Note: Some of these were partially inspired by songs. Some of these were also written while listening to "Princess of China"…

Plot will be made clearer in subsequent chapters. For now, enjoy a break from the narrative style. Thanks for reading!

Disclaimer for this chapter: A few of these drabbles mock characterizations or plot points in the Naruto canon and fandom which have both amused and annoyed me (sometimes simultaneously).

Interlude. Itachi, Hana, and Co., in the alternate universe where they have to work together on an ANBU team.

and -

Shot 4. Questions of loyalty become a little more complicated.


Argument

Itachi doesn't object when Inuzuka Hana tells him off for conducting his own mission on the side. As reprimands go, it's a slap on the back of his hand, and if she's as smart as her eyes hint, she'll adapt to the realities of the situation.

He has his reasons. Itachi has yet to win a dispute without resorting to some kind of blackmail, and at this point, he has neither the leverage nor the desire to threaten this girl (is she really older than him?). He means to let her learn on her own, not cow her into submission.

He's silent because he did argue once, when it truly mattered, and as a result, hundreds of people have died and the number of foreign threats against Konoha has doubled. If he ever feels the impulse to speak up, these statistics serve as a forceful deterrent.

…..

Method

Fighting alone, Hana will let enemy shuriken slice through the air over her head and simply take note of that tree where five exploding tags wait for the unwary ninja; on this occasion and many more to come, she counters the shuriken with her own and times it so that the rebounding weapon detonates the tags harmlessly.

It offends the three males on her team. Unexpectedly, the Aburame is the one who quietly explains to her how unnecessary it is, before he sees his mistake in her expression. "We aren't four ninja who just happen to be on the same side in a fight," she says, just as firmly.

Hana suppresses a sigh when Muta and his teammates, who are within earshot, turn away with looks of skepticism. They'll learn, but it will take a while. It's almost like – she thinks wryly – conditioning. And if the Haimaru brothers (who were every bit as stubborn when they were pups) can learn, so can these three shinobi.

…..

Innate

Hyuuga Tokuma's rib is poking out of the hole in his side, and that's the least of his problems. Itachi thinks soberly that he knows so many ways to kill or incapacitate a man, but he should have observed more medic-nin at work. To learn how to heal instead of murder.

But no; that was never his talent.

…..

Perspective

He weaves illusions for the ragged-looking family whose one-room house they have borrowed. One of Hana's ninken carries Tokuma through the door, and together they ease the wounded man off his back.

Hana summons chakra to her hand to begin staunching the Hyuuga's injury, but Tokuma's chakra fights her every step of the way, thanks to the Caged Bird Seal. Itachi can see the alternatives run through her mind, but it is one of those instances where the Inuzuka's thoughts outpace his. Only when she asks Muta to use his insects to reduce Tokuma's chakra response does he see how Hana plans to rescue their teammate without relying on fancy techniques that none of them know.

They are all sapped of energy when it is done, and the stench of blood saturates the small room. Hana's eyes dart to the closed shutters and then drifts to Itachi, who is standing by the window. He returns her stare, taking in the hands still stained with blood, the hair sticking to the side of her face, the momentary blankness in her face that indicates exhaustion.

He doesn't know what she sees in his, but Hana smiles at him – wearily, but nonetheless. "This place does have one over Outpost 25 and 26," she says, and Itachi follows her grateful gaze to the ceiling, which – of all the miraculous signs – admits not a single drop of rain.

Confession

"Most of the medical techniques I know come from studying veterinary medicine," Hana admits when Tokuma thanks her stiffly. "Granted, you're slightly different from a canine, but it seems to have worked out fairly well." The Hyuuga only looks offended.

She tries to suppress a grin, but then catches sight of Itachi behind him, silhouetted against the feeble light from the window, and fails completely because there's a small smirk curving the corners of his mouth.

…..

