Chapter 9: In Bloom
Days off meant living as a civilian, and living as a civilian had its disadvantages – the worst of which was having to constantly mask her chakra. Masking her chakra meant no jutsu, and worse, lowered sensory perception, meaning she could be taken off guard. Yugao, just as many shinobi of her rank, hated surprises.
Which was exactly why her Tuesday market run was headed towards a really bad start.
It was watermelon season, apparently – usually a very pleasant season in Yugao's opinion – except that today it was still morning and the watermelon vendor had many more watermelons than he could ever hope to possibly fit in his modest stall. She wasn't sure what had started the chain reaction but what it ended with was an entire cart of watermelons – piled at least double her height – cascading right into her path.
And they would have hit her – would have smacked her right in the back of the head and knocked her out if someone hadn't yelled –
"Behind you! Look out!"
But in fact it wasn't even the watermelons that had startled her. The watermelons she could live with – she had sustained many an injury and, although significantly more embarrassing, she could have withstood this one, too. What had startled her, instead, was the voice.
Because she knew that voice. She even knew that exact phrase spoken by that voice. But when she turned around half-expecting a red and green embellished cat mask, she was instead met with short brown hair and black almond-shaped eyes.
The market man. Her friend. Her civilian friend.
It was true that Tuesday was market day because it was her team's day off – her entire team's day off (captain included). It was also true that both men had brown hair, but that was average. Their hairstyle might have been similar but Yugao couldn't be sure because even behind his mask Tenzou wore his happuri-style forehead protector with a band around the back which ruffled his hair a bit and Tenzou didn't have bangs, did he? They were both of average height and average build and just so average.
But they couldn't be the same person, they just couldn't. Her market man was more carefree, he smiled easily. He joked and ate too many sweets. He wore loose-fitting shirts and expended no chakra. He had to be a civilian. Even their voices were different. Except –
"Behind you! Look out!"
Tenzou had yelled those exact same words to her on their last mission, as he saved her from a falling stalactite in Orochimaru's abandoned cave lab, in the exact same way. It could just be a coincidence, couldn't it?
But she had no time to think because suddenly he was in front of her and his mouth was moving and words were coming out.
She blinked twice. "Huh?"
"Are you ok? Did you hit your head?"
She must have been staring at him too long as her mind raced through the possibilities, but it couldn't be – no. No.
"I'm - fine," she managed to stammer.
In a flurry the watermelon vendor was beside them, bowing and apologizing profusely.
"I'm very sorry, my son usually helps me with these, but he couldn't come today. I'm so very sorry, please" – he shoved a large watermelon into her arms – "for your trouble. Free of charge, please."
Yugao was at a loss for words. All this unpredictability was messing with her head.
"Um, thank you."
"It's the least I could do!" The vendor called as he scurried to pick up the rest of the watermelons that hadn't splattered onto the road.
Yugao looked at the fruit in her hands for a moment before thrusting it towards the man – Tenzou? – no, the man.
"Here. You're the one who deserves this."
She couldn't look at his face, not without getting lost in her confusing thoughts again, so she only saw his hands go up in polite protest.
"Oh, no, he gave it to you. You're the one who almost got hurt."
She only pushed further. "But you saved me, so - "
"I have an idea. Why don't we split it?"
At the unexpectedness of that statement her eyes accidentally glanced up to meet his. They were so honest, so full of genuine kindness that she couldn't refuse.
"Ok, sure."
"My apartment is not far from here. We could cut it there."
His apartment? He was inviting her to his apartment? But she had already accepted to split the watermelon so she couldn't back out now.
She nodded and suddenly she was following him down busy streets and around a couple corners and up stairs until they reached the third floor of a rather average-looking apartment building. His keys were unlocking the door and she had to admit she was getting a little curious. Even though she called this man her friend for many years she didn't actually know too much about him.
She wasn't sure what she was expecting but the inside of his apartment seemed very normal. It was fairly small, but adequate for one person, and extremely organized – the kitchen connected to the living room, two doors, one presumably led to a bedroom and the other to a bathroom, a few potted plants, many books, and come to think of it a lot of wooden furniture.
But, she reminded herself, a lot of furniture was made out of wood, so that didn't necessarily mean anything.
