Chapter 15: A place to return

Sorry sorry sorry! I know that I always use homework as an excuse, but we just had a project where we have to pretend behind people from year 2451 in a world where Internet was destroyed by a terrorist/hacker around year 2101. So we had to pretend having found 4 pieces of money (I'm Canadian) and study it to gain information on the history, the politics, the culture, the technology, the wilderness, the fauna and the flora of Canada. And we had to write a text. I realized just how much we can learn with numismatics, and just how much TIME it takes to write a text to ANALYSE a COUNTRY. So... yeah.

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of Kishimoto-sensei in any way, shape or form, and I do not own the few Latin quotes that will pop out here and there. I however own the plot and the Ocs, as well as the description of some places and the characterization of some less-known characters in the original anime/manga.

-Border of Hi no Kuni, hour 2100

"Hachidori, about twenty chakra signatures three miles east, quickly approaching. Over."

"Received. Head west in 0015, we will make a detour. Over."

With a small buzz, the masterfully painted and hidden seal turned off and Hachidori sighed. Ducking instinctively, he avoided a branch and then another, jumped over thorns that somehow found themselves growing on threes, and crouched again, on a tree several feet away. This part of the forest was so compact that there is no way someone can run more than a few seconds without smashing head first into a tree. It is the best route to take to stay under cover, but again, it's not the best idea when raining: the water renders the forms of the trees blurry and makes ground level travels impossible, and even if the huge leaves do offer some protection, they hinder their sight and often those other than Konoha nin find themselves turning in circles in the five hectares forest. Reducing his speed – not that he was going any faster than a small jog - Hachidori lifted an arm, signing for the others to stop.

"Captain?"

"Uzu reported a group of shinobi three miles away on our direct path. We'll have to get around them, perhaps even use the main road."

Kiba abruptly turned his head toward Hachidori, his shoulders stiff and his head tilted to show his disagreement.

"It is not safe enough. We cannot risk getting on the road, and getting around the camp would take too much time."

"Any other suggestions?" Hachidori's frustrated voice clearly cut through the heavy rain.

The seal on Hachidori's mask buzzed again. "Captain, I think we should incapacitate them. They have strong earth affinities. Over."

Having also received the message via the seal painted on his mask, Kiba looked at Hachidori and nodded grimly.

"Iwa."

Hachidori's stance stiffened and resisted the urge to sigh apprehensively. He lightly tapped his chin with a finger and the seal underneath came to life with a small flare of chakra. "Received. Change of plan, I'll send help, clear the path. Over."

"Received. Over."

Knowing the order without it being said, Kiba darted on another tree and disappeared within moments behind the trees. Signing for the others to approach, he related the message.

"Karasu, I need you to extend your chakra field, keep an eye on Kiba and Uzu. We'll follow them at distance. "

A moment later, a strong gust of wind swept over the entire area, the air becoming heavier as it was gradually saturated with chakra. Smiling behind his mask, Hachidori turned to his other companion. The blue haired woman answered with a raised eyebrow, shifting slightly so that the weight of her burden rested on her shoulder. She was not visibly affected by the strong winds and the freezing rain even as her warm coat now rests on the bundle in Hachidori's arms.

"I'm used to it." Her monotone voice was muffled by the splashing of water, but Hachidori understood. Having not much else to say, he motioned for them to advance, deeming Kiba far enough so that he would have the time to finish off the Iwa nin before they arrived. Advancing slowly, they painstakingly crossed the distance between them and the edge of the abnormally dense forest, and just as they was about to come out of the line of trees, the downpour turned into a small drizzle and the stormy sky cleared. The small group jumped off the tree they were on and landed soundlessly on the moist earth below. At the other side of the wide clearing was a shinobi camp, the lack of movement suggesting that the occupants were gone. The air faintly smelled of recently burnt flesh, so Hachidori assumed that Kiba and Uzu must have already disposed of the bodies. That was confirmed when a familiar unmasked figure popped out of one of the tents, waving for them to come over with a lazy flick of his wrist.

"What are you waiting for? Come here! You're not gonna carry them around all day with those trembling arms are you?"

"Then why don't you go help them if you think you're so smart, Hatake-sempai? And captain, he does have a point. Your body is still recovering, so please do not strain yourself too much." Uzu replied, which made Sakumo pout.

