Gerimis

In a small cafe, nestled between shops by the roadside, two guys were sitting at a window table. It was around 11.20 am, and they were having brunch. The first guy wore a grey beanie almost covering his hair except a few peeks of red hair. Meanwhile, the second guy had his front fringe swept to the front and to the side, while the rest of his long blonde hair swept to the back with a blue hair band.

"As I was saying..." the blond guy started.

Sasuke approached their restaurant table "May I clear the table, sir?"

"Yeah, yeah," said the blondie to Sasuke, he continued to his companion "What do you think?"

The man wearing the beanie turned his face towards Sasuke, turned back towards blondie and looked at Sasuke side-eye. Blondie grumbled and flicked a five dollar note and waved it at Sasuke's face. Sasuke took the money, bowed and quickly went away with his tray without clearing the table.

Sasuke walked calmly towards the counter kitchen, to the back room and into the freezer. He closed the freezer and pull out a smartphone like object and connect it via wireless to the receiver he had earlier placed under the table of the two guys. Pushing an earpiece into his ear, he began listening. Voices entering his head.

"How much do you think it costs, for an Asian serpent to be imported here, with maybe a year's sponsorship?"

Booming voice continued "33 and make it triple."

"With full sponsorship or partial?"

"Full definitely. It's a rare species by the way"

"Ok then tomorrow at 4 pm. The zoo is closed at 5.00 pm. Oh and this tab is on you."

A few shuffles and it was silent afterwards, the beanie and blonde guy were now gone. Sasuke pressed another button, and an interface for text messaging appeared. He starting punching a message onto it, his superiors must be waiting eagerly on the other side.

"Serpent alert, prisoner relocation interruption. 4.00 pm" and he pressed the encode button and his message turned into a bunch of gibberish numbers and symbols, automatically sent to his superiors.

Serpent is one of the many codenames for Orochimaru, a local businessman who was caught for human trafficking. Detaining Orochimaru was only a ploy to get to the boss of the underground syndicate. It looks the two men were discussing plans to interrupt the businessman's relocation from a local prison to a maximum security prison, scheduled to happen tomorrow. But it might also be a ruse to confuse the police, either way Sasuke had done his part collecting info from snake man's middle person.

After the sent icon flashed, he switched off the gadgets and stuffed them inside his apron. He opened the freezer door and approached the frying area in the kitchen which is the warmest part of the back kitchen. Sasuke rubbed his hands together, and when heat from the friction started warming up his hands, he transferred the warmth to his neck. Boy was it cold inside the freezer.

Afterwards, he went out to clear the table emptied by the two guys and retrieve his communicator, a small black penny like item which he had planted under the table. After arranging the saucers and cups onto his tray, he wiped the crumbs and water droplets with a rag. While absent mindedly wiping the table, he let his mind wander to the billboard outside. It looks like a new movie is coming to town, maybe he could catch it next week during his movie fix. Tuesday of course.

Sasuke came back to Root right after work, because he needed to submit his report and also because it was the weekend next day. He planned to learn to cook from Chouji as he was mostly assigned to work as a waiter during most of his spying missions. Kiba had said that Sasuke was too pretty to be kept in the back and should be in the front, making sales increase for the shops he were assigned at.

He had arrived at the entrance of Root, scanning his eyes on the identification scanner, a voice addressed him. Welcome home agent Sasuke of CHUNIN.

Sasuke is a spy from CHUNIN, or Children Unit Intelligence, under ROOT. ROOT is Konohagakure's secret military operative which is directly under the President's authority. CHUNIN was the brainchild of Danzo Shimura, a military general, and a celebrated war hero. He often planted spying devices on his children when they were younger and found out that adults often ignore children and rarely saw anyone under twenty years of age as threat. When his hunger for information grew, he started recruiting street children living in slums to gather information for him, but these children had no ready loyalty towards him and so he proceeded for the search of the perfect child spy / soldier. Created and reared under his supervision, thus the formation of CHUNIN. The rest is a secret, I have to kill you if I tell you all about it.

Two years ago, Tsunade Senju, the current president was at a press conference praising the local police for their biggest drug bust of the century. She graced the event as they had also wanted to congratulate her on her hundredth day of her first term as President of Konohagakure.

Danzo watched her from the farthest dinner table at the event, smirking while the other guests stood up to clap at Tsunade, after she ended her speech. The next day, he met her as a guest at her office. After a half hour presentation, she now realized that the drug bust was successful, partly to a CHUNIN agent who went undercover as a beggar who befriended and saved one of the drug lord's abused children.

