from Academy to Anbu by theriku260

chapter 36

Previously on Academy To ANBU…

Tanzaku Quarters was magnificent in the midday light, bringing hope to the traveling pair that they just might succeed. Currently the ANBU was crouched in a tree, admiring the wall enclosed town and castle that was over a thousand years old (according to the lore, that is). Tsunade was down there, amongst the hordes of travelers. He had to find her- preferably before the gambling started- but first a little recon was in order.

Tanzaku Quarters, tourist district…

Naruto smiled despite the mission, enjoying the light hearted festivities the town provided. He never really enjoyed a festival before, seeing as Konoha's were tense affairs. The Hokage (and council) would always have something for him to do during festival days, like paying Iruka to hold him over for detention that would turn into take out ramen and games. Other times the Hokage would send a request for a visit during a 'cold' that always happened on festival days. As he got older, however, the more curious he'd become, but the couple of times he managed to sneak into them he was met with cold eyes hiding fear or curious foreigners that were ushered away by plain clothed ANBU (not that he knew that at the time). By the time he was ten, Naruto was content to hide out in his apartment when the village lit up, sensing he was unwanted, Tora always dropping by for the day and night to escape her mistress.

Then when he became an ANBU, festival days were always during a mission. The Spring and Summer festivals, Mid-summer Festival, Village Founding Festival; all fell during days Naruto was on an out of village mission. Team Ro had plans to attend the Festival of Heroes, celebrating the end of the various wars and the shinobi who gave their lives up for the village. However, that was months away!

So, seeing a festival that was not full of villagers exuding uncomfortable avoidance or overly curious foreigners was a new experience for the temporary brown haired ANBU, his face betraying his happiness. He wouldn't play any games and had no plans to buy food, but just the atmosphere was enough for him.

"Oi! Naruto, feed me." Angel stage whispered, popping her head out of his shirt. She clearly was over the whole 'supposed to be a non-talking cat' since the mission was not in a high stakes area. Or rather it was, but the feline didn't see it that way.

"Shh" Naruto tried. Nobody paid them any attention but anybody could be observing from the shadows. All the people coupled with Kurama's ongoing nap made telling negative emotions from the cacophony of other emotions impossible, making Naruto even more jittery, though his wonder at the festivities masked it well. To his annoyance, however, Angel just rolled her eyes.

"Na. Ru. To. Feed me! They have SUSHI rolls! Fried in egg!"

"Stop talking and I will." He said, and Angel's happy nod made the fact he was wasting valuable money and time easier to accept. They had to do reconnaissance after all, right?

That's what he told himself as he paid for overpriced sushi encased in egg and vowed to not get distracted again on his look out for where Tsunade could be staying before the tournament. That is, until he saw it, a game he always wanted to try but never could: Ring Toss. The game that required aim (which he had in spades) and luck (nobody was luckier than Naruto Uzumaki), a game in which he's wanted to play for years.

Nothing was going to stop him. Locking onto his prey, he stalked over to the stand and thrust the needed yen into the shop keeper's hands, bypassing a couple who had failed five times in row to get a single ring.

"U-uh, sir, you cut in line. Please s-stand back and" The shop keeper was cut off by Naruto glaring like the true ANBU agent he was. Yanking the six rings out of the man's hands, Naruto eyed the bottles calculating. He lined up the first ring, aimed like Tenzo and Hikaru taught him, and launched it.