Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of its characters, except for the original characters created by me.
Naruto carefully entered the orphanage.
There was something wrong. After breakfast all of the kids were let out to play for 2 hours, while the rooms were cleaned and all. The front yard should have been crawling with kids. Not that they ever let him play with them. Today there was none. Front yard was empty.
Naruto tiptoed towards Miki's room.
It was empty as well.
Miki was in his room maybe?
The orphanage was pretty big, but nowadays it was running short of rooms. Each room was shared by 2 kids now, except for Naruto's. Miki always complained about his roommate, Ginzo, who was 4 years older than them both, and loved to give Miki nuggies. So Miki preferred to spend time at Naruto's room if not outside. Naruto was lucky to have no roommate, he said many times.
His room was empty too.
Naruto's stomach growled loudly.
"But I'm so hungry now…" he moaned.
Maybe there was still some leftovers in the dining hall?
Naruto tiptoed down the stairs and started making his way to the dining hall.
"Don't go there."
The sound came so unexpectedly, Naruto yelped and fell back on his ass.
It was Miru.
Miru was another orphan, about a year or two older than him. But she was really small, so she looked his age. She wasn't his friend, but she wasn't mean to him either. Naruto remembered seeing her mostly playing by herself in the playground, with a few dolls and such, occasionally drawing. But she had a habit of waking up on people when they least expected it, and it creeped everyone out, including the matrons.
"Ginzo caught Miki stealing a loaf for you. Osana-sama is punishing him. She's waiting for you. Don't let them find you now. Stay hidden."
Naruto made a run instead. Towards the dining hall.
"Idiot." Miru muttered behind him.
Quite the scene waited for him in the dining hall.
All the kids in the orphanage were standing by the walls, except for Ginzo and Kaku. They were holding Miki's hands against the biggest table, and Osana-oba-san stood opposite to them, a cane in her hand. Michiru-oba-san and Chiyaki-oba-san were also there. Michiru-oba-san's face was turned away, towards the wall, and Chiyaki-san was pinching her forehead.
"We take care of you brats, clean your shits and shitty clothes, cook for you, and you pay us right back by stealing!" Osana-oba-san's round, wrinkled face looked like pop any moment, so red it was. "Tell me who you stole it for. I know, but I want to hear it from you!" She said, slapping her cane on Miki's palm.
"It was for me! I was hungry!" Miki wailed.
Obasan was about to say something, but Naruto's sudden entrance made her look at him, just like everyone else.
"Here comes the demon brat!" She said, sounding almost gleeful. "Come here, Naruto-chan~ where were you all morning? We looked sooo much~"
"I... I..." Naruto stuttered as he searched for words. "Why are you hurting Miki?"
"Because Miki is a dirty thief!" Ginzo supplied. "He was stealing food for you, you dirty demon!"
Naruto looked at him, and he could swear Ginzo flinched slightly.
"I don't raise thieves in my orphanage!" Osana-sama declared angrily, her pretense now gone. "You little demon, you should be kissing our feet for just keeping you alive by feeding and giving you a roof, and you spoil little kids to steal and lie for you? I'll see today if I can finish what Yondaime started or not, or I didn't serve for ten years!" She stomped around the large table letting Miki go and grabbed Naruto by the scruff of his shirt. "Into my office you-"
Naruto tried to keep pace and he failed, and the burly matron dragged him upstairs, only to stop like a statue. It took some time for Naruto to get on his feet and turn around, with his shirt collar still in the woman's grasp.
A man with white animal mask stood at the door of the warden's office.
A dog mask.
Same as the one half an hour ago.
Osana-oba-san's grip went slack on his collar.
"Go to your room."
The order came not from Osana-oba-san, but from the dog-mask.
Naruto fixed his t-shirt and left for his room like a good boy.
"Now look here Anbu-san." Osana-oba-san finally seemed to find voice, and maybe the fact that Anbu was still a head shorter than her gave her some courage. "With all due respect to Hokage-sama, I would greatly appreciate if I am allowed to run my place as necessary. That..thing…is making the other kids steal for him. If I let it go…well, you know! I have to maintain discipline here! These kids will become shinobis someday!"
The Anbu's head lifted slightly, two black holes meeting her eyes.
"Hokage-sama didn't send me."
In his own room, Naruto suddenly shivered.
Lunch was eerily quiet. Osana-oba-san was completely absent, Chiyaki-oba-san seemingly taking over. The children ate quietly, and they gave Naruto a wide berth. Literally. He was the only one sitting at his table. He couldn't even find Miki. Miru didn't look at him.
