Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

Raidou knocked tentatively at Aoba's door. Gai's room had been empty, so the next logical place to look was his team captain's room. Sure enough, Mitarashi Anko opened the door, dressed in skintight mesh. She leaned suggestively against the doorway when she saw him, and smirked. "Hello, Raidou-kun."

"Is Gai in?" Raidou asked, business-like. Anko was about Hayate's age, barely seventeen years old and trying too hard.

"Sure he is. We've just been having a five-way party," she leered.

Aoba appeared behind her shoulder, fully dressed. "Who are you harassing this time, Anko? Hi, Raidou. Need something?"

"Is Gai here?"

"Yeah. Come on in." Aoba grabbed Anko's shoulder and pulled her back into the room. "Stop harassing the visitors, Mitarashi-chan."

The teenager scowled. "Let me go, Aoba. Gai! Gai, get over here. You've got a visitor."

The third member of Aoba's squad rushed out of the kitchen, beaming. "Who is it? Ah, Kakashi-san's friend." He paused, abashed. "What was your name again?"

"Namiashi Raidou." He looked uncomfortably at the glinting young man in front of him. His teeth sparkled as he smiled, even in the dim, smoky air of Aoba's rooms. Gai made him nervous. "Gai, I have a favor to ask of you."

The man straightened up. "A favor! I will do my utmost to fulfill your trust! What is it that Konoha's Great Green Beast can do for you?"

Raidou felt small under Gai's overpowering enthusiasm. "My squad's got a mission next week. I was hoping you could keep an eye on my little brother."

"That is a worthy favor! I will protect your brother with my life!"

"His name is Uzumaki Naruto," Raidou told Gai. "If that's a problem..."

"Not a problem! Konoha's Great Green Beast does not renege on promises! I will protect young Uzumaki-kun with my life."

"Thanks," Raidou said hurriedly, edging towards the door. "I really appreciate this, Gai. It'll only be a week or so..."

"Bye-bye," Anko waved. Aoba flicked a two-fingered salute, before dragging Anko's head back to the scroll they were examining.

Raidou ducked out of the room, exhaling in relief. That was a creepy squad. Definitely creepy.

He stopped by Genma's on his way back, knocking lightly. "Genma."

The door opened, and his friend gestured him in. Genma's apartment was the same as all the others in layout. But Genma had turned the bare, standard three rooms into safety. His walls were covered in posters and hangings, bought from thrift shops or collected on his more peaceful missions. The room was bright with color, and light.

Paradoxical as it seemed, Genma was afraid of the dark. It never affected him on missions, crouching alertly in the shadows, but in his own home the dark was the enemy. Or held enemies. He was afraid of being vulnerable, of being powerless. Thus the room was bright with artificial light, and Genma's senbon shone in the illumination.

"Did you ask Gai?"

Raidou nodded. "That's all set."

"What do you think about Bunny-face?"

"He's stronger than Hayate was, if only because he isn't coughing his guts up all over us. But they gave us a month with Hayate."

"They give anyone a month with a new rookie."

"Or at least two or three weeks," Raidou agreed. Then, "Is your ankle going to be healed?"

"Enough."

"That means no."

"No."

"A week," Raidou burst out. "One fucking week. Hatake's right; we're going to get slaughtered."

"Have Kakashi put him at the back. We can take whatever it is as a four-man cell."

"And you? If your ankle gives out, then what?"

"The medics say it should be good enough."

"For jounin missions."

"You don't know this one will be bad."

"They'd give it to someone else if it weren't."

Genma couldn't argue with that.

Six in the morning found five ninja at a training field, dressed in armor and masks, swords strapped to their backs. Five identical shinobi, distinguishable in the early morning light only by the patterns of their masks and the color of their hair. Cinnamon-brown, red-brown, black, white, mud-brown. And yawning off to the side, bright yellow.

They fought until the changing light, and Genma's faltering steps, caught Kakashi's attention. "Lunch break."

They broke apart, all breathing heavily. "It's three o'clock," Hayate pointed out, snippily.

Genma sat down, rubbing his ankle. Raidou crouched down beside him. "You okay?"

