ANBU, the elite assassination and tactical squad of Konohagakure, also commonly referred to as hunter nin, is a squad of elite jounin-level ninjas assigned S-class missions for the better of the village. An ANBU does not have feelings; they are sharpened tools of destruction used for whatever the village sees fit. They were hardened top-level ninjas serving their village in the shadows for the security of all. The shadows moved in the background, taking care of the dirty work most ninjas couldn't stomach. The renowned skills of each ANBU were a priceless commodity for their village.
…
Kakashi brought his hands together as he evaded a kunai aimed at his heart, lightning pulsating from the palm of his right hand before he ran it through his final attacker's chest. He closed his heart off and remained unfeeling as he pulled his hand out of a mere pre-genin's tiny body. He wasn't Kakashi, he was Hound, the ANBU assassin who had been sent on a mission to kill the emperor's grandchild and only heir from the Land of the Stone. Hound took a scroll from out of his pack and released the body of a missing mist-nin with kunai haphazardly thrown into his body to look like the work of a pre-genin, alongside a fatal blow to the back of the head. The ANBU leaned down and placed the mist nin's body near the dead bodyguard who had so valiantly tried to save the young boy from the mercilessness of the ANBU with a wooden sword but failed.
He shook his head at the sight of the sword and smeared blood on the blunt weapon. Who in their right mind would attack an enemy without an actual weapon? Hound had not been expecting that and had to make sure the man hit the dead mist nin's head before he killed him. It was his lucky day that the mist ninja he captured had also been a known lightning user who was a copycat of the infamous Copy Ninja. Konohagakure could not afford any inconsistencies in this line of work.
He looked around the room and disappeared without a sound, arriving several miles from the mansion in time to hear the scream of a presumed maid. Her shrill scream alerted the ninja that had been loitering outside, mission complete. Hound turned around and sped back to Konohagakure to report. Only stopping occasionally to make sure he wasn't being followed and to eat a soldier pill to give him extra stamina. He couldn't remember the last time he ate a real meal; food was a luxury that ANBU simply did not have.
Hound stopped on a tree branch, out of sight, as he watched the group of genin watching the border for anything suspicious. A mere D-rank mission as they were only to report and never engage in battle. Hound did not want to mercilessly kill any more genin that evening if he did not have to. He readied a kunai in case he was seen and teleported past the border soundlessly as he continued homeward. Though home didn't mean anything to him, he was a weapon.
Several hours later, he passed through the gates of Konohagakure, not even bothering to check in with the guards. He was Hound, the legendary ANBU that village kids idolized, and the older ninja respected from a distance. If an enemy ever saw his mask, they knew it meant only one thing: certain death. He jumped from rooftop to rooftop as he made his way to headquarters. His footsteps were so light that when he landed, they didn't even make a sound.
Hound disappeared as he used the transportation jutsu for the third time that day. He kneeled and looked down at his feet as he reported to the Head of ANBU, second in command to the Hokage. The second in command stared down at him with his hands behind his back, silently waiting for the ANBU to report. His unflinching behavior was able to unnerve even the best ANBU, though Hound was used to his superior's treatment. Hound had been working as an ANBU since his teen years, it was second nature to be used to the cold welcome.
"Mission Complete, Stone will think it was Mist who attacked them," Hound said simply. He silently awaited his next mission, which was simply how things worked in ANBU. Short and quick to the point was how the ANBU were expected to make their verbal reports, as he would file a formal report of the mission the next day. Hound didn't bother trying to gauge his supervisor's reaction to the news as his face was also concealed by his own ANBU mask. Mission complete was generally considered at least satisfactory.
"Your next mission is another S-rank. Take a team to dispose of a group of missing Leaf nin located near the Sand Village Border, exterminate all. They are jounin-level ninjas with their numbers estimated to be approximately twenty, collect the stolen scrolls they plan to trade, and report back." Hound nodded, and instantly, four other ANBU appeared at his side simultaneously once they were summoned by the head. The team exited the group and set off for the Sand village border while Hound briefed them on the mission.
They arrived at the border within several hours, and Hound took another soldier pill to sustain him. He signaled to the four to surround the camp, frowning underneath his mask, he had a bad feeling. Hound threw in the smoke bombs, and the ANBU leaped to strike their target down. He soon realized he was right about the bad feeling he had; the camp had gained reinforcements. They had doubled their numbers, which they had stealthily kept hidden until they were attacked.
