Chapter Text
Being hunted was a feeling that all shinobi were unfortunately acquainted with. Of course, most shinobi were used to being hunted by other shinobi, or extremely persistent mothers with apprenticable children. Very few were used to being hunted by a civilian.
Yamato was not being hunted. Or at least he wasn't aware that he had done anything worthy of calling the wrath of the admin-nin on him. He always had his reports in on time and to his usual standard, so to step outside and have Ayaka materialise out of thin air was... unsettling.
She was a civilian. She shouldn't be able to do that! "Do not move," she warned him as she stalked toward his neighbour's door. Despite being tiny and essentially powerless, he didn't want to test her. It would be a humiliating start to the day to have her either best him or haul him out of wherever he'd holed up in. He'd watched her do it before, including to the Hokage when he had just decided to not do some paperwork...
Yamato winced when she knocked politely door before she shouted that she could hear him breathing! The door opened a crack and a report was pushed through, Ren stammering his apologies. Ayaka accepted it and tucked it in her bag before she looked at him, slightly surprised that he had listened to her. Most shinobi fled from the wrath of the admin-nin. Yamato wondered why they didn't just throw admin-nin at any enemy. If they could make even the most senior of shinobi in the village cower in their homes and avoid their paths, what could they do to an enemy?
"Uzumaki Naruto is in the hospital. Hokage-sama has requested an audience at your earliest convenience." She pulled something out of her pocket and handed it to him. Yamato's gulp was audible. It was the primer on explosive fuinjutsu he had left Naruto.
It was funny how something like a phrase could be so... terrifying. Take 'at your earliest convenience' for example. At face value it suggested that someone should take their time, but what it really meant was 'I am seriously displeased with you. If you aren't knelt at my feet yesterday then perhaps going missing-nin will be a better life choice for you.'
So when Ayaka offered him a sympathic smile and told him that the Hokage was in his office, Yamato wondered if he had gone too far with his plan.
Still it did no good standing around wondering, so he raced to the office and was shown through. "You wished to see me, Hokage-sama?"
The Admin-nin were on a war path and the entire village was awaiting their displeasure. It did not make for an easy walk through the administration building, and Yamato had been stopped three times by various frazzled admin-nin who thought he was someone else. This puzzled Yamato for many reasons, only one being that he was a very recognisable person outside of his ANBU mask, no one mistook his for anyone else. He caught a glimpse of their war room - they had taken over an actual war room, a map of Konoha on the table, walls covered in pictures of their targets, some with ominous red crosses across their faces, lists of their crimes at their side. Yamato caught Genma's eye and wondered at a man who could look amused to be part of the chaos that the admin-nin were bring to bear.
Yamato hurried past, the admin-nin were crazy at the best of times, but like this? Waging war on their own village? He shivered when he heard Ayaka snarl at someone that they just had to do their jobs! Scrambling sounded and a terrified admin-nin hurried past him and not for the first time Yamato wondered whether Ayaka was actually a civilian. Oh sure, he'd served with her parents and her siblings, and they had taught her a few tricks here and there, but according to all official and unofficial records, Ayaka had gone to the same Temple school that all of Konoha's civilians attended. And yet he didn't want to cross her.
Speaking of. He ducked his head and started to move faster when Ayaka stepped out of the room. He prayed to any of the gods listening that she would ignore him and go after her next victim when he blinked and she appeared in front of him. Seriously! Civilians were not supposed to be able to do that! "Yamato-san, could you please deliver this to the reception desk at the hospital?" He flinched as she handed him some files, actually flinched, but nodded wordlessly and she thanked him before she hurried away.
Genma came to his side. "Pays to be on their good side," he commented and added the files in his arms to Yamato's pile, waving lazily over his shoulder. Yamato glowered at Genma's retreating form and calmly put Genma's files behind a rubbish bin. Like hell he was going to do Genma's work for him. Yamato was actually considering buying a ticket to whatever happened when the admin-nin realised that Genma had shirked his duties. He shivered wondering why they didn't just use admin-nin in the T&I suite. They'd probably get anyone to confess to any number of crimes.
The receptionist at the hospital looked almost relieved when he appeared. "Thought you were one of them..." she said as she accepted the files.
Yamato smiled faintly but asked for Uzumaki's room and thanked her when she gave him directions. Naruto was babbling at a nurse, not sitting still or letting her treat his wounds. "Uzumaki-san!" she finally scolded and Naruto pouted but stopped moving. "Thank you," the nurse huffed. "Now I'm glad your seal went well, but you have to learn about the area of effect rule that all seals have."
"That wasn't in the book."
"Then you should read more books until you know about the basics of your speciality."
"But reading is-" Yamato saw the exact moment Naruto saw him coming because he rapidly backtracked on his words. "Reading is great. An excellent pasttime. Thanks nee-san! I'm all good."
