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The link is also in the synopsis
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Fuma Arisu walked through the Department of Narcotics Control, watching the lethargic post-lunch hour that had its claws in the officers, who almost sluggishly shuffled through whatever paperwork they had put off dealing with.
She exchanged a few greetings on the way to her office, where she shuttered the blinds on her windows for some privacy. As one of the deputies of the Department of Narcotics Control, she usually dealt with cases that involved the trade of banned or controlled substances. Recently, she had been overseeing the integration of case handling of illegal contraband trade into their department as part of an organisational restructure within the Leaf Military Police Force.
But today, she had a different case on her hands.
She sat down at her table and opened the file she had requested early in the morning and had collected from the information desk on her way in from lunch. The file was on Chūnin Mizuki, an instructor at the shinobi academy of the Hidden Leaf Village.
She was going to look into him to see if there was something wrong with the man.
As for why she was looking into this man: it all started the day before when she was spending time with her boyfriend.
———
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The couple sat next to each other in the private karaoke room with dim lighting; the karaoke machine screen was the brightest thing in the room. After a tough day at work, singing without worry while indulging in fried chicken and decadent drinks was an excellent way to relieve stress.
"So, there's this thing I've been doing for a week and some," Takuma said hesitantly. "It's not a secret per se, but I've kept it low-key."
"What is it?" Arisu said, leaning against him as she fiddled and played with his hand. His hand was rough, but surprisingly intact given his fighting style. A few taijutsu-heavy fighters she knew had deformed hands from repeated fractures.
"Lord Hokage gave me a task."
Arisu sat up straight; her eyes widened at the mention of the leader of the Hidden Leaf. She knew Takuma worked in security, but not much more than that. He never talked about work by himself, and when asked, kept his answers short. She felt it was because he worked so much that he didn't want to think about work anymore than he already did.
Which was why the mention of the Hokage came as a surprise. Was Takuma working close to him?
"It's nothing like what you're thinking." Takuma chuckled at her expression.
"Anything you could say would be a big deal when you preface it by mentioning Lord Hokage," Arisu said, fully intending to urge him to give it his all in whatever he was asked to do. If he could somehow attach himself near the Hokage or even gain a favour, it would be a boon for his career. "What did he ask you to do?"
"He asked me to tutor Uzumaki Naruto."
The name didn't strike anything in her mind immediately, but when it clicked, her eyes widened at the realisation. It was barely a couple of weeks back when she had seen the graffitied Hokage Mountain and read the newspaper article about it. They hadn't published his name, but as an officer of the Police Force, her social circle had better access to information.
"The… the jinchuriki? That kid?" Arisu whispered even though they were in a soundproofed room.
Takuma nodded. He didn't seem to be bothered or worried by Naruto's identity or what it meant to many people in the village. It was wise of him to keep quiet about teaching the village's jinchuriki because even after a decade, people held grudges, and it could affect his career if those people started making problems for him because of his association, even if it was on the orders of the Hokage. Suddenly, she was not of the mind to encourage him to give it his all.
"Why—What are you teaching him?"
"Shadow Clone Jutsu."
Arisu instantly understood the Hokage's reasoning behind choosing her boyfriend for the task. If there were another jutsu, she could've argued that others could perhaps do a better job, but when it came to shadow clones, she doubted there was anyone out there better than him. They didn't train together often, but every time Arisu had trained with Takuma, he had one or two clones beside him training something. He told her that he used clones for training every day.
"He can't use academy clones. If he wants to graduate, he needs to make clones. He has already failed two test attempts." Takuma explained how Naruto's enormous reserves made things difficult for him. "They decided to see if he could learn the Shadow Clone Jutsu."
"And? How is it going?" Arisu asked, slightly conflicted that an academy student had access to B-rank ninjutsu, something she, as a genin, lacked.
"Oh, he can already make them," Takuma said with a smile.
"Eh? You said it's only been a week and some."
