| [Jul. 7th, 2013|06:23 am] |
The morning dragged on, as the sky outside the window lightened from slate to ash grey. Toriyama came in, placid-faced but sheened with sweat. Then Hakone, just as Ryouma was beginning to nod off against Kakashi's shoulder. Finally, as the birds were beginning to raise their raucous dawn chorus, Ayane came in. She held her head very high and proud, but there was a tightness to her mouth and exhaustion in her eyes.
Ryouma stood to give her his chair. She nodded at him, unsmiling, and sank down to tilt her head against the wall and close her eyes.
Ash turned to pearl in the sky. The village would be waking by now, bakeries opening their doors, guards trading shifts on the walls. Ryouma traded off with Matsumoto Haruka at the window to watch for a little while. Two children raced past the closed doors of the Academy; an old street sweeper bent over his broom, resting at the end of his route. A limping chuunin in a bloodied uniform detoured into a coffee shop. And behind Ryouma, the door opened.
He turned. The other candidates were all at attention, on their feet or straight-backed in their seats. Kaito shifted a casual foot to cover the scarred floorboards.
"The Hokage is ready for you," the owl-masked vice commander said.
They filed back in, trying not to shuffle, and ranged out in front of the desk. Ryouma found himself between Kasumi and Hakone; Kakashi was near the end of the line, with his blind side facing the wall. His masked face gave away nothing at all.
Neither did the Hokage's, or his commanders'. They were all standing, even the Yondaime, with his flame-hemmed coat hanging in crisp white lines from his shoulders and his hands clasped behind his back. He said gravely, "I thank you for your service, and for your desire to serve. Norita, Himura, Kurosagi, and Toriyama, please follow the vice-commander to the west antechamber."
No one spoke. Ryouma saw Himura Tadao's face briefly as he bowed and stepped back from the line, shuttered, showing nothing of disappointment. The door back to the room where they'd first waited closed without a creak.
"Hatake Kakashi," the Yondaime said. "Will you serve as ANBU of your own free will, knowing its dangers and the sacrifices you will be called to make?"
A heartbeat's pause. Then Kakashi said firmly, "Yes, Hokage-sama."
"Matsumoto Haruka," the Hokage said, and moved down the line, calling them each by name: Abe Shintaro, Yamada Kasumi, Tousaki Ryouma, Shibata Hakone—
Ryouma startled. He'd never made the connection with Hakone's seldom-used family name. He stole a glance sideways, saw Hakone's lean, moody face carved from stone as he gave his response: "Yes, Hokage-sama."
At the front of the room, the T&I commander's scar-wrecked mouth pulled in the slightest of smiles.
"Tottori Tsubame," the Hokage said, and the red-haired woman with the bandaged hands bowed her head.
Ayane was last, and her voice rang like steel. The Hokage's stern expression bloomed into a broad smile. "Thank you," he said. The bright blue gaze swept over them. His voice softened. "I hoped you all would." He sounded as if he meant it for each of them, individually. Ryouma found himself smiling back.
"Sagara-san will lead you to ANBU HQ," Yondaime said. "The Quartermaster needs your measurements, and you all need to fill out your paperwork. So much paperwork. You'll take your oaths, and receive your masks, at sunrise tomorrow, after which you'll be given the tattoo and your new teams will take you in hand. If at any time in the next 24 hours you change your mind and wish to remain in regular service, no one will think the less of you. Though it may be wise to avoid ANBU's quartermaster for the next fortnight or so, till he forgets about the all-nighter he and his assistants pulled getting your uniforms ready. Whatever decision you make, Konoha is grateful for your service."
He bowed.
Startled, the candidates bowed lower. When Ryouma straightened again, the Hokage was smiling at them.
"Take 'em away, Sagara," he said. |
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