Groaning at the smirk he knew was directed at him, Hachidori grudgingly obeyed and bent down to get inside the tent, giving the passed-out Inukami to Kiba, careful to not jolt her. Kiba gently laid her on the fuuton and removed his own traveling coat and draped it over her to make up for the lack of blanket. Hachidori, after checking over Inukami's vitals for the hundreds time that day, nodded appreciatively to Sakumo and stepped out of the tent. Karasu was starting a campfire between two tree roots, making sure that the produced smoke bent into the mist that surrounded the treetops, and Uzu was cleaning her bloodied weapons with an equally blood-red towel. Konan then came out of the second tent with a pleased expression.

"How is he doing?" Minato asked, concerned for his other teammate.

Konan smiled reassuringly at him. "Don't worry, he's recovering fast. By the time you get back to Konoha, he will be as good as new. I cannot assure that he will not be... changed, but at least he won't have to look into the mirror and see proves of what happened. He also probably won't remember much of his time underground, with all the drugs they shoved down his throat. He should be just fine, give him a few months and the nightmares and the phantom pain should fade. You were lucky Uzum-...Uzu had known about the poison or he'd probably be trying to get into your pants by now."

Minato winced: when they had found Taka, he had been under several layers of genjutsu and he was feverish even after several muttered, unsuccessful 'kai', screaming and trashing in pain as his body kept shivering. Minato had to knock him out lest they were discovered, but Taka always whimpered when someone was not touching him in some way. Uzu had then taken out a vial of gooey, sticky liquid and applied it on Taka's neck, arms and torso, rubbing until all of it was absorbed by the skin. A minute later, Taka had been happily sleeping. After some explanations from Uzu, Minato's concerned expression had turned solemn. Taka had been drugged with a kind of hallucinogens normally brewed only in Iwa, making him think that when something was not touching him he was being tortured in different ways, depending on the species of plants used; and so when someone gives a victim 'pleasure', the victim's body unconsciously accept it as a form of relief until the point where he will crave it. 001 had cleaned out the poison with the liquid and removed any stress from Taka's body with waves of chakra. Konan had then proceeded to watch over Minato's teammate, refusing to let anyone near until she had his body as healed and as healthy as it can be.

"Thank you for your help, Konan-san."

The Ame kunoichi only shook her head, "No, you should thank Uzu. She's the one who made it possible. Without her, I wouldn't have been able to save him."

"Konan!" At the call, the blue haired woman turned her head and smiled at the slowly approaching Naruto. The redhead's mask was pushed up on the side of her head and she was wiping away the blood on her hands with her towel, her eyes darting left and right in an uncharacteristic show of uncertainty.

"Konan, didn't you say you had a teammate back in that village?" she asked.

"Yes, I already informed Yahiko that I will be back in several days. He returned last night to Ame. Why ask?"

Naruto bit her lip and looked at Minato. Getting the message, he left with the pretense to go hunting. However, Konan did not miss the awkward gesture and stared at Naruto questioningly.

"Look... I want you to be careful. You are quite smitten with this Yahiko, am I right?" The kunoichi flushed a bright shade of red and slowly nodded the question still present in her amber eyes.

"Listen..." Naruto began, her voice dropping, "Don't ask me how I have this information, but I need you to listen carefully. In a few months, a man named Hanzo will approach you to negociate an alliance. I know that you will accept, and I want you to. Konan, do you trust me?" Locking eyes with the taken aback woman, Naruto searched her gaze for a hint of denial and found none.

"It will be a trap. Hanzo is allied with a certain... man, who I intend on taking care of, and they will ambush you. Konan, this is crucial. Do not let Yahiko or Nagato die. I know that this will sound crazy, but part of the future lies in their fate. The death of one of them will change everything, and I cannot let that happen. Do you understand?" Konan stared back, her eyes wondering, and then her lips twitched into a hesitant smile.

"I don't know why, but yes, I trust you. The second we met, the time you said that you were 'Mirai', I knew that something big was going on... something bigger than what most can see, something that is not for me to understand, and I know that somehow you and your friend is right at its middle. Nagato saw you, you know? He said that you were finally going to fulfill your promise to him and while I am saddened that he didn't trust me enough to tell me what is going on, I know enough. So I'm going to promise you that I, Konan of Ame, will ensure my teammates' survival at the cost of my own life." Then she pressed a letter in Naruto's hand and pulled the redhead into an unexpected hug.

