Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Imouto Trilogy :: Hatake :: Even After All These Years ❯ Chapter 1: The Jounin ( Chapter 1 )

A/N: Hey, I'm back! Before I say anything else, there's one thing that I want to make clear: This story is AU, and not just because of Kyomi. This story is set about three years after the start of Naruto and in this storyline, Naruto did manage to bring back Sasuke and so Team 7 is whole again. Also, Naruto never left with Jiraiya on that training trip and all of the Rookie 9 are still Genin (for reasons that will be explained). Other little changes will become apparent as the story goes on.

 

Thanks to all of those who have reviewed! This chapter is about the average length the chapters in this story will be. There's not much action yet, as it's more so just introducing the main character and her background.

 

Before I continue though, let me explain the different types of ANBU in this story. First there are regular ANBU, who wear black cloaks. Next are the ANBU captains (sometimes called squad leaders), who wear beige cloaks. After that are solo ANBU, who are equal in rank to ANBU captains. Thy work alone and can wear whatever they want. If they wear a cloak, it will usually be the beige of ANBU captains, though some prefer to wear the black of regular ANBU. Finally are the ANBU commanders who wear white cloaks and are the commanders of all ANBU. There are four of them in order to balance out the power (kind of like a council).

 

Please read, review, and enjoy! Ja ne!

 

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

 

Claimer: I do own Kyomi and the story plot.

 

(1) - I read this in The Red Dragons Order's fic Over the Hills and Far Away and loved it and so decided to use it. So, this explanation belongs to that author.

 

(2) - Tori means bird. It's reference to his ANBU mask.

 

Thanks to my beta reader, BattleStations!

 

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Even After All These Years

 

Chapter 1

The Jounin

 

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In the middle of Konoha sat a medium sized residence. It was nothing special really, just a two bedroom apartment with one bathroom, a small kitchen, and living room. One of the bedroom doors was closed; it always was. Most people who visited the apartment figured that it was just an extra bedroom or a storage room. No one ever really thought about it. After all, why should they? It was just a door that had always been there.

 

At the moment there were five people sitting and talking in the living room, all of them relaxing on various chairs and couches that covered the room. The first of them was the one whom the apartment belonged to. He was a retired ANBU, now a Jounin, by the name of Hatake Kakashi. The one eye of his that was visible--the other was hidden behind his titled leaf hitai-ate--was curved in open amusement as he read the little orange book that he was holding up. He was only half-paying attention to the conversation that was going on around him, and every now and then would let out a perverted giggle. One could only begin to guess to content of his book, which just happened to be titled "Icha Icha Violence" or, rather, "Make-out Violence".

 

The second person in room was Maito Gai. He was a loud and exuberant shinobi, constantly yelling about "the power of youth". His exclamations would often scare--and sometimes mentally scar--those around him, but he always seemed to be completely oblivious to it. Another part of him that scared those around him was his outfit. He would almost always wear a strange green skintight jumpsuit, had his black hair in a bowl cut, and had large bushy eyebrows that were often referred to as, and/or mistaken for, face-eating caterpillars. Once again, he seemed to be oblivious to the discomfort his appearance caused, though it had often been speculated that he acted and dressed the way he did mainly to cause his opponents to underestimate him. After all, despite the way he behaved he was the finest Taijutsu expert in Konohagakure, otherwise known as the Green Beast of Konoha. He, like Kakashi, was a Jounin.

 

The next person was a kunoichi by the name of Yuuhi Kurenai. She was also a Jounin, though she was much quieter than Gai and much more...normal...than Kakashi. She had shoulder length wavy black hair and dark crimson eyes. Though she may not seem so simply from her appearance, she was in fact the best Genjutsu specialist in the village.

 

The fourth person was yet another shinobi, and also a Jounin. His name was Sarutobi Asuma. He had black hair, which was somewhat shaggy, a beard that could almost be considered a goatee, and deep brown eyes. A cigarette hung lazily from his mouth as it always did. In fact, his entire posture radiated laziness as he was draped over a chair, one arm dangling over the armrest, the other resting across his lap. He had his head resting idly on his shoulder. Very few would ever suspect him to be the Taijutsu specialist that he was.