"I know, right? The brat has an unbelievable affinity for shadow clones. In fact, it's made for him… Also, it's proof that I'm the greatest teacher of all time. I managed to teach an academy student a B-rank ninjutsu," Takuma said with a playful smirk.
Arisu rolled her eyes with a smile coming to her lips.
"It's not related to Uzumaki Naruto, but I was wondering if you'd look into someone for me. It's Chūnin Mizuki, an instructor at the academy. I get a really bad vibe from him." Takuma explained the leading questions Mizuki had asked and the man's reaction when he thought no one was looking. "I know this doesn't have to do anything with me, but Iruka was the first chūnin to give me a serious chance. He was also the one to urge me to join the Police Force; in fact, he had his jōnin teacher write me a recommendation even though she never met me… I fear, at that point of my career, I wouldn't have gotten in without that recommendation.
"My life and career would've been very different if he had not done what he did," Takuma said, threading his fingers into hers.
Arisu nodded with a look of rumination about what their lives would be if Takuma hadn't joined the Police Force. She probably would've still disliked him because he bit her ear during their fight at the Genin Corp Basic Training. Their relationship would've been that of former batchmates because there would've been no Narcotics Taskforce, no long hours spent together working together, no chance to know each other beyond the surface, no chance of building trust. Takuma never participated in activities involving their academy social circle and didn't show much interest, which would've meant they probably never would've seen each other. It would mean they wouldn't have been together like they were now.
That thought didn't sit well with her. She leaned into him, pulling their clasped hands closer to her.
"I don't have proof that this Mizuki fellow is doing something illegal, but I can feel from my experience that he's involved in something. I just don't want Chūnin Iruka to get into trouble because of his proximity. They're close friends, but I can tell that it's only genuine from Iruka's side," Takuma said.
If it were anyone else, Arisu would've politely declined or referred them to another office. But Takuma had sharp instincts for this type of thing, and he was also her dear boyfriend.
"Okay, I'll look into him. What do you think he's doing?" she asked.
"Can't say for sure, but it must have something to do with the academy itself. I would like to say it's something that may be at the level that may concern Lord Hokage himself, but I can't be sure if it's that guy's delusion of his own grandeur or not," Takuma said.
"I see. Well, I'll start by following the money to see if there's something there. But enough about this," Arisu said before getting him to sit so they were fully facing each other. "How are you feeling? It must've been difficult for you to teach him."
Takuma breathed a sigh and nodded. "It was tough, yes. I guess you know of his reputation? He's not an easy kid to teach. I have serious respect for Iruka for sticking with him like that. To be honest, I got lucky because of the circumstances. There was pressure on him to learn quickly; he had a great affinity for the ninjutsu, and I just so managed to find something that would motivate him."
Arisu cut him off. "Takuma, I didn't mean that… It must've been tough for you to take on the Hokage's task because of your history with that kid…"
Her heart throbbed when she saw him try to ignore their history. One could perhaps trace back all of Takuma's misfortune to his past. He never talked about it, but she knew how he had struggled.
"Huh, what are you talking about?" Takuma said, utterly confused. "I don't have any history with Uzumaki Naruto."
Arisu pursed her lips. Seeing that he was denying it, she didn't know if she should bring it up or not. But then she thought about the secrets he was keeping and her eyes sharpened. If she wanted him to open up, she needed to be assertive. Only by knocking on his doors repeatedly would he let her in.
"Do… Do you resent him because of your parents' d-death during the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox's Attack?" Arisu asked.
Not once in the entire time they had known each other, including their five years at the shinobi academy, had Takuma once mentioned his parents. She had heard about his parents at the academy when someone told her that they had died during the Nine-Tails Attack. The next time she heard about it was when she looked at Takuma's file when he joined the Police Force. A pair of travelling merchants were unfortunate enough to be present at the Hidden Leaf Village during the attack and had died, leaving behind their young son who didn't know his way home and thus could only settle down in the village as an orphan.
Takuma, in his response, looked utterly confused for a good few silent seconds like he didn't know what she was talking about until his shoulders sagged and a sombre expression settled on his face. He looked away from her in deep thought.
