AN: Chapter title: New Faces
The site of their debriefing had changed.
It was the Hokage Residence.
"Wait here." A brown haired Jonin had escorted the subdued Genin and Chunin to what was clearly a waiting room, departed the moment the last of them had crossed the threshold. He had closed the door behind him and left them to their own thoughts.
Suffice to say, several of them were running to rather extreme conclusions.
"We must've screwed up." Shikamaru had set himself against a wall, his arms crossed as his thoughts ran through the available information. "We must've done something wrong."
"But we didn't do anything different." Ino had chosen to pace back and forth in the center of the room, her blue eyes seeing nothing in front of her. "We did the same thing we've done every other day. The only difference is that Sasuke wasn't there today."
"Maybe it's fine?" Sakura didn't believe what she was saying herself. Her chosen spot was one of the couches set up for visitors. She had a front row seat to Ino's pacing while Shikamaru was lost in thought behind her. "If we were really in trouble tonight, we would be at T&I already. Since we're not, we should be alright." From his spot next to her, Akamaru barked.
Sakura figured the sound was in agreement from the way the ninken nodded his head. She would ask his partner but Kiba had collapsed into a chair next to the couch she was on and the ninken had leapt from his normal spot on his head to sit next to her. Absentmindedly, she rubbed the ninken's fur. He nuzzled against her in appreciation.
"Sakura's right." Shino had taken the couch across from her, wasn't as relaxed as his tone implied. He was tense, his kikaichu agitated from his own nerves. They weren't coming to the surface yet but they weren't far from it either. His eyes drifted to the Genin seated next to him, who hadn't reacted at all when they had been brought here of all places.
Hinata merely sat with her hands in her lap, the picture-perfect image of a demure Clan Heiress. Whatever she was feeling, whatever thoughts were going through her head, they were private and unknown to anyone but her.
Shino's eyes focused on Hinata, at the one reaction she had shown since they had arrived. The corner of her lips had moved up, a small thing the rest of the room didn't even notice. Beneath his sunglasses, his eyes almost narrowed. He didn't bring attention to it.
'Not tonight.' His strained relationship with Hinata wasn't something to try to handle tonight. 'But she knows something about this.'
His eyes settled on Kiba, the Inuzuka exhausted from the day. He had been put through the wringer for all accounts, had suddenly been pressed into meeting with the Praefectus Castrorum just like Choji had earlier. His meeting had lasted far longer. He hadn't shown back up at the end of the day beaten black and blue but he had been all but dead on his feet, his Chakra equally as exhausted as his body.
The only issue was that Akamaru was fine. The ninken had, as was becoming the usual, spent the day with Karin Uzumaki in her room in the tower.
"Was it really Sasuke being gone? Were we supposed to keep him here instead of letting him leave?" Shikamaru tried to make sense of such a conclusion, use what he knew to connect dots that had to be there. "We must've needed to keep him busy, keep him from leaving with the Daimyo. But why? Is the Hokage afraid of Sasuke being close to the Daimyo? That he'll say the wrong thing and we'll have a new problem on our hands?"
"That must be it!" Ino turned on her heel once she caught what Shikamaru said, her blue eyes focused on him. "He must not want Sasuke to start boasting like Naruto! If the Daimyo hears that he has an army, he'll want to use it!" She spun back on her heel, her eyes turning to the door. "But why didn't anyone tell us we were really doing that? I could've gassed his office when I was there!" Her hands came to her hair, nearly pulled it out of the bun it was in. "I've been holding off on doing just that all this time when I was supposed to be doing it? How was I supposed to know that?"
"I don't think that's what he wanted Ino." Sakura doubted it would even work. "Even if Kakashi-sensei always tells me to look underneath the underneath, that doesn't make sense. We were reporting on them. They told us we were doing a good job…"
'But were we?' Sakura couldn't help but shrink in on herself. 'We've been goofing off more and more since we got this assignment. I've spent more time talking with Ino then trying to figure out what Naruto's planning, what he's really after with his army.'
Even if Sasuke had been blocking a majority of their progress, had clearly been working behind the scenes to keep them from learning too much, what had they really accomplished?
Most of what they reported, the village already suspected or outright knew. They just helped confirm it with their limited intel.
So far, their only major contribution had been the knowledge of the Daimyo of the Land of Waves being alive. Other reports had come in since the last, the two Kunoichi becoming much less obvious with intercepting the messages since Sasuke's threat. Ino and her had begun simply copying the message instead of outright stealing them. Even with constant searching, with coordination with the others save Hinata, they hadn't managed to come up with anything else major since then.