"Naruto," Yamato sighed as he stepped into the room.
"Hey Sensei! Did you hear about-"
Yamato held up the book and Naruto fell silent. "He's cleared for duty?"
"Yes," the nurse sighed and spun on Naruto who was trying to leave again. "But if I see you in my ward for stupidity like this? I guarantee you'll regret it."
Naruto grinned and darted off after Yamato told him to report for training. Yamato sighed and looked at her. "Thanks, Mouse," he said and she shrugged.
"Eh, he's a good kid. Seal's still tight, he's just being a reckless genin with too much knowledge and not enough sense." Mouse lifted an eyebrow and he very pointedly ignored her interrogative look. "Any word from senpai?"
Yamato shook his head and she frowned before they both heard one of the admin-nin walking the floor, talking cheerfully at someone and they both turned towards the window, leaping out and heading their separate ways. As they ran, Yamao wondered again why he was running from a chuunin who had been on desk duty for most of his career. It was humiliating. He was quietly happy that ANBU Mouse was also fleeing.
Sasuke and Sakura were staring at Naruto as he gesticulated wildly, trying to emphasise how big the fireball had been. "And sensei just told you to come here?" Sasuke asked, trying not to stare at the pink of new skin and the patches of missing hair as Naruto nodded. The three set off on their usual morning run, this time keeping only to the water courses - Sensei was adamant that they be able to run on water for as long as necessary just in case. He had also worded this saying that at some point he would drop them off in the middle of the ocean and he hoped they would drown. But only a little bit. They were almost fond of his threats now. It was almost endearing. But they also weren't entirely sure that he wasn't being serious, so they had thrown themselves at each of his challenges, determined to make sure that he couldn't kill them, even by accident.
Yamato was waiting for them by the time they returned to the tree. "Uzumaki, you're to practice combination traps," he handed over another fuinjutsu book, but this one discussed the applications of fuinjustu with traps.
"Traps?" Naruto blinked. Trapping wasn't exactly specialised, but he knew that most shinobi only did the very basic ones, and then the super complicated ones that only really worked once, because they required your target to move exactly as planned, and that rarely happened.
"Considering your history, trap artistry combined with your sealing habits will be very useful. Sakura!" She accepted the two books he handed her. Field medicine, and the art of illusions? "Most shinobi would kill their comrades for what you have - perfect chakra control. Admittedly it's because your chakra is limited, but you've maintained control as it's increased. So you'll be the teams genjutsu expert, and field medic. Learn those techniques by weeks end." The or else didn't need to be said. She heard it loud and clear. She nodded quickly and darted away, which left Sasuke. "And you. You are the scion of the Uchiha name, the disappointment who can't even perform an E-ranked jutsu without assistance. Clearly jutsu is not your speciality." Sasuke blinked the red from his vision as something was shoved against his chest. He blinked and looked down. A tanto? "So, Sasuke-kun. You want to kill me yet?"
Sasuke did. He really did. He had for a while if he was being entirely honest. But a tanto? And this one had new wrappings on the hilt. "Sensei?"
"Your brother was an excellent swordsman. Your father was as well, and don't even get me started on your mother. Mikoto-sama was a shinigami on the battlefield, That was her moniker, did you know?" He hadn't known that. Sasuke's grip tightened around the hilt. "So, I'm hoping that some of her genes got to you, otherwise I'm reassigning you to S&I." Sasuke flinched. Seduction and Infiltration? Sensei was going to turn him into a whore to filter information back to Konoha? A spy in palaces and shrines and districts? "Don't like the idea? Want to be a combat shinobi? Then try to succeed. Or else I can cut off your head now, and send you back to your family." And Sasuke saw red, and then his vision became clear as he drew the blade and with a snarl stepped forward to attack his sensei.
Another tanto met his and then he was disarmed. "Good," sensei said. "Now breathe. I'm going to show you some sword moves while your pretty eyes are all lit up." Sasuke blinked and then raced for the river, staring at his reflection with red eyes. He missed sensei's smile as he celebrated getting his eyes, but quickly came to attention when sensei told him to pay attention.
Shikaku blinked as he read the report, Ayaka almost fleeing the room after the handed the incident report should have been his first clue. Why was it always team seven? Oh sure, it was great that Sasuke had his eyes, the Elders would be thrilled. Of course Shikaku was happy for the kid, unlocking a bloodline was always exciting, and something to be rewarded. Of course, his reward was being lectured for his inability to do basic jutsu, and forced to watch tanto moves, kata and other exciting things like 'how to clean your tanto' and 'how to oil your tanto' and 'how to remove ones teammates blood from your tanto'. Shikaku frowned at that bit, but the chuunin watching from the trees had sworn that it was an accurate quote.