 

The final person in the room was the only one to actually be sitting up straight with his hands in his lap, even though he was just as relaxed as the others. He was Umino Iruka and the only Chuunin in the room among the four other Jounin. He had black eyes, brown hair that was held up in a ponytail, and a long scar that crossed the bridge of his nose. He seemed to be somewhat stiff and nervous around the Jounin, though there was a relaxed smile across his face.

 

What did these five have in common, one might ask. Simply put, the Jounin were all instructors and Umino Iruka had been the Chuunin sensei for nine of the twelve Genin that the Jounin taught back when the Genin were still in the Academy. The five shinobi got together now and then to discuss that Genin, though often they just hung out and relaxed instead.

 

"Maa, maa," Kakashi said, speaking finally. "Why do you guys always have to come over to my house?"

 

"Because, idiot," Kurenai replied with a roll of her eyes. "If we go anywhere else you'll be late. But if we come here we avoid any unnecessary complications."

 

"YES!" Gai shouted. "Because the power of youth waits for no one!"

 

Kakashi had just opened his mouth to respond, when the door suddenly banged open. Kakashi's eyes immediately widened upon seeing the person standing in the doorway and he then quickly shoved his naughty orange book behind his back, attempting to hide it. "A-a-ah, K-Kyomi-chan," he stuttered, showing his obvious nervousness. "Y-you're back from your last mission?"

 

"Hn," Kyomi grunted. Ignoring all those in the room, most of whom were wearing dubious and confused looks, she stalked through the house and to the bedroom with closed door. Her silver braid swayed behind her as she swiftly walked and her stunning ice blue eyes stared fixedly ahead. Her black clothes were still ripped and torn from her last mission, though no cuts or wounds were visible on her, thanks to a visit to the hospital the night before.

 

Upon reaching the closed door, she yanked it open, allowing those in the living room only a quick glance at the obviously lived-in bedroom inside before she slammed the door closed behind her.

 

The five sitting in the living room blinked slightly at her behavior and three of them were still wearing confused expressions. "Kakashi-kun," Kurenai said slyly after a moment of staring. "I didn't know that you were living with your girlfriend."

 

Kakashi, who had been about to take a drink from a glass of water, abruptly choked, let the glass drop from his hand and onto the carpeted floor, and started hacking. "W-what?" he wheezed, for once loosing his calm and lazy demeanor.

 

Gai, also acting a bit out of character, immediately started laughing his head off, even going as far as to fall of the couch that he had been sitting on. The other three in the room stared perplexed at the two and Kurenai blinked in confusion.

 

After another minute or so Kakashi could finally breathe again. Picking the somehow-still-intact glass up off the floor and wiping some water off his vest, he stared half incredulously and half disgustedly at Kurenai. Slowly he asked, "What the world made you think that I would ever date my little sister?"

 

The reaction to this simple question would be quite comical to bystanders and in fact sent Gai into another fit of hilarious laughter. Kurenai stared at Kakashi in wide-eyed and open-mouthed shock, her left eye twitching slightly, while Asuma grabbed his throat and started gagging. Iruka also jerked in surprise, blinking at Kakashi.

 

Iruka, being the one with the smallest reaction, was the one who recovered first. "You've never mentioned that you had a sister."

 

Kakashi, back to his normal self, grinned beneath his mask and scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "Maa," he answered. "I guess it just never came up."

 

"I'm surprised by you, my eternal rival!" Gai yelled, finally over his fit of laughter. He was in front of Kakashi in a second, shaking his finger under Kakashi's nose. "Why have you never told them? I've known her since I first met you!"

 

"Er..." Kakashi hesitated. He was staring cross-eyed at Gai's finger, if his one eye that was visible was anything to go by. Asuma and Kurenai chuckled at the two.

 

"How old is she? She looked pretty young." Kurenai asked, taking up the questioning, as Asuma probably wouldn't, considering his usually uncaring attitude.

 

"Yeah, she's nearly ten years younger than me. She was 19 last time I checked."

 

"What rank is she?" Kurenai continued. "I saw the hitai-ate around her forehead but she had nothing else to identify her rank; no vest or anything."

 

"She's an ANBU!" Gai proclaimed before Kakashi could answer.

 

"Eh? Then what was with her outfit?" Asuma asked, suddenly taking an interest in the conversation.

 

Kakashi shrugged. "She's a solo ANBU, so she doesn't have to wear the traditional ANBU outfit. I'm not sure why her mask wasn't with her though."