Gesture

When Aburame Muta spreads open his Bingo Book and shares the information written in the margins, the significance of the gesture does not escape Hana.

…..

Subtle

They have one more gate to open after the outermost six. With a movement so fast that Itachi catches it only with the Sharingan, Hana and her ninken finish off the guard with a well-timed Gatsuga. The crimson that spurts out of the torn neck flecks her right cheek. She looks disoriented, but the moment does not last. She brings the decapitated head to the door and mashes it against the wall so that blood runs down the metal and over the seal.

The inner gate opens and the genjutsu falls from their eyes without fanfare. Amegakure's skyscrapers rise to the clouds like jagged teeth sinking into the sky. Despite this, Hana frowns; Itachi speculates that it's not quite the stealthy entrance they had all been looking for, but time is in short supply, and surely the missing-nin within the village have been aware of the presence of ANBU since their first, ill-fated attempt to enter.

There'll be a next time, and they'll do better then.

Reliance

It's not a declaration of loyalty, but something inside Itachi loosens, unbends with a momentary sting; they will remember trusting each other that night, and someday, it won't just be a memory.

…..

None of that

He sees their consternation through a red-tinted film, and when he braces a hand against the wall, all three of them lurch forward. "F – you, Itachi" is the nicest thing that Tokuma says to him, and Hana whispers as she catches him, "I did warn you," which he knows she thinks is a statement he'll find infinitely annoying, when in fact, he'll be infinitely annoyed if those are the last words she ever addresses to him. But it's no good; his vision and his consciousness are going to pieces with brilliant effusions of pain.

He'll wake soon enough, and he'll hear them talk over his head with derision – "Stop being so melodramatic, Uchiha " – and understand that their contempt stands in for palpable relief that he was not, after all, a hopeless case for one of the best medics that Konoha has managed to produce, even if she is far past her prime.

Incarnadine; a memory

His cousin's wretched, bleeding face freezes Itachi on his feet. Danzou has already claimed one of Shisui's eyes – Danzou, the man who lives and breathes for Konoha and tells him coldly, Kill all traitors – yet Shisui's mouth curves in a lopsided smile. "Look, Itachi, I know the genealogies in the clan archives say we're cousins, but I swear to you that I always considered you my brother, and I don't count my death a loss."

Likewise, he wants to say, but unlike those times when he's called upon to lie, Itachi's throat closes up. That is the first day that the sky runs red. It is also the first day that his younger brother stares at him with real fear.

…..

Vacation

It's a common joke in the ANBU that there is no such thing as being off-duty, only a slow day on the job. That said, Hana finds Earth Country much more preferable to Rain, and as close to a vacation as she's ever had since her stint as ANBU captain began. She knows it's wrong to be so happy on a mission that involves something as dire as international diplomacy (suppose that ruled out collapsing tunnels or enormous fiery explosions) but it's hard not to feel exhilarated while tearing through a landscape filled with flora and fauna she has never encountered before.

The biggest difference between Iwa and Ame, surprisingly, is not the lack of torrential rain, but the unspoken accord between the four members of the team. This time, she can count on them to watch her back.

Contrast

There is no escape for that man who calls himself Kakuzu, not unless he wants his companion to die – which the man promptly brings about with a lightning-based attack. Itachi reads Kakuzu's intention before he finishes the first hand-seal, and so the backlash from the technique rips through a forest of cables and steel pipes and the shinobi whom Kakuzu betrayed, but nothing else.

None of his teammates thank him explicitly for it later; at this point, they've lost track of how often they've done the same for each other.

…..

Reversal

It's been so long since they were actually in Konoha that the villagers' cold reception as they leave the ANBU compound sans gear comes as a minor, unpleasant surprise. A passing shinobi mutters something darkly to his friend, shooting them a look of deep loathing; before she thinks better of it, Hana says, "Excuse me, would you care to repeat that?"

The man blinks, shakes his head, and that could be the end of it – except that he whispers in sotto voce to his companion something that sounds suspiciously like Uchiha's bitch.