He nodded, glad his mask hid the teeth digging into his lower lip. "Bunny's not too bad at teamwork," he commented, when he could release his tense jaw without whimpering. "Kakashi should be glad." Naruto had left for school hours ago, when the morning dew hadn't yet burned off the grass.

Raidou glanced over the training field, the soft grass ripped to shreds by their feet and their jutsu. A new hill graced the north side, and several wide stripes of ash turned the air dusty. Hayate was coughing quietly. "Kakashi's never glad about anything." He tossed Genma a ration bar. "Eat, before he decides he isn't hungry."

Sure enough, the two had barely finished when Kakashi was standing up again, gesturing for his teammates to rise. "Let's go."

"My mom says I shouldn't play with you," Kiba said bluntly. "She says you're dangerous."

Naruto threw back his shoulders. "Of course I'm dangerous. I'm a better ninja than you; you ought to be afraid of me."

"You're not better than me!"

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah!"

"Race you to the classroom."

"Go!" The two boys tore towards the school, friends again.

After school, Kiba asked, "Want to go to the park?"

Naruto considered. "I'm supposed to wait for Nii-san here."

"The park's just down there." Kiba waved a hand. "Shika and Chouji are going."

"Okay," Naruto agreed. He'd never been to the park with friends before. They played on the slides and raced around the climbing structure throwing cardboard shuriken. Their clear laughter rang across the playground, bright in the summer afternoon.

Raidou arrived at the school as the last few parents were leaving with their children. He was soaked in sweat, and still breathing heavily from the group training session. The rest of them were still out there, and he would head straight back as soon as he had picked up Naruto. He dropped down from the roofs and walked the last block to the school.

At the gate, a nervous chuunin hurried up to him. "What can I do for you, ANBU-san?" he asked, his fingers twisting anxiously in the sleeves of his shirt. Bad form, Raidou noted absently. Keep your hands free, kid. Then he registered the question. Oh, shit. Too late now, he supposed. He'd forgotten to shed the ANBU gear.

"Where's Uzumaki-kun?" he asked instead, taking care to sound pleasant and unthreatening.

The chuunin glanced around the yard. "He's not here, ANBU-san. You might wish to check the park down the road; many of the students go there after school."

"Thank you," Raidou said, and walked sedately away from the school. Around the corner, he began to run. If Naruto were alone... He didn't stop to think how unreasonable his fear was—Naruto had lived his whole life alone, and survived—he just ran.

He pulled up short at the edge of the park, slipping into the shadows of the trees. He hadn't been careless enough to let the villagers see a fully uniformed ANBU sprinting through the streets; panic was not exactly needed in the village. But he did relax a little when he caught sight of Naruto's bright head bobbing through the playground. He was safe.

Raidou pulled his mask off and made a quick seal, stepping out from the trees dressed in a green flak jacket. Henge was remarkably useful in so many situations. He leaned against the fence surrounding the park, a half-smile touching his lips as he watched Naruto chase the Inuzuka kid, laughing with his head thrown back and eyes shining.

His smile grew as he felt a friend's chakra presence approaching, and the man leant on the railing next to him. "Your kid here?" he asked.

"On the slide," the Nara patriarch affirmed. "Lazy little creature," he said with affection.

Raidou glanced where Shikaku pointed. Sure enough, a Shikaku-look-alike sat poised on the top of the slide, his head tipped back towards the sky. "He's got your face," Raidou said.

"And my temper," Shikaku agreed with a smirk. "Yoshino's on my case constantly about it. She says I'm not being a good role model."

"Were you ever?" Raidou asked somberly.

Shikaku shoved a shoulder into Raidou. "Brat. How's the jutsu going?"

"It's good." Raidou flinched as the Inuzuka boy mis-stepped and fell flat on his face. "Tried it with Kurenai a few weeks ago. She likes it."

"Hah." Shikaku rubbed his stomach with his forearm. "I swear you're all masochists."

"Says a man who stabs himself in the leg every other mission."

"Eh? I don't know what you're talking about." Shikaku turned away in mock offense.

They watched the children in companionable silence for a moment. "Remember when we were that young?"

