Naruko's legs bounced under the bench as she watched Sasuke in the ring. His movements were sharp, efficient, everything the instructors wanted to see. He nailed the clone technique with barely a pause, transitioned into the substitution with clean form, and ended with the transformation jutsu that actually looked like the target it was supposed to resemble. Mizuki gave a short nod. Sasuke gave no reaction, just turned and walked back toward the line of students waiting their turn.
She rubbed her forehead. Her head still throbbed from the written exam. Even now, she wasn't sure if half her answers made sense. The questions had been worse than last year's, more in-depth, more technical, and her eyes had glazed over at least twice trying to remember certain things like the maths involved and mile coverage when going a certain distance per day and how many hours of daylight there were on said distance coverage.
Her throat felt dry just thinking about it again.
Sasuke dropped back into his seat beside her like nothing happened. No sweat. No strain. Typical.
A civilian kid, Kagami if she remembered correctly, was called up next. He didn't even wait to be encouraged, just shuffled off toward the ring.
Sasuke leaned over slightly, voice low. "I saw your graded sheet on the table when they moved it. You passed."
She blinked at him, stunned for a second, before her body practically slumped forward with relief. Her hands dropped from her lap and her shoulders sagged.
He smirked. "See? You're not that stupid after all."
Naruko immediately gave him a light smack on the arm, not hard enough to hurt but just enough to make the point. He let it happen, still smirking.
The wait dragged on, student after student stepping up for the ninjutsu portion. Most managed fine—one kid couldn't get the clone to hold shape and nearly cried, another forgot the hand signs entirely and had to be reminded. Naruko shifted in her seat, fingers drumming against her thigh. The relief from hearing she passed the written was starting to fade under the weight of the final hurdle.
"Uzumaki Naruko."
Her name echoed through the classroom, and she straightened instantly. Sasuke didn't say anything, but she felt him glance at her as she stood and rolled her shoulders once.
Mizuki nodded as she stepped into place.
"Begin when ready."
She nodded, forming the hand signs quickly. Kawarimi no Jutsu. A puff of smoke and she reappeared a few feet to the side, a nearby chair taking her place with a soft clunk as it dropped.
The chuunin marked something down on his clipboard.
Next—Bunshin no Jutsu. She bit the inside of her cheek and formed the hand seals.
Three shadow clones instead of the illusions she struggled with appeared beside her, evenly spaced and more solid than they'd ever been. She exhaled slowly.
"Last one," Mizuki said.
Henge no Jutsu.
Naruko grinned to herself and brought her hands together. There was a puff, and then she was Sasuke—or a version of him, anyway. Same hair, same face, same frown. But she was wearing her bright orange kimono over his frame, sleeves way too wide, tied all wrong.
The class erupted in snickers. Naruko stood tall, turned on her heel with a dramatic flair, and shot a peace sign at the real Sasuke.
He was giving her the flattest, most soul-deep death glare imaginable.
She grinned wider.
Naruko dropped the transformation with a little hop, her grin firmly in place as Mizuki gave her a nod.
"Good job, Naruko. All techniques passed."
"Thanks!" she chirped, turning on her heel and walking back toward the bench. Her grin only widened when she caught Sasuke's glare again, the kind of flat, frigid stare that could freeze boiling water. On anyone else, it might've actually been scary. She took her seat beside him, elbow nudging his arm just enough to be annoying.
The exam carried on as the rest of the students went up one by one, performing their three required jutsu. Some still fumbled the clone, others nailed the henge but stumbled on substitution. Naruko watched with half-focus, still basking in the high of not screwing up and the subtle satisfaction of getting a reaction out of Sasuke.
Finally, the last student finished. Mizuki stepped forward with Iruka beside him.
"Well done, everyone," Iruka said, smiling warmly. "You'll get your final results tomorrow morning. But based on today's performances, I'd say you're all well on your way."
A few quiet cheers went up, some students exhaling loud sighs of relief. Chairs scraped as people started to stand and gather their things.
"You're all dismissed," Mizuki added. "Good work."
Naruko stood up too, ready to head out—when Mizuki's voice cut in again.
"Uzumaki Naruko? Could you stay for a moment?"
She blinked, caught off guard. "Huh? Uh—sure."