The poor idiot actually wets his pants when three deadly glares pin him where he stands; Hana signals to the three ANBU – the Hyuuga in particular – to stand down. You'd have said the same a few months ago, she points out, and Tokuma leaves off, looking slightly ashamed.

…..

Jaded

Itachi may be a year younger than her, but Hana often feels like a naïve, idealistic child in his presence – much as she feels when she thinks more carefully about Kakashi, who brings his dogs to her whenever they have health issues. He still wears his ANBU gloves and moves as soundlessly as if an enemy lurks behind every corner, waiting to exact a personal revenge.

….

Obon

Hana is two blocks away from the residential district when she sees the solitary figure leaning on the balustrade of the bridge; although the entire village seems to be celebrating, Itachi is in full uniform, and she knows her eyes would have gone right past him if he hadn't wanted to be seen. His travel pack and rolled up cloak lie at his feet.

"You're leaving your brother to light all the lanterns by himself?" she asks. There is a curious edge beneath his customary politeness – we're not lighting any – and she's left uncertain of where she is going but unwilling to drop the subject just yet. "You know what they say – if you don't light the lanterns, your ancestors' spirits might lose their way home."

If she squints, she can see the shadow of a smile on his face, though he has looked happier while bleeding from his eyes – "If only."

….

Marred

Itachi is surprised by his desire to stand closer than usual to his erstwhile captain and feel the texture of her kimono under his hands. He resists the impulse; maybe it is superstition, but today of all days, he would rather not stain her with his touch while he's wearing a uniform that surely reeks of old blood to her.

….

Territorial

ANBU squads are formed according to the demands of each mission, or so she tells herself when she feels unaccountably jealous of whoever will be going with him. "You're captain, of course," she says, and he doesn't deny it. "About time."

….

Confession, Part Two

A stone arcs over the water, thumping up ripples as it skips over the surface. "I don't have the temperament for ANBU," says Itachi; "I was glad not to be captain."

"Would you resign if you could?" she asks, and he nods. He doesn't mind letting Hana know; she seems to understand that being good at something doesn't mean you necessarily enjoy doing it.

….

Imagine

Hana tries – with limited success – to imagine Itachi in the standard green jounin vest, his name entered in the lottery to become the instructor of a genin team; an Itachi who will never again put on the ANBU uniform that fits him so well.

….

Hindsight

Sometimes Itachi looks back on their first mission in Amegakure and thinks of ways they could have saved it.

..

Déjà vu

Unsettling revelations aside, Tsunade's return to Konoha has probably raised the average life expectancy of every ninja in the village, but it doesn't mean showing up at the hospital is a pleasant experience.

Decidedly not when the fearsome woman herself chews you out for letting your teammate come home bleeding from the eyes, never mind that he should have known better (he'll get his later, when he's awake) or that Itachi has always acted like a law unto himself (even if he and the rest of the squad tend to agree on tactics these days) – this is your responsibility, you are captain, so you should figure out if you could live with yourself if one of your teammates died on your watch –

It's better not to say anything when Tsunade gets going, although it seems like a more vehement harangue than the situation merits. Is it just Hana's imagination, or does the woman's face look even paler than normal? She's heard that Konoha's greatest medic is hemophobic, but she's at a loss as to why; it doesn't seem like the usual PTSD.

….

Expectations

Just because there's an understanding now doesn't mean that he always agrees with their point of view, and he expects his teammates to react negatively when they find out he has already killed the Iwa nin after the interrogation. What he doesn't expect though, is how much it stings to see their lack of surprise.

….

In another life

There's nothing quite like hearing Itachi elaborate – if a little blandly – on the alternative he saw to the brutal suppression of the Uchiha coup. What's done is done, but Hana finds herself trying to persuade him anyway that just wiping out his entire clan would have been worse. "Besides," she adds, believing this will end his speculations, "what would you have done about your brother?"