Looking at him made Arisu resent the Hokage for giving him a task like that.
"… No, I don't resent him," Takuma finally said, meeting her eyes. There was not a hint of resentment in them, but she could see a deep sadness pooling in the depths. "He's the jinchuriki, not the beast itself. I'm grateful that he protects the village but pity him at the same time… At least, I had time with my parents; he never got to have that experience. I don't know what's better: to not know that joy of having parents at all or to know it and feel pain after you lose them… Given Naruto's age, he would've been but a babe when he was made jinchuriki. It must've been difficult to grow up in a village where so many people resent him… My struggles feel not worth mentioning when compared to his."
Arisu felt her heart break at his expression. Even if he didn't hate Naruto, it couldn't be any clearer that he missed his parents.
"Do you hate him?" Takuma asked.
Arisu shook her head slowly. Her clan had lost members on that tragic day, but she understood the distinction between the beast and jinchuriki.
"Do you fear him?"
Arisu froze and almost denied it instinctually, but stopped herself. She pursed her lips and nodded, unable to look him in the eye. Even if Uzumaki Naruto was an innocent kid, he was still a jinchuriki who was containing a beast far stronger than him. Like most, she, too, feared a repeat of that tragic night if the beast broke out. She couldn't help but doubt whatever seals were being used to contain the beast when she was confident that she could beat the kid who wasn't even a shinobi into the ground.
"I'm sorry," she whispered, not liking that part of herself—a part she knew would stop her from treating the kid fairly because of reasons that were out of his control.
"It's okay." Takuma pulled her close and embraced her. She burrowed her face into his shoulder, seeking comfort.
———
.
Takuma returned Arisu's wave before she entered her home. He stayed there for a few seconds before walking away. He gazed at the starry sky, not expecting the conversation to go in that direction.
He only wanted to ask Arisu to look into Mizuki because he had to be careful with his actions while in contact with Naruto, since there were a lot of eyes on him. Partly because he was ANBU; partly because he was Weasel's subordinate and had a strong connection with the Uchiha clan. The Uchiha clan had been mysteriously late to the epicenter on the tragic night of the Nine-Tails' Attack and had extremely low casualties because of it. There was a lingering resentment in many shinobi's hearts because of that fact. Some even thought they were behind the attack. Unfortunately, they weren't wrong because an Uchiha was indeed responsible for the attack.
Anything Takuma did directly could be construed in the wrong way. His own hands were tied for the most part. Not to mention, it was a busy time for his unit; he didn't want to dump more work on them. So he decided to deal with the problem directly.
He trusted Arisu to get to the bottom of it and knew that it would be good for her career if it turned out to be something big. She was the second-in-command of the Narcotics Taskforce, but now was one of the deputies of Narcotic Control. Sure, the department was now bigger, which meant her position was highly valued, but Arisu was a kunoichi who had trusted a newcomer and outsider to the Police Force on his proposal of a new venture. She wasn't averse to risk, and he thought it was time she stepped out of the safe corner she had built for herself.
Takuma was surprised when the conversation suddenly steered to his parents. He had honestly forgotten about his constructed history where his parents had been travelling merchants who had died during the Nine-Tails' Attack. He knew the truth, and it was far wilder than anything one could imagine.
However, that wasn't what bothered him.
He was reminded of his real parents in the world that he was forced to leave behind. When he was younger, he missed his family every single day, but recently, he hadn't thought about them…
The realisation didn't sit well in his core. He clenched his fist, feeling a mix of anger and despair.
Would they recognise me as I am now?
The thought made Takuma stop in his tracks. He stood in the middle of the street with his head bowed down. He was a completely different person from before he arrived here. He had stolen, lied, killed, and done many more heinous things that would've been unimaginable to his previous self.
Would they accept me as I'm now?
Takuma raised his head and continued to walk, shoving the thought away. He didn't want to think about that answer because… he was scared he wouldn't like the answer he might arrive at.
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