They still didn't even know the actual number of Naruto's clones in the Land of Fire, never received a straight answer when they had dared to outright ask. Even from Sasuke himself. He hadn't even given them a joking number, had given them a look before dismissing them from the tower. No matter the reports they ran through, the numbers were never clear, Naruto's clones constantly reorganizing themselves and whatever units existed for the many different tasks he had them perform. With their constant movements, and their lack of anything approaching ID numbers, it was all but impossible to know who they had counted and who they hadn't.
'I wonder…' She had an idea, one she needed to bring up with not Ino but Choji. 'That may work. He has the highest chance of any of them hearing it out. They actually like him.'
Any further thought she had on the idea were gone when the door opened.
"I apologize for the wait." Hiruzen Sarutobi entered the room without fanfare. "I'm afraid that I lose track of time more and more in my old age." The Hokage let out a chuckle, stepped into the center of the room. The brown haired Jonin who had brought them here was behind him along with two more Shinobi.
Sakura recognized one instantly.
"Sakura Haruno, we need to talk."
Yugao Uzuki had been a woman she had almost asked Kakashi about more than once since that single late-night conversation, had found herself stopped from asking time and time again out of paranoia. She didn't know why the woman had come to her that night, had said she was helping her.
From behind the Hokage, Yugao didn't react to seeing Sakura. She barely spared her a glance as her cold eyes scanned the rest of the room.
The other figure wore a mask modeled after a dog and a cloak closed in the front, the best Sakura could do was identify that the figure was a woman.
"No doubt, you're all ready for this night to be over. I'll assure you that I'll be brief." The Hokage motioned to Yugao, the purple haired Shinobi stepping forward. "With your Jonin sensei no longer in the village, I've assigned Yugao to the position of squad leader. She'll perform all the same duties Kakashi, Asuma, and Kurenai fulfilled. She'll inform you of any new locations, any changes to the mission, and will also be responsible for reporting your information to my office." He turned to her in full, one hand sweeping out over the Genin and Chunin in the room. "Why don't you introduce yourself Yugao."
"Of course." The Shinobi nodded as she stepped forward, her gaze once more sweeping over the Genin and Chunin gathered in the room. An artificial smile crossed her face. "Hello. My name is Yugao Uzuki. Until Kakashi, Kurenai, or Asuma's return, I will be your acting squad leader. Your mission remains the same. If you have any concerns, do not hesitate to bring them to me."
The woman, now named to the room at large, stepped back behind the Hokage.
The older Shinobi couldn't help his short laugh. "Brief and to the point as always Yugao." He gestured to the brown haired Shinobi behind him on his other side. "In addition, Tenzo will be acting as additional support for this assignment. He is a more than capable Jonin and has my utmost trust. I'm sure you will come to trust him just as well in a short time." The brown haired Shinobi's black eyes briefly flicked from face to face. He made no move to introduce himself. Neither did the Hokage order him to. Finally, the Hokage turned to the last Shinobi who had entered the room with him.
"And, of course, there is the new member of your squad." Even through her mask, the Hokage shared a look with the Kunoichi. She stepped forward. "She's an expert in intelligence gathering and extraction, one of the foremost Shinobi in the village when it comes to understanding human nature and how to best exploit it. Like Tenzo and Yugao, she possesses my utmost trust and respect." Sakura felt the heavy weight of the eyes of the Hokage on her. "Kakashi's as well." In the same moment she felt such a heavy burden, it was gone.
A trembling gloved hand reached up with trepidation to the mask over her face.
The Hokage set his hand on her shoulder. Her hand nearly slipped before it tightened hard enough to crack the sturdy mask.
"Are you sure of this? Once we begin, there is no going back. You will no longer be able to hide or disguise yourself."
"I-I know but…I can't keep hiding like this."
"You are not hiding Anko. You are recovering, regaining your strength."
"…It feels like hiding. I can't do it anymore."
"Very well. The mission I gave you remains the same. Are you ready to begin tonight?"
"Y-Yes."
She dragged the mask off her face.
She tried not to be surprised (hurt) at the gasps at her appearance. (She was a monster after all.)
"My name…is Anko Mitarashi." Her mask was resolutely hooked to her side. "A while ago, Naruto Uzumaki offered me a position in his Legion via messenger. I'm accepting it to further support you in your mission." Her brown eyes focused on no one, her gaze focused on the far wall. "I know enough about each of you from Ibiki's file so introductions aren't necessary. The less you know about me the better. I'll provide a way to contact me for emergencies." She tried to smile, tried to act like the Kunoichi they had briefly met before the Second Stage of the Chunin Exams.