"I promise." She whispered, and Naruto felt tears prickle her eyes. For a second, she saw the older Konan she knew, face warm and gentle, telling her that she would be okay, that she would be back, only to leave behind nothing but her blue paper flower to remain in this world barely a week afterwards. So Naruto squeezed back just as hard, and let go with a bright smile.

"Thank you." And with that, she quickly turned and left, wiping away her tears with her hand.

Konan watched the Uzumaki as she went to gather the shuriken she had thrown earlier in the fight, and the Angel of Ame gently touched the cold metal ring of the kunai Naruto had silently slipped into her weapon pouch.

That night, after her watch, Naruto quietly disappeared into the forest as the moon reached its peak in the night sky, relaxing as the familiar sounds of wildlife and nature separated her from human presence. She chose a high oak tree and climbed up to the biggest branch, letting the tree bend and envelop her in its gentle and soothing energy. Closing her eyes, she soon found herself in a cave she visited every night.

She approached the giant beast and sat down, resting her head on its soft abdomen.

'Kurama... Kurama, why is it so warm, yet I feel so cold inside?'

The fox looked at her with sorrowful eyes and curled on herself a little bit more, making her long limbs circle Naruto, forming a huge nest of sleek, red fur.

'Oh kit... it's because you want to have them again, to possess them like you did before. Kit, it's because you constantly see what your friends were and not what they are, and for that you want to push them away...'

'I want it to stop. Why doesn't it stop? I want to see her again... Kurama, I want to see her again...'

'You will kit... one day you will, but she will not be the same. She will not be her, not the her you knew, and not the her you came to love. She will be alive, but not as your mate, not as your comrade. Her soul would have moved on. She would have changed, as you have.'

'It'll be enough...'

And as Naruto's eyes closed again, the giant fox shifted so that Naruto now rests with her back against Kurama's stomach and her body on top of the vixen's tails. Gently, Kurama brushed a strand of hair from her jailor's face.

'Me too, kit. Me too, I wish to be able to see them again...'

The next morning, no one mentioned Naruto's disappearance, only sending her concerned looks when they thought she wasn't looking. Minato hadn't questioned her yet as to why he found her sleeping the morning away on a tree that oddly seemed to had actually bent to form a nest of branches and leaves around her, and for that she was grateful. Sasuke had only sent her an understanding look, and when Konan departed, it was with a light heart that Naruto had said goodbye.

The same afternoon, they arrived home only to find Konoha in ruins and flames.

-Konoha-

Hiruzen sighed as he looked at the cloudy sky again, feeling the cold, chilling wind that usually precedes rainfall slip through the heavy attire that weights down on his shoulders. As the harsh wind brought the smell of ashes and blood, the Hokage cannot help but to feel the heavy weight of hopelessness settle in his old heart. There just wasn't enough time, to grief, to pause, to prepare. War was upon them, striking hard and fast; even though it had been there on the edges of their minds for already a year, it still came as a shock. They had been preparing, everyone had, be it civilians or shinobi, but it wasn't enough. Nothing could have prevented the deaths, and fear and the sadness... nothing, and Hiruzen knew that since long ago. They had known since the skirmishes on the borders began to become more and more frequent and lethal. And yet... and yet, when war came, the truth struck harder than anything, like a vacuum of blinding light that kept sucking everything in. Smoke filled air still paints Sarutobi's beautiful village in grey and monotone colors, turning the multicolored village into something more distant, as if in the span of two days all the joy and the usual cheer had left. Burnt leaves brushed against his skin, gentle yet harsh in the cold weather, their razor sharp edges leaving a thin cut on his chin that only shed a drop of blood. Yet Hiruzen cannot bring himself to care, not after the attack, the death and the blood, not after the loses and the pain.

"Hokage-sama..." a chuunin calmly said, his voice laced with exhaustion. Looking back over his shoulder, he saw his brown haired, plain-looking attendant fidget slightly under his gaze. Smiling softly at the young shinobi, he took his hat from the chuunin's hands before turning his eyes to the silently waiting crowd below him, Sarutobi felt his heart constrict in his chest at the sight of the mournful, fearful faces of the civilians and the severe and foreboding expression of the shinobi. It still hung heavily in the air, making the grim atmosphere almost too heavy to bear with unspoken sorrow.

