Behind Paper Fans and Tea Ceremonies

Civilian or Spy?

.

"Dialogues"

'Thoughts'

.

***

Chapter 2: Civilian or Spy?

***

"Being a part of the Twelve Ninja Guardians is an honor. You're tasked with the direct protection of the Daimyo and you will be in his complete confidence. Getting invited to the capital is only the first step, but with your skills, a promotion is nearly guaranteed –"

Sasuke wasn't in the habit of tuning people out when they talked, but Sarutobi Asuma was taking his 'job' rather too seriously. He knew all too well what this stemmed from though; he and Sakura had been bestowed with 'extra attention' one too many times due to the uneven number of graduates in their year. And since there were no extra genin to pair off with, they had been assigned to mentors. Himself with Hatake Kakashi – chronically late, blatant pervert and mysterious shinobi – while Sakura had been assigned to Mitarashi Anko – Snake Mistress, dango fanatic and generally creepy kunoichi.

Due to this, they often got put into the other genin teams of their graduating batch, to cultivate teamwork. Asuma and Kurenai had watched over them often enough on missions to act as their de-facto sensei when Kakashi was unavailable – like now.

"– the rank you'll hold and the level of secrecy to be maintained will be similar enough to an ANBU's, so conduct yourself in the same fashion. Lastly," his voice turned serious here and Sasuke stopped to listen, "just remember that what happens in the Daimyo's court, stays in the Daimyo's court. I don't have to tell you that this means no gossiping, no whispering; you report directly to the Daimyo."

"I'm aware of that, yes," Sasuke said after a beat.

A hand clamped down on his shoulder for a brief second, "We're proud of you, Sasuke. And your brother – he was ecstatic! Don't let your father's disapproval cloud your judgement, the Konoha Police Force isn't the be-all end-all of your career. Accept this offer and go to the capital. You have the potential to be great, so take this chance!"

Sasuke's throat dried up, he'd never been emotionally close to any of the jounin-sensei and it was heartwarming to see that they cared. That they sought his well-being without forcing their decisions upon him. (Unlike your father, a voice whispered in his mind).

He nodded, "Yeah, I will."

Then, in a whirl of leaves, he flickered away.

***

The invitation to become a part of the Daimyo's guard had come as a surprise, but he supposed that after rescuing the Daimyo's son, his team had been brought under direct scrutiny of the nation's ruler. The name of his clan might have played a role too, in getting a recommendation.

He'd been proud of himself, and he'd hoped – rather foolishly, he surmised – that for once, just once, his father might have been so too. That he would stop expecting Sasuke to be like his brother, because no matter how prodigious he'd turned out to be after being mentored under Kakashi, he would simply never be shinobi-at-seven, ANBU-at-thirteen, Itachi.

So, for the first time, he'd disregarded his father's "advice" and done what Asuma had suggested – taken the offer and moved to the capital.

Even so, Sasuke knew that his job was simply going to be an overly-glorified patrol mission. Not only was he new to the squad under protection detail, to be given too many missions, but also... Not that many people were foolish to attack the Daimyo in his own home – in the fortified, heavily guarded mansion – right?