"Too long ago for me." Shikaku shrugged his bony shoulders. "I've got to get Shikamaru home," he added. "See you later, Raidou."

"See you."

"Take good care of the Uzumaki," he tossed over his shoulder. "Hey, Shikamaru, get your lazy butt down from there!" Raidou watched in amusement as Shikaku stalked towards his indolent offspring, still perched at the top of the slide. "You promised your mother you'd clean your room." Raidou thought he heard a faint mutter of 'troublesome.' "It'll be more troublesome if she finds six shogi boards still on your floor," Shikaku informed his son. The boy paled, and slid quickly down.

Raidou laughed quietly as the two Nara walked away. Then, he straightened up from his languid slouch. "Naruto!"

He bounced over, waving goodbye to his friends and smiling. "Raidou-nii-san, guess what. Me and Kiba and—"

"Naruto," Raidou cut in. "You weren't at the school."

"No, Kiba and me went to the park," he said, looking confusedly up at the man walking next to him.

"You said you'd be at the school." Raidou kept his voice calm, but serious. "If you changed a plan like that on a mission, someone might die." He sent a frown down to the little boy. "If, for instance, we had planned to meet up at the school, but you weren't there, like today, I might think you were still in enemy territory. Then I would go back to find you, and maybe get caught. And you would be playing safely in the park. Do you see?"

Naruto nodded contritely. "Sorry, Raidou-nii-san. I won't do it again." He toed at the dirt.

"It's fine if you go to the park," Raidou told him. "But you need to leave me a message. So what were Kiba and you doing?" And Naruto perked back up, chattering his ears off the whole way home.

Two days until the mission, and Squad 14 still had not found a rhythm. They were sparring again; Kakashi and Raidou against the other two. Kakashi blew a fireball at Tenzou and Hayate, fighting hand to hand with Raidou. The falcon-masked ANBU leapt out of the way, and Hayate followed him, engaging steel in the heated air. Twisting midair, Hayate dropped to the ground facing Kakashi. Expecting his teammate to back him up, he charged the ninjutsu user. But where Masaru would have fallen in at his back, fending off the second attacker, Tenzou attacked Kakashi.

Hayate was left vulnerable, and Raidou felled him with a slap to the back of his neck and the sudden illusion of a field of flowers. When Hayate pulled out, Raidou had a kunai at his neck, and Tenzou was lying unceremoniously in the dirt. "Flowers?" Hayate coughed at the genjutsu master. "How much more embarrassing can you make it?"

Raidou leered playfully. "You want to know?"

Kakashi cut off the discussion, wearily. "Try again."

The evening found Kakashi shut silently in his room, Raidou coaching Naruto on the basic seals that form ninjutsu, Tenzou and Hayate talking over extra dessert about whatever seventeen-year-old boys talk about, and Genma in a dojo in back of ANBU headquarters.

He had to get mission-fit, fast. His ankle, despite the medics' attention, was still weak. Hurried repair was not the same as letting the torn muscle and shattered bones heal. He stopped the exercises when the steady ache turned to sharp pain. Crouching on one leg, he extended the injured limb out in front and stretched the joint.

He stood up hurriedly at the approach of an unwelcome chakra signature. "Genma-san," Matusda exclaimed. "How convenient to meet you here. I was hoping for a sparring partner." His voice was sickeningly friendly.

"Not tonight," the long-haired ninja answered. He tried to step past Matsuda, but the other was blocking the door. Matsuda didn't even bother with a pretense of politeness. He shoved Genma in the center of the chest, sending him reeling back a step. "Let's spar." His lips curled from his teeth in what might have been a smile, if it weren't so malicious.

"I'm not interested," Genma snapped. "Get out of my way."

Matusda attacked. Only reflex saved Genma; he dodged and blocked Matsuda's punch. Dancing back, his ankle suddenly flared with pain. He stumbled; caught himself quickly. But it was enough time for Matsuda, a taijutsu specialist, to gain the upper hand. He was on his face in a moment, Matsuda's fingers digging into his arm, wrenching it up behind him. His left arm. Genma froze. "You can let go now," he said with brittle calm. "I yield."