Approaching the railing, the Hokage adjusted his hat and lifted his right hand, the crowd becoming silent. Hiruzen inhaled slowly as he prepared for what he was about to say; he felt old, older than ever, as if the years he lived finally caught up to him in a rush of spiraling memories, and he let that feeling engulf him just for a fraction of seconds, even just a little bit, to feel what had been, to see what Konoha had been before the wars. Sarutobi braced himself and inhaled deeply, trying to catch the scent of the forest behind the smoke. His lungs burned and he wanted to choke, but he refrained from doing so, if only to convince himself of all this being a dream.

"Citizens of Konoha, as you all know, we have been attacked by Iwa two days ago in the afternoon. While the battle didn't last long and we successfully drove the enemy away, it is not without consequences. We lost up to a hundred shinobi, mostly of chuunin rank, and a dozen civilians were unfortunately killed by collapsing buiold. We have lost a lot, but for every shinobi we lost three enemies were killed. Today is indeed a sad day, and this attack will only be the first of many, because today, I, Sarutobi Hiruzen, Sandaime Hokage, officially announce the beginning of the Third shinobi war!"

Cries of surprise and anger immediately emerged from the crowd, and soon all that could be heard was a hubbub of angry shouts and mournful gasps. Sarutobi looked down at the people he was to protect, and a wave of guilt hit him as he saw crying mothers hug their children and lovers hold each other; veteran shinobi either looked tiredly at him or stubbornly stared at the ground, having mostly predicted the announcement; most genin had a look of confusion on their young faces, not understanding yet what killing was, not understanding the wrath, not understanding what it was to kill for a choice that was made, just for winning. It was not something new to the Third Hokage, the feeling of dread and the fear of dying and leaving your precious people behind. He had been born during the warring eras, before the first shinobi village was even created. He was but merely a genin when he fought in the First War, and he had led Konoha to victory in the second. And now... and now, he has to do it again. He had to send shinobi to their death in exchange for other lives, he had to sacrifice and sometimes force others to. It wasn't fair, yet it was necessary for the village's survival. A Hokage had to make choices, and Sarutobi felt he was too old now for his mind to handle the strain.

"Listen to me! Citizens, for what did your family die in the attack? Shinobi, whom did your comrades sacrifice themselves for? Everyone, what did every single one of them tried to protect?" A small, shy voice rised from the now quiet crowd.

"I believe it was for their most precious treasure."

"Exactly! Now tell me. What is precious, to you, to me, to us, to this village? What are we living for?" All shinobi looked at him, intrigued by the sudden questioning. Sarutobi recognized a few faces, those he had personally assigned missions to or seen on the streets, but those that made his gaze linger for a fraction of second were those he grew up with, all retired shinobi who all had been hurt in more than one way, and they all had small, sad knowing smirks on their faces. But even after a few seconds, no one dared to answer.

"The children! For the future of our children and our families, for a future of peace! And now, my friends, that peace had been disturbed; and we must fight back! WHAT SAY YOU?"

The voice of the Hokage resonated in the air, powerful and trusting; and slowly, hesitantly, the eyes of the people found those of their leader, and together, they cried out.

"Yes!"

"Fight! Fight for your home, for this peace that is at the source of the Will of fire! WHAT SAY YOU?"

"Yes!"

"Fight with all you have, to protect you families and you friends! Fight for a brighter future!"

"YES!"

And with that last cry, all of Konoha, gathered before the Hokage tower, began to cheer as the sky gave a deafening thundering. As if the thunder itself was with them, the crowd roar with the sky, cries of hope and courage resounding for miles with a determination that had not been felt for years, growing and growing in their hearts faster that they can express it. Sarutobi cracked a gentle and regretful smile, knowing that the cheerfulness wouldn't last long for the shinobi. But right now, at this moment, he felt calm and proud of his village. He let the joy envelop him, soothing all the old wounds that had opened again. He was hurting, yes... but now, now he let himself rejoice with his comrades, with the sky and the earth; he let the pain go away, and Hiruzen felt young again. But soon, too soon, all the weight came crashing down again, and Sarutobi wanted to cry. Wanted to weep for the deaths and his people, but he cannot, because wanting isn't enough.

A small breeze brushed against his hair almost unperceived; a few seconds later two pulses of chakra alerted him of the presence of the Anbu team. "Hokage-sama." Hiruzen turned his head, not recognizing the deep, almost guttural tone, but the eerily blank masks indicated clearly the identity of their owner. His trained eyes immediately noticed the tense shoulders, the stance that looked too controlled and the heads that tilted just a bit to the side. The Hokage felt guilty of overworking them so much, but he had no choice. The attack came at the worst time, and everyone had to work twice as hard to get the village back in shape before any other country tempt to strike her as she is at her weakest. The Anbu, the jonin and the few chuunin that were not rebuilding were instantly flooded with missions to create as much income as possible to cover the money needed.

