Perfectly Imperfect Love

Feelings

Doshi and Tenzo watched as Hana and Tenchi sat at the campfire, playing a game of Shogi.

The two captains of Squad 14 were deep in discussion about the war. It was as fierce as ever; Squad 14 had volunteered to clean up the outlying sectors that had bordered the Land of Sound.

Oto had been making increasing advances, and the Alliance's ANBU forces have worn thin. In fact, Kumo had recently entered the warzone, on request from the Hokage.

Tenzo and Doshi were speaking about the last sector they had to clean up before they entered the 'red-zone' when Hana and Tenchi burst out into laughter.

"Did Tenchi just..." Tenzo started, and Doshi simply nodded. "He...just laughed."

They had observed Tenchi's recent change in behavior quite thoroughly. Although it wasn't significant, things such as him genuinely laughing or speaking more often were out of the ordinary and almost...frightening.

Doshi had gotten so used to his subordinate's anti-social ways that it unnerved him when he displayed any sort of positive emotion...something that had happened more ever since Hana joined the team.

Tenchi had apparantly said something rude, because Hana reached over and slapped him on the arm. It was meant to be playful, but it ended up slamming him into the snowy forest floor.

Instead of huffing or getting angry, the demon masked ANBU simply laughed once more and dusted the flurries off of his cloak.

The captain of squad 14 frowned deeply under his mask. A feeling of foreboding filled his gut; putting the two of them on the same squad was a mistake.

He knew how Tenchi's mind worked. He put up a front of indifference and animosity to shield himself from what he truly felt.

He had no doubts in his mind that he had gotten over Sakura Haruno...but his relationship with 'Hana' could end catastrophically.

"I'm going to talk to him..."

"Why?"

"While I'm ecstatic he's finally breaking out of his shell, this could end poorly."

"...You mean..?"

"Yes."

"What did you want to talk about, captain?" Tenchi asked as the duo traveled deep into the woods. He was a bit confused; the silver-haired man never wanted to speak to him privately before.

They arrived in a thicket of trees and shrubs. The ANBU captain slipped off his mask, furthering his teammate's confusion. It revealed a still-masked face of the man who had taught and trained him for years. His sharingan eye was still closed, and dirt covered his face.

After a small gesture from Doshi, Tenchi did the same. He threw his hood back, and removed his mask, showing an incredibly ragged face that had been to hell and back.

Naruto revelled in times like these; where he wasn't forced to stay behind a mask and cloak. Where he could be known as Naruto Uzumaki, and not Tenchi.

"It's hard to believe eleven years ago, you were a short little loud-mouth and screamed about being a ninja and Hokage..." Kakashi mused, a tone of both sadness and fondness as he gazed at his longtime student.

Naruto shifted a little, raising a brow.

"It's been almost three years since you became an ANBU agent, you know what that means. Your probationary period is almost over."

"And?"

"When that's done, you may stay in the black ops, or you can be honorably discharged like I was."