Anko was panicking.
Normally, it took a lot to get her worked up like this. She had seen too many things over the the course of her life and killed just as many people along with it. Nothing ever happened to the point where she was left not knowing what to do. Then came this little brat so chock full of mystery, secrecy, and downright unexplainable bullshit that left her gaping like a goddamn fish. The girl was full of surprises. But this surprise? Fuck, this could get her in serious trouble.
She had to get Sakura out of here. No one could see and no one could have even a lingering suspicion of what was happening. Doing the first thing that came to mind, Anko yanked spare bandages out of her pack and messily wrapped them around to cover Sakura's forehead. A second passed before she whipped out a kunai as well and pressed the edge into her palm. The blood she smeared on the wrappings and in pink hair to heighten the illusion of injury.
"Mitarashi-san?" She forced a grin onto her face and spun around, Sakura's body held close to her own. "If you felt that chakra, don't worry about it. There was a little accident," she said. The shinobi glanced warily at the prone child.
"... Alright. Should I inform the others within proximity to take over these grounds while you take her to receive medical attention?" he asked. Anko nodded once, already moving towards Konoha.
"Yep. I'll try to be back in an hour or something."
She broke into a sprint after those words. She took the shortest route to her apartment rather than the hospital like she said, and carefully deposited her student on the couch. The bandage was off and her panic returned as she stared at the purple diamond.
This shouldn't have been possible. The Yin seal was revered as the pinnacle of chakra control that had only been achieved by two known people: Uzumaki Mito and Senju Tsunade. They were kunoichi that made a world-renowned name for themselves, very well being some of the most powerful shinobi who ever lived.
How the fuck did a nine year old manage a feat that nearly all the world failed to achieve?
Anko paced in front of the couch. She couldn't just leave it on her forehead like that. It would be too much of a mess to hide or make up an excuse to why Sakura suddenly started wearing bandanas or headbands on a day to day basis. Questions would turn to rumors that would leak to other sectors...
She let out a breath. Seal it. She had to seal the seal. The diamond was too showy, as civilians would see it, as it would also be too shocking to be revealed to the entirety of the shinobi community. Plain and simple, things would change if Sakura was discovered.
Power like hers was a rarity to come by, and people had a right to fear her since she unlocked it at such a young age. More than likely though, she'd be harnessed for that very power. Clans, especially noble ones, would no doubt fight to get her into their families to exploit her abilities as much as possible. And what of ROOT? Danzo? He'd kill to get someone like her in his ranks.
"Goddammit, kid. You're definitely as much trouble as you're worth."
Sakura still lay unconscious, Anko oblivious to the matching diamond on the girl's lower back.
::
"There's a problem and you need to come with me. Now."
Anko burst into Ibiki's office, shocking the interrogator. The woman never used doors. It's either she came through a crevice in the building or landed in his personal space in a puff of smoke. Her face was drawn into an unnaturally serious state; lips pinned down and eyes flashing. Ibiki stood.
"What's wrong?"
"I... can't. Not here."
Oh no. He followed her to the shinobi residential districts. He'd only been to her place a handful of times and vaguely remembered the apartment building where many of the other jounin lived. They didn't even stop to take off their sandals when they stormed into the door on the third floor.
"You're going to help me seal it," she said.
"Seal what?" Ibiki demanded. "What the hell—"
The words died on his tongue as Sakura's unmoving body came into view. He checked her for broken bones and open wounds until his eyes trailed up to her forehead. His mouth went dry at seeing the splotch of purple.
"What did she..."
"I don't know. One second we're fighting and the next she's out cold with the damned thing on her!" She rubbed her hand over her eyes, clearly distressed. "Ibiki, do you know what the fuck happened?!"
He thought back to the times he'd seen Sakura with her nose stuck in that raggedy old journal. She said it once belonged to Uzumaki Mito, and that it detailed her life and the struggles she met at the founding of Konoha.
Mito. The only explanation.
"She read it in a journal given to her by Hokage-sama some years ago."
Anko's curses resonated through the apartment as she opened every cabinet and drawer to take out what she needed for the sealing process. Ink, chakra paper, brushes, blood... Too far in their frenzy to hide Sakura's new secret, they failed to notice the brown cat lazily stretched out on the window sill.
::
Gai and Obito stood at attention in the Hokage's office, waiting for Dan to finish reading through their request. He set down the paper a few minutes later.
"You two must really care for Hatake-san to worry about his work in ANBU and bring it to my attention," he said. He laced his fingers together, "But what do you think he'll gain if he becomes a genin sensei?"
"It will help him get better sir. After the... incident, he's been throwing himself into his work. If he has some students to look after, well, maybe he'll start to live again," Obito answered. Dan nodded thoughtfully before turning his head to the other.
"And you, Maito-san?"
There was a brilliant flash of pearly white teeth. "All we wish is for my eternal rival's fire to return to his youthful self! He still needs the light in his eyes, Hokage-sama!"
The Godaime looked down at the files littered across his desk. Academy graduation was just around the corner and he was in the process of assigning each student to a jounin. All of them had been appointed, actually, save for the special cases.
He lifted the folders of the three early graduates. "This year's class has already be signed off to their respective sensei."