The Anbu had it worse than anyone: on top of being the branch that was the most affected by the attack, Anbu squads were continuously sent out on new missions outside the village with only an hour break in between, only getting three days of border patrol to 'rest' as another squad is dispatched. Even some jonin or chuunin were recalled in Anbu to make up for those lost during the attack, and the Academy closed for an undefined amount of time since the chuunin instructors were needed on the field. It was a hard and grueling pace, but no one complained, knowing that the village needed as much shinobi as possible for a quick recovery.

"Hokage-sama, you called us?" The taller one said. The sound was too deep for a human throat, echoing in the Anbu's chest before coming out almost like a growl. Hiruzen knew that it was nothing more than an intimidation tactic, but it work so well - too well, and he wasn't able to suppress the small shiver that went down his spine. He smelt the fear that was coming from his assistant, saw the wild looks the boy kept sending to the Anbu, and the panic in his body language. Berating himself for forgetting the chuunin's presence, he quickly dismissed him and it was with relief that his assistant bolted to the door leading to the staircase.

"Such a shame, he would have been a good prey." The Anbu's partner growled in agreement, followed by the distinctive sound of someone licking their lips hungrily. It made Hiruzen nervous, knowing how the duo behaved without those blank mask yet seeing something else entirely, something wilder, more savage than humanly possible. The way they spoke, the roughness in their voice, the lingering smell of warm fur, the feral way in which they moved, it had always been there, in every small movement, in their eyes, but never had it been so obviously dangerous than when they are behind their blank Anbu masks.

Hiruzen coughed awkwardly to get their attention. "Your sudden promotion had gained the attention of the Council. They had doubts about your... allegiance. Normal shinobi who return from a long-term mission outside the village usually goes through a month of supervised probation, but I cannot afford to take two of my best shinobi off active duty on top of assigning a guard who will also have to be removed from the mission roster. As such I have decided to assign you for the time being to an Anbu squad that is lacking a teammate."

"But the Council accepted on a condition, I assume?" Hiruzen nodded, dreading their reaction when he will announce them the Council's decision. He had been against the idea, but with half of the clan heads siding with the civilians, he could not reject it without vetoing the proposal, consequently leading to a meeting with the Fire daimyo; and so Hiruzen was cornered since the matter wasn't important enough for the daimyo to even look at.

"We have decided to separate you and to evaluate your performance before officially re-installing you as Independent Anbu. Of course you will still work under my direct order, but you'll have to work with others as shinobi of normal rank unless I say otherwise. For the span of a year, one of you will be sent with our first deployment to the borders of Waterfall as a frontline fighter and second in command, while the other will be assigned to Anbu squad 3 for as long as needed until their teammate recover. The choice as to who will leave is yours." As soon as he finished barely contained killing intent leaked out from the Anbu, angry chakra swirling so much that the floor cracked and small rocks were sucked into the miniature hurricane. Hiruzen became alarmed as his eyes picked up the slight red tint the chakra was saturated with, realizing that the rocks flying around in the air were actually disintegrating; he was all but too aware of the crowd, slowly dispersing, so frighteningly close-

"Enough!" he barked, reinforcing the order with a powerful surge of his own, much more controlled charka. Uzu snarled and growled loudly at him and Karasu was trembling in cold fury, but the menacing aura died down slowly and all that was left was the burning, icy cold fire in their eyes.

"Hokage-sama! With all due respect, this is unacceptable! You are well aware of our conditions, and separating us will severely endanger-"

"This is an order! Don't get me wrong, I'm the Hokage here and I make the decisions! Understood?" Hiruzen hissed through his teeth, desperate anger laced in his voice. Naruto and Sasuke remained silent, not knowing what to say as the kind, old man suddenly snapped at them. "Look, I don't like the decision, you obviously hate it, and we don't have to like it either. But think of it. One day you will be required to go after that man and your current mission will certainly clash with the orders of one of your superiors, or in the worst scenario, you'll have to abandon or to go against a mission; how will you explain it then? If you are trusted and on good terms with the Council, then you'll probably be able to get away without being imprisoned or sentenced to death for betrayal. But if there is a single hind of mistrust toward you from the Council, then even I wouldn't be able to save you. What would happen then? What will you accomplish if you are in a cell fifty feet underground or burnt to ashes? What will happen to Konoha then, only because you refused to be parted for a single year?" Sarutobi's voice started strong, but it soon quivering before ending in a whisper. "You are the future... what will I do without you?"

