning. Name it, we do it. You know that."
Tsunade smiled and set her cup of sake down.
"I guess I can trust you with that, Captain. Next point. The sealing array."
She could see how his shoulders tensed and just knew what he was thinking about. Not trusting himself to complete it without harming someone. The boy was an accomplished fuinjutsu master, taking after both his parents and godfather but if his sealing involved someone else than him he got unsure. Raven probably had already tried to get that issue out of his head, she could she that by his still relatively relaxed stance, but the way his shoulders were drawn together and just how he held his head...
"You may process the sealing within the second floor under T&I." It was a big circular room with the stairs leading one up and more than five down. The rooms were stationed way under the Hokage Tower and were actually constructed to hold scrolls upon scroll as well as archived mission reports, archived data about deceased shinobi and some folders were about even more delicate topics. The second floor was still empty as this one mostly was used for … well nothing. The storage was three floors deeper – until now that was – and it would take a few more years to come to fill the space. So Naruto could use that space fore the sealing. Even if he screwed it up it would one harm the people whose blood was given, not the structure of the building. He knew that. But he also knew that this location would be far away from prying eyes. Most didn't even know that there was a door made out of titanium at the end of one of the corridors in T&I. And half of those that did know just thought it was a door without stairs upon stairs into the deep.
Tsunade's voice startled him and he noticed that his thoughts had him drifting away.
"Except for Hanabi and Slug your team should know what to expect there. Have you briefed them yet?", she questioned.
Naruto replied in negative. "No, not yet. Raven knows, but he always does. As Second-In-Command only a few details aren't allowed to travel. He only met up with the rest of them and told them the exact date and time, not the place though. He probably just told them to meet atop the Tower or in front of the gates, as usual. They also know of the duration of the mission and that it is high ranked."
"Good enough for now.", the busty blonde stated and leaned back. Naruto could see she was thinking about something but wasn't ready to share yet. He waited patiently and was then rewarded with an answer.
"You will find that their world is way different than ours. Prepare for worst treatment. Prepare for being called monsters, Naruto. And try to get Hanabi out of the bigger crossfire. I know she can handle herself well but you never know. Now go. I expect you first report shortly after you arrive and have made yourself a home over there."
And with that the briefing was over and she went back to her paperwork. He did another quick salute, straightened his mask and Shunshin-ed to the top of the Tower. Like he had predicted everyone was there. Shikamaru knew not to be late if ANBU was involved. It would only result in a mess.
Raven was leaning against the banister beside Slug but had his arms crossed in front of his chest. At their feet lay two standard travelling bags as well as two of the three standard hip pouches with their flaps wide open so he could check the content. It did sound stupid but after the war they had noticed that ANBU agents had become too full of themselves and by that did not only endanger the very own person but everyone else on the team. The result was devastating and Konoha was left without two thirds of their former Black Ops. So it was now a kind of normal procedure for the Captain of the mission to have a look through their pouches. At least two of them. The third was filled with personalized weapons. Not enough to identify them but enough to know to fear the senbon of Tiger, the shortened kunai versions of Monkey or the smoke bombs of Bear. Those were minuscule changes to the standard armament but the succession rates were rocking skywards if the Captain allowed them. Naruto of course knew exactly what those changes entailed for Raven and Dove and he knew Slug well enough to guess. Being head of the Medics Unit her bag was probably stuffed with storage scrolls which in turn were stuffed with medicine, anti poisons, and bandages. He shortly glanced at the pouches and nodded. Having him looking at them also had a second, more hidden meaning. He could slip various scrolls in there which only the addressee would be granted to look at. Those could be mission scrolls for side mission, storage scrolls for equipment or just notices on behaviour.
Turning his head he looked at Dove who was doing some last minute reading. She was presenting her pouch without even shooting a glimpse at him. He then walked over to Shikamaru and Hanabi, both having distanced themselves from the ANBU agents.
