"Why did Hokage-sama only assign one guard?" Shikamaru's drawled question caused me to stop eating, confused and curious… I wasn't the only one. Nara-sama and Yoshino-sama glanced at each other, something unreadable in their eyes, then turned to their son as well.
"Why do you ask?" Nara-sama placed his hands in a steeple in front of his face. I recognized the sharp look in his eyes, the same one I had seen in the Hokage's room yesterday while he was receiving the orders. He was deliberating something. Shikamaru took another bite of food, like everything was normal. It took a second before I noticed it, but his eyes were the same… he was avoiding looking at his father, but the same look crossed both of their faces, sharp and piercing… Nara…
Yoshino-sama had gotten up an hour before either her son or husband. I had watched as she did morning stretches and kata's before starting to cook breakfast. I admired her smooth and graceful movements, but they all seemed to disappear as the rest of the family filtered into the kitchen. She was separate from them, even now her eyes only held confusion and worry, not the deep contemplation of the other two.
"We learned about guard duty recently." At the Academy… he was training to be a shinobi… of course they would discuss guard duty, they probably went over all mission types in some detail. Shikamaru took another bite of food, but stared at his father sluggishly the sleep still thick in his gaze. It was like they were having an unspoken conversation in glares… was this normal?
"Oh?" Yoshino placed a glass heavily down on the table. "So you are awake in class? Then why are your grades so low?" She glared at her son and made a motion to grab him. I didn't know what she was planning, but the dismayed look on Shikamaru's face gave me a pretty good guess.
"Yoshino…" Nara-sama's voice trailed off. Yoshino-sama looked surprised at her husband. She glanced between them a few times and huffed. What was going on? "Shizu-chan." My head snapped to Nara-sama, the same calculating gaze he used on his son now turned to me… I felt like squirming… It was like Danzo-sama's gaze… except harder somehow… and softer too. "Did you sleep last night?"
"Of course, sir." I had slept about 2 hours in spurts, no longer than 15 minute stretches, minimal amount it an unknown area.
Shikamaru scoffed and looked at me disgruntledly. Nara-sama just gave me a small sad smile. Yoshino-sama looked worried as her gaze flickered between her husband and me. I… didn't know what they were looking for.
"In your bedroom?" Nara-sama's question took me by surprise… was this about my capabilities… were they worried about sleep deprivation? It could be deadly on guard missions… but I had taken proper precautions… I knew my own capacity.
"Sir, I can assure you I am still fit for duty. I have never failed a guard mission before." A vision of blood splattered over a china vase… that didn't count… the mission was to let the others in without it looking like the guards were at fault.
Nara-sama gave a small sigh. "If I ordered you to stand down on night shift would you obey?" My stomach twisted… Hokage-sama had given me a mission… my handler wanted me to fail it? Wasn't he supposed to… I should trust him… Hokage-sama said to treat Nara-sama's orders like his own, but… "I thought so." Nara-sama's gaze was undecipherable, what did he… "We will stop by Minato's office before we go shopping, get clarification from him." The tone of his voice was hard, decided. He picked up eating without another word.
Yoshino-sama looked just as shocked as me, but I suspected for a different reason. Shikamaru though… he just looked pleased… like he had won a game.
"Thank you for breakfast." Nara-sama nodded to his wife who absentmindedly nodded back at him. It took me a second to remember that I was supposed to follow him out. I stood quickly and gave a bow to Yoshino.
"Thank you." It only took a few moments to catch up to Nara-sama's slouched form waiting on the front porch after I slipped on shoes. He was staring into the clearing, but I couldn't figure out what he was looking at. There were a few people wandering around already getting ready for the day, I spotted an elderly woman working on her garden and a few flashes of the familiar body flicker chakra of shinobi leaving the compound.
"How much sleep did you get last night?" Nara-sama shot a sideward glance at me… was he looking for a number or for reassurance?
"Enough, Nara-sama." I was feeling no adverse effects from my lack of sleep… it was perfectly normal to stay up multiple nights in a row when you were on missions for Danzo-sama… this was barely noticeable. Nara-sama sighed again and I had to force down a flinch… I had answered wrong somehow.
"Let's go, we best stop by Minato first." Nara-sama took off at a faster pace than yesterday. His permanent slouch seemed to have no effect on his ability to body flicker through the trees of the Nara compound. I followed a few steps behind, tree branch to tree branch, we only touched the ground when exiting the compound, Nara-sama gave a nod to the guard at the gate, and then we were back dancing across the rooftops of the village.
We had to pass through the market on the way to Hokage Tower. I had never been here during the early morning hours. The booths and shops were opening up, civilians and shinobi mixing together in a way you would only find in a hidden village. I saw a few other body flickers across the roof tops and more than a few people drop into the market square with a poof of smoke and leafs.
I focused on keeping pace with Nara-sama, but something… I stopped with foot lifted to take my next step… was that… I turned back to the market eyes scanning for something my chakra pointed out. It felt familiar, but would he really be here… no of course not. My gaze focused on the flower shop, it belonged to the Yamanaka family, that I knew. I could only see the back of the large form, a muscular back lifting an awning… what was he doing there?
