Kakashi ran Team Ro differently than Chiaki ran Team Fist. Rather than hold us in reserve until our teamwork was acceptable, Kakashi just had us train together a couple times so we'd know how to support one-another, but there was a much bigger emphasis on individual ability under Kakashi. Less than a month after joining Team Ro, Misaki and I were already going on missions with them.
There weren't any real social gatherings either. It seemed like the entire team ate, breathed and slept ANBU. There weren't any picnics or juice boxes, and all of our socializing happened while we were technically on duty but out of sight enough to show our faces for a bit.
I wasn't sure if that was Kakashi's leadership or just our team being…weird. Misaki had seen the other ANBU talking with her byakugan, reading their lips to tell they'd taken to calling Team Ro 'Team Prodigy' when they thought we weren't looking. The make-up of ANBU teams was supposed to be classified, but apparently everyone knew who was on Ro. Kakashi as the captain, Misaki, me, Itachi – it didn't take a genius to figure out where our team got our nickname.
…Speaking of Itachi, I did not know how to interact with the guy. When I was first reborn here, I'd thought that he would murder his clan a year or two after I got to the Academy. Evidently, I was very wrong. Not only was I older than Itachi, but I was so much older than him that I'd spent years as an ANBU before crossing paths with him and his clan was still alive. I didn't know what to do about that. I didn't know if I should do anything about it. My original plan was to leave it be and let canon take its course, but I was now in a prime position to make sure Konoha still had the Uchiha around for when the world started ending. We could really use their cheating hax eyes during the end times.
I also didn't want Itachi to kill one of my few friends. I didn't interact with Mita as much as I would like, but I still considered her a friend. I didn't want Obito to cut her head off.
I was still working out what I wanted to do about Itachi and his whole…thing, so for now I was trying to focus on more pleasant topics.
"How's your mom doing?" I asked Misaki, my mask propped up on my forehead to show my face. Technically we were on duty, but guard duty in Konoha wasn't very eventful, and Kakashi was alright with us showing our faces to each other so long as no one else saw. With our ANBU training, we weren't going to be spotted by random passersby even if we had a quiet conversation.
"She is well. The med nin says she will likely give birth in another month or so."
"Would it be weird if I swung by after your brother's born?"
Misaki turned her head to look at me. Her mask was propped up on her forehead, revealing her amused smile. "Would my fiance and my mother's future son-in-law stopping by to see my new brother be weird? No. We'd love to have you."
"I'll stop by then. Let me know when would be a good time."
"I will."
"May I ask what you are discussing?" a new voice said as its owner emerged from the tree above us. Think of the clan-killer and he shall appear.
"My mother is pregnant." Misaki said to Itachi. "I will have a little brother soon."
Itachi pushed his weasel mask up so he could smile at her. "That's wonderful, Misaki. I have a little brother too. If he were younger, I would suggest they play together."
Another body flickered in right next to us. The frowning mask of Cat bore down on us. "We are on duty. Discuss this later."
"Respectfully, Cat, our mission is to watch the Academy and make sure the children are safe." I hooked a thumb up to indicate Misaki. "She can see the entire building and the grounds around it, and if one of the children is able to spot us, they should have already graduated by now."
Cat stared at me for a moment, then huffed. She crouched down on a branch overlooking the Academy next to ours and propped her mask up. "Is there any activity, Misaki?"
"The most exciting thing to happen today was a small blonde boy getting detention for sneezing too loudly."
I raised an eyebrow at her. "For what?"
"I thought it was strange too, but it is not my job to teach the students, merely to observe them." She shifted on her branch. "One of the classes is heading outside for recess."
"The Academy has recess now?" Yugao said disbelievingly. "They've really changed things since I went through."
"It might just be this class. They're…special." I said as I realized which students were running onto the playground – a host of Clan Heirs and their classmates. Apparently, fate decided I hadn't had enough effect on the plot and sent me right into the thick of things. First, I was put on Itachi and Kakashi's ANBU team, and now I was watching the future Rookie Nine play on the playground.
It was…dread-inducing. The future of this world hinged on a gaggle of girls pining after a moody Uchiha and a bunch of boys lazing on the ground to stare up at the clouds. How the hell did these kids save the world?
"Look," Itachi said, a proud smile on his face as he pointed down at the moody boy trying to avoid all the fangirls. "That is my little brother Sasuke."
"I hope we get a chance to meet properly." Misaki said, smiling with Itachi as they watched Sasuke flee a bunch of schoolgirls. Yugao had her arms crossed as she leaned against the tree. She didn't seem all that invested in anything that was happening, not that I could blame her.
Off to the side, sitting alone on a swing was a blonde-haired boy I was trying very hard to ignore. Nothing good would come of associating with Naruto. I would not fall into the self-insert trope of being Naruto's big-brother or some other bullshit that was liable to get me killed.
Naruto sneezed loudly, wiping at a puffy nose.
I pursed my lips as I focused on him. "Misaki, is that the kid that sneezed in class?"
"Yes." Misaki said immediately.
"He's sick. Give me a second." I pulled a senbon out of my coat and popped a storage seal. I dipped the senbon in a solution from the seal and whipped it downwards.
"Ow!" Naruto yelped, hopping off the swing as he held his neck. His features contorted in anger as he waved his fist at a buzzing wasp flying up and away from him. "Stupid bug!"
There. I'd fulfilled my duties as a self insert and helped Naruto. His cold would go away by the time he got home. Fate could fuck off now.
Itachi looked at me appraisingly as I retrieved my senbon with a chakra string. "You did not say you were proficient in genjutsu." He must have been referring to the wasp I conjured to explain the prick Naruto felt.
I shrugged. "It's not my main point of attack. I prefer to use my shadows or Boil Release, but I had an aptitude for it, so it would've been stupid not to take advantage of that fact."
"Boil release, a skilled medic, decent with a sword, lethal with projectiles, the secret genius behind the creation of Telepathy, the greatest Nara shadow user in history, and you're good with other genjutsu? Is there anything else you'd like to tell us?" Yugao said, eyebrow raised.
I shrugged. "I'm also engaged."
Yugao's lip quirked up in amusement. "That much I heard from village gossip." She turned to Misaki. "Congratulations by the way."
"Thank you." Misaki said, nodding respectfully, a happy smile on her face.
Our conversation died as two more figures flickered into the tree with us.
"There is a situation. Masks on." Hound ordered, Panther perched on the branch above him.
All of us switched into ANBU mode immediately, pulling our masks down and following Hound away from the Academy.
'Attack?' I sent through Telepathy.
"Negative." Hound replied aloud. "A patrol sent a distress signal and a request for reinforcements. An ANBU team stationed near the outskirts of the village went to assist them. We are filling in for the ANBU team while they assist the patrol. We will patrol the perimeter of the village. I am on point. Standard formation."
We all silently obeyed our orders, falling in behind Hound as we ran the wall around the village. After a little over an hour, the ANBU team we'd replaced returned with the patrol that called for help. Apparently, they'd run into a missing nin from Kusa that was harder to deal with than they were expecting. They killed the guy, but he got some hits on them before they could take him out and needed medical attention. None of ours were dead thankfully.
At Hound's instruction, I went with the team to the hospital, providing medical support until the med nin were able to fully take over. After that, I returned to my team and we remained at the perimeter of the village for the rest of the day.