She noticed Sasuke next to her freeze. His spine straightened, and for a moment, he looked… tense. Like he did before a fight. His gaze locked onto Mizuki like he was trying to read through his skin.
"I'll wait outside," Sasuke muttered, jaw tight.
She nodded slowly, watching him turn and head for the door with a pace just slightly too controlled. That was weird. She didn't know why he looked like someone had just told him a trap had been set.
Once the rest of the class had filtered out, Iruka gave her a thumbs up before slipping out himself, muttering something about paperwork. She turned back toward Mizuki.
"So… what's up?" she asked.
He smiled faintly, hands folded behind his back. "I just wanted to say you did really well today. Especially considering where you were last year."
Naruko rubbed the back of her neck. "Yeah, thanks. I've been, y'know… working."
"I can tell. Which is why I wanted to offer you a little something extra," he said, tone light. "There's an optional assignment. Extra credit."
She raised a brow. "Extra credit? I already passed. What's it for?"
"It's the kind of thing that could bump you to the top of the assignment list for teams," Mizuki said casually, as if discussing the weather. "You'd probably be paired with Sasuke. Iruka and I know that's what you'd prefer."
That made her blink. Her mouth opened, then closed. "Wait—really? What do I have to do?"
Mizuki's voice dropped slightly. "Simple. Sneak into the Hokage's residence and get the scroll of forbidden techniques."
Naruko blinked again. "…What?"
Mizuki's expression didn't shift. "It's not as bad as it sounds. The old man's not going to be there tonight, and there's a lot of good practice in infiltration, stealth, and code-reading. You'd return the scroll by morning, no one the wiser."
She didn't answer right away.
Something felt… off.
A slight chill crawled down Naruko's spine.
Something about Mizuki's voice. Something about the way he looked at her. Something about this.
It was too familiar.
She remembered, suddenly and with too much clarity, that time when someone had disguised themselves as Sasuke. When she'd smiled too easily, too fast, because she had trusted. Because she hadn't looked. Because she hadn't thought.
She'd nearly died.
That memory alone was enough to force her instincts to flare. Something tightened in her gut. But she still smiled.
"Sure," she said brightly, eyes wide with practiced excitement. "That sounds awesome."
Mizuki smiled like it was all normal. Like it wasn't weird that he'd just asked her to steal from the Hokage.
"Good," he said, giving a short nod. "Tonight. Meet me at Training Ground 13, just near the Forest of Death. Got it?"
"Yup!" she chirped, giving him a thumbs-up. "I'll be there!"
She turned and walked toward the door, her steps light, shoulders loose. Fake. She kept her grin until the door shut behind her.
Then it dropped.
Her palms were sweating.
She rubbed them against her jacket, twice, then shoved her hands into her pockets. Her heart was beating too fast and too loud. She kept her head down, trying to figure out why Mizuki would ask her to do something like that. It didn't add up. None of it did.
Was it a test?
No, it couldn't be.
Maybe a prank? No, it wasn't even funny and besides, Mizuki wasn't the type.
But the way he said it, the way he looked, no. This was something else.
She was so caught up in it, spiraling deeper into her thoughts, that she didn't hear the footsteps beside her.
"Naruko."
She jumped, body twitching in surprise. Her foot caught on the step and she almost stumbled before catching herself. She spun with her fists half-raised.
Sasuke was standing there, arms folded, eyes on her. His face was impassive, but there was a flicker of tension in the corner of his mouth.
Her breath escaped in a shaky exhale. "Geez! Don't sneak up on me like that!"
"You were spacing out," he said simply, tone level. "What did Mizuki want?"
Naruko gave a quick shake of her head and waved him off. "It's nothing. Let's just go to the ramen stand, I'm starving."
She turned on her heel and started walking, keeping her steps casual. Sasuke fell into step beside her without a word. They walked like that for a few seconds before his voice cut through the quiet.
"You're a terrible liar," he said flatly. "At least when it comes to lying to me."
Naruko stiffened but didn't say anything.
"And," he continued, tone sharp but even, "you don't lie to a friend that's saved your life. Especially not about something that clearly shook you."
She opened her mouth to protest, something, anything, but the words got stuck halfway out. Her steps slowed a little. The weight of guilt started to settle in, low and stubborn in her chest. Sasuke had no reason not to be told. If anything, he was probably the only one who needed to hear it.