 

Kurenai nodded understandingly; she was still a little surprised that Kakashi had a younger sister. And one who was a solo ANBU no less! It took skill and experience for any ninja to reach that level; she would be considered to be equal with that of an ANBU captain.

 

For the next half an hour or so, the five continued to talk, mostly about random subjects, though Kyomi did come up every now and then. Soon they all realized that they all had other duties to attend to, and that it was best to leave. Eventually, only Kakashi and Gai were left.

 

The two were in the kitchen of the medium sized apartment, cleaning up the last of the dishes that the five had used for lunch. Gai was in the middle of wiping a plate with an unusually serious look on his face. He seemed to be lost within his thoughts, so Kakashi didn't bother him.

 

Gai suddenly spoke up, seemingly still lost in his thoughts. "She's changed so much."

 

"Hmm?" Kakashi asked absent-mindedly. He was unsure about what Gai meant by that statement and about whom he was talking about.

 

"Kyomi."

 

"Ah," Kakashi said, smiling sadly under his mask. "Yes, she has."

 

"She used to be such a bubbly person," Gai continued, still seeming to be oblivious to the world around him. "She was always laughing and smiling. I remember that she loved to play practical jokes on anyone and everyone. Even on the Sandaime Hokage! That's probably part of the reason why Sarutobi-sama didn't really mind Naruto playing pranks on him; he was already used to it because Kyomi used to do the same thing."

 

Kakashi sighed. "Yep. But then she changed." His hands, which were gripping the counter, tightened until his knuckles turned white. "And it was entirely his fault. If he hadn't left, he hadn't betrayed us all--" Abruptly Kakashi cut himself off. A happy smile, though mostly fake, covered his face, curving his visible eye. "But it's best to not think of the past and of what could have, should have, been, ne?"

 

Gai nodded offhandedly, and they both returned to finishing up the dishes.

 

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Upon entering her room, Kyomi didn't turn on her light. Instead, she walked over to the window on the far side of her bedroom and pulled back the curtains, allowing the early afternoon light to shine into her room. She then plopped down onto her blue bed, laying an arm across her eyes and giving her dirty and torn up clothes not a thought.

 

After visiting the Hokage, Kyomi had gone to the hospital, though just walking this time. When she arrived, the medic-nin and the doctors immediately checked her in. She was nearly completely healed a few hours later, but they had insisted on having her stay until the morning.

 

As soon as they had let her out, Kyomi had gone straight back to the Hokage's tower, intent on writing her mission report. Even after being awake over 24 hours, she still wasn't that tired. After all she was trained to be able go for days with out sleep and still be able to fight a tough battle at her best.

 

Filling out the mission report had taken a little bit longer than she had expected. Still, it didn't take all that long and soon it was written up and filed away. After that was done, Kyomi had decided to come back home and rest for a bit before she would have to return to the Hokage tower in the evening to receive her next mission.

 

When she had walked in the door, Kyomi had already been a bit peeved at the hospital for keeping her so long, and seeing that Kakashi had four of his friends over hadn't helped. Still, she just ignored all five of them--even why she saw Kakashi hide that stupid, evil little book behind his back--and just walked straight to her room.

 

So now here she was, just laying on top of her covers, thinking about her day and about how ticked off at the hospital she still was. She was an ANBU for Kami's sake! She could handle getting wounds far worse than she had and could deal with them for days on end without slowing down.

 

That was just one of the many harsh requirements that came with being an ANBU. Kyomi had made it up to the rank of a solo ANBU through years of tough training and missions. The rank was just about equal to that of ANBU captains--thus the reason why they were allowed to go on missions alone--but below that of ANBU commanders. But that was to be expected; after all, there are only four ANBU commanders in each village, as they take rank only just below Kage. It was usually from one of the ANBU commanders that the next Kage was picked.

 

Having the rank of solo ANBU also meant that Kyomi basically got to pick what she would wear instead of the standard ANBU outfit. Kyomi, however, decided to basically wear the usual ANBU garb, but with out the metal arm guards or the armor. She was had a wider range of movement and was able to move much faster without such metal on. She still had the mask, the katana, and the ANBU tattoo, of course. Those three were required no matter your rank.

 

Kyomi would be wearing her mask at that moment, as she usually wore it at most times, but it had been damaged during her mission and she had to throw it away. It was no problem though; she had several more. All ANBU had multiple copies of their mask in case of such circumstances.