The two Anbu felt all of their wrath evaporate before the helpless tone of the man before them, the almost broken man that their leader was reduced to as the weight of knowing became too much. That much they can relate to, wanting to change so much yet knowing that some things cannot be altered, wishing that you can do more but not knowing what to do. Uzu swallowed thickly, feeling as if her tongue was stuck to her palate, before answering.

"Hokage-sama... I... we're deeply sorry, we didn't realize. I..." she started, before sending a small glare at Sasuke, who was about to speak. "We gladly accept your decision, Hokage-sama. I shall remain in Konoha. May I ask for a specific date? We need to know Sasuke's departure date so we can prepare."

"No need to be so formal, Naruto. I'm not angry at you, just... the emotions, it's all. As for the date, Sasuke-san will leave in exactly a month, on November 16, for Waterfall. You will both work in Anbu and live in the HQ for the time being, so please report to the Anbu commander after you get your masks, he had already been notified." Both nodded. Sarutobi took a drag of his pipe, then pulled out a black scroll from the multicolored pile on his desk and handed it to Sasuke.

"Sasuke, this scroll details your mission more clearly and contains information on your commander and such, please memorize it before the mission. Naruto, your duties with team 3 will begin as soon as you receive your annual shinobi assessment that includes a writing exam and a spar against a shinobi of my choice. I know that the next one isn't due until winter, but since the Council had been doubtful of your level of... compatibility with the team, we decided to perform it this month. The assessment will be in around two weeks, I will send a scroll for the specifics. I would recommend using the two weeks for preparation, expect to be tested in advanced shinobi knowledge, taijutsu, genjutsu and ninjutsu as well as other specialized fields, including general medical knowledge. You may use any Anbu training ground during this time, but please make sure that it isn't reserved. But now that you will reintegrate the normal Anbu forces, we need to discuss your codenames. But before that, let's take to my office shall we?" The Anbu nodded quietly and waited for the Hokage's chakra to flare before they stood up and disappeared in a seal-less Shunshin, reappearing seconds later in their leader's office.

"I believe that you both used temporary codenames for your last mission?" seeing the two nod, Sarutobi smiled. "As you already know, Uzu and Karasu are both already taken and registered, so you cannot use them. We've been having much more Anbu recruits these past few years than ever, so we're also running out of old Anbu masks as well as animal names. I think that the medical faction had already started with insects, but let's not go there shall we? So I need you both to think of something representative of you both, intimidating enough since you're two of my bests and will probably be the newest subject of gossip in town, and let's not forget nothing too exaggerated since we'll still have to make your masks according to your codenames," the Hokage said, attempting to add a touch of humor at the end to lift the slightly uncomfortable mood. He didn't quite succeed, but the small, forced chuckle was enough.

"Will it be too much to ask if Itachi is available?"

This time, Sarutobi did laugh, considering the irony behind the question. "I'm afraid it's been taken a few years ago, and no the Anbu is not dead yet, he's got actually quite the blow-up-and-run record." Sasuke did not show any visible sign of disappointment, but Naruto, knowing her teammate, gave her a friendly slap on the back.

"What about Tsuki and Taiyo?"

"Moon and Sun? Good idea, I have to say, but sadly Tsuki is already taken."

"Aka and Kuro?"

"Declined."

"Satsuki?"

"Taken."

"Mizu?"

"Taken."

"Nami?"

"Declined, way too obvious."

"Hana?"

"Do you really want to be called that?"

"...Ramen?"

"No!"

"Getsumei. Getsumei and Himei." Sasuke suddenly spoke. Naruto looked at Sasuke strangely while Hiruzen looked pensive. "Getsumei as in 'moonlight' with getsu, 'moon' and mei, 'clear', but Himei? Himei as in 'mournful cry', 'epitaph', 'non-alive' or in hi, 'day' and 'sun', and mei, 'clear', which means in a way 'sunlight'? My my, such powerful and, well, deadly codenames, well thought, Sasuke-san."

