Chapter 5
Having both Kakashi and Satoshi stare her down was not something Anko would like to experience again.
Sadly for her, she continue to be on the other side many more times despite her not being the only insane one in these barracks. She just broadcasted it the most, she theorized.
“What did you say?” Satoshi asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Well, the annual festivities are happening in a month and the hie will be the first year that Naru-kun could actually participate in. We could have like, capture the flag, but have Naruto the flag and…” Anko squeaked when the stares turned into glares, “We don’t have to do it, of course! It-it’s just an idea!”
Satoshi and Kakashi glared at her for a moment longer before looking at each other, doing the communicating thing all ANBU, hell, all shinobi knew with people they’re close too or fight with in a daily basis.
But when they did it, it was unnerving and scary. Sadly, Anko was usually the reason they talked silently in the barracks. About her antics more often then not.
“I mean, Kakashi-kun and everyone has been training him, and he’s really good at hide and seek and he can stick to the trees and such…” she trailed off, laughing nervously as they pinned her with a stare.
“If he gets hurt. Your dead, Mitarashi,” Satoshi said, turning and walking towards the ANBU barracks.
“Anko.”
She froze, smiling nervously at Kakashi. “If he gets hurt, I’ll make you regret it.”
Damn it, why didn’t they have those two in interrogation? Anko let out a sigh as Kakashi walked towards Ichiraku, where Naruto and Iruka were at. They really had to get on the info gathering.
Anko sighed, walking towards T&I. She had work to do, unfortunately. She couldn’t spy of Kakashi today.
***
Shisui loved Naruto. He was the sun in the darkest of places. He lightened the oppressive atmosphere in the barracks and brought out smiles in even the most stoic of shinobi in the ANBU. He helped Shisui float in the manic waters threatening to drown him, helped him find something to protect from the tension between the Hokage, Danzo, his clan and even Itachi.
Naruto unknowingly helped Shisui from his own mind, threatening to break from his years in the ANBU. Shisui knew for a fact he helped Itachi and Kakashi come out of their shell of a person. Helped them come to themselves after the years of ANBU work.
So it was safe to say the Shisui loved and treasured Naruto. And maybe they weren’t close enough, but Shisui hoped that in the years to come, Naruto would look at him as a brother figure as Kakashi had come to be.
Shisui just hoped they’d be able to keep Naruto out of Danzo’s grasp cause damn it, Shisui would be damned to let Naruto get in the crossfire between Danzo and the village.
“Bird-chan!” Shisui sighed, looking over and crossing his arms over his chest as Dove came skipping over to him.
“I’m worried, why are you in a chippy mood?” Shisui asked.
“Iruka-chan and Kakashi-kun are dating!”
If Shisui was drinking something, he would have choked on it. “What? No way!”
“I saw them kissing! Sadly, I couldn’t see Kakashi-kun’s face, but that’s a totally different mission.”
Shisui grinned, “Why don’t we tell Bear-kaichou what you learned?”
“Oh, of course. I wouldn’t dream of holding important information from our dear kaichou.”
They snickered, skipping off in search of Bear-kaichou
*****
Naruto-kun wouldn’t stop screaming. Satoshi whimpered, tucking himself deeper under the covers as another fresh wave of screaming entered his room, which was right across from Naruto-kun’s in case anyone in Root got an idea and tried to take him.
Satoshi nearly cried as the screaming rose a notch. He just wanted sleep, damn it! He just got back from a month long mission and was stabbed multiple times and had to go through ANBU treatment and he wanted to sleep for a week.
Naruto-kun’s screams rose another fifteen notches like the gods where laughing at him.
*****
Anko scowled at Naruto, who pouted and did puppy eyes like they worked on her of all people. He would eat those damn vegetables whether he liked it or not and she would not fold underneath the adorable and heart wrenching pout, damn it!
“Dove-neechan!” Naruto whined, feet hitting the table.
“Naru-kun,” Anko whined back.
“Anko-neechan!”
“Naru-kun!”
Anko hissed(hey, she had snake summons, sue her) when Naruto whimpered, eyes welling up with tears. “Let’s make a deal, kid. Three pieces and I let you go.”
“No!”
“Then we’re not going anywhere!”
“Hound-nii!” Naruto wailed.
“No, damn it!”
*****
Kakashi bowed to the Hokage, standing right behind Bear-kaichou. “How is Naruto doing?”
“He is progressing well. He is speaking in full sentences and we’ve started training no him, Hokage-sama,” Bear-kaichou reported. “Hound has got him doing chakra control exercises and he is reading anything we give him without any trouble.”
“Good, good. How is he sleeping?”
“A nightmare ever now and again, though we don’t know what they are about,” Kakashi filled in.
“We’ll have to dig a bit deeper into that then,” Hokage-sama hummed. By we, you mean us, Kakashi inwardly grumbled, though not breaking position. “Continue as you are. And try to get Naruto-kun playing with a few other kids other than Sasuke-kun, he needs to widen his social circle.”
“Yes, Hokage-sama.”
.
..
…
And that’s how the ANBU found themselves babysitting a hoard of children Naruto collected and having to wash mud out of Naruto’s…everywhere after wrestling with an Inuzuka kid.
(And damn it, the temper tantrum after they had to wash off the mud Inuzuka marks that the Inuzuka kid and Naruto painted on the blonde.)
(Fuck you Hiruzen,
ANBU)