 

As her thoughts turned to her ookami mask, Kyomi let a small smile grace her face for the first time in quite awhile. She could still remember the day that she had been given her mask and raised to the rank of ANBU; she had only been 15. She could clearly remember what the Sandaime Hokage had said to her about the legacy of the Ookami ANBU.

 

“The mask depicts a wolf. A lone animal, yet also a pack animal. A powerful, dangerous hunter, yet also protective of their precious ones. A survivor, a leader, and an animal with amazing skills to adapt to change. But most of all, the mask depicts endurance. And endurance is something you have in bounds and leaps, especially with the mission you have put before yourself, Hatake Kyomi.”(1)

 

Those words had continued to stay with Kyomi through the years. It showed how great of an honor it was to continue the legacy of the Ookami. You see, at any time there can only be one ANBU for each animal. When one ANBU dies or retires, a shinobi who has similar qualities of the former shinobi's animal and with enough power for an ANBU was chosen to take the former ANBU's place. As far as Kyomi knew, this was true for all of the Hidden Villages.

 

Kyomi rolled over onto her side, pulling her thoughts away from her ANBU life. Her job took most of her time, as it did for most shinobi, so she didn't want to think too much about it while she was at home. She'd probably have a mission tomorrow anyway...Suddenly Kyomi shot up. She'd completely forgotten! She still needed to go see the Hokage to receive her mission for tomorrow!

 

As Kyomi jumped up off her bed, she offhandedly glanced at her bedside clock...and promptly cursed. She hadn't realized that she'd been lying around thinking for so long. Taking long strides, Kyomi walked over to her closet and proceeded to get dressed in to less...demolished...clothes. When she was done she strapped her katana onto her back and placed a new ookami mask over her face.

 

Kyomi glanced fleetingly at herself in the mirror on the wall as she passed, just to make sure that she hadn't forgotten something, before turning to the door. She silently stepped out, making sure to close the door behind her like she always did. Her baka of a brother always left his own open. That had never really made much sense to her; why allow possible potential enemies to see into your personal space? Well, Kyomi didn't really have time to think about that right now, so she wiped all thought from her mind and proceeded through the apartment.

 

As she passed by the kitchen, Kyomi heard voices inside. Kakashi's and Gai's she believed, but she completely ignored them anyway. She needed to get to the Hokage tower and pronto. It wasn't like she was late or something, as she had no appointment or specific time she had to be there, but she'd rather not leave it too late. She was almost positive that she'd either be distracted or slowed down along the way; such was the randomness of life.

 

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Kyomi was walking through the streets of the village that her previous prediction of life came true.

 

"Ookami-san! Ookami-san!" a voiced called, using Kyomi's ANBU name. Kyomi paused and turned her head slightly, ice blue eyes calmly searching from beneath her mask for the person whom the voice belonged to. She didn't have to search long however, for only a few seconds later another ANBU appeared through the crowd behind her.

 

This ANBU wore the standard ANBU apparel, metal armor included, and a beige cloak around his shoulders, which signified him to be the rank of ANBU captain--regular ANBU wore black cloaks and ANBU commanders wore white cloaks. Kyomi herself didn't wear any cloak at all, believing strongly that they only got in the way. The ANBU's katana was on his waist instead of his back, which was unusual for an ANBU, and spiky brown hair peeked out from behind the bird ANBU mask covered his face.

 

"Tori-san,(2)" Kyomi greeted politely with an even nod of her head in his direction.

 

The ANBU returned the nod of his head and Kyomi had the distinct feeling that he was smiling warmly under his mask. "Ookami-san," he returned. "I have been looking for you ever since I heard that you had returned from your last mission." This caught Kyomi's attention; she rarely socialized with ANBU--or anyone in general--, so why would he be looking for her? "Several of us are going out to the Ishigawa Bar and we were wondering if you'd like to join. So...?" he hinted, unsuccessfully trying to persuade her.

 

Kyomi blinked beneath her mask before sighing inaudibly. It was nice of them to try to get her to go out a little more, it really was, but she just wasn't that type person. Maybe she had been at one time, six years ago, but six years was six years. And now she had learned from past experiences not to get to close to people; whether they meant to or not, it was in human nature to eventually betray those around them in some way or another.

 

"Thanks," Kyomi answered, keeping her voice monotone and not revealing her thoughts at all. "But I'm on my way to the Hokage tower right now so I can't."