"Did you know that free watermelon tastes 56% better than full-priced watermelon?" he joked as he made his way into his kitchen, which was situated right near the entrance.
"Is that so?" she responded, still half-distracted by taking in her surroundings. She stayed by the door so as not to have to take off her shoes.
He placed the watermelon on a cutting board and rummaged through his drawer for a knife.
"It is. It's science."
While he inspected the fruit for its exact halfway point so he could cut it equally, she tried to get a good look at the books on his bookshelf. The titles mostly seemed to relate to gardening or architecture – both hobbies that didn't necessarily have to do with wood – right? And why was she looking for only wood-related things anyway?
"There! Any preference?"
She looked over at the watermelon on the counter, which had been expertly cut into two identical halves. Did that mean he was good with knives? With weapons? – No. Stop that.
"Either is fine."
It was only then that he seemed to realize that she was still standing near the door with her shoes on.
"Oh! Forgive me, please come in. Can I offer you some tea?"
She took in his apologetic expression, his neat appearance, the meticulous organization of his apartment, and suddenly she felt suffocated. She needed to go – she needed space to think.
"No, that's all right. I – I need to get going anyway." She didn't actually have anything to do for a few hours, but she figured another white lie on top of all her past ones wouldn't hurt at this point.
"I'll just wrap this up for you then," he replied, unbothered. He retrieved a piece of parchment paper from a drawer and carefully wrapped one half of the fruit. Her eyes glanced around his kitchen as she waited.
"You have an oven now," she noted, remembering many a conversation in the market where he lamented not being able to make cakes.
"I do!" he replied with a smile, before adding sheepishly, "I have yet to learn how to bake though. Here." He handed her the half of the watermelon to place in her basket. In all the commotion of the morning she realized that she had forgotten to buy nearly half of the groceries she had planned on getting. But she didn't think of going back to the market. Honestly, she just wanted to go back home.
"Thank you."
"Well, I'll see you around then."
"Mhmm."
He held the door open for her as she left. She remembered to force a smile before leaving because really he had done nothing wrong. She hoped he didn't think her behavior was rude or odd, because she thought it was odd. But who could blame her? How could it be possible, that in all this time, her market man, the boy from the pastry shop and the flower fields, in all these years was really –
No. It couldn't be.
She wouldn't think about that anymore. She was glad she had the entire afternoon off so that she could lie on the floor of her apartment and will this headache to go away.
…
That night, Yugao was the first to arrive for her kenjutsu training with Hayate. She looked down at the bag she brought with her, and instantly felt silly. Inside it she had packed neatly sliced pieces of the watermelon in a lunchbox. For what purpose, she had no idea. All she knew was that back at her apartment she had the thought that she couldn't possibly eat it all by herself. She sat down on the fallen log and waited.
He was late.
Maybe she shouldn't mention the bag and just let it sit there during the entirety of their training? No, he would notice. Maybe she should hide it inside the log? Now she was just being ridiculous.
She kept waiting.
When he didn't show up for a whole thirty minutes, she began to get nervous. She shouldn't have been nervous. They had agreed when they first started training that if one of them didn't show up, it was likely that they were just sent on an impromptu mission, and the other person should just leave. But she had just seen Hayate the night before, and he hadn't mentioned anything about a mission. Same-day missions were possible for a jounin, but rare. If anything, she could just check in with the Hokage…
Before she knew it, Yugao was outside the doors of the Hokage's office, slightly out of breath. Two ANBU stood guard.
"Is the Hokage busy?" Her words emerged with an unintentional urgency.
"Yes, one of the jounin just came back from a mission."
"Which one?"
"The one with the cough."
"Hayate!" Yugao burst through the doors without waiting to ask for permission. Inside, the Hokage sat at his desk, his face betraying none of the shock he felt at the sudden outburst, and in front of him, his right hand tightly clutching his left arm, stood Hayate. They were staring at her.
Suddenly, the gravity of her actions crashed down on her. "I-I'm sorry. I'll wait outside."
Idiot. You idiot. Barging into the Hokage's office in this manner was completely inappropriate, not to mention rude. She already knew Hayate was inside. She could have easily just waited for him outside. Idiot.
Before she could shamefully take her exit, Hayate spoke. "It's fine. We were just finishing up anyway." He turned to face the Hokage. "And with Yugao here, I won't have to go to the hospital, right?"