Naruto tilted her head and mused for a few seconds. "I like that. It'll confuse the enemy and give them a sense of dread, gaining us a few seconds in our advantage, and our comrades may just leave us alone. I mean, who would want to be friend with two people with such depressive codenames? Really, teme, I didn't know you can be so... deep."

"Hn. Dobe."

"Teme!"

Hiruzen laughed loudly, almost choking on his pipe. Yes, these two will fit right in with Anbu.

"So, what do you think?" Naruto asked, walking beside her dark-haired friend in the emptying streets of Konoha. They had mover their meager possessions to their designed rooms in the Anbu HQ right after the meeting with the Hokage, then taken their time to set up wards around the small apartments, including traps, seals, wires, barriers with chakra keys and blood seals and everything else they can think of, making up little by little their safe haven. They had made sure to place a gape in the barrier around their windows to let message birds or the occasional Anbu messenger in, all the windows in the HQ already having numerous seals to only let people with no harmful intent in.

Then, deciding that a pair of spare Anbu uniform, a set of normal shinobi cloths and the weapons they had on them really didn't meet the requirements for 'bare minimum', they had gone shopping. Tooth brushes, hair brushes, shampoo, body wash, you name them. Soon the two found their arms full with shopping bags and they still needed to buy ration bars, extra kunai and shiruken, packs of senbon, weapon polish and other shinobi necessities. Thankfully two kage bunshin had already taken the bags to their new home. Now, an hour before sunset, they were taking their time to relax and enjoy the sight of a complete, prospering, happy and peaceful Konoha.

"Well? Do we reveal it to them or not?"

"We don't. It'll be much easier to explain if they thought we were different people. Even better, we don't tell anyone other than Sandaime."

"But they have already seen what we look like! If we're going to integrate normal Anbu, then we're going to drop the masks at some point, and putting on a genjutsu will never work. You can always use Mangekyo, but that will not last."

"What about your seal?"

Something flashed in Naruto's eyes, but the second after she had a frown of her delicate face. "What seal?"

"Hn, dobe. You know what I'm talking about, that seal you were making for the others to conceal their identity."

Naruto's shoulder tensed and she hissed out in a low, aggressive voice, "Look, I really don't-"

Sasuke glared at Naruto, sharingan active since there was no one outside anymore. "Naruto. Don't play dumb with me. I know of that seal you developed at the end of the war, for a year I saw you working on it hours after you ordered the curfew."

"What are you talking about? The only seals I've ever done were mainly used for escape or annihilate-and-run situations, a few times for interrogation, and who'd ever want a lame concealing seal anyways? Really, I don't see what you're taking about, are you sure you had not been hallucinating?" Naruto's eyes shone with confusion, bright and blue under the fading sunlight, but Sasuke knew better. She always did. Unlike anyone else who'd just shrug and move on to another subject like Naruto was used to, Sasuke saw the lingering pain and uncertainty behind the thick veil of happiness. So, even if she usually let it go when Naruto becomes too tense, Sasuke went against her better judgment and pushed her friend again for an answer.

Looking pleadingly at her best friend's hard gaze, Naruto sighed dejectedly. She dropped her head to look at the ground, her red bangs casting a shadow over her eyes. "Sasuke, I really... that... they, they had promised to use it, then they... oh Kami Sasuke don't-theydidn't return andit'smyfault Sasuke-!"

The Uchiha's eyes widened at the unexpected outburst before softening, understanding in her black eyes. She slowly, awkwardly took the redhead in her arms and whispered as softly as she could. "It's okay... we don't have to use it, it's okay." Naruto hugged her back, tightening her grip almost painfully. "But... but then..."

"It's okay, we will find another way. It's okay, you don't have to." Naruto muffled her whimper in Sasuke's black shirt and nodded her acceptance. They remained like that for a few minutes, not speaking, basking in the last rays of warm sunlight. Only when Naruto's breathing became frightfully silent did Sasuke notice that her teammate had fallen asleep from exhaustion. Smiling almost too softly, making her appear years younger, she took Naruto protectively in her arms before leaving in a Shunshin.

-A week later, Anbu outside training ground 7

"Himei, this is Hachidori, your new captain and you opponent."