"They are children Mr Danzo, " she said looking at the profile pictures of the agents, Sasuke's picture staring at her from the mugshot. She stuffed the pictures inside the file and stood up, hands on her hips.

Danzo too stood up, bowed at her and smiled charmingly. "President Senju, they are tools born in the laboratories, not born in the generic homes and disciplined with too much love by changing norms and values of average adults. They are unlike you and me as children, they are unlike children who products of their parents whims, late night cartoons on weekends and promises of vacations and monetary rewards for straight As…" he paused to let his words sink into her.

"These CHUNIN agents are professional, raised with care and, they are almost normal too, we let them be normal. They will never be normal. They play on swings and play tag, but they are very intelligent and worth more than their weights in gold."

Tsunade let out a breath, as if she had been holding one since Danzo started explaining.

"They are born in the laboratory in accordance with the law, and received the highest quality of care and discipline. All they want is to protect their people, the people who voted for you. The adults who raised them are former CHUNINs themselves."

Tsunade fingered the prepared report with the name CHUNIN emblazoned on the cover. She was glad that none of them had died so far, except for one who was grievously injured during a freak incident involving a helicopter crash in a snowstorm in Italy, about 18 years ago. However none were ever killed or injured by an enemy.

"They deserve to have choices for themselves."

"Miss President, their contract of service expires at 21. They are free to return to society after that age."

"Did they turn into well adjusted adults?"

"Well Miss President, the first batch of CHUNIN batch is only 20 years old. So I can't show you evidence of any CHUNIN who had successfully entered society as a functioning adult. I assure you that we have prepared them with the best care and skills. We introduce them to society gradually when they turn 18 years old and based on our psychology tests, they have a successful rate of entering society as a normal individual. If they don't we will retain them until they are ready."

His explanation seemed credible, but her logical thinking prompted her to interfere. Maybe it was her maternal instinct, but hell she thought, the people voted her because she sent strong maternal messages to them during her campaign, so why not use it now. She knew that she could not just shut down CHUNIN like some kind of a camp down with an infection. Then she thought about her predecessors, the five former presidents who gave their blessings to CHUNIN. Knowing that Danzo must have done so much as to ensure CHUNINs long existence, she must accept CHUNIN, but she won't accept without imposing her change on i. She thought to herself, one act at a time, though it seems like she might be alone in her efforts.

"Mr Danzo, I want them to be introduced into society earlier, I propose at age 15. You told me that they are made in the laboratories, so this too shall be treated as part of their ongoing experiment. Record their development once you have started my proposition. I want this done as soon as possible. You are excused."

Despite Danzo's best smile, his eyes lost the sparkle he had when he first explained to Tsunade.

"Thank you Miss President. We will contact your office soon."

With that Danzo got up from his seat and exited the President's office. Upon reaching the door which was held open by Tsunade's ANBU guard, he stopped. Danzo turned around, gave Tsunade a smirk, a bow and said "Thank you for your time madam."

Tsunade nodded and right after Danzo disappeared behind the mahogany door she turned towards the huge window behind her desk. She remembered clearly the eyes of the wide eyed CHUNINs she saw in the video. The video showed the interior of the CHUNIN living section looking like a private boarding school but homely, almost cancelling the fact that it was a military facility situated 100 feet underground. They were well behaved unlike the unruly children of her friends. And then she remembers Dan, the most unruly of them all.

Ten year old Dan, looking gaunt and pale on his deathbed is an image which haunted Tsunade on most of her nights before she undergone therapy. After therapy and almost falling victim to alcoholism, she found strength into social activism and found her calling as a politician. Now she only remembers the happy years, though in sickness, of Dan, her younger brother.

He had died when she was 20. They were ten years apart, and was born after Tsunade's mother married another guy who died soon after from a road accident. Tsunade did not care so much about her stepfather but she was smitten with her baby brother. If she can't see her Dan grow up to be a happy adult, she is adamant at seeing the CHUNIN children turn out to be happy adults. Tsunade looked at the picture of Dan on her desk, she might be a crappy older sister to Dan, but she is now a President and she has the powers to help them, to at least have a choice.

Naruko woke up startled when she heard knocks on the door. With bleary eyes she dragged herself from the bed and reached for the door. Opening it, she was met by the smiling face of Iruka Umino.

“Wake up sleepy head, it’s your first day at work. We must arrive on time for a good first impression.”

She returned his smile with a still sleepy reaction. “Kay.”

“Come have breakfast with me when you are ready,” Iruka said as he left for the kitchen.

Naruko closed the door and got ready for her first day at work. It felt almost like the first day of school and she was intimidated at first and spent about an hour awake before forcing herself to sleep. She didn’t her new boss to think that she was a useless and sack her the first day. Iruka had told him not to worry since he was Iruka’s friend. Still, Naruko had enough reasons to worry about people she isn’t familiar with. This was Konoha where her only link is Iruka.