Hospital? Looking more closely at Hayate's left arm, Yugao noticed that it was caked in blood.
Recovering from his shock and disappointment, the Hokage turned back to Hayate. "You can use the medical records room – Yugao knows where it is – and get me the mission report when you can."
"Thank you, Hokage-sama." He bowed and turned to Yugao. Yugao bowed deeply as well and left the room.
The medical records room was where Yugao used to train with Kaya. Besides the large collection of medical books and scrolls, it also held some storage scrolls for all types of medical supplies.
Once inside, Yugao ordered Hayate to take a seat on one of the tables. She took off her mask and inspected his wound. It was deep – extremely deep. He had ripped off a part of his shirt and tied it around the wound to stop the bleeding, but the effect was minimal. Despite the amount of pain he must have been feeling, she saw that he was smiling.
"What?"
"So you do care about me," he teased.
Yugao focused on the wound. His smile didn't waver.
"You're my teacher," she responded curtly, using the same excuse she had used before.
"As more than that."
She refused to answer. She wasn't sure if she even had an answer.
"Take off your shirt."
He was able to shrug off his vest, but Yugao had to help him pull his left arm out of its sleeve. "Just that's enough." She unsealed the supplies she needed and began cleaning the wound. "How did this happen?"
"It was one of the shinobi swordsmen of the hidden mist. It seems they've disbanded and some of them have taken up mercenary work. For whatever reason his employer had him attack one of our villages not too far from here." cough, cough. "We received a distress message and I was sent out immediately…I'm sorry I didn't get the chance to notify you."
She ignored his last comment. "Why didn't you go straight to the hospital?" The wound was so deep that he needed stitches. She threaded her chakra needle.
"Well, someone had to report to the Hokage, and" cough "my team needed more urgent care."
When he coughed, his body slightly shook and her precision was jeopardized. "Try not to cough."
"Sorry." He swallowed.
"Did you get him?"
"No. Perhaps because of us or perhaps because he finished his job, he fled."
She decided not to question him further. A failed mission was not something one wanted to discuss at length. Gathering some bandages, she wrapped up his arm. "Done."
It was quick, clean work.
She helped him get his arm back into the sleeve of his shirt. The fact that it was still caked in blood didn't seem to bother him.
"What's in the bag?"
She followed his gaze to said object on the floor. Focused on her duty as a medic, Yugao had completely forgotten that she was still lugging around the bag of watermelon. "It's nothing," she replied hurriedly.
"Were you going to bring it to our training?"
She studied his tired, yet still smiling face. How did he still have the energy?
"Are you hungry?"
"Starving."
She let out a sigh and sat on the ground, motioning for him to follow suit. Between them, she opened up the lunchbox full of watermelon.
"Well this is a nice treat."
They ate in silence for a while, Yugao still trying to swallow all the shame and embarrassment of bursting into the Hokage's office not too long ago. She kept her eyes on the slices of watermelon, trying not to stare at Hayate's hands every time he reached for a new piece.
"Thank you for fixing my arm. I hate going to the hospital. I owe you one."
She looked up at him, letting her surprise register on her face. "No way, you've been training me in kenjutsu. This is the least I could do."
He shook his head. Cough, cough. "That was on an order from the Hokage, it doesn't count. How about I get you a drink sometime?"
She was taken aback by his unabashed suggestion. "Oh…no, I don't think that—"
"Let's see, it's been almost seven years since you've joined ANBU, so that would make you twenty, right?"
"Actually, I won't be twenty for a couple of weeks—"
"Your birthday is in a couple weeks? Then I have to buy you a drink! Come on, I'll take you out to dinner—"
"I don't think that's a good idea." Her voice was firmer than she had meant it to be. But it's probably for the best. He was just taking it so far, she didn't know what else to say.
She tried not to notice the enthusiasm draining from his face.
"Is it because you're ANBU?"
Was that the reason? She tried to imagine eating at a restaurant with Hayate, in her civilian clothes, talking freely, laughing – she couldn't.
It wasn't exactly just because she was in ANBU. There was a bigger reason, but she had never quite reflected on it all that much. Yet she owed him an explanation. She chose her words slowly, carefully, determining their meaning almost at the same moment she said them.