By the time they got to Ichiraku's, she let out a slow breath and finally said it.
"Mizuki asked me to do something weird," she muttered, slipping onto the stool. "Said it was for extra credit. Something about getting me on your team, specifically."
Sasuke sat beside her in silence.
"He said he wanted me to sneak into the Hokage's house and steal the Forbidden Scroll," she added.
Sasuke didn't move. His jaw set just slightly.
"That's not extra credit," he said finally. "That's illegal. Dangerous. And he's definitely up to something. No instructor would ever ask you to do something like that."
Naruko blinked at him. "Wait, seriously?"
"There's extremely dangerous information in that scroll," he said, voice low. "Techniques that were sealed away for a reason. One of them is a reanimation technique, the kind that brings the dead back."
She shivered. "You're messing with me."
"I'm not." He glanced at her, then looked forward again, lips pressing together in a hard line. "I didn't mean to say that, actually."
"How do you know that?"
Sasuke's jaw clenched slightly and looked away, liking he was thinking of something. "Some of the old men from the clan. Guys who fought in the wars back when the Senju were still around. They told me… how the Nidaime would summon their brothers, cousins, even their own fathers to fight against them."
Naruko felt her stomach twist. She couldn't even begin to imagine that, fighting someone you loved because they'd been ripped out of the afterlife and made into a weapon.
"Order me my usual," Sasuke said, standing up and stepping away from the stall. "I'll be back in a few minutes."
Before she could even ask what he meant, his Sharingan flared to life. He flicked through a series of hand seals, and in a blur of movement and a rush of displaced air, he vanished.
Naruko blinked at the empty space where he'd been.
Teuchi popped his head around the corner, smiling warmly. "Hey there, Naruko. What can I get started for you two?"
She gave a quick grin. "Two miso pork bowls, please. Extra egg on mine."
"Coming right up!"
By the time the bowls were steaming on the counter, Sasuke returned. His hair was a little wilder from the wind, his cheeks slightly flushed, but his eyes were sharp. He dropped into the stool beside her.
She opened her mouth, but before she could say anything, he spoke.
"Kakashi will probably be talking to us soon," he said, voice low but steady. "About Mizuki."
Naruko blinked. "You told him?"
Sasuke didn't respond right away, just picked up his chopsticks and pulled his bowl closer.
"Let's eat," he said.
There was a stretch of silence between them as the steam curled up from their ramen bowls. The street sounds blurred into the background, clinking dishes, passing conversations, the occasional bark from some dog a little ways away.
Then Sasuke spoke after slurping some of the noodles, voice low and casual. "I left a message on my door. Wrote that there was an emergency and Kakashi was needed."
Naruko coughed mid-bite, nearly inhaling a noodle. She slapped her hand against her chest and wheezed out, "What?!"
Sasuke didn't even blink. He reached for his chopsticks and stirred his broth. "What? I wanted to make sure the ANBU are earning their paychecks."
"You—" She groaned, pressing her palm to her face. "You worded it like that? Why would you do that?! That sounds serious! They're probably running around looking for us now, -ttebayo!"
"Good," he replied simply, raising his bowl to take a long sip. "If it's enough to get Mizuki thrown into a dark cell faster, I'll sleep better tonight."
Naruko slouched forward, cheeks burning. "Great. So now I'm gonna look like I needed a village-level response because a teacher told me to do homework wrong."
Sasuke raised a brow, deadpan. "You were told to rob the Hokage. I think that qualifies."
She muttered something under her breath and turned back to her bowl, glaring at it like it personally betrayed her. "I'm never going to live this down if the old man hears about it…"
"Maybe," Sasuke said, "but on the upside, you're not the one getting arrested." He slurped another mouthful, then added, "And I didn't mention you by name."
That pulled her up short. She glanced sideways at him. "You didn't?"
Sasuke shrugged. "Didn't have to. He'll get the picture. But if anyone asks, I'll make sure you come out clean."
Naruko stared at him for a second, then scoffed and looked away, her mouth twitching at the corner. "Tch. Sappy idiot."
He didn't deny it.
They ate mostly in silence, the earlier tension still hanging in the air, though dulled somewhat by the warmth of the broth and the familiar scent of miso and pork.
Naruko had just taken another bite when a blur of motion cracked the air beside them, Kakashi appearing in a sudden gust of displaced wind. She nearly jumped out of her stool with a yelp, her chopsticks clattering against the counter.