 

The ANBU seemed to deflate ever so slightly to her response. "No problem. I'll see you around." And with that, he disappeared from her sight. Kyomi just shrugged mentally; she had other, and more important, things to deal with at the moment.

 

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As Kyomi reached the door to the Hokage tower, she bowed politely to the ANBU on guard there. Last time she had just breezed past them without a word, but last time she had also been injured and in a hurry, not to mention that it was the middle of the night. The two black-cloaked ANBU there bowed in return to her, though slightly deeper than hers had been, as they recognized her as their superior, and then returned to staring straight ahead. Kyomi took this for the acceptance that it was and continued on, walking though the door.

 

Honestly, Kyomi hated all the formality. It was incredibly boring and seemed to waste so much time for no real reason; if it were her choice, she'd skip over the entire thing. But frankly, she couldn't. Tradition was tradition, and no matter how hard she wanted to change, there was no way that she possibly could. Perhaps one day the traditions would change, but that would only happen slowly and over a lot time.

 

Kyomi was effectively cut out of her thoughts as she reached the door to the Hokage's office. A quick word with the secretary confirmed that the Hokage was free at the moment and that she could just walk in. Kyomi nodded to the ANBU guarding the door to the Hokage's office--just a nod, as he was an ANBU captain and thus her equal--before opening the door just as she had done the night before.

 

As she closed the door behind her, Kyomi glanced around the room. The Godaime was awake this time and sitting at her desk, slowly working through mounds of paper. As Kyomi approached, the Godaime didn't look up, though Kyomi knew that she had noticed her presence. She honestly didn't expect any less; as the leader of Konohagakure, the Godaime was a very busy person. So, Kyomi stood in front of the Godaime's desk, back straight, hands clasped behind her back and staring straight ahead, waiting to be acknowledged.

 

Finally, several minutes later, the Godaime set down her pen and looked up clasping her hands on the desk's surface. When she saw the kunoichi standing in front of her, the Godaime let a small smile slip across her features.

 

"Ah, Hatake-san," she said, her attention going back down to her desk as she started to sift through papers, obviously looking for something. "There you are." The Godaime continued to sift through papers, mumbling to herself every few seconds, before she suddenly pulled out a paper with a triumphant smile. "Here we go!" she exclaimed. "Now let's see..."

 

The Godaime began muttering to herself again as she looked over the paper that Kyomi can only guess was the mission listing. After another minute or so, the Godaime finally spoke again, this time raising her head and making eye contact, "Well, at the moment we don't have very many high ranking missions that need to be taken care of. Also, since you have just completed a two week long S-rank mission, I believe that you have earned some time off. With this in mind, I have decided to give you the next two days off. Come see me on Wednesday morning for your next mission. Until then, just relax. And that's an order." She added the last part with a knowing grin.

 

Kyomi smirked slightly under her mask before bowing. "Hai, Hokage-sama," she agreed.

 

 

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Preview of Chapter 2:The Genin

 

A few lightning fast hand seals and a quiet murmur of "Bunshin no jutsu (Doppelganger Technique)," later, there were ten Kyomi's standing in front of the Genin.

 

The three fifteen-year-olds immediately tensed up and Neji--who had his Byakuugan activated-- scanned all of them, trying to figure out which was the real one. None of them seemed to have any flaws however, so they would have to go at this the old-fashioned way: take them out one at a time.

 

Before any of the Genin could move however, each of the bunshin lifted up a hand and deftly threw a kunai. The Genin easily dodged all of the projectiles and then began their own attacks. They had a little trouble at first, as all of the bunshin seemed to be just as fast and agile as Kyomi herself, but they were eventually beginning to disperse the bunshin one by one. Finally, a few minutes later, there was only a single, deeply breathing, Kyomi left. Neji smirked and Lee and Tenten grinned triumphantly.

 

Just then Neji began his final attack, completely ignoring his teammates and calling out, "You're in the range of--"

 

With a gasp Neji abruptly cut himself off and whirled around at the same time as Lee and Tenten. All three of them had heard the unmistakable sound of metal whizzing through the air. Upon finishing his turn, Neji's eyes immediately widened at the site that greeted them. There were dozens of kunai and shuriken zooming towards them, and there behind the sharp blades, stood a wickedly grinning Kyomi. The real one.