"I…" she began. He was staring at her with those relentless eyes, hanging on to her every word. "I don't have a life outside of ANBU. I only have my job, and that's it. In the outside world, I don't have any friends, I don't even have a name. I don't...exist. Without my mask, nobody knows me."
She had never before quite put it into words, but she knew it was the truth. The responsible, lonely truth.
"I know you."
Her heart would have stopped if her emotion-suppressing training instinct hadn't kicked in.
She ignored the intensity of his stare while she packed up the lunchbox of watermelon rinds. The room was silent but for the slight taps and shifts as she cleaned up the medical supplies and sealed the unused ones back in their scrolls.
When her voice came back again, it was detached.
"Go home and get some rest. Don't lift anything heavy and your arm should be ok by Thursday."
She put on her mask and left before she could hear his response.
As she changed out of her ANBU clothes in the locker room, she looked at her reflection in the small mirror in her locker.
"I know you."
Did he know the real her? Which her even was the real her?
She said that her job was her life, but then what kind of life did she really have? As an ANBU she always kept her emotions in check and her background a secret. Her desires, if she even had any, took a backseat to the priority of the mission. Those who she interacted with most – Tenzou, Kaya, even Kakashi – they only knew her behind a mask. There, she was only a useful tool to serve her team and her village. Even as a civilian she wore a disguise. The only person she regularly interacted with – the man from the market – she had been lying to him since the day they met.
She tried to think back to who she was before she joined ANBU, before she bothered with keeping her identity hidden. Her parents had known her, but they had known a child. Her memories of that time – and any sense of self she might have had – were unreliable. In the Academy, she had been obedient and studious – above average but not to the point that she would stand out as a prodigy. She wasn't an outsider, she remembered being friendly with other students, but she wasn't particularly close with any of them either. If there ever were classmates she would consider close, it would have been the genin team she had been a part of for one year. But one of her teammates had died before her very eyes on a mission, and the other had moved to the countryside with his family and given up on being a ninja. There wasn't anybody who knew her left. She wasn't even really sure if she knew herself.
What if the reason she was able to keep her identity hidden so well was because she didn't even have one?
Perhaps the version that Hayate saw – the her as an ANBU without a mask – perhaps that really was the truest version of herself. But what would that even matter? He lived in the real world. He was a person with a family and friends who waited eagerly for him to come back safely from his missions. She was a shadow, with no name and no one to come home to.
She closed her locker and headed home, taking comfort in the cover the darkness provided for her.
It would never work.
…
Ever since the obliteration of the Uchiha clan and the forced resignation of Shimura Danzo from the village council, all surveillance efforts by the ANBU had been repositioned onto Danzo and The Foundation. It was on duty in one of the monitoring rooms that Yugao was found by her team captain, Tenzou.
"Yugao, do you have a moment? I have an assignment for you."
Turning her back to the monitors displaying various angles outside of the Foundation mansion, Yugao walked over to her captain. In his hands was a large folder full of documents.
"What is it?"
"I think this assignment will be right up your alley." He opened the folder. "This is a list of all the children from the village who, for all intents and purposes, have essentially vanished."
He was right – it certainly caught her attention. "What do you mean?"
"We have their birth records from Konoha Hospital, but they were never enrolled in the Academy. Not known to be missing in the war either."
"They could be non-ninja."
"They never registered for national identification."
At the age of twelve, when children graduated from the Academy, they were required to register themselves as ninja. Non-ninja children were required to register as well, but for a national identification card. That way, every person in the village had a legal presence.
"Furthermore," Tenzou continued, "no one ever filed missing persons reports for these kids. Family or friends, if they even had them, no one came looking for them." If he felt any sadness for the position these children were in, he hid it well.
He handed the file to Yugao to look through. It was full of detailed information. "Who compiled all this?"
"Not sure, but it stops around ten years ago. My guess is someone under the Fourth Hokage. I found the file on accident while looking through some other records, so I brought it up with the Hokage and he's given me the go ahead. Yugao, I want you to investigate what happened to them."
"You're thinking this is tied to Danzo, aren't you?" She couldn't tell because of the mask, but if she had to guess, Tenzou smiled.