Apparently Sakura had taken to the medical side of her training with aplomb. Oh sure she had struggled for the first few days, but by the fourth she had made a complete menace of herself, and traumatised at least three toddlers after she had brought a fish back at the market... and then proceeded to bludgeon it to death before she brought it back again.
Not even thirteen and already a clear prodigy with more complicated arts. It was a wonder the hospital hadn't already applied to the Hokage to terminate her placement on the team so she could be reassigned. Though he also had a feeling that Ayaka had something to do with that. The girl was a wonder at keeping the more annoying nuisances and requests from bothering him or the Hokage. Now that he thought about it, he did remember Ayaka stomping on Hiro's foot this morning and then loudly but firmly directing a doctor to fix it.
Unfortunately, none of this was truly bad. The worst was definitely yet to come. Naruto had decided to practice his sealing in the forest. On Nara lands to be more precise. Which would normally be fine! So long as people didn't disturb the deer, they were welcome onto Nara lands for any reason. There was, however, an expectation that wanton destruction would be avoided. Naruto clearly hadn't understood that expectation. He had done something terrible, designed a trap that had sent a howling wind crashing through the forest, destroying trees and flattening grasslands, starting at least one fire and disturbing the Nara deer. The damage was just being relayed to him now. It was... horrendous. "Ayaka!" he growled and the girl stepped inside as though she were nervous that he was about to throw something. "Get me Yamato."
Yamato looked at the three children he had smuggled out of Konoha. They'd been marching all day and were tired but were't complaining, mostly because he had cheerfully told them that they would be walking till they dropped. All three of them dropped. In his defence, it was that or face the wrath of the Jounin Commander. So they were wandering around the countryside of fire practicing stalking and walking without being noticed for however long it took for Badger to let him know that the Commander only wanted to maim them a little bit, and not execute them all on sight. And if they complained enough when they returned, perhaps they'd decide that he was extremely unsuitable for the command of baby shinobi and reassign them all.
Bliss.
And if not, well at least they'll be all trained up for senpai when he arrived.
He wondered why he kept thinking of that, and why there was almost a twinge of regret that he would be handing them back soon. He glanced back to see them running up the uneven surface, shoulders drooping, but eyes filled with determination. He frowned. He would have to test their limits. They were kids and thought they were invincible. They weren't, but they didn't know that yet. It might have to be a lesson for another day though. "Set up a camp, don't forget the watch. Find me in the morning."
They stared at him in confusion but then Sakura nodded and continued walking, looking for a good campsite and the boys had no choice but to follow her. He flickered up to the trees and watched them, feeling something like pride trying to bloom again as they found an excellent spot, Naruto laying out traps and seals, Sakura hunting for food and Sasuke setting up the rest of the camp. Yamato made note of the areas for improvement, some of the traps could be positioned better, Sakura probably didn't need to hunt such a large beast, but they were far enough from Konoha now that the deer she brought down definitely wasn't a Nara deer. That was the last thing he needed. Ah. Looks like he would have to teach them how to skin a deer properly. He winced as the three prepared it, ruining the pelt. But it was passable, and the meat and edible organs were the most important parts of the beast anyway. Sasuke at least hadn't set up a tent. The nights would be clear for some time, which was fortunate because tents only inhibited ones reaction time and offered next to no protection. Still, his positioning of the two sleeping bags was not ideal. And he should have laid out the third to make it look like they were a larger party.
Still, they'd done well.
He wondered how long it would take them to find him in the morning.
(Their cries of outrage when they found him sitting in one of his wooden constructs the next morning was music to his ears).
Ayaka ducked her chin as the Jounin Commander walked into his office, sighing in relief that he didn't ask if Yamato's squad had reported back into the village yet. Oh sure, when an ANBU stood over you, requesting a seal be applied to an order retrospectively, you did it. That was the job and ANBU didn't have to be nice about it, but they were usually nice to her, so she had stamped it and then watched in horror as ANBU Badger had written in Yamato's name at the top. And now she was complicit in betraying her boss.
She knew the Jounin Commander knew about her involvement. No one had seen Badger for weeks, though rumour was that he was working to restore Nara land in team Yamato's stead. "Ayaka," she sat upright and turned to the Jounin Commander who lifted a brow at her startled reaction.
"Sorry sir, how can I help you?"
"Let me know when they return. And tell them that I'll need an in-person report. I'd like you to sit in on it."
She swallowed but nodded and as soon as he returned to his office, she hurried to the aviary. "Need to send a letter to one of our teams training in the mountains." Watching the bird take flight, Ayaka quietly mourned her quiet life before she became involved in all the shenanigans that the shinobi regularly included her in.
"Tamadono-san?" She blinked and looked at the chuunin manning the aviary desk that day.
"Ah, apologies, I got lost on the road of life." Ayaka looked horrified at what she said, clapped her hand to her mouth and fled. Where had that come from.
(Her desk mates looked entirely too amused at her dismay).