I had never been inside the Nara compound, but I knew something about it… all ROOT agents were required to have memorized the layout of the village and that necessitated knowledge about the clan compounds. The Nara compound was the second largest in the village after the Uchiha compound, but for an entirely different reason.
The Uchiha compound had over 250 shinobi and civilians living in it, a tiny village inside the village. It had its own grocery stores and police station, multiple restaurants and a clan only training ground. The Nara compound had 54 members: 32 shinobi, 17 civilians, and 5 children under the age of majority, including Nara-sama's son. It was an average sized clan, a few less people than the Akimichis and a few more than the Yamanakas, their two allies. The three clans had been allied for longer than Konoha had existed, their ties ran deep.
The reason the compound was large had nothing to do with the size of the clan, and everything to do with their herds and specialization. Like the Akimichi had their recipes and grocery stores, the Yamanakas had their gardens and flower stores, and the Naras had their dear and drug stores. Most of the clinics in the town and surrounding regions supplied Nara concoctions. I knew that their fields were mostly outside the village and there was standing guard contract with Konoha to protect them, but the real might of the Nara family was inside their clan compound.
Their compound held all their research and production buildings and a large forest carefully manicured for the dear it housed.
I knew all this and still when I actually entered the compound I paused in shock.
It was larger than I would have thought. I could barely see the outlines of some of the buildings tucked into the forest, their large forest. A puff of smoke exited the chimney of one of the larger buildings drawing my sight.
"Gorgeous isn't it?" Nara-sama's words jolted me from my distraction. Going from the bustling city outside to a tranquil forest was a surprise, but that didn't excuse my inattention. I tried not to flinch… another thing to punish myself for later.
I gave a small nod and focused back on my handler, there would be plenty of time to scout the forest later.
"There will be some building you can't enter, don't push it, it's usually for your own protection. If you have any questions…"I did flinch at that… my body rebelled at the thought… never question your superiors… never question orders… never question. My lower back twisted with remembered pain… a wave of nausea made me swallow back some spit.
"Never, sir." I cut him off… what was wrong with me… did I suddenly forget all the rules just because of my hospital stay. He… Nara didn't even look in my direction or pause in his steps… maybe there were different rules outside… maybe we were already expected to know the rules. He didn't have time to punish me for every mistake… he was the jonin commander… he had better things to do than correct one guard. I would have to make my own corrections and repentance… sooner rather than later.
"Here we are." Nara-sama's slouched stance had relaxed… I didn't even notice until it happened. The appearance of indifference in the village was an act, he was actually tensed, but I never would have been able to tell unless I had seen him here…he was the jonin commander for a reason and that was far easier to forget than it should be.
Nara led us to the largest house in the clearing. The other houses were only a little smaller and I could see multiple herb and vegetable gardens. The shade of the tall trees filtered most of the light coming through the clearing. There looked to be a small pond behind the larger house. A grassed area and paths lead between all the houses in the clearing.
It was quiet, tranquil, it felt safe. No wonder so many Nara liked to take naps.
Nara-sama only gave a slight pause when he entered the clearing… he was waiting for me to analyze.
"Thank you, sir." For giving me a second to memorize the surroundings. I would go out later to get a more thorough view, but I appreciated his kindness in allowing me a moment… if I had been better he wouldn't have needed to.
"I was just taking a second before I had to go home and do chores. Yoshino…" He smiled at me… did he find something funny… or was it a cruel smile… was he remembering his wife? Emotions were complicated. "You'll understand when you meet her. I think I've put it off long enough." His slow pace was familiar now. He nodded to a few people wandering around the clearing… it was nearing twilight… about time for dinner and bed. The few other people he saw gave him smiles back and waves… saying goodnight… I catalogued the motion of familiarity.
Nara-sama took a deep breath when entering his house, so I did the same. I am not sure why he did it… all I smelled was cooked fish and rice.