"Shizu-chan?" Nara-sama… how could I forget my mission… I berated myself. Nara-sama was only one roof ahead, but I had no doubt he had come back to find me once I stopped. I jumped over to him and bowed.
"I'm sorry sir. I was distracted."
Nara-sama glanced back at the market place, but he didn't focus on anything… of course not… he would have no reason to know…
He nodded and then started forwards again, it took us only a few more minutes to reach Hokage Tower. My mind raced the whole rest of the way there… that boy would never be in the marketplace… he would have no reason to be there. Nara-sama slowed at the entrance, his slouched stance belying the speed he had used to get here. Was it a purposeful misdirection or a Nara quirk?
The secretary barely gave him a look when he walked straight into Hokage-sama's office, but spent a long time looking me up and down before allowing me to follow… ANBU… I remembered from my time on Hokage duty, the secretary was always an ANBU plant.
I walked into a staring contest. Nara-sama and Hokage-sama were glaring at each other in a way not unlike the way Shikamaru had stared at his father… was this really normal? I cataloged the look… I didn't know what it meant, but surely it was important if Hokage-sama was doing it as well.
"Back so soon?" Hokage-sama's breeze had a sting to it, it made me want to flinch even if I wasn't the one it was directed to. Danzo-sama had a similar tone sometimes… disappointment… disapproval… the agents didn't often survive those meetings.
"Maa, my son pointed something out to me this morning… I figure if an Academy student can point out something wrong with your plan you would probably like to know it." I turned to Nara-sama in shock. His tone was lazy, but it also had a sting to it too. What was with everyone this morning? Who would question their superior like that… no… he was jonin commander… it was his job to argue with the Hokage if he didn't agree with something.
The Hokage shot a pointed look at Nara-sama. "Oh?"
Nara-sama smiled. "Did the policy change for guard duty?"
Hokage-sama slapped a piece of paper down on the table… frustration. "No. Get to the point Shikaku."
"Then it is still the policy to have a minimum two person rotation for guard duty?" I recognized his tone of voice, the same one Shikamaru's had head this morning… triumph.
A pained looked crossed Hokage-sama's face. He rubbed his face with one hand. His shoulder's slumped a little as he shook his head.
"I always forget something." My chest ached… I desperately wished for another mission, one I could complete successfully… I had obviously screwed this one up somehow… I thought… Hokage-sama's eyes snapped to me. I didn't even feel my leg slip under me as I knelt at attention one knee touching the ground, my head bowed. "SD34…"
"Shizu" Nara-sama's voice cut him off again… I didn't flinch away from him… Hokage-sama would never throw something at his jonin commander… would never discipline him the way that Danzo-sama had.
"Of course," Hokage-sama's voice paused, softer than it was before. "Shizu-chan please stand to receive your orders."
I remembered this from yesterday. My feet shoulder width apart, hands behind my back staring straight at the Hokage. "Yes, Hokage-sama." He smiled at me, bright teeth, gentle mouth… a ray of sunshine.
"Your mission is only to guard Nara-sama during his working hours, and to and from the office. The compound is guarded by a separate patrol at night." He muttered something that sounded a lot like 'seals', but I didn't catch all of it.
"Hokage-sama, I didn't feel any patrol in the compound last night." Both men froze at my words, even Nara-sama turned to look at me.
"You are a chakra sensor?" Hokage-sama asked with a shocked tone, even Nara-sama looked irritated.
"Yes, sir." I thought… "I thought you had my file?" Danzo-sama kept detailed records of all agents… if he was dead… they would have found them. Nara-sama and Hokage-sama shared a glance with each other.
Nara-sama answered. "Unfortunately, some of his documents were destroyed in the fight to capture all of his posts. We thought we had all of yours, but apparently we were wrong." Neither of the men looked very happy at the news. "How far is your range?"
"Only about the size of your house, sir, but I can catch familiar signatures at around 100 meters." Hokage-sama blinked at the news and Nara-sama smiled, but his eyes were the same sharp contemplation I had seen this morning.
"The patrol is outside the compound. It surrounds the clan compounds, but rarely enters without clan permission. The Nara compound has its own protections." Hokage-sama looked at Nara-sama as he said it. "You don't need to be on guard duty during your stay there. Nara-sama will protect you as well." I nodded in understanding… I had guarded shinobi before and they were the similar to the orders I received yesterday.
The night gown… maybe I would get to wear it.
"Well then, I'm taking Shizu-chan to the market today, need to pick up some clothes and tools…" Nara-sama was halfway out of the room before it realized he was leaving.
"I expect that report on my desk by tomorrow." Hokage-sama just shouted with a tired tone. Nara-sama gave a small wave as he exited the room. "I swear that man does whatever he can to avoid work, why did he even take the damn job?" I hand was on the door to follow him when Hokage-sama stopped me. "Shizu-chan, thank you for looking after Shikaku, but don't get too attached to this mission. Shikaku does many things for this village that are at the highest level of confidentiality, there are many times when you will not be able to guard him. During these times I will give you another mission or Shikaku will."
"I understand, Hokage-sama. Thank you for letting me serve." I bowed and opened the door, sparing one last glance to the still smiling man… he was nothing like Danzo… but still… I shivered all the same.