"I would leave him alive to tie up loose ends."

The answer is as opaque to her as it was five minutes ago. "How was this to happen?"

"Hatred of me would motivate him to avenge his family, return to Konoha a hero, and live out the rest of his life in relative peace."

It is at moments like these that Hana uncharitably wonders if Itachi was born with the EQ of a deep-sea fish. Well, he is an Uchiha.

….

Fair

I'm not being nice, Hana informs them scathingly when the Aburame insists that taking the first shower is the captain's prerogative; you all stink a lot more than I do. Ultimately, they determine the shower-order by jan-ken-pon. Tokuma goes first and Hana gets to go second-to-last, after Muta; Itachi is the last. None of them warn the next person about the bitterly cold water.

Scars

On the rare occasion that they stop at a place where they can indulge in baths, Hana's teammates, who – unlike her – usually neglect to bring more than one spare set of their uniform, will opt to rinse out their grimy, bloodstained shirts under the faucet and hang them up to dry overnight. What this amounts to is being surrounded by a lot of shirtless men smelling of cheap soap (ANBU-issue or inn-provided; neither smells much better than the other in Hana's opinion) and themselves.

When she first starts out in ANBU, Hana thinks it's more polite not to look at anyone's scars; gradually, it becomes apparent that no one minds all that much (besides, it's not as if she's staring fixedly at any one person). She already knows the story behind Tokuma's freshest scar, and there is no power on earth that will make her ask Muta about the latticework of lines that healed white all over his arms and back. Itachi, on the other hand, hardly has any visible scars at all. Considering his long hiatus from high-level missions, it isn't that shocking.

It's a false impression, in any case. Itachi's scars are highly visible, in the way he talks and acts and looks at everything, in his lack of reaction to the sneers that greet him wherever he goes in Konoha. Hana doesn't know if she wants to slap him or pity him for choosing to be such a martyr.


.


"Come in," said the man behind the door.

After their last mission in the bowels of River Country, the fifth basement level of the ANBU compound no longer felt as oppressive. But it was that much closer to the interrogation cells, and if Hana couldn't smell any of the prisoners, she still knew they were there, a few levels below. Ever since the failed coup, many of these prisoners had to be related to Itachi in some way.

Shimura Danzou greeted her on his feet. "Inuzuka Hana."

"Sir?" The summons to this customarily off-limits level hadn't said much more than when and where she was to show up and the name of the village elder who had ordered her presence. It was the first time she had ever met him in person or even seen him. Small wonder, when he had probably been recuperating all this time from the injuries beneath the bandages covering half his face. A thick brown robe hid his right arm and shoulder from view.

"I commend you for leading your squad in another successful mission. The intelligence we have gained from your infiltration of the Akatsuki base in River Country may prove invaluable to Konoha's security."

Hana lowered her eyes, trying to look more grateful for the praise than quietly bemused. They had done alright, she supposed, for trying to snoop around a base full of criminals who could have autographed eight to nine pages of Muta's international Bingo Book. But plans A through D had fallen apart spectacularly through a combination of bad luck and insufficient recon. They'd set Itachi to interrogate a shinobi who turned out to be a foul-mouthed, immortal, masochistic demon. The other shinobi, a missing-nin from Mist, had a sword which specialized in eating chakra and therefore neutralized most of Tokuma's most devastating attacks. Muta's kikai bugs nearly killed themselves trying to devour Kisame's overwhelming chakra reserves. In the end, Hana had needed to smash an escape route through several meters of solid rock and collapse the tunnels behind them.

They should have gotten a lot more information. Instead, they'd had to flee the area with their cover blown, and all they really had to show for it was the confirmation that, yes, the Akatsuki wanted to capture all the jinchuuriki for some reason. Successful wasn't the word Hana would personally have picked to describe the mission. Narrowly avoiding catastrophe was longer, but perhaps more apt.