"If we could confirm how many of these children were taken by Danzo…"
"…then we would get an approximate number of how many ANBU are under his control," she finished for him.
"And how many he may still be training even though the Foundation has been dissolved. Like you said, the youngest would be ten years old, and we have no intel of any current ANBU that age."
She scanned through the list, eyes falling on familiar characters. "Hold on, I know this name. Yamanaka Fu. He was a couple years behind me in the Academy. Why is he on this list?"
"He never graduated."
Yugao's eyes stayed on that name. If that was the case, then she knew exactly where to start.
"I'll leave you with this then. The rest of the team and I will be leaving for a mission starting tomorrow, should take about three weeks. If you have any progress to report before I get back, take it to the Hokage. Good luck."
"You too."
And with that, he left. Yugao closed up the folder and turned back to the monitors. This was exactly what she needed – something to keep her mind focused on work and away from a certain jounin who threatened to throw her entire world out of balance.
…
Yamanaka Inoichi sat at his desk as the head of the Konoha Intelligence Department, filling out a report on the recent interrogation he had just finished, when he sensed a presence appear in his office.
"Yugao, to what do I owe the pleasure? You've come alone I see."
Having taken over much of the ANBU's internal investigations, Yugao was a frequent visitor to the Intelligence Department, often bringing along suspects for interrogation.
"It's a more personal matter this time," she informed him. Inoichi was a kind man, but their relationship was one as such that they could skip the formalities of small talk. "What can you tell me about Yamanaka Fu?"
Without a word, Inoichi stood up to close the door of his office before returning to his seat. Yugao's eyes glanced over the picture framed on his desk, a young blonde girl with stunning blue eyes – his daughter, most likely.
"What do you want to know?"
Yugao turned her attention back to the father. "He was enrolled in the Academy, but never graduated. Why is that?"
"Something tells me you already know that answer."
Even without having to enter a person's mind, Inoichi's sense of perception was highly acute. Yugao remained silent.
He heaved a deep sigh. "That boy…he was taken by Danzo to join the Foundation. Or rather, he went willingly."
"He joined Danzo on his own accord?" she repeated back to him in disbelief. Yamanaka Fu came from a clan with a strong sense of community. He had a family. He was on track to become a shinobi, so why would he willingly follow Danzo?
"His father owed a debt, the nature of which he refused to tell me. Apparently Danzo offered to excuse the debt in exchange for Fu. I tried to tell the boy that we would find another solution, but he was stubborn."
In exchange for a debt – Yugao let that sink in. "I see. That's all I needed to know. Thank you for your cooperation."
As she was turning to leave, Inoichi spoke once more. "The Foundation…I hear it's been dissolved."
Still with her back turned, Yugao answered, "That is correct."
"And yet he hasn't come back."
As she left the Intelligence Department, Yugao couldn't help but wonder how many of the missing children's parents had been in a similar situation – blackmailed, unable to repay a debt, or simply unable to care for a child. And how many of the children had simply been abandoned? Among the list were even some children without names, only descriptions – Male. Pale skin. Black hair. Dark brown eyes. 7 pounds, 6 ounces.
What kind of a man was Danzo to take advantage of the helpless, the vulnerable, in order to achieve his own mysterious, dark means? And what of the Hokage – what kind of a person would allow a man like that to operate, virtually without restrictions, for so long?
…
Ever since the incident in the Hokage's mansion a few weeks before, Yugao and Hayate had proceeded on formal terms. The only time he spoke to her during a lesson was to correct her technique or give her some tips.
This lesson was no different. He tested her sensory abilities by attacking her while using his transparent escape technique. Ever since he told her not to focus on sensing his chakra but rather the disturbances in the chakra of the living things around her, she was able to perfectly counter his attacks at least every three out of five times – a drastic improvement.
As it neared midnight he called off the lesson for the day, and Yugao went to gather her mask and other belongings. If she were being honest, these silent, formal lessons were not what she truly preferred, but it was for the best.
"Before you go…" she heard Hayate call out to her.
His tone was strange, unsure yet determined at the same time. She had never heard him like this before – and it scared her.
Yugao turned. Before her Hayate stood holding a small rectangular bag. From inside it he pulled out a single flower. He took a deep breath. "You said a few weeks ago that it would be your birthday around this time" cough, cough, "I know I probably shouldn't have, but it felt strange to know and not do anything."