"I'm home!" Nara-sama called out after he replaced his shoes with slippers. There were guest slippers, but I didn't want to spend the time to double check them… you never put on garments you knew were unprotected… SD27 franticly pulling at a kimono sash, white faced…
"About time!" The feminine voice pulled him out of my memories. I placed my shoes carefully next to Nara-samas. It only took a spark of chakra to make my bare footsteps silent and not make a mark against the wooden floors. "Late today, thought jonin commander's made their own hours?" Endearment… joking… the tone was strict, but somehow warm.
"Well I had a little excitement today. Minato-san assigned me a guard." Nara-sama's voice was warm as well. The feminine voice made an inquisitive tone. That was my cue… but… how did he want me to act? As my handler he expected competence, I knew how to treat him… but didn't he… he didn't want his family uncomfortable. I made people uncomfortable… but I had a mask now… easy enough to change… sweet… or pitiful… I could do either, many missions had required those skills. "Where did she run off to? Shizu-chan?"
Chan… little girl… sweet and innocent. The smile spread across my face, wide bright and crooked. I don't remember who I cataloged it from… a young face, splashed with blood from a gaping slit throat, pink ruffled skirts ripped and dirty… a dress would complete the costume, maybe I could ask Nara-sama to request some. I looked down at my black genin uniform, it would have to do.
I added a skip to my step as I walked into the kitchen, wide smile across my face, the bounce of an energetic child.
My first estimation of Yoshino was that her file was correct. Hair tied back with a few strands framing her face. Her stern look softened when she saw at me. I had cataloged the gesture before, affection, the way a mother looked at a child, like she wanted to protect it.
"Please take care of me." I bowed sloppily, like I had seen someone else do it, but had never done it myself. I took the chance to take stock of the rest of the room. A young boy that looked startling similar to Shikaku sat with surprised look at the table, but it was fading into boredom quickly, Shikamaru.
A hand fell to my head, heavy.
I looked up to find Nara-sama, his eyes were harsh.
"There is no need for that here, Shizu. Behave as normal." Normal… I thought… I thought wrong.
The smile fell from my lips, the slight bouncing disappeared. My hands rested behind my back. I nodded at Nara-sama.
Yoshino's smile left her face, in its place was a small frown and worried eyes. I didn't know what she worried over… maybe she knew of me?
"Is she?" Yoshino-sama asked the question to Nara-sama, whose hand still rested on my head.
"Yes, she is one of his kids. She was in the hospital for a while recovering from a… mishap." There was something I was missing, something unrecognizable in Nara-sama's tone.
"I… I see." Yoshino-sama seemed to shake something from her mind. Her face stiffened again and pointed to the table. "Well, enough of excitement for the day, it's time to eat. Choza gave me one of his family recipes to try, so I better hear no complaints." She walked away stiffly to gather the food containers.
I took a sit next to Nara-sama. Shikamaru had lost the bored look on his face, replaced by an inquisitive one staring at me. It reminded me of cataloging… I did my best to ignore it.
It was easy to sneak a piece of each of the dishes as they were put on the table. I doubted that Yoshino-san would poison her husband or child, but bad habits formed if you weren't careful… Yoshino-sama looked a little disgruntled as she said welcomed the rest of the family to start eating.
The food was just rice and fish, but the spices brought out a flavor I had never tasted before. I knew the Akimichi family owned many restaurants and now I understood why.
After dinner was cleaned up by a disgruntled Nara-sama the family trudged upstairs. Yoshino-sama was the only one without a slump or tired eyes. She and Nara-sama opened one of the doors and gestured me inside.
"It's just a guest bedroom, if there is anything else you require please don't hesitate to ask." Yoshino-sama pulled the sheets up on the bed to straighten them.
Nara-sama pulled a scroll out of his bag and passed it to me. "It just has some standard uniforms and other essentials. We can go shopping tomorrow to fill out your wardrobe." He scratched the back of his head. "Goodnight, Shizu-chan." He slouched out of the room without a backward glance.