Even if he was the legendary Copy Ninja with Sharingan, there was no way five ANBU could take on forty-elite missing-nin. Especially if they were all jounin level or Ex-ANBU themselves. Hound turned in time to see one of his comrades struck down with a lightning and water combo jutsu. That left four ANBU; he had to find the scrolls, or the mission would fail. He ran into the nearby tent and grabbed one of the sealed scrolls, just in time to dodge a poison senbon.
Hound quickly pocketed the scroll and signed a fire jutsu at lightning speed, before he burned the remainder of the scrolls to not let them fall into enemy hands. Three senbon pierced his left arm, right shoulder, and left thigh in the process. He turned around and instantly killed his attacker with a single kunai to the heart, the enemy disappearing into smoke, a clone. Hound exited the tent and quickly took out the poison senbon before readying his Chidori, 16 down, 24 more to go. He hoped he had brought an antidote with him in his pack.
…
Hound carried the only surviving member of his team on his back as he raced home, unable to even teleport due to chakra exhaustion. Every missing-nin had been exterminated, the scrolls kept from enemy hands, and his teammate was dying in his arms as he was slowly bleeding out himself. His feet couldn't carry him fast enough as he leaped from tree to tree, cautious as to whether there were survivors following him. Hound turned in time to throw his final kunai at his follower, who dodged easily enough and landed on the branch next to where the kunai had lodged itself. He sighed; there had been an enemy on his tail after all.
"Release!" Hound felt no remorse as he leapt away from the explosion, which the jounin hadn't even seen coming. He readjusted the ANBU in his numb arms; he had lost almost all feeling in them when he was poisoned again. He had quickly taken the antidote, but that didn't mean that it had taken effect yet. The only reassurance that the man in his arms was even alive was the small heartbeat and shallow breaths he ever so occasionally felt. Hound sped through the forest for another hour and a half before he stumbled through the gates once again.
The sky darkened to a deadly shade of black, and he frowned. Nighttime was when you either attacked or got attacked, and neither sounded good in his current situation. He bit back a groan as he felt the effects of his last soldier pill wear off. Hound continued to the hospital and unceremoniously dumped his comrade on one of the rookie nurses. The small nurse had barely managed to take hold of the badly wounded ANBU and looked up at him in surprise.
"His name is Yaro of the Akimichi clan, codename Pig. Deadly poison in his system, I've registered the antidote, multiple stab wounds, chakra exhaustion, and broken bones," he said coolly before running in the other direction. He vaguely heard the nurse shouting at him from a distance as he made his way to headquarters yet again. As team leader, first things first, he had to report and return the scroll before he went home. The Hound managed to jump to the top of a nearby roof and clumsily jumped from place to place. He hated hospitals, the smell of anesthetics, the tears of citizens, and just the atmosphere of hospitals was a put-off. It was also the place where you were required to reveal your identity in case of allergies.
Hound blinked, his vision was getting blurry, maybe he took the wrong antidote after all? If he had taken the wrong one, then he would be as good as dead. He landed on a tree branch as he felt himself begin to sway. His vision turned as dark as the sky before he felt the distinctive feeling of his body being pulled down by gravity, shit. The last thing he remembered was a smooth, rich voice filled with concern shaking his body. They couldn't have been talking to him, no one cared whether he lived or died.
...
Waking to something unidentified touching you was a bad way to wake up as an ANBU. Instinct took over as he instantly grabbed the object and prepared to kill. It only took an instant to take the kunai from underneath the pillow, pin the person who even dared to touch a sleeping ANBU to the bed, and hold the sharpened blade to their throat. The figure stilled as his arm was suddenly pulled behind his back as if to break it and a kunai was about to slit his throat. The brunette underneath him gulped nervously against the kunai, shocked by how fast he had been bested.
"P-please d-don't, I was just checking up." Hound took a second to realize he had been stripped of his armor; his chest was wrapped in gauze, and the stab wound in his side had stopped bleeding. He was covered in what felt like ointment and a patch of gauze taped to his side. Hound looked around the room, gaining intel on where he was. The man beneath him appeared to be a teacher, based on the multitude of poorly drawn pictures hung on the walls labeled with 'To the bestest sensei ever!', chunin level, simply based on how easily he had been pinned-not a threat. Hound cautiously lowered his weapon and released the chunin's arm, noting how the body beneath him instantly went slack with relief-positively not a threat.