Yugao stared at him in silence for a while, searching his ever stoic face for a hint of why he would do such a thing after what she said to him.
"It's a useless thing for a shinobi to celebrate a birthday," she snapped back. "We aren't promised any certain amount of time in this world. What's the point?" Although she knew her words to be true, part of her mentally berated herself for not being able to just accept the gift and move on. Why was it always so difficult for her to accept another person's kindness?
"On the contrary, I believe it's the most important thing we should celebrate. We shinobi are those who endure, those who survive all the hardships thrown at us, right? Well what better way to honor that path than to celebrate that we've survived another year?"
Unable to tell if his words were able to reach her, Hayate put the flower back in the bag. "But if you don't want it, I understand." He moved to gather up the training materials.
What was he doing? Why did he keep trying to reach out to her? And why did she keep pushing him away?
And what if…
…what if she didn't?
"My birthday was two days ago."
Hayate looked up to see Yugao coming towards him. She walked slowly in order to hide the fact that she was shaking. For the first time in her adult life she had absolutely no idea what she was doing, and it was terrifying.
"Every year on my birthday I take a photograph," she explained. "It's a tradition my parents started on the day I was born. They wanted to document my growth and I continued it as a way to remember them." When she was only an arm's length away she stopped. "You said a few weeks ago that you know me. You don't know me yet, Hayate, but you can. If you want to."
She looked directly into his eyes, willing her intentions to be understood. She wasn't sure if she was making the right decision. She didn't want to accidentally drag him down into her darkness, but she also didn't want to only be his student. She wanted to be something more – his equal, his friend, or even…
He smiled.
"Well then, this is for you."
He held out the bag. She took it, and looked inside.
A white moonflower.
…
At the end of a small, forgotten hallway in the Hokage Mansion was the restricted records room. Access was only granted to the Hokage, his advisors, and members of the Hokage's ANBU. It was here that Yugao often went to search for information to aid in her investigations. Information on every citizen of Konoha was kept there – birth records, school records, ninja registration forms, business permits, you name it. Despite its wealth of information, it was rarely visited or used by anyone besides Yugao these days, which was why she was slightly surprised to see it occupied by a certain team captain when she arrived.
"Ah, Yugao, I thought I might find you here."
Turning away from a worn, old scroll to look at the incoming kunoichi carrying a stack of papers in her hands was Tenzou, recently returned from his nearly three week long mission outside of the village.
Three weeks…why was that important?
A silly thought succeeded in pushing its way into her brain: she hadn't seen the almond-eyed man at the market in three weeks…she pushed it aside.
"What are you reading about?" asked Yugao, indicating the scroll on the table in front of him, its paper yellowed and edges worn.
"This? Deep Forest Bloom, a wood style technique used by the first Hokage. But it's only stories. The First didn't actually leave any instructions for this jutsu. I'm not even sure it really exists." He rolled up the scroll.
Yugao remembered a time a few years ago, before she left for the Daimyo's residence, when Tenzou was trying to produce flower buds from the wood extending from his fingertips. It was strangely a fond memory. "Is that why you were trying to make those flowers before?"
"Yes," he chuckled sheepishly, "nothing ever came of it though, so far. Anyway, I was looking to ask you about the assignment I gave you before I left. Any progress?"
Yugao flipped through the stack of papers in her hand. "If the example of Yamanaka Fu is anything to go by, then the majority of the children were definitely taken by Danzo. Of the eighteen children under the age of twelve, seven were non-ninja who hadn't been registered for identification forms yet, and two have moved with their families outside of the village."
"Have you reported this to the Hokage?"
"Not yet. What bothers me is these twenty-four other children. There are records of them being born in the hospital, but they were never given names. I can't find their families. I came to check if there were any adoption records from this time period."
"Adoption records…do we have those?"
"Shouldn't we?" It was true that Yugao had never come across any adoption records in her previous research, but she had just assumed they existed somewhere. But the more she thought about it, the more she wasn't so sure. When she had lost her parents at five years old, no one had come to take care of her. She had lived alone since then and that was that. The only assistance she received came in the form of a monthly allowance from the village government to help her pay her expenses until she became a ninja. Now that she really thought about it, it was a little strange that so many children were likely left alone to raise themselves in a similar way.