Naruko took a good fifteen minutes to get ready. She thought about her new life now. No more lazing around the house and a new schedule to follow. No more being left alone at home.

Two months ago...

"Iruka not again!" She yelled. Naruko woke up when she heard a click on the main door being closed.

Iruka did not wake her up again so she could prepare breakfast for him. She had told him right before dinner to wake her up for breakfast. She did not just hint but spoke out loud. "Tomorrow I want to make breakfast for you, you and I are going to have pancakes and blueberries. Good night. See you tomorrow." Grinning widely, followed by a yawn the blonde girl skipped to her room.

Naruko did not want to be a freeloader, she had to be useful. She thanked him multiple times a day for letting her stay there, so making breakfast was only a small step towards a bigger payback scheme. But Iruka on the other, being mostly independent his whole life did want Naruko to go out of her way for him. He never had breakfast at home on working days, much more having someone else cook for him. When she was still living with her foster mother, Iruka even came by the kitchen to help wash the dishes if he had eaten something there, he always drop by to help if it was only a glass of warm water.

She scrunched her nose and smiled. Her pearly white teeth reflected on the mirror of the dresser opposite her bed. Everyday Naruko woke up to her own image. The small room could only fit a super single bed and a dresser on one side of the wall. While on the other opposite wall Iruka placed a cupboard with sliding doors. Between the bed and the cupboard was a desk looking out the window accompanied by a chair. So if Naruko sat on the chair, the door would be directly behind her. Everything a teenager need is crammed inside the tiny bedroom.

Naruko slid to the edge of the bed towards the dressing table. She couldn't use the stool that came with the dresser, as it was blocked by the super single bed, so she used the bed as seating. Grabbing her wide toothed comb she began combing her hair. Her blond tresses were more than shoulder length now, and she found out that she loved her long hair even though it was more high maintenance than her short spiky do she had sported since forever.

It has been eight months since she was suggested by her foster mother to grow her hair, right after the foster mother fell sick. Chiyo, her foster mom had taken care of Naruko since she was 12 and taught the girl many things particularly how to run a home. But since she fell sick from breast cancer, she had not been able to take care of any of her 12 foster children properly. The social service had transferred the younger foster children with other capable foster parents except Naruko who was the oldest. Her social service officer named Anko, who were close friends with Chiyo, had applied to the court for Naruko's temporary custody until the younger girl turns 16, the legal age for children to be wedded, live alone or work at Konoha.

Naruko had heard one particular phone conversation between Chiyo and Anko.

"That one can clean and cook basic dishes, he's on the other hand is responsible and caring. But I'm not sure who will wear the pants eventually. That girl is manlier than most men I know." said Chiyo laughing till she coughed. She had to press the phone's receiver into her mattress to suppress her loud coughings.

Naruko at that time quickly entered Chiyo's room and rubbed her hand behind the sixty year old woman's back to ease her breathing. "Here's some water mother."

Chiyo looked at Naruko with gleaming eyes but had not said nothing. Naruko, after making sure Chiyo was ok left the room to attend to other housework. Naruko could hear Chiyo telling Anko that Naruko had came by the room to give her water.

As she swayed by the not so distant memory, Naruko began noticing her own image in the mirror again. She took out her eyeliner and drew three whisker marks on her left cheek and another three on the right cheek.

"Kyuubi, looks like you'll be accompanying me today" silently talking to her reflection.

She grabbed her towel from the towel rack and entered the bathroom. She made sure that both the bathroom's doors were locked before bathing, the bathroom had two doors, one connected to her room and the other to Iruka's room. Satisfied, she stripped down and threw her clothes into a pail. Luckily the bathroom was bigger than most two roomed flats so she did not have to fight for showering space with the toilet, like she did at Chiyo's house. Turning on the shower, she started humming while cleaning herself, spreading soap onto her lithe tan skin and rubbing the spiral birthmark around her navel.

Present day

Naruko idly scooped the last of her fried rice morsels into her mouth.

“Where were you, back at Iwa?” Iruka asked. The man was stirred his coffee and took a sip.

“This is too hot, I better add some water.”

Naruko looked at his guardian / unofficial foster parent / housemate and smiled. “No, I was just thinking.”

“Come on, let’s finish up. We have to get to the cinema by 9.00 am. Just put the dish in the sink and I’ll wash them for you.”

“Thanks Iruka.”

“I know, you must have a lot of jitters now.”

“Yeah,” Naruko mused. She was nervous but not really worried.

