An ANBU knelt before the Hokage awaiting his orders. Outside, the Hokage's face was a perfect mask. One he had built from years of experience that betrayed no trace of emotion or thoughts. Inside, he mentally sighed as he stared at the perfect soldier kneeling before him.
"Thank you, Kitsune. Make sure to take at least a week of rest before returning for active duty."
After a moment of silence, the Hokage followed up with, "And no, that was not a recommendation. It was an order."
"If you insist Hokage-sama," Kitsune obediently replied.
The Hokage had to resist the urge to shake his head at the near mindless response. While he was an impeccable soldier, Kitsune was not what one would call a social person. For years, the old man had tried to coerce him into fraternizing with others his age, but he would be shot down. It saddened him to see someone, whom he'd practically raised from a young boy, become so alone.
It still astounded him how vicious the boy had turned out. Even amongst other ANBU, who were considered the deadliest in the village, it was uncommon to take A-rank after A-rank missions, only pausing to take an occasional S-rank. It truly was a shame Itachi had left so early. What they could have accomplished together would have been staggering.
It felt like only yesterday when Hiruzen had stumbled upon the boy breaking into the Sarutobi complex. The ANBU would never have even noticed him if the Hokage hadn't headed down to the storage room for a late night snack. As he creaked open the door, the boy simply froze and did nothing but stare back at the surprised, old man. The boy's face had been covered in dirt, and his clothes had been caked in dried mud.
He was just a clan-less orphan with nothing but the clothes on his body and thin scroll on his back. It was so silent that the old man could hear the boy's heart throbbing in his chest in fear. He had offered him a kind smile to put him at ease, before walking towards him.
The moment he moved, the boy dropped everything and turned to bolt from the scene. He barely made it three steps before he was stopped by the ANBU that followed the Sandaime at all times. The blonde haired boy struggled to free his arms, and his thrashing only grew worse as the old man drew closer. The Hokage had knelt before him and offered him a smile, before waving off the guards. The boy rubbed his wrist as he desperately tried to stare anywhere but into the old man's eyes. He was surprised when the man ruffled his hair, and offered him the burlap sack of food he had dropped in his haste to escape.
The boy could only stare dumbstruck with awe, when the Hokage offered him a place to sleep. Ever since that night, the boy had clung to him at the hip, as much as the ANBU would allow. He had immediately made a request to enlist as a shinobi, and the rest was history. All but adopted by the head of ANBU at the time, he spent every waking moment of his time studying, training, and pushing his body to the limit in order to serve the man, who had shown such kindness.
He was precise, vicious, and had a mind as sharp as his blade. Yes, ANBU had crafted their perfect little, monster, yet it saddened the old man to see such a level of commitment that prevented the boy from having his own life.
"That will be all Kitsune. You are dismissed," the Hokage sighed.
Kitsune nodded and headed for the door. As he reached for the handle, the door slammed open and in raced a blur of yellow and orange.
"HEY JIJI!"
A smile crept across the old man's face as his other young charge sped towards him like a bolt of lightening. Equally as quick, Kitsune snatched up the young boy and held him by the collar of his shirt.
"No fair, Fox-baka! Let me go!" the young boy cried out as he squirmed for release from the older boy's grasp.
Their interactions never ceased to amuse the old man. No one else had the gall to insult Kitsune right to his face.
"Naruto, please be more respectful to Kitsune. You know he is just doing his job. Besides, you wouldn't want to irritate him on accident."
The lump of blond hair crossed his arms and pouted. "Like I care! He's not that great. If it wasn't for the fact that he's taller than me, I'd kick his ass!"
The masked boy made no response, but the old man could tell from his body language that he was smirking underneath his mask. Naruto seemed to be only one that could elicit that kind of response from him.
"I'm sure," the old man responded with a smirk. "Now Naruto, what are you doing here? If I'm not mistaken, classes have not been let out yet, and I'm sure Iruka would be disappointed to find out that you have been skipping again."
The 8-year-old boy blushed and at least looked a little ashamed before replying, "He's sick today and some other guy is teaching. He made me sit in the hall and wouldn't let me back in. I didn't do anything jiji...this time. I promise!"
A frown found its way across the Sandaime's face as, once again, another teacher at the academy acted out against the young boy. It had become a reoccurring theme over the past few months no matter how much he threatened the staff of the academy. He couldn't just send ANBU agents to watch the class to keep them in line. Misuse of resources for personal reasons aside, it would be difficult to explain to clan heads why there were suddenly ANBU agents stationed around the classroom filled with so many of their future heirs, when the teachers were supposed to be vetted for their protection already.