Tenzou's pragmatic voice interrupted her thoughts. "Let's assume all those children ended up under Danzo." They hated to admit it, but it was the most likely situation. "How many would that be under Danzo's control?"
"So, of ninja between the ages of ten and twenty-five…Danzo would have approximately fifty-four." Even for Danzo, keeping that many shinobi completely hidden from the public eye seemed difficult.
"Then, the real number is probably closer to twenty-seven."
"Why do you say that?"
Tenzou grappled for a moment with the words he should say. "It has to do with Danzo's training method."
"Training method?"
"I can't say. Not because I don't want you to have the information, but…" He hesitated, then slowly lifted his mask slightly, so that only his chin and mouth were visible, and stuck out his tongue.
Yugao looked closely at the black-striped pattern seemingly tattooed on it. "Is that…a curse mark?"
Tenzou nodded, replacing his mask. "Danzo puts one on every member of the Foundation. It's to prevent us from exposing any secrets about the Foundation…or about Danzo himself. Even the Third couldn't remove it."
But even that explanation only led to more questions. "The Foundation…but you and I joined the ANBU at the same time."
She remembered their inauguration, kneeling side by side with him in the Hokage's office all those years ago.
"I joined the Hokage's ANBU at the same time as you, but before that, I was raised by Danzo."
Parts of Tenzou's past were all starting to come together and make sense – his experimentation by Orochimaru, his being found by Danzo, then his joining the ANBU…this man had never lived a normal, peaceful life. And his choice of words struck her – raised by Danzo – did he see that dark man as a father figure in the same twisted way he saw Orochimaru as his first caregiver? All of the sudden, Yugao felt the same sense of discomfort she had felt when she followed Kakashi to the memorial stone, when Kaya told her about her sister, when Tenzou first told her of his past – a discomfort that came from knowing too much.
"Are you sure you should be telling me this?"
Tenzou thought for a moment. "You're one of the people I trust the most." And it dawned on Yugao that she felt the same way about him.
"Oh no." Yugao put the papers she was holding down on the desk as a realization hit her.
"What is it?"
"I just had a thought. There might be other children like you, children not born in Konoha Hospital, or children from other villages that Danzo recruited." She sighed. "Even children from some of the more private clans, like the Aburame clan, who don't use as many public facilities. Essentially…this number might be totally skewed."
Tenzou sighed as well as the realization sunk in. He ran a hand through his recently cut hair – it was now shorter than she had ever seen it. "You're right. Perhaps I was too optimistic…Well, the Hokage still sanctioned this investigation. I think he would still be interested in the numbers. And the very real possibility that the Foundation has trainees under 12 years old." He looked over at the stack of papers Yugao had left on the desk and thought about how much time she had spent meticulously going through them. "I'm sorry, I hope you didn't find this to be a waste of time."
Despite the looming possibility that the results of her investigation could be rendered worthless, Yugao did find one bright side.
"Do you know how they notify you that you've just become an orphan?" Yugao posed the question to her captain, but gave him no time to answer before explaining, "They give you a letter, whether or not you know how to read. I bet they give toddlers that letter."
"I didn't know that."
Yugao nodded. She had figured as much. "I still have mine." It wasn't a huge revelation – definitely not as big as Tenzou's – but she had still never told anyone before. She had never questioned the procedure at the time either, but it was starting to strike her as strange. "No…I think I might have gotten something out of this investigation after all."
…
Full investigation report in hands, Yugao stood in front of the Third Hokage in his office. Heart pounding steadily faster, she tried to understand the feeling that was coming over her. It wasn't fear or guilt or anger – all which had caused similar reactions as she stood before the Hokage in the past. But this was different.
"You wished to speak with me?" She could sense the tiredness in the aging man's voice.
"I have the report on the investigation on the undocumented children, but before that, there is another matter I would like to discuss."
"Yes?"
She understood it then, this feeling – it was excitement. It was the passion of someone wanting to make a positive change in another person's life. For once, she could be helping the village in a way that didn't involve sneaking around in the shadows.