“I’ll buy you something special for dinner if you get through your first day perfectly,”

Naruko stood and lifted her plate and spoon, “Ichiraku Ramen? And I want to eat out. I’ve had enough of takeaways.”

“Sure.”

Naruko smiled and walked to the sink. She hoped that everything goes well today, she was only starting work at a cinema as a maintenance employee but it was overwhelming. After all it was her first job.

Konoha High : Teacher's Room

Iruka never really entertained the idea of having a life partner. At 29, and having just graduated with a master's degree from Iwa State University he was comfortable with his status as a single guy. But that did not stop Anko from trying since he never said no.

Three and a half years ago Iruka received offer to further his studies at Iwa where Anko worked. Anko often dragged Iruka to spend his weekends at Chiyo's after his class. She saw how Iruka interacted with Chiyo and the orphans she cared for. She saw before her a soft spoken man, with a gentle face, not extremely handsome but still nice to look at, with a steady job, good education and a bright future. "Really good husband material," she thought.

At first Anko tried to match him with her female friends, however he declined politely saying he was still juggling studies and work and it would be unfair to the lady. Entering his second year of studies, Iruka had applied for a year off work to concentrate more on his studies. During that year he moved to Iwa City and rented a room. Anko seeing that he was nearby would often drag him to Chiyo's house after his class, saying the old lady needed help. Iruka being the gentleman helped wherever and whenever he could. It did not hurt that Chiyo made the best lunches and dinners.

During those weeks he befriended Naruko and even managed to teach the girl some gardening and house maintenance skills. But Naruko did not look like herself now, her hair was shorter, naturally fashioned into spikes and her thin boyish body garbed in baggy shorts and shirts. Of course Iruka had never eyed Naruko's even when they were left alone, she was underaged and he a teacher. He treated her like a friend, nothing more

Iruka went back to work the final year of his studies and thus less weekends spent at Chiyo's. Anko who realised that her friend would soon graduate and be returning to work again started scheduling accidental visits to Chiyo's house, each time with a different female friend.

"Good morning Iruka, is Chiyo awake?" Anko hollered opening the gate to Chiyo's door. Iruka was showing Naruko how to weed the garden with a hoe. They both looked at her in surprise.

"Na, Naruko help me to open the kitchen door. Iruka, my friend Kuro is coming in a minute, please entertain her while I set the table for lunch," and Anko pushed Naruko towards the kitchen with her shoulders as her hands was full with food containers.

Iruka sighed and rested the hoe against the garden fence and took the towel resting on his shoulders to wipe his face. Then a dark haired female appeared outside, holding food containers in her hands.

"Good afternoon, is this Chiyo's residence. I'm Kuro Izawashure, a friend of Anko, is she in?"

"Good afternoon," Iruka half bowed to the woman. He smiled and took the food container from the woman's hold. She blushed lightly. Had Anko brought too much food for just five people, he thought looking at the food containers?

"Anko said you'd be here, let's head to the kitchen. I'm Iruka Umino, her friend from Konoha," offering a hand to shake hers.

Kuro smiled and shook his hand while continuing, "so do you often help Chiyo around the garden, Mr Umino?"

"Actually now I don't, since I rarely come here now. Please call me Iruka."

A smile and a query, "Iruka, do you like blueberry pie?"

Iruka was friendly and acted cordially, Anko thought she scored with Kuro. But when the visit ended Iruka did not even bother to get Kuro's numbers, Anko couldn't possibly force him.

The next month Iruka visited, there was Darui, and Hanare, then Matsuri, Mei and finally Nii. It was not the hair, it was not the skin colour, it was not if she was girly or tomboyish, it was evident that none of Anko's friend had chemistry with Iruka.

Growing up as an orphan, Iruka wanted to achieve something for himself first before marriage, kids and growing old together stuff. He started working at 16, and got work as a an administrative clerk at Konoha High at 19. A few years later upon confirming his post as a civil servant, he applied under Konoha's work and study schemes and took part time diploma and then a degree in education. He applied as a teacher's assistant, and worked diligently. His discipline and stellar performance earned him a half scholarship for a master's degree program. His career looked bright, but his friends said that does not mean a thing when you don't have anyone to share it with. Iruka continued smiling at their comments outwardly but face palmed at their words.

Among the commentators, Anko and Chiyo were the most vocal. Him helping with Chiyo's garden had made Chiyo unofficially be his foster mom "I feed you breakfast, lunch and dinner more than a week's worth, therefore you are my foster son.

They could push all the ideas and girls into him, but since he did not show any action beyond politeness they gradually stopped. Anko stopped shoving her friends at Iruka when he never went beyond a second date with any of them. She ran out of single friends it seems, or that she was embarrassed of her indifferent friend.