The Third's face was unreadable as he watched Anko, cleared his throat to draw the eyes of the younger Shinobi back to him.
"With introductions out of the way, I believe it's time to begin." He nodded to Yugao, headed towards the door. "I'll look forward to reading over your future reports and I wish you the best of luck."
The Hokage gave them the room.
The door shut quietly behind him.
Yugao merely stared at them.
Tenzo merely stared at them.
Anko was anxious next to them, did all she could not to fidget in place.
Yugao's empty gaze swept over them all.
Sakura felt her eyes settle on her. She didn't know how she managed to meet her gaze, not look anywhere but at the woman who just unsettled her.
"Haruno. You will be responsible for providing a summarized nightly brief. I will inform you of the location prior to your departure in the morning. Remain behind." She finally turned her eyes to the rest of the Genin and Chunin part of the mission she now led. "The rest of you are dismissed for the night."
The Genin felt her eyes return to her, felt Ino's concerned gaze on her a moment later.
She couldn't turn to her, try to offer something close to reassurance she didn't feel.
"Tenzo will escort you out." Yugao's words offered no chance for them to remain, to make some stubborn stand as a group.
"You're all likely exhausted. Please, follow me." The brown-haired Shinobi stepped to the side, opened a path to the closed door. His words were more like an order, the Shinobi wordlessly following them. Disobeying didn't cross their minds.
Even if each of them sent a silent look back to Sakura, she didn't meet their eyes. She couldn't break her gaze from Yugao.
He closed the door behind the last one out, Ino, and left Sakura alone with Yugao and Anko.
"This way." His muffled voice came through the door, was loud enough in the utterly silent room.
Yugao said and did nothing for minutes, her eyes never leaving Sakura.
"This isn't about the mission."
Yugao didn't answer Sakura with words. She finally turned her gaze away from the Genin, moved to the only other Shinobi in the room.
"Wait for me outside." Yugao's words were an order.
Anko glanced between her and Sakura before she left the room.
Sakura swallowed down the lump in her throat, realized she had just been left alone with a woman who had a dangerous view of her and her relationship with Kakashi Hatake.
"You didn't listen to me." Yugao wasn't angry when she spoke. She simply stated a fact.
Sakura couldn't answer, couldn't find the strength for words. Her voice was a foreigner to her at the moment, left the pink-haired Genin mute no matter how much she tried to vocalize her thoughts. Anything at all. She found herself unable to do anything but try and meet the dead eyes in front of her.
"Did you think I was lying to you? I was not. Every word I spoke that night was the truth." Yugao's measured steps took her closer to the Genin. A hand was laid on her shoulder. It was a nearly unbearable weight. "I was trying to help you." She didn't tighten her hold on her shoulder. And it still felt crushing to Sakura. "Hatake feels intensely, suffers his emotions more than he feels them. If you are put in danger, if his enemies use your weakness against him, he will give up his life without question for yours. It is his nature. It cannot be changed."
Sakura's attempt to look away, to try and escape from those dead eyes, was met with failure. Yugao forced her to look at her with an iron grip on her face.
"And it is clear to me now that your nature cannot be changed either."
For a moment, Sakura thought she had misheard. That the sudden softness in her voice, the curiosity on her once expressionless face, was simply a trick.
"You are a student in need of a teacher. He must've seen that in you."
The Genin had no idea what the older Kunoichi was talking apart but, whatever she was saying, it seemed to make sense to her.
Her other hand came up and both took hold of a side of her face.
"I cannot change your nature so I will embrace it like Hatake must have."
'What?' She couldn't ask the Kunoichi what exactly she meant there. Partly out of some still remaining terror and partly because the sides of her face were being squished together by her hands. Opening her mouth was somewhere between very unlikely and outright impossible.
Her question must've shown on her face.
"I will mold you into a Kunoichi worthy of being close to Kakashi Hatake. Even if he is gone, the potential he's seen in you must be reached. You cannot be allowed to waste it, hone it without guidance."
'What?!'
"Yes. While he is gone, I will take over your training." Yugao finally released the younger Kunoichi from the iron grip she had her in. The smile she sent her was less reassuring and more terrifying. "It's only fitting after all. I once studied under him and now I will pass on all I know to you, his newest student."
Her eyes roved over the girl in front of her.
She frowned at whatever she noticed.
Sakura was almost afraid to ask what it was.
"First thing's first, you'll need a sword."
AN: Two for one for this update.
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Peace.