But Matsuda always took spars too far. His grip tightened, a knee shoved deep into Genma's back. Calm began to fracture. "Let go, Matsuda." And maybe the man heard something in his voice, but he released his opponent. Genma rolled to his feet, breathing raggedly.

"That was weak, Genma-san," Matsuda commented. His opponent didn't respond. Genma stalked out of the dojo, valiantly not limping. Desperately not screaming.

He slept badly that night. His arm throbbed with decade-old pain, and the dead past haunted his dreams.

"So nice to see you again, Katsu-chan." You're dead, Genma thought. He couldn't speak. "We missed you." You aren't here, he tried to reason with himself. His arm throbbed. The man, tall, dark-haired, scarred, grabbed it. The pain turned to the fresh agony of shattered bone. "Still as cute as ever, Katsu-chan. We can make up for lost time, eh?" The walls were white, bare; the room smelled of blood. The man pushed him up against a wall, the same wall. Genma was so much smaller than the other; only ten years old. His breath was hot on Genma's face. "Did you miss me? You betrayed us, Katsu-chan. I have to punish you for that." Fear constricted his throat. The pain began. He screamed.

Raidou saw something was wrong as soon as Genma entered the cafeteria in the morning. He moved like a wild animal, wary, frightened. The tray clattered as he picked it up, his hands shaking too badly to contain. He nearly spilled his breakfast all over the floor on his way to Raidou's table, and he sat down three seats over from his friend, tipping his head to let his hair swing out in front of his face.

Genma wasn't wearing his forehead protector. "Raidou-nii-san." His appraisal was broken off by the insertion of Naruto's head into his field of vision. "Can I have more eggs?"

"Yeah, go get them," he said absently. When Naruto had disappeared, he spoke quietly to his friend. "Genma."

The man flinched, tucking his head down farther and hunching his shoulders. "Leave me alone," he whispered.

In his head, Raidou cursed. They had to leave tomorrow; this was not a good time for Genma to have a breakdown. "Genma, it's me." Shattered eyes turned to look at him. "Genma."

White walls. Awake; home; morning; get breakfast, right? Screaming. Tray. Yeah. Then food. Hands touching him. Powerless, vulnerable. No. Scoop the eggs. Sit down. Not too close. Close is dangerous. Too close. "Genma." Leave me alone. "Genma, it's me. Genma." Katsu-chan—Genma.

He blinked, slowly. Not real. Get ahold of yourself, Genma. You're not there. "You'd think I'd be over this by now," he said shakily, eyes focusing on Raidou's concerned face. Katsu-chan— Shut up. Shut up shut up shut up.

"Are you okay?" Both ninja spun around. Naruto peered up at the ANBU, his whiskered face concerned. "You don't look happy."

Genma forced out a laugh. "I'm fine, kid. Fine." He directed the last towards Raidou, a subtle order to drop it. I'm fine. I'm okay. Not losing it. Not. Losing. It. He finished his breakfast in silence, listening to Naruto's cheerful voice to keep from drowning.

"Naruto, this is Gai-san. He's going to look out for you while I'm gone, okay?" Naruto nodded.

"It is Nice to meet you, Uzumaki Naruto!" Gai boomed. "We shall have Fun together this week!"

"Uh-huh," Naruto squeaked.

"He'll walk you to school and pick you up," Raidou began. Naruto latched onto his hand, squeezing tightly. Raidou flexed his fingers, trying to loosen the painfully tight grip.

"If you need anything, Naruto-kun, do not hesitate to ask me!" Gai thumped his black-clad chest. "I am always here for you!"

Raidou knelt down and gave Naruto a hug. "I'll be gone before you get up tomorrow," he said. "But we'll be back in a week or so. Don't get into trouble. And you may not eat ramen every night. And remember to brush your teeth."

"Yosh! Healthy teeth are essential to experiencing your Springtime of your Youth to the fullest!" Sparkle.

"Be good, Naruto. See you in a week." Raidou stood up, and headed for the door of Naruto's room.

"Nii-san!" A small weight flung itself at his legs, and squeezed. "I'll miss you."

"I'll be home soon, Naruto. Don't worry."