The Nara was sitting down on the roof and gazing at the clouds. His favourite past time activity. He was leaning on his duffel bag, arms crossed behind his head. He looked at Naruto and nodded as a greeting. Both were friends since years and at the beginning it was Shikamaru that had looked at Naruto's weapon pouch. Now returning the act he heaved the bag up and only could guess that the blond – not that he could see the hair under the heavy cloak – smirked beneath his mask.
Obviously finding what he had looked for the ANBU Captain twisted his body so he could look at Hyuuga Hanabi.
The short brunette had both hands clasped behind her back and was standing ramrod straight at attention. Her eyes were flitting from person to person as she was sure to only know one of them. Which was Nara Shikamaru. When Naruto went to check her armament she shifted her weight. Unconscious it may have been but he was happy that even though now were times of peace she didn't immediately trust people she hadn't met before.
He sketched a short bow. "Hyuuga-san." The way she looked at him she would've expected him to at least add a -sama. He didn't like it, so he didn't use it.
"Thank you for coming a few minutes early, we still got quite a few things to do before departing. May I see you hip pouch?"
Hanabi stared at him.
"What for?"
"Just checking the contents. It is necessary to do so. Now, may I?"
Instead of answering or nodding she handed it to him and watched as he rifled through kunai and shuriken. As he handed it back to her she noticed he was leaning in on her.
"Miss. No need to be unsure in our presence. We are trustworthy. I will explain your whole role in this mission when we arrive at our destination."
Hanabi merely picked up her bag and waited for him to either continue or leave. He chose the second option and motioned for everyone to follow him. As they descended the stairs and landed in front of T&I, Dove had skipped a few steps ahead. The department was her second home and she probably had guessed where they were headed. She turned her head to cast a glance at Fox. The Captain flicked his hand and formed a sign that showed her that he allowed her to take the lead. When they came across the fourth door on the left hand side it opened and a smirking Mitarashi Anko leaned against the frame. While the others continued onward Fox stopped in front of her.
War had played a cruel game with her. She had lost her right arm from shoulder socket downwards when she tried to rescue Shiranui Genma from a collapsing building. The next shock for her came just moments later when the gas explosion ripped away part of her left knee. Now she was a limping kunoichi with one arm left. She was still one of the most feared and it didn't hinder her while doing her job in T&I but it always seemed that her playful side had vanished and a more bitter facet had come to light. He was there when she had sobbed in Morino Ibiki's shirt or when she had yelled at Shizune to just let her die, bleeding to death instead of living a life as a cripple. Naruto was also the one that had helped her up and introduced her to the veteran services who helped injured and bitter ones. She had thanked him a lot of times and he was happy that she retained some of her playfulness while he was around.
"Where ya goin' handsome?" Anko knew who was hiding behind the mask. She was the one doing the psychological test when he had just entered ANBU. He was quite thankful it was Anko and not Ibiki. No matter how old he was, he was always afraid of the man.
He put a hand on her shoulder. "Long term mission. Won't be back for some time."
She pushed the hand away and stared into his eyes. Or what she assumed were his eyes since she couldn't see them behind the mask.
"What a shame. I wanted to celebrate your birthday by paying for a whole lot of sake.", she teased and he started chuckling.
"We can do that when I come back, Anko. Look after the rest of my team and Baa-chan for me, will you?"
The tokubetsu jounin just grinned. "Who's got your lovely little plant?"
He shook his head with a teasing smile on his face. "Tenten. At least the plant will survive with her. Unlike the one that stayed with you."
"Sorry for that one. I don't really have a green thumb."
"I know. Gotta get going. They're waiting for me. See you later.", he stated and gave a two-fingered salute. Anko continued grinning, spun around on her heel and crashed the door close.
He continued down the floor, unlocked the titanium door which Dove obviously had closed behind them and followed the stairs until he stood in front of a sealed door. It was not one of those seals that would keep the door closed. It only help circulating the air, so that they wouldn't have problems breathing. An air lock if you will. He pushed it open and came across the others just behind it.