"Would it have killed you to be a little more specific?" Kakashi asked, tone dry, eye leveled at Sasuke.
Sasuke didn't even flinch. "They understood the message well enough," he replied, casually scooping some more noodles from his bowl.
Kakashi let out a tired sigh and ran a hand through his silver hair, shaking his head as he sat down beside Sasuke. "Alright. What's the emergency?"
Sasuke didn't answer right away. He took his time with his next bite, swallowed, then looked at Kakashi with a straight face. "Quick question," he said, "is it standard protocol at the Academy to offer extra credit to a student for breaking into the Hokage's house and stealing kinjutsu schematics?"
Naruko turned to look at Kakashi, only to see his single visible eye widen slightly, not a full expression, but enough for her to notice.
"…Clarify," Kakashi said after a moment, his voice slightly more tired now. "Please."
Sasuke's lips quirked into a grin. "Well, why didn't you say so?" He leaned back just slightly. "Mizuki tried to get Naruko to steal the Forbidden Scroll from the Sandaime's house. Said it was for extra credit. Thought it might help put her on my team. Where did he say to meet again, Naruko?"
"Um, training ground 13?" She said, feeling a bit put on the spot and still recovering from the jump scare. "Uh, tonight."
Kakashi didn't move much, but his posture shifted. Barely, just enough that Naruko noticed it. A subtle, coiled tension. Her heart thudded once.
It was the same way Gai stood right before a fight.
Kakashi's voice dropped low. "It will be taken care of."
And then, in a quiet whirl of leaves, he was gone.
Naruko stared at the spot where he'd been, her chopsticks halfway to her mouth. She slowly turned to look at Sasuke.
He was finishing the last of his broth, unfazed. "See?" he said, giving her a faint smile, not quite smug but close. "Problem solved. You worry too much, Naru-chan."
Her face heated instantly. She scowled down into her bowl, cheeks red. "T-Teme…" she muttered, stuffing more noodles in to hide the way her mouth twitched upward.
xRSxxRSxxRSx
Kakashi crouched silently on the thick branch of a pine, his single visible eye unblinking beneath the masked cover of shadow and foliage. The forest was dead quiet but for the faint whisper of wind brushing through the canopy above. His chakra signature was suppressed to the barest flicker, a candle in a storm, near indistinguishable from the ambient noise of the forest around him. His heartbeat was calm, steady. His breathing low and measured.
He'd been tracking him for hours. Waiting.
Below, across the clearing of Training Ground Thirteen, Mizuki stood by the edge of the treeline. The blue-haired Chunin wore his flak vest loose over a long-sleeved undershirt, his posture uneven as he paced. The man's head twitched occasionally, gaze darting between the trees as he scanned the perimeter with all the grace of someone pretending to be alert. Kakashi's lip curled under the mask.
Sloppy. Fidgety. Unfocused.
A poor hunter. Worse prey.
To the side, a couple hundred meters away, Neko crouched unseen, her hands working through the familiar hand seals before her form shimmered and Naruko Uzumaki stood in her place, illusion near perfect. The hair, the slouch, even the way she balanced on the balls of her feet, it was all accurate. Neko had been among the most familiar with Naruko's mannerisms, second only to Kakashi himself. That familiarity was why she'd been chosen to be the bait.
The false Naruko skipped forward into the clearing, a bundle clutched in her arms wrapped like a scroll. She put on a bright, chipper smile and called out, "Mizuki-sensei! I brought the scroll like you asked!"
Instantly, Mizuki froze.
There was a flash of surprise in his face. Then elation.
Kakashi's Sharingan opened, and everything slowed.
His muscles coiled.
He dropped from the branch in a blur.
The air cracked around him from the sudden displacement as he blitzed across the clearing, a jolt of chakra-charged lightning crackling to life in his palm.
The impact hit Mizuki square in the side, a crack of energy flaring outward and locking up his joints mid-step.
Before he could fall or even scream, Kakashi's other hand was already on him, planting a pre-marked paralysis seal over Mizuki's mouth. It flared instantly, freezing his jaw and tongue in place, no chance of swallowing a hidden poison tooth.
Mizuki hit the ground hard, limbs twitching and unresponsive.