"It has come to my attention that the village has no formal process or structure for adoption…"
…
"…and the Hokage liked my idea. He said he's going to get the council working on creating an office to handle adoptions within the village. They're going to work with the hospital, and did you know there's even an orphanage outside the village? This way, people who want to become parents, and people who can't become parents, and the children…they'll all have a place to go."
She was sitting next to Hayate on the fallen log in their usual training ground. After allowing herself to open up to him a few weeks prior, they had been spending more and more time together after their training, just sitting and talking. It had started with just a few words, some short conversations, but recently they would find themselves at times sitting for hours without realizing.
"You're really passionate about this, aren't you?"
Hayate's ever intense stare shone with admiration, such that Yugao looked away in embarrassment.
"Yes." It really was the first good thing she had done of her own free will.
"I guess I never really thought about it," he admitted. "When I lost my parents, my aunt and uncle took me in. They never had a child of their own, and they loved my parents, so it was an easy decision." Cough, cough "But I guess not everyone is as fortunate."
He stared silently at Yugao for a while. Her face still turned away from him, he could tell that it was no longer from embarrassment, but that she must have been deep in thought. He decided to take a risk.
"Do you…wish you hadn't grown up alone?"
Yugao stayed silent. She had faced this question herself multiple times as she was preparing her proposal for the Hokage. Could it be that she was so passionate about this project because she had been forced to live alone since she was a child? Did she still harbor some bitterness towards her parents, and towards the village, for abandoning her to fend for herself?
She chose her words carefully.
"Sometimes…I wonder what my life would have been like if my parents were alive. But…no. I think it's useless to wish that my life were a certain way, or that things turned out differently. It's only because things turned out the way they did, that I became the person I am today." This was the answer she had settled on, and she was happy with it. Maybe she shouldn't have - no one should have - had to go through so much pain in order to grow as a person. Maybe it wasn't the perfect life. There were still some things missing from it, but there were some good things, too. And, it was the only one she had.
"Well, that's good. Because I like the person you are today."
Her stomach felt sick, but in a good way. "Hm, you're not bad the way you are, I suppose."
He laughed. "Ok then, let's make a promise, the moon as our witness –"
"Oh come on, not that again."
"– that we will always strive to be the coolest, best version of ourselves that we possibly can."
She gazed at him through narrowed eyes, trying to hide her amusement.
"Well? Promise?"
She gave in. "Fine. Promise."
Yugao looked up towards the moon. Any hint of playfulness melted away as she breathed in the cool air. It was nearing mid-December yet she was still comfortable in only her standard ANBU gear.
"Why me, Hayate?"
She felt his eyes on her as he prepared his response. Despite her vagueness, he knew exactly what she was asking.
"Well Yugao," he began, "ANBU since age thirteen, sensory type, excels at tracking, capture, medical ninjutsu, kenjutsu —"
"Are you just going to recite my file again?"
"—because, you are so much more that just those statistics. I could see that right away." Satisfied with the small smile he saw on her face, Hayate turned to look towards the moon as well. "Well, since it's only fair…"cough, cough "Same question. Why did you decide to give me a chance?"
She remembered something he had said months ago, about why he liked watching the moon, and she remembered his smile as he said it.
"Because you're like the moon. And I'm the…"
...the darkness. She couldn't make herself say it out loud.
"If I'm the moon then you're the night. Is that what you were going to say?"
She turned to find Hayate staring at her again with his piercing dark eyes. How did he manage to read her mind like that? What did he see?
"Well you're right. You are the night, Yugao. Because I wouldn't shine without you."
She swallowed, but this time didn't look away.
He continued, "You make me think of things I never would have considered. You help me see the world in a different way, and that makes me…stronger, better."
Yugao decided that she liked the way he looked at her.
As a child, Yugao entered the Academy because it was what her parents would have wanted. She became a ninja in order to carry on their will of protecting the village that had given them refuge. She had joined ANBU because she had been asked to—she had exceptional skills and she fit the profile—and she was happy to take on a larger role of protecting the village as a sign of her parents' gratitude. But now, she had another reason.
She wanted to protect the village because he was in it.
She wanted the village to be at peace, she wanted to come back from every mission quickly and safely because he would be there.
The first day she joined ANBU, the Hokage asked her which emotion was necessary for a person to truly inherit and understand the Will of Fire.
Yugao was starting to think she knew what it was.
