𝗟𝗶𝗳𝗲 𝗧𝗵𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝗩𝗲𝗿𝗱𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗘𝘆𝗲𝘀

14 • Hell(o)

It's early in the morning, just before four. Instead of waking up with the rest of the barracks, I was woken up separately to meet up with Dino. After quickly and quietly exiting the barracks, I made my way to the Locker Room, idly waving to some operatives I know. The few nods I get back are a huge victory, especially from Operative 27 of the Hunter Barracks.

Operative 27, from my understanding, has been working for Dino for over ten years now and is extremely loyal. It's hard to guess her age and background since she doesn't show her face much. If I had to guess, I would say early twenties to early thirties, definitely not someone in the teen range. But I could be wrong, we don't talk much but when we do it's mostly about different techniques to catch an enemy off guard.

I've found that the best way to catch the older operatives' attention was by showing my dedication to improvement. I'm no stranger to everyone, the pink hair makes that impossible. My record in the room also makes it difficult not to know me. It's that exact record that doesn't get the older operatives to like me since it shows and means disloyalty. The younger operatives have mixed feelings about my record. From eavesdropping, I know some find me stupid to try and resist submitting to Dino, while others find me fascinating for resisting for so long and that I'm still alive.

To each their own I suppose. It's slow progress but still progress. One can only do so much in three years. I theorize that my progress will increase once I build a reputation for myself through higher missions. The in-village ones are equivalent to a genin's D-ranks from what I've heard. I'm still debating what that means for my skills since this is technically ANBU.

Sighing silently, I quickly change into my all black standard uniform. Despite being a shady ass organization that kidnaps and trains child soldiers, ROOT has some damn good benefits. I don't have to shop for my clothes or accessories or food since it's provided for me. Devil knows that Kizashi wouldn't provide for me and I would have to resort to stealing more than a quick pocket or two since there's no doubt in my mind the money I pickpocket would be confiscated. Now that money is being handed off to Naruto to use.

Speaking of the little blonde, after being kicked out of the orphanage he's taken to staying over with Sasuke and his family. It only took a week before Hiruzen caught news of his sleepovers and confronted him about it. Now the little blonde has his own apartment complex since no one wants to be near him. The complex is alright, could be better but it's not the worst. No where near the red light district like I feared since Mikoto was with him during the confrontation and moving plans. I was busy getting chased through ROOT's private forest at the time so I couldn't be there for it.

Since getting his own apartment, Naruto has invited us to hang out with him there. So after playing in the park for half a day, we would make our way over to hang out. With our frequent visits, his apartment is kept fairly clean. Really, who would expect a clean apartment of a six-year-old? It helps that Shisui and Itachi always walk him home and Naruto wants to make a good impression on all of us with his new independence. Overall, things are looking very good for him. For him, Sasuke, Hinata, Itachi, Shisui - for everyone, things are looking good.

So now to wait for the other shoe to drop, I think while pulling my hair into a tight low bun. My hair has grown longer much to my annoyance. It now reaches past my shoulder blades instead of just touching my shoulders. Luckily, I've been taught during the flash course on formality and manners on what to do with my hair. Unprofessionalism isn't tolerated, especially in appearance.

Once done, I begin making my way towards the hall that holds the designated meeting room. Since I'm only six and still a trainee, I don't have access to the roof and vent system. It's been pointed out to me since I questioned where the hell the various operatives are falling / jumping down from. It makes so much fucking sense because no one uses the goddamn doors anymore and I don't see them body flicker away when leaving a room.