"But—"
Dan held up a hand, effectively making Obito's mouth shut. "Though there are unassigned students. Three, to be exact, and will be in need of a capable sensei. They're ahead of their peers by two years and can cause quite the trouble when they're together, but I'm sure Hatake-san can handle them," he informed. Dan extended the folders for the two jounin who both read the files with wide eyes.
Uzumaki Naruto, the jinchuuriki.
Uchiha Sasuke, Itachi's younger brother.
And Haruno Sakura, the...
Gai's eyebrows furrowed at the name and picture of the far too serious girl with an obnoxiously bright head of pink hair. He'd never heard the name before, and if he did, he definitely wouldn't forget that ridiculous hair. He glanced at his friend to see if he had recognized her, his eyes widening when he saw the uncharacteristic tightness that washed over the Uchiha's features.
"Is it okay? For her to be under Kakashi?" Obito questioned. His gaze never left her picture. Dan tilted his head curiously.
"What makes you think otherwise?"
Because she was traumatized just as much if not worse than his best friend. He remembered the raw fear and piercing shrieks when she had that panic attack—shouting at him, crying, whispering why she could still feel whoever dared to touch her. Kakashi was someone who couldn't handle his own emotions now, so what would he do if Sakura went through something like that again?
But his reasoning didn't make it up his throat, a shake of his head replacing it instead.
"It's nothing. Forget I said anything."
Shizune, who had been standing to her uncle's right ever since the discussion of Kakashi's future began, turned. "Should I send for Hatake-san?"
Dan smiled. "Yes, thank you, Shizune."
::
"Tell me, Hatake-san, how long have you been in ANBU?"
The wind was a calm one, blowing through the strands of their hairs and giving slight comfort from the warming sun. The one in question knelt down on the roof of the Hokage Tower with his mask still on and attention fully focused on his leader.
"I joined in Yondaime-sama's time, so about twelve years now," Kakashi monotonously replied. Dan turned as a bittersweet smile touched his lips.
"I recall Minato-san's tenure. I'd met him personally a few times, but I was mostly off on my own business outside Konoha, as you may have already known," he said. "He mentioned you some of those times. There's a certain... sadness in your heart that he wanted to heal you from, and he thought that keeping you close by putting you in ANBU would help."
Kakashi ducked his head. "I figured he did something like that."
"But then there was his unfortunate passing and Sarutobi-sama took over once more," Dan continued. "He stayed in power until I came back from my journeys and then I became Hokage. The same ANBU under Minato-san moved to Sarutobi-sama, then to me. But I'm afraid that you being at my side will only make that sadness worse, and according to your friends, it already has."
The ANBU member couldn't help but tense up in slight annoyance. Those friends were more than likely to be either Gai or Obito, or worse: the both of them. They were always the ones who hovered over him and tried to get him back in his spirits again despite his attempts to withdraw as much as he could.
"Take off your mask, please."
Kakashi did so without hesitation. Dan stepped closer to him, a frown slowly growing at the sight of two empty abysses for eyes.
"Twelve long years... I've read over the missions you've completed in that time. Many of them are things far from being proud of."
He extended his hand to take Kakashi's mask and carelessly discarded it behind him.
"You are hereby relieved from your ANBU duties and will be taking up a new position, effective immediately," he declared. Kakashi bowed his head again.
"Yes, sir!"
"And you will meet your new genin team in two day's time," Dan grinned. Hatake immediately froze. Him. In charge of a group of kids. No, no, he couldn't take up a responsibility like that. He was someone who couldn't be trusted to look after kids, he knew that much. He was one of ANBU's best—a trained killer whose blood stained his hands no matter how many times he tried to wash it off. And the Godaime should know that of him by now.
So he mustered up himself and gave the most intelligible answer he could think of:
"Huh?"
::
Hiashi tapped his fingers against his tea cup as he watched Hinata teach her younger sister a new gentle fist move. Though he watched them intently with every cause to look for mistakes or miscalculations in their stances, his mind was off somewhere else.
"Hyuuga-san?"
Hiashi let his doujutsu fade, refacing the group with his same stoic expression.
"... Just one of the guards. She tried a new jutsu, made a mistake, and discharged her chakra instead of harnessing it."
He didn't know why he lied. Sure, a part of him had done it to make sure he didn't cause a stir within the meeting, but another part of him wanted to keep it a secret and out of reach from all the other clan heads and council members. The girl had the Yin seal and it would be in any reasonable person's right mind to want to have that power flourish under a clan's watch.
If not by blood, then by marriage. Why not? Hinata was already enamored enough with the girl as it was.
That aside, he thought back to the impossibility the Haruno seemed to achieve. There wasn't a single drop of shinobi blood in her lineage, nor was there documentation he could access to tell more about just what she was capable of.
If she had the gall to stick her chin out at him, knowing fully well of the consequences, then she was something else all together. He would have to keep a closer eye on her from now on, especially since she was already an important person to his heir.
So Hiashi would bide his time- slowly, carefully, subtly. He would unravel the mystery that was Haruno Sakura and find out just what drove her to cultivate such a technique.
She was a child.
Expelling chakra like that had over a fifty percent chance of killing her where she stood.
::
And here's a lovely cover made by !
::
EDITED 2/3/18