"Where am I?" The silver-haired ANBU stood up even though his body protested the sudden movement. He leaned down and proceeded to put his armor on once more when he was gently stopped by a firm but tender hand on his wrist, "Hound-sama, you should go to the hospital! I've treated your wounds to the best of my ability, but if you continue to strain yourself, it will all be for naught." A red blush ghosted over the man's scarred face, and he quickly released his grip on the ANBU's wrist.
Oh right, he'd almost forgotten. Hound readjusted the kunai in his hand and got into a striking position, "Did you, ever once, take my mask off?" The brunette scampered away as fast as he could towards the edge of the bed, its once-white sheets stained red from either his or the enemy's blood. The man held his hands up defensively, "N-no! I would never!" Hound held his stance for a few moments, finding nothing but the truth as he looked into those chocolate eyes; a truthful person was a rarity to an ANBU.
He lowered his weapon and continued latching on the pieces of his armor quickly before he opened the window, finding it to be still dark outside. Good, he wasn't out for very long. The brunette's mouth gaped open, appearing as if he was about to desperately plead with the ANBU, but he determinedly closed it without saying anything more. Hound turned to look at the shocked brunette on the bed and nodded approval before disappearing into the darkness. The ANBU arrived moments later at headquarters and set the only remaining scroll before the Head.
"Report."
"Three ANBU dead, code names were Mole, Rat, and Horse, one ANBU in fatal condition, Pig, enemy camp destroyed, no remaining survivors, and the remaining scrolls have been burned due to dangerous circumstances." The head nodded with a raised eyebrow as he picked up the last scroll containing important information. He trusted the younger ANBU's quick thinking, even though he had hoped for the scroll retrieval. Burning the scrolls was better than their village secrets falling into enemy hands. The head closed the scroll and looked down at the battered condition of the ANBU, covered in blood.
" Mission complete. Kakashi, I want you to go to the hospital. You are off duty until you are fully recovered. Even from here, I can tell you're like a walking corpse." Hound vanished, and he soon became Kakashi after the mission was complete. Kakashi's body relaxed as he stood up casually from his previous kneeling position.
"Maa~ I've been treated by a tender-hearted angel I met on the street; there's no need to go to the hospital," the silver-haired ANBU said lazily as he scratched the back of his head.
"Cut the shit. Dismissed." Kakashi scowled behind the mask but left the room, leaving only a leaf behind from his jutsu. He fell to his knees as he arrived in front of the hospital; teleportation in his condition hadn't been a good idea. Any previous chakra he had left was now gone for sure. Kakashi blinked blearily eyes heavy as his vision was getting blurry again.
"Hound-sama!" A young nurse, about the same age as the one he dumped Pig on, was quickly helping him up and leading him to the examination room. He continued to try and force his eyes open and noticed for the first time that he was still covered in blood from head to toe. It barely took seconds before she had snapped all his armor off and helped him pull his shirt off. She blushed as she took in all the toned muscles of the legendary Hound of Konoha. Maybe she should start doing more overtime. She didn't bother to even ask if he could take off the mask, only an idiot would attempt to see what is underneath while the ANBU is conscious.
Kakashi watched lazily as she quickly began undoing all the scarred brunette's handiwork, feeling slightly disappointed as he watched it come off so soon. She quickly stitched the gash on his side up and repaired his broken kneecap with her healing jutsu. Huh, he hadn't even noticed. He didn't make a sound as she readjusted his dislocated shoulder, simply gritting his teeth. The nurse seemed slightly scared by his lack of reaction; maybe he should try and act more human next time instead of a lifeless tool. Kakashi ran his hand through his hair, feeling the grime stuck in his hair.
"Is that all? Then I'd better be going."
"Hound-sama! It isn't good for your health to be moving around so quickly with all of your injuries." Kakashi rolled his eyes, "Maa~ can't we just look over this little incident, I'm fine, really! Besides, I have a precious little bugger at home that is waiting for me," he lied. She pursed her lips and stared at him long enough that he was almost tempted to put a genjutsu on her so he could escape, too bad he didn't have any chakra left. His exhaustion levels were putting him near the dead shinobi, but he'd be fine if he just took another soldier pill.
The nurse shook her head and scribbled down a few notes, "I can't believe I'm doing this." The instant she turned her back to him; he vanished out the window as fast as his injured body could take him. Kakashi didn't bother to wait for the pain pills she was sure to prescribe him, he was used to the pain. He let his feet take him to the place he called home, landing stealthily in front of his door before he disabled all his traps and entered. Kakashi breathed a sigh of relief, he was finally done for the day.