Kakashi knelt beside him and calmly pressed three more paralysis tags to his arms and legs, locking his muscles stiff. The faint smell of ozone lingered around the strike zone.
"Target secured," Kakashi said, voice clipped, quiet.
In a soft burst of wind and displaced leaves, the other ANBU arrived, flickering into sight from their hidden vantage points around the perimeter. Four in total. One landed beside Mizuki and began a sweep of his pockets and gear. Another signaled toward the treeline where the Sandaime's duplicate scroll lay untouched.
Neko dropped her transformation with a flick of chakra, her form rippling as Naruko vanished and the ANBU cat-mask returned.
"Nice timing," she muttered, glancing at Mizuki's frozen form.
Kakashi stood, brushing his hand off on his vest.
"I hate cleanup," he muttered flatly, eye narrowing as he watched Mizuki's eyes roll up in panic.
He'd be conscious for a while. Long enough to answer questions.
And if not?
Well, there were other methods.
One of the ANBU stepped forward wordlessly, hooked an arm under Mizuki's paralyzed form, and slung him over their shoulder like dead weight. The seal tags kept his limbs rigid, his head lolling just slightly with every movement as they took off in a silent Body Flicker. The rest followed behind, Kakashi included, his ANBU dog mask fitting snugly over his face as he took to the rooftops in shadow.
Interrogation Headquarters was already active when they arrived. Lights low. Tension high. Ibiki stood at the door, arms crossed and eyes sharp under his headband, while Inoichi waited just inside, looking a bit more relaxed than his counterpart. They both stepped aside without a word as the lead ANBU carried Mizuki in and set him into the heavy chair bolted to the floor. More seals were pressed along his arms and chest, reinforcing the original ones. The final touch came when two iron restraints snapped shut over his wrists, bolting him to the table.
The entire time, Mizuki remained conscious. His pupils were blown wide. Sweat rolled down his temple as he tried, and failed, to even blink at a normal pace.
Ibiki grunted, stepping forward to look him over. "Paralysis seals held?"
"They'll hold another three hours at minimum," replied the ANBU to Kakashi's left.
"Good," Inoichi said, his voice cool and even. "We'll begin shortly."
Kakashi, under the mask and operating as Inu, gave a silent nod. He met Inoichi's gaze for only a moment, then turned away as the silent dismissal was given. The others followed, feet silent on the concrete floor as they filed out one by one, shadows bleeding into shadows as they exited the chamber.
No words were spoken.
None were needed.
The ANBU scattered, each going their own way and Kakashi did likewise, legs propelling him up to one of the rooftops, before he skimmed across the next one and the one after. It took merely a few seconds to reach his destination.
Kakashi landed softly on the tiled rooftop, the cool night air brushing past his hair as he straightened, the mask still hiding his face. From the edge of the building he stood on, the Uchiha compound lay across from him, silent and tidy as usual, still marked by the occasional patrol. But his eyes weren't on the compound itself.
They were on a specific house. Through the wide front window, dimly lit by the warm glow of lanterns, Kakashi spotted two very familiar figures. Naruko was standing in the living room, gesturing wildly with both hands, her mouth moving quickly, clearly caught up in whatever point she was trying to make. Her hair bounced with every shift, and she was clearly too energetic for how late it was.
Sasuke, on the other hand, looked like he was trying to disappear into the floor. Even from this distance, Kakashi could see the color high on his cheeks, his arms folded across his chest as he muttered something back, lips tight, face flushed, clearly annoyed and flustered in equal measure. It was a comical sight, one that almost made Kakashi chuckle aloud.
Instead, a smile pulled softly under his mask, hidden as always.
His final day as an ANBU had come to a close with Mizuki in chains, and tomorrow, tomorrow would be different. No masks, no midnight shadows, no tracking traitors across rooftops. Just three genin under his care. Sasuke. Naruko, and the third one who, honestly, probably needed to be the patient one. Sasuke and Naruko could easily become a headache for him, but he was certain the other brat would be less loud than Naruko, though probably moody.
He took one last look through the window before turning his head to the sky, the stars twinkling above the Hidden Leaf. His work wasn't getting any easier.
But for the first time in a long time, it felt like it might be a little more worthwhile.
End chapter:.
I now have a dirty p word, under Raging Smurf, with multiple chapters ahead for Intransigent, Indelible, and Inevitable.