"And you haven't had any significant difficulties with your squad."

Hana met Danzou's eyes – or eye, since only one of them was visible. "No, sir." Things had to be pretty dire for any ANBU captain to report it as a problem to someone important like Danzou. Seventy-five percent death rates, treachery, stuff like that.

"It would be understandable if there were."

She nodded, unsure of where he was leading. "If there's ever an issue, I will report it directly to the Hokage, sir."

Inexplicably, a muscle twitched in Danzou's jaw, and his brow wrinkled slightly in what appeared to be irritation. Hana would be surer if she could smell him without the heavy cloud of medicinal odors that hung around him. "You are working with individuals from three out of the four noble clans of Konoha. I would not be surprised if there were some tensions at first." His mouth compressed in an appraising line. "And I, too, once served on a team with an Uchiha." He rubbed his right arm, as if to ease a stiff muscle.

Might as well come out and ask. "Is there… a particular matter you wished to discuss, sir?"

"As it happens – yes." Danzou walked around a desk where he must spend some time on a daily basis, receiving and reviewing reports; Hana glimpsed the familiar letterhead of an official ANBU memo before Danzou swept it out of sight. "When I led an ANBU division, I preferred to speak succinctly. I trust you will understand, captain." He waited for her to bow her head again before continuing. "Has the Uchiha been anything but a cooperative member of the squad?"

He's gotten better, she thought of saying. Coordinating their actions after everyone agreed on basic tactics had made it much less exasperating.

Something about the whole setup, the strained air of casualness mixed with gravity in this uncomfortable interview, stopped Hana from admitting any of that. "No, not that I can say, sir."

"What do you mean?"

It was a mistake to have added that qualifier, though she didn't want to lie. "There were the usual tensions starting out, but nothing out of the ordinary."

"There should be no tensions," said Danzou severely; "ANBU operatives are trained to be professional in every aspect of their work." Which, initially, sounded like a contradiction of his previous concession, but then again, he'd only stated that difficulties would be understandable in this case, not the norm.

"I blame my own inexperience, sir."

"And now?"

"Now, I believe we are an effective team."

Danzou nodded slowly. His voice softened a little, although his single eye watched her as piercingly as ever. "If there is one thing you should keep in mind about Itachi, Inuzuka, it is that he does not share the same concept of loyalty as you and I do. We – I know I can speak with confidence – are loyal to Konoha and willing to make personal sacrifices for the good of the entire village. Uchiha Itachi is loyal only to people, to individuals… it isn't inherently a concern, but it is a flawed loyalty. He will be prone to do selfish things that damage the good of the whole."

Did Danzou really believe that – of her or of Itachi? Hana fought back the questions rising to her throat. Fortunately, ANBU had given her plenty of practice at it. What he thought would persuade her probably said more than what he explicitly professed.

"You are in a unique situation, but the Hokage has seen fit to entrust this position to you… and it seems that you are of a sufficient caliber for the task. However, the Hokage is often extremely busy, and will only continue to be so as the date of the chuunin exams approach. You and the other ANBU captains will be debriefed on the measures we will take to ensure Konoha's safety. I add only this: keep an eye on the Uchiha for the wellbeing of us all. If you observe anything questionable, do not hesitate to inform me."

Hana swallowed. The idea of reporting on a member of her squad, Uchiha or not, sat ill with her. Maybe Danzou was wrong, in any case – their last assignment proved that they weren't an indestructible Golden Team, so they might get split up more frequently in the future.

"You may even cultivate some personal loyalty, if that will simplify matters."

Hana kept her expression neutral. Did Danzou want her to become a leash for Itachi? The suggestion bothered her. She would have been willing to visit Itachi now and then, see how he was doing, especially now that his younger brother had been allowed onto a genin team on probationary status. After this talk, anything she tried would feel tainted.

"Do you understand?"

"Yes, sir," she said.