After lunch they were supposed to sleep till 4, but Naruto couldn't. What happened to Miki? After Dog-mask told him to go to his room, he went and stayed there, until the lunch bell rang. It felt oddly cold and scary to step out of the room for a good time…was that some ninja technique?
Naruto tiptoed out of his room.
The long corridors were empty. Post lunch was not a curfew, but Osana-oba-san didn't like when children ran about outside her office. If she saw someone, she'd lock all of the doors. But today that wasn't the case. The doors were closed, but unlocked. Her office door was closed too.
Naruto knocked into the room opposite to his. Saya and Rikka's room. They didn't like him, and always kept their door shut anyway. But they talked to him. Yes it involved calling him demon and all, but Rikka played catch with him once!
No answer.
Naruto tried the next door.
And the next.
All doors on the second floor were closed from the inside and no one replied to him. Naruto knew it was dangerous, if Osana-oba-san caught him she'd start from right where Dog-mask made her stop. But he was scared now. What was happening?
Miki's room was on the first floor.
Naruto ran down the stairs, and stomped towards Miki's room. Ginzo could eat his boogers, he needed to talk to Miki.
The door was open!
Naruto stopped before walking into the room. Miki wasn't alone, and it wasn't Ginzo.
Miki was standing next to his bed, sobbing uncontrollably. Chiyaki-oba-san was wiping his tears off gently.
"The demon was using you. I talked to Osana-san, but rules are rules. I have one place where they keep children like you. Good boys. You are a good boy right? You love Konoha…you want to be a good shinobi right? Like your papa was?"
Miki lifted his head trying to look at her through tears, but his eyes fell at the doorway. Chiyaki-oba-san's eyes also followed.
"Hi…Miki." Naruto started. "I–"
Miki shifted to hide behind Chiyaki-oba-san, who put her arm protectively around him. She looked displeased with his very existence.
"This is not a good time Naruto-kun. Miki will have to leave the orphanage."
"Why?" Naruto blurred out.
"You were making him steal. Miki told me, today wasn't the first time, he has been doing it for weeks. Stealing isn't tolerated here Naruto-kun. Rules are simple and clear. And you made Miki steal while skipping meals yourself. You could have easily eaten with everyone else. Why did you make Miki do this? You have been a very bad friend, Naruto-kun."
"I-I–" Naruto struggled for words.
"I HATE YOU! I NEVER WANT TO TALK TO YOU AGAIN! DEMON FOX!" Miki cried out hoarsely, tears and snot marring his little face. "STAY AWAY FROM ME!"
Chiyaki-oba-san pinched her forehead, before mouthing the word 'leave' to him. Not that she needed to. Naruto ran up the stairs, bolted into his own room and dove into his bed, hiding his face.
What did he do? He never told Miki to steal. Miki saved half a loaf or one from his own food for him! Why...why was Miki mad at him..why why WHY?
Naruto sobbed and sobbed, and slowly exhaustion took over. He drifted off to sleep. And after a long time, almost a year, he saw that old dream. The one where he was in a sewer with large bars on one side.
Raira tossed and turned in her bed.
It was past midnight now, and Commander had actually asked them all to get some sleep. But she couldn't sleep. The adrenaline wouldn't let her.
So instead she decided to give up on it, sit in her bed in Lotus position, and meditate.
The events leading to the mission haunted her but she tried to clear her mind of them.
It all started with her father.
Her father, who didn't come back from his mission.
Raira could still remember seeing Commander Sendō for the first time, as he groveled before her and her mother on their door.
Her mother was too overcome with the grief, and would die a few months later.
Commander took responsibility for her, and she fought too, putting her everything in the lessons, in the training grounds, and then in the battlefields of third Shinobi war.
She emerged from it with the rank of Jōnin and a bingo book entry of her own.
Commander had always supported her, and despite him being the man who led her father and many more to their deaths, Raira had grown to look up to him.
Had the man himself not suffered alongside them?
Then the Raikage died, and the clouds hiding Kumo became dark and thunderous.
Commander was always on the bad side of A, who Raira also found to be an upstart through and through. Literally having inherited the seat, he had the gall to act superior to them!
He was a coward too, preferring to hoard their resources rather than actually utilizing them. They had two fully matured jinchuurikis, more than any other village could field, and what were they doing with it? Killer B was teaching genins! Yugito was forbidden from going beyond the Lightning borders!! Raira couldn't help seething in anger, seeing whole families get tossed away like fodder while actual weapons were carefully kept in reserve, letting them rust from disuse.
Many people noticed the same pattern, and soon, a consensus was reached. A needed to go. Yugito could be negotiated with, as for B, the idea was to deal with him when possible. He couldn't be trusted at all, but the dimwit could be kept in the dark for the duration of the coup. Then, the beast could be extracted from him and stored, like bijuus of Suna or Kiri.