He had a large home, several rooms he never used, a kitchen that was almost empty except for fiber bars, a dining room with a singular table he never ate at, and a bedroom he hardly slept in. His home was completely different from the brunette's humble abode. Compared to his, Kakashi's just looked dull and lifeless, he vaguely wondered why. His home wasn't quite as cluttered with furniture as the brunette's had been, but it had most of the same things, like a couch and a singular bookshelf for his beloved IchaIcha books. Would more furniture make a difference?
Kakashi shrugged as he took off the ashen ANBU mask and the rest of his armor for what felt like the hundredth time that day. He sighed; a shower was out of the question with all of the gauze wrapped around his chest. Kakashi still had blood in his hair, and that was just uncomfortable to sleep in. He, however, didn't feel like crouching over the sink to simply wash his hair and decided to let things be as he slowly sank into the soft mattress. There was a singular question on his mind as he drifted away into a half-asleep, half-awake slumber. Who was the brunette from before?
…
Iruka looked down at his heavily stained sheets and sighed. The ANBU was obviously in no condition to even move. He absentmindedly rubbed his wrist where the ANBU had touched. ANBU were certainly on a whole other playing field than him if they could move that swiftly while severely injured. He could never move that fast, even if he was at his best. Iruka hadn't even seen the other man move before there was a kunai to his throat, and his arm was locked in place.
He could tell that one wrong move would have left him with a broken arm and a slit throat. Then he even tried to command the possibly most dangerous man in Konoha to go to the hospital. Maybe he should go himself so he could figure out whether he was as crazy as he thought he was. Iruka shook his head as he stripped the sheets off and replaced them with woolen olive-green colored ones. He had no idea where his guts had come from before, as his stomach felt queasy looking at the blood-stained sheets.
Iruka had just been on his way home from a long day at the Mission's office when he saw the body collapsed in the street beside his home. Iruka gasped in surprise when he first noticed the injured ANBU. He thought the other ninja was dead for a moment. Iruka had to drag the ANBU as gently as he could before he managed to maneuver the other onto his back. He struggled a bit as he carried the ANBU into his home. Unlike the person in his arms, who seemed not to have a single ounce of fat on him and maybe on the slimmer side, carrying another person wasn't second nature as a teacher. It took a skillful mind and a lot of maneuvering to get the man situated on his bed, sitting the injured ninja up so he could treat him.
Iruka had scurried across his home to find the first-aid kit he had misplaced some time ago. The thought of peeking underneath the mask never even occurred to him as he was so focused on trying to stop the bleeding. He was no medical ninja, but he had been on enough missions to at least be smart enough to know the basics of how to treat a wound. Iruka generously dabbed the antibiotic ointment over the wounds after he'd managed to stop the bleeding. He had wrapped the gauze around the unconscious man's chest to the best of his ability, but it still appeared to be too loose.
Iruka had also taped a patch of gauze around the stab wound on the man's lower abdomen and had gently laid the man down on the pillow. Thoughts raced through his mind as he wondered what he should do. He couldn't simply let the living legend of Konoha die in his bed because he was stupid. Maybe he should notify ANBU headquarters, but that might have gotten the man in trouble. So, he just sat at the kitchen table grading papers at backbreaking speed. He wondered if he should make soup in case the man woke up.
Unfortunately, he never had the chance to because the next time he went to check up on the man, he was pinned instantly, and the man vanished out of the window several minutes later. Iruka shook his head, he should have taken him to the hospital, so he could've gotten proper treatment. If the ANBU died later, then it would be entirely his fault. Iruka replaced the kunai under his pillow as he stared up at the ceiling. Worry and concern for the elite ninja kept bogging his thoughts and rendered him unable to sleep.
Maybe he should make cookies for his class as a present tomorrow since they all passed his recent test, even Naruto with a C-. He sat up out of his bed; he had nothing better to do anyway, and the baking would take his thoughts away from the injured man he knew absolutely nothing about, aside from the rumors that floated around town. Iruka was never one to believe in rumors, but from what Iruka had seen of the man, the ANBU was more than capable of being what the rumors said he was. It was like the two were in two entirely different worlds despite both being ninjas. The man had bested Iruka in two seconds flat while he was at his best, and the other was severely injured. Iruka tried not to feel as pathetic as he thought he was and proceeded to get out the ingredients to bake cookies for his class, or would brownies be better?