Himei eyed the Anbu standing a few feet away from her carefully, taking in everything she could possibly use to her advantage. He was slightly taller than her, standing somewhere around 6 feet, with a lean body and clearly defined muscles, though not bulky like most Inuzuka. His shoulders were broad but not overly so, he had long limbs that obviously gave him a longer reach than most and his build classified him as a mid to long-range fighter that mainly uses speed, but Himei knew that the power behind his attacks were certainly nothing to laugh at. He seemed to be proficient at the very least in taijutsu, skills unknown when it comes to genjutsu, but if the long fingers and the calluses indicated anything, he was probably a ninjutsu specialist. His stance was professional, tense yet relaxed, with the usual feeling of dread and the small amount of killing intent lingering in the air, too small to be anything more than disturbing yet big enough to make anyone nervous. Well, anyone but another Anbu. The shock of blue eyes behind the purple hummingbird mask, staring into her own, almost made her recoil. She steeled herself and exhaled through her nose, calming her heart before it even began to beat frantically at the sight of her – Kami forbid - father. Then, she smelled something that made her nose itch, something viscous and metallic and very familiar.

'Who would have though he had been good enough already with that to be able to use it on the battle field at the age of 19?'

'Of course he had been, Kit! Why, you thought he had been able to design our seal on a whim without years of experiences to back him up? Your father had always been a genius, your mother only had to start him on fuinjutsu with a few simple traditional Uzumaki seals and he managed to get his seal mastery three years later with her giving him a few hints here and there from time to time. Hell, he even gave that perverted sensei of yours a few suggestions and pretty much surpassed him and your mother in the art by the time he hit 22.'

'Ero-sennin?Whoa, and I thought he was the one to teach dad about fuinjutsu.'

'As talented as that man was, Kit, he wasn't the type to teach anyone anything without a very good reason, and at that time there was none.'

'Yeah, I guess. But isn't this exciting? I got to compare my seals with those of the greatest seal master of all time after Rikudou-jiji!'

The truth is, with Jiraiya dead before she even created anything more than regular exploding tags, she never got a chance to properly learn the sealing art, and with the Akatsuki mess and the war, she had just gone and devised seals by trying them out on her kage bunshin. She was bound to have figured out a pattern with her affinity with the art and the few thousands clones that had seals blow up in their faces, so she got her seal mastery a year into the war at age seventeen. Now, she mainly uses Uzumaki-type runes and Uzumaki-based seals, a kind of fuinjutsu that mostly uses circles and spirals, sometimes including handseals and biju chakra into the mix when barriers or large scale seals are required.

'I'd like to be able to say otherwise, but you won't last fifteen minutes with your resistance seals on against your father at the level he'd been when I fought him at age twenty-four, but right now you'd probably be evenly matched if your don't go biju mode or sage mode. I'll consider taking off a few resistance seals just in case, though.'

'Ah yes, those. Thanks Kurama!Though... what if anything happens?'

'As long as it doesn't trigger any memories you should be fine, but if anything goes wrong I'll hold the memories back, but as you know well I can only suppress them for so long, and you already have so much supressed that you'll have to release them soon or you risk losing your mental and emotional control.'

'That will be enough. We will worry about my mental state later.'

"Well, shall we proceed?" Himei and Hachidori both nodded and Sarutobi laid out the rules. "Since this is a shinobi assessment, I would have you both not holding back to be able to properly analyse your skills. However, do refrain from doing large-scale jutsus to at least preserve the trees around the training ground. No killing blows, all weapons allowed, and you have a time limit of an hour, but I will end the match when I deem I have seen enough. All activities are restricted to this training ground."

Silently, the two Anbu fluidly got into their stances, feet apart and hands outstretched in different poses.

"Begin!" he shouted and quickly leaped back.

Nether moved. Instead, they studied each other, trying to find a fault in their respective stance that they could use. Suddenly, without warning, Hachidori shot toward Himei at incredible speed, aiming for a jab to the temple. Naruto dodged to the side, twisting her feet and lowering her body so that she was almost parallel to the ground. She caught Hachidori's legs between her own, still airborn, then put her hands on the ground, squeezed and used her momentum to spin fast. A muffled gasp escaped from Hachidori, but he managed to escape from the hold by exchanging place with a nearby log. Not a second later, said log was broken in several pieces, bark falling everywhere.

Ignoring the sharp pain in his legs, Hachidori jumped a few feet back, performing handseals as he did so. "Fuuton: Daitoppa!"

The powerful blast of wind swept through the entire area, sweeping up dust and small pebbles, but nothing else happened.

Naruto was no where in sight.