Of course, someone ratted them out.
Faced with the prospect of a civil war, A showed cunning for which none of them gave him credit for. Instead of a purge, he assigned them suicide missions. A chance to go out with a blaze. The families of the perpetrators would be spared in exchange, and their legacy would be left as untarnished as possible. Unless of course, they took this chance to go missing-nin, in which case their families would be burdened with persecution and infamy.
Very few of them took that route. Raira would never stoop so low.
Raira's mission was Konohagakure.
Situated inside the biggest landmass on the map which was also the country with the most tillable area by far, Konoha was the big apple of the shinobi world. The pioneer of the world in this new order that replaced warring clans, provided shelter to some of the strongest clans in history, with unique kekkei genkais. Third Raikage had said that if he had been the Hokage, there wouldn't be other Kages. Which wasn't an insult to Konoha's strength by any means.
With all these powerhouses at their service, Konoha still chose to play the role of humble peacekeepers. At least that's the image they wanted to project. A complete waste in the opinion of Kumogakure higher-ups, and they were more than happy to utilize some of the weapons Konoha had in their arsenal.
Like the Hyūga clan, for example.
Their mission objective was to abduct a main branch Hyūga child and return to the village. Or die trying.
Of course, the tricky part was infiltrating a clan full of all-seeing eyes.
Raira suspected this was someone's idea of a joke at Commander's expense, who lost both his sons in the hands of a Hyūga clan member. But, Commander had taken the mission in stride, requesting only for an adept sensor, a genjutsu expert, an infiltration specialist and finally someone who can aid in evacuation.
Raira considered herself honored to be brought in to fulfill the first two criteria.
The mission however was proceeding as well as it could have been. As in, not at all.
So it came as a shock when Commander suggested something that ran counter to their mission objective. But she saw the point after he explained. A Jinchuuriki was a much bigger fish than some pale-eyed bastard.
Slowly clearing her mind of all stray thoughts, Raira focused her mind on one single point between her brows. Letting the ayin chakra flow through her and saturate her limbs, she ran through the control exercises.
Tonight would be the ultimate test of her prowess.
Danzo Shimura put down his calligraphy brush with a sigh. Hiruzen had sent him a copy of the charter with his own notes to review, and he had to add his comments before the negotiations resumed tomorrow. He had just completed that. Shame it would be useless after tonight.
Tonight was a crucial night.
The afternoon's discussion was amusing to say the least. Kumo had committed a lot to this bit, even going as far as drafting a charter that actually had reasonable clauses. He could sympathize with Hiruzen's annoyance with him as he nitpicked and filibustered into the evening.
If only Hiruzen knew.
That Kumogakure has no intention of making peace.
Danzo knew what their actual mission was.
Two weeks ago Root had captured an A-rank nuke-nin, fleeing Kumo.
He was pumped for information, and after 2 long days of work, he cracked.
He divulged information about a failed coup in Kumo, which had led to the key perpetrators being given a deal, to choose between public execution, or a suicide mission.
All of the missions were along the lines of snatching kids with valuable bloodlines, to bolster Kumo's ranks in future.
And the Hyūga were one such target.
The Hyūga clan as a whole was a problematic one.
With their sheer numbers they were a village within a village, and their loyalty was tied to their clan head, not the Hokage, thanks to the Caged Bird seal.
Danzo could see the potential danger, but Shodaime had gifted all the clans with inviolable internal autonomy in the foundation charter, trying to lure as many clans as possible at that time.
Not even the Hokage had a say in the internal matters and practices of a clan.
Danzo had to bend his finger.
Only main branch Hyūgas were of any worth to Kumo, because every other Hyūga would have the Caged Bird seal.
Of which there were only a handful, including the clan head, any living predecessors, and any clan heirs.
While clan heirs would be too high profile for Root, Danzo had a few seals in his collection that he could use to make a puppet out of them. Tried and tested methods used on sleeper agents. A future Hyūga clan head was a great piece to have on the political chessboard of Konoha.
Root Anbu had kept a close watch on the little group. They watched as the group walked into Konoha, as one of their members surreptitiously used his unique technique to find and spy on the Hyūga compound.
Instructions were given to Root to let the intruders be. They were to be allowed to leave the village safely with their booty. Their getaway was already dealt with. All that was needed was to spring the trap as they exit the village. That is if they make it out of the village. Danzo would be highly disappointed if they couldn't even get past the village walls on their own.
The ink having dried, Danzo rolled the charter into a scroll and put it in a secure drawer of his cabinet. Coming back to his table, he started to put away his writing tools.
That'd be all for tonight.