from Academy to Anbu by theriku260

chapter 3

Next day, Records tower…

"Agent Mouse, reporting for patrol duty of the records tower." Naruto greeted his temporary commanding officer, Lizard, looking straight ahead into the dimly lit office. Lizard glanced at him and the papers Naruto handed him.

"So you're the brat Dragon promised me for the week. What did you do to get dumped down here?" Lizard drawled. It was obvious he was bored- the talk of HQ was that ten years ago the man was one of the top ANBU- one of the division captains. But then he received a debilitating injury, ensuring he'd never be an active shinobi again. Problem was, he knew too many secrets and a lot of higher ups wondered if letting him go would put the security of the village at risk. The council debated for days about having him killed (half hearted, of course, but they were ninjas) or to just trust the man to never give out secrets or be kidnapped by another village for said secrets.

The compromise? Captain Lizard became the book keeper: the man who knew every single grain of dirt on Konoha. He never had any family or real hobbies before, so he lived inside the complex, among the shadows of Konoha's darker side.

"Nothing sir- I just needed the extra money for intermediate sealing lessons- as an orphan any extra skills I want to learn I need to pay for."
"Oh? Sealing is an obscure art- why would an ANBU wish to learn more than the basics?" Lizard knew who Naruto was- heck, he was one of the ANBU that found Naruto laying next to Kushina's corpse and all of Naruto's records were kept in the basement. Dragon had "suggested" Naruto be given 'access' to that level (about damn time in Lizard's humble opinion) but Naruto wouldn't know about his heritage until after he found the records- unless someone introduced him to the art?

"My captain recommended it and I am picking it up at a relatively quick pace- I am almost finished with level two- but the barrier between level two and three makes learning without a tutor unwise. I already littered our training ground with enough potholes."

"But why would you waste your money on more lessons? The basics are more than enough for an ANBU squad and I don't hear any desire to join the barrier corps." The reason the boy wanted to know more was obviously because sealing was in the Uzumaki blood, but that didn't mean Lizard couldn't mess with the brat- his day was monotonous and picking on youngsters always made his day brighter.

"Umm… I guess I just like it?" Naruto couldn't really explain it- sealing was just enjoyable, even when his shock tags kept exploding. Lizard seemed to be unimpressed.

"Why not learn a more applicable skill?" Naruto seemed to stiffen at this and Lizard smirked. Degrade an Uzumaki's sealing and they lost it. He prepared for a heated rant or passionate demonstration. Every Uzumaki he ever met did it.

"Fuinjutsu would be valuable to the corps if I can attain level five or higher, as then I would be qualified to maintain the security barrier and seals at HQ, thus cutting out the middle man and internalizing more of ANBU's procedures." Except this one. Lizard frowned; he should have known that kill joy Tenzo would feed that duty crap to his young charge.

What Lizard didn't know was that Naruto, like any true Uzumaki, did in fact have a 'don't mock the seals' rant prepared. But, like any good ANBU (one that was deathly afraid of their captain and other superior officers) Naruto bit his tongue and went down the path of not being punished for insubordination.

"Tsch. You're the only boring one I've met. Now get out of here- Trout is waiting for you on B-5 for your shift." Lizard waved Naruto away.

Naruto bowed and left, confused at the last statemen. The only boring one I've met? Most ANBU are boring though…

He pushed those thoughts aside as he reached floor B-5. A brown haired ANBU waits, his trout mask almost ghoulish in the fluorescent light.

"Agent Mouse- I am your commanding officer for the week, you can call me Captain Trout."