Yoshino-sama just shook her head at him. "Men." She crossed the room swiftly and before I knew it she had pressed both hands to my cheeks… I didn't know what to do… they were warm and calloused… like Hokage-samas. Yoshino-sama bent over and pressed her lips to my forehead… a tight feeling clenched in my stomach… maybe the food was poisoned. It took me a few moments to come back to myself.
I blinked a few times… I must have missed Yoshino-sama walking out of the room.
It was kind of them to give me a room, but I doubt I would have much use for it. I opened the sealing scroll and pulled out a few sets of clothes, including a light cloth dress… I had seen them before, but never owned one… a night gown. I put the clothes into the drawers of the dresser underneath one of the windows, placing the gown carefully into the top drawer. Then I sat on the bed to begin my nightly routine.
I settled on the bed cross legged and allowed myself to sink into meditation.
The building was humming with chakra. I could feel the pull from the walls. Apparently the Nara head was protected by old seals. I would have to take a closer look at them to know if any were familiar to me, but no seal was perfect. My chakra sense isn't perfect either though and didn't stretch far, barely five foot extra around the house.
I allowed myself a few extra minutes to acclimate to the new building and chakra signatures.
It was harder to start moving after that, but I knew my duty. I was easy to get to the first floor without disturbing anyone. I grabbed my shoes and made my way out of the house.
I checked the perimeter first gathering a basis for comparisons. I then started in the clearing, I matched chakra signatures with houses. It was easy to fall into a familiar rhythm… almost the same as watching the Uchiha… except this time I was alone. I would make a patrol every two hours, a different path every time. It would have been easier if I was assigned a teammate, we could have swapped shifts… different people see different things… I would make do.
After another twenty minutes and I headed back to Nara-sama's house. I slipped off my shoes again and headed upstairs. I settled outside Nara-sama's door. I was the only person guarding Nara-sama, which meant I would have to use a one man guard sleep schedule. I could get by with as few as four hours of sleep spaced throughout the day… I knew that with certainty. I would have to grab a few minutes when he was at his office tomorrow, easily defendable with only one entrance door, as safe as it would get to catch a few minutes at a time.
I settled against the wall and stretched out my chakra sense again. It wouldn't catch everything, but it had saved my life many times before.
I startled when I heard muffled voices coming from the room behind me… I shouldn't listen, but… it was my duty to protect him… even from his own wife if need be. I made a hand seal and the words came in clear… extra-sensory jutsus were hard to hold for long, but I wouldn't need to.
"…eight years old!" Yoshino's voice was stiff and angry.
"We're not actually sure of her age, we think eight or nine, but it could be older their memories are pretty spotty." I heard Nara-sama give a sigh. "But regardless of her actual age she is still not a child, none of them are. It would be better to think of her as a small ANBU or Kakashi when he was that young." There was silence… they were talking about me… I should stop listening… I should… "She's older than me Yoshino, aged by experience and tragedy." There was a muffled sound… was she crying?
I released my hand seal in shock...
I should never have intruded.
It was easy to fall back into stance, to ignore my panting breath and focus on the mission.
I'm not sure how long it took until there was quiet in the room, but I didn't care. I stood attentive, stretching muscles to keep them from going numb, grabbing sleep whenever I felt I needed a few minutes. I did two more patrols and settled again against the wall. I only became alert when I felt another's chakra move through the house.
Shikamaru's chakra was sleepy and lazy. Part of it followed behind him and seemed to catch on random objects. I ignored him and fell back into the shadows, he wouldn't recognize me here.
I'm sure who was more surprised when he exited the bathroom to head back to his room and his chakra caught mine. I knew what it was now… his shadow was catching on other shadows because he was tired… Danzo-sama would have loved to know this about the famous Nara jutsu.
"What are you doing here?" Shikamaru's voice was scratchy and hoarse.
"Standing guard." No need to lie to Nara-sama's son.
"Weren't you doing that during the day?" His eyes sparked. His lazy slouch was just as deceptive as his fathers, he noticed more than he let on.
I didn't respond, he already knew the answer to his question.
"Troublesome." He slouched away again without another word.