"I need your attention." And with that every head turned towards him.
"I will now summarize our mission as well as our method of travelling. It will will be a guarding mission. The client has asked for some skilled shinobi and Hokage-sama was willing to give us the chance to have a look at another kind of world.", noticing the confused stared of Hanabi and – it wasn't really a stare but the angling of her head betrayed her confusion – Slug as well as Dove he elaborated. "You know about the barriers around the Elemental nations. Well. We will be going outside. To do so I will draw up a seal, but that later. It will be a guarding mission. Object is a castle used as a school. As far as Tsunade told me we will not be staying there the first days. After arriving – and no I do not know where that is since I got no idea where the client will draw the other part of the sealing array – we will have a few days time to arrange everything there. You will be studying the finer details of the mission as well as the blueprints of the school. Due to the complex makeup of the seal there won't be a language barrier.", he rattled down and drew a deep breath, all the while looking at his teammates. "The most important thing for us ANBU agents to know right now before we depart is that the client might ask us to get rid of our masks. You won't do that unless I say differently, which I won't. Nara Shikamaru", he indicated the man as though he the others didn't know him,"will be our mediator for this mission and our diplomatic head. Hyuuga Hanabi will present everything Konoha holds dear. Strength, pride and the different Clans. You might help Shikamaru if he asks for it. Otherwise you are also part of the mission because you are one age with the average student there. You might be able to mingle and collect information. I heard rumors that you were quite an impressive actress."
Fox pulled an ink cartridge out of his pack as well as a paint brush. "Killing or maiming the students is not allowed. Killing or maiming possible enemies is allowed. We got Dove for interrogation purposes and Slug in case someone is injured."
Biting his thumb he let some chakra-infused blood drip into the cartridge and mixed it with ink.
"Second-In-Command will be Raven, Third-In-Command will be Dove. Act like it. Now. As we are travelling by seal I have to ask you all to give me some of your blood. Please."
Hanabi was looking at him like he asked her to bite her sisters head off and Shikamaru just had his eyebrows raised. He probably expected as much. After a quiet second all five of them took a step closer to Fox and in a trustworthy gesture cut their fingers, paying him the toll for the sealing array. He collected it, mixed it with the pre-finished substance and proceeded to draw on the floor.
The others stood to the side as he drew artistic lines and runes, connected them and started anew. After minutes of waiting – in fact it probably felt like hours but the Captain is a master and has prepared quite well for it – he motioned for them to step closer. Pushing each one to the correct position he let out a huff of excitement and grinned.
"Good. Stay were you are. As soon as I channel some of my chakra into it, it will start glowing an eerie blue colour, don't worry about that. I got no idea how the actual act of travel will feel like but I would advise not to move at all."
He soon stood at his own position. They were back to back with Hanabi directly opposite him, with Raven to his right and Slug to his left.
Before pushing some chakra into the seal he spoke up in a low voice.
"Remember. You are all well qualified for this mission and I expect all of you to come back alive but more experienced. In comparison to our daily missions this will be a walk in the park. Let nobody aggravate you and keep to yourself. The only person you are listening to is me. Always stand straight and don't back down. Let's show them who we are. Shinobi of Konoha."
This was the moment that Hyuuga Hanabi realized that whoever was behind the fox-mask, he was going to be the next Hokage.
A call of 'Konoha' rang through the room as a bright blue light engulfed them.
A/N:
Not much action and still nothing major happening but preparation always is a must. Now they're finally away from Konoha so let's see what's going to happen.
EDIT: I hopefully got rid of all typos and grammar mistakes. Send me notice if you still see something.
Regarding reviews. Same as last chapter. I thank those that did take the time to actually post a review. It's helpful, really. Those other 300 people that read it..well. Not much to say there. Even one of those 'Update soon'- reviews would motivate me enough to actually sit down and write a bit. So come on. 20 Secs for a fast-typing person would suffice.
Can't say anything about the next chapter yet, sorry. You'll have to wait.
Till later
Taka