One day Iruka, just before he graduated, came to visit Chiyo. He saw that the garden needed attending and decided to help. Not long after that, Naruko came home from school and upon seeing Iruka outside she decided to join him in the garden, but she was stopped by Anko who saw that Naruko looked different.

Apparently a make up seller had shown outside their school and grabbed Naruko when the girl came running out when the school bell rang. The make up seller was selling some make up targeted at teenage girl and had made Naruko her first victim. Unfortunately Naruko had no money on her to buy anything, but the make up seller was happy to apply the makeup on Naruko as sample should she decide to buy later.

But Naruko wiped it away. She explained to Anko "Lee wanted to treat me to ramen for helping him with his school project. But I couldn't drink and eat my ramen with them on, my mouth felt immobile. So I wiped it away."

Anko rolled her eyes while Chiyo laughed, Iruka smiled like the polite man he is.

Though Naruko had wiped most of her makeup off because she was feeling uncomfortable, she still looked good. Anko elbowed Chiyo and gestured at Naruko. Even with her blonde spiky short hair Naruko turned out some kind of cute, with faint blushes of pink on her cheeks and smudges of blue and pink on her eyelids. Her light coloured lashes made longer with mascara and her blue eyes lined and making the blue pop. She could not wipe the liner and mascara as they were waterproof makeup.

When Chiyo insisted that Naruko up and change into appropriate clothes for gardening, Anko asked Iruka about the young girl.

"She seems so grown up like that. I think I'll teach her some womanly stuff later."

"She's beautiful as she is," said Iruka nonchalantly and made his way to the tool shed while Anko's mind began formulating an idea. She smiled at her new matchmaking plan

"You are such a romantic Iruka," Hana Inuzuka brought Iruka back to reality.

She hushed her next words while looking for students to her left and right, they always lurk somewhere in the teacher's room. "But life does not revolve like a fairy tale shit."

"Look, you have a legit girl... ermm... scratch that, a woman in your house, eating your food, doing housework for you, and you don't even take advantage of that."

How the heck did she even know about what Naruko's doing in his house, Iruka marvelled. It must have been Anko, their mutual close friend telling Hana all that.

Iruka smiled his polite smile."That's where the problem lay, Hana. I don't want to take advantage of her."

Hana poked a finger at her temple. "Hmm, then why do you even welcome her to your home in the first place, let her take care of you, and you basically support her financially like a fiancee would of his eventual wife?" Such wordy words. But Hana, a literature teacher sure had ways with words.

"Hey Iruka," Genma called Iruka from afar with an urgency. Iruka stood up, and he and Hana both turned towards Genma.

"The principal wants to see you now. Congratulations by the way."

Iruka smoothed his tie and grabbed his blazer which he had hung around his chair. Shoving his hands inside the arm holes and flapping the collar so the blazer fell onto his body, he told Hana.

"I am just helping the girl out. We are in the same boat after all, you should understand her situation. She needed to be independent after years of having to be dependent on someone. We'll talk about this later, and tell Anko I said Hi."

He nodded at Hana and left, Hana rolled her eyes. She dropped the pack of file she had brought along onto Iruka's desk. She had not meant to probe him about that girl, but had received a message from Anko just before she arrived at Iruka's cubicle. Anko's message screamed "ASK IRUKA ABOUT HER, IT'S BEEN A MONTH NOW."

Searching for a post it note, she wrote down a message regarding the pack of file and pasted it onto the front cover.

She glanced down onto a picture of kids in their teens on Iruka's desk. The framed picture were of Iruka, Anko, herself, Kakashi, Kurenai, Asuma, Yamato, Rin and Obito. They were of different ages but went to the same middle school, a group of kids connected via Anko, the most outgoing among them and now a social worker. Anko, Iruka and Kurenai were kids from the orphanage, with Kurenai and Anko often acting like mother hens around Iruka. Kakashi and Hana being children of single parents, while Yamato and Obito were friends of Rin and Kakashi. When their parents spend their time at work, the kids spent the hours together at anyone's available home. None of them have any siblings.

So far only five out of the nine had stayed in contact, or at least made it their business to know where the others were as some of them worked together like Hana and Iruka. Hana thought about the missing in actions ones, Rin, Obito and Yamato. Were they still single, had they married, still living in Konoha or living somewhere else? After a few minutes of walking down memory lane, Hana realised that she had overstayed her welcome at Iruka's desk and fiddled with her watch. It's lunch time. She spoke quietly to Iruka's desk before leaving "If I were you, I'd marry her already."