Chapter: 7

*Hiccup!*

Kaori's eyes narrowed as she scanned the other patrons in the shop, her gaze landed on the group that was steadily getting rowdier. Among them was a large man with unkempt white hair and a mischievous grin plastered across his face, holding a small cup of sake in his hand.

Now if that wasn't enough, there was still the pair. A young blond with a silly grin plastered across his face and a fiery redhead with ponytailed hair.

'Great, of all the people to meet!'

She recognized the group causing a ruckus in the ramen shop. It was none other than the Legendary Sanin and the power couple. Worse of all, she would have to keep an eye on the power couple for quite some time now.

'Bleh!'

Kaori gulped down the ramen as fast as she could, trying all the while not to stare at a certain someone's chest. But then again, if the Sanin were free enough to visit a food stand with the Kyuubi's Jinchūriki, why the hell did the third want the ANBU to guard her? 

'Man, talk about paranoid.'

Her eyes narrowed further as she watched the legendary Sanin, Jiraiya, down another cup of sake. Tsunade, the future fifth Hokage, sat beside him, a bored expression masking any hint of intoxication. Next to them was Orochimaru, the future rogue ninja who would kill the Third Hokage and cause a shit load of trouble for the ANBU.

With a sigh, she quickly finished her ramen and stood up to pay, 

"So, how much was that?"

She asked, trying to sound polite despite the brewing irritation. The Ramen Lady, who just happened to be making a beeline for the group of Kage-level shinobis, jumped slightly, startled by the sudden call.

"Oh! You're done already? That was fast!"

Mrs. Ichiraku exclaimed, a hint of disappointment in her voice.

"The ramen wasn't too salty, was it?"

Kaori forced a smile.

"No, it was delicious. Thank you."

Internally, she sighed. There was no way she could relax and enjoy her meal with so many Kage-level shinobis sitting right next to her.

"How much do I owe you?"

Kaori asked again, hoping to make a quick escape.

"Oh! Right! That would be..."

Just then, Jiraiya slammed his empty sake cup on the counter, startling everyone.

"Alrighty then! Put everything on the pretty lady's bill on my tab!"

Tsunade, still fuming from his earlier story, scowled.

"Don't be ridiculous, Jiraiya. Just pay for our own food."

Mrs, Ichiraku glanced towards a certain white-haired perverted Sanin with a hint of irritation in her eyes.

Kaori's eyebrows shot up. This was unexpected. As far as she knew, one of them was a gambler drowning in debt, one was a habitual miser and the last one was a drug addict... a research addict might be a bit more appropriate term though.

Before she could voice her doubts, Jiraiya's booming voice cut through the air,

"Hey there, young lady! Don't be shy, join us! We're celebrating Minato and Kushina's anniversary!"

Minato smiled awkwardly at Kaori, running a hand behind his head in an embarrassed gesture. He was about to offer some sort of apology for his teacher's strange behavior when,

"Kaori-san! Is that you!?"

Up came the voice of the redhead, the famed 'Red Hot-Blooded Habanero' that had once tortured 'old' Kaori by following her around incessantly.

"Long time no see, Kushina."

It was another reason why she subconsciously didn't want to do the surveillance mission on the redhead. Back in the old days at the Academy, Kaori was a year older than Kushina, the redhead had somehow copied her chakra signature and made it a game to keep spooking her by appearing out of nowhere.

Kaori groaned internally, some memories were taking their sweet time resurfacing, especially ones from her childhood.

"Woah, woah, woah,"

Jiraiya slurred, his earlier boisterousness tinged with confusion.

"You two know each other?"

Kushina beamed, completely oblivious to Kaori's internal struggle.

"Yeah, believe it or not, Kaori-san and I used to be besties back in the academy!"

Kaori's eyes twitched,

'No, we were not! You kept on following me around like a duck!'

Of course, she didn't say that out loud.

Orochimaru raised an eyebrow, a flicker of recognition crossing his features.

"Hmm, back in the Academy you say? Interesting."

Kaori plastered a thin smile on her face.

"Yeah, something like that,"

She mumbled, dreading the next few moments.

"Hey, Kaori-san,"

Kushina continued, completely missing the social cues.

"Why don't you join us? We're celebrating Minato's promotion!"

Minato sent Kaori an apologetic look for the antics of his girlfriend and added,

"Yeah, please join us. It would be nice to catch up."

Kaori was stuck between a rock and a hard place, on one hand, refusing Kushina's invitation might seem rude, especially now that she remembered they were once friends. But she had no intention of messing around with so many Kage-level players. Finally, she decided to go with the excuse routine,

"Thanks for the offer, Minato-san, Kushina-san,"

She said politely, forcing a smile that hopefully didn't appear strained.

"But I'm actually on a bit of a tight schedule tonight. Maybe some other time?"

It wasn't a complete lie. Technically, she still needed to recover and prepare for her new mission mission... sort of. Keeping an eye on Naruto's future parents wasn't exactly the top of how to survive in the Ninja World guide. 

"Oh, alright then,"

Kushina replied, a hint of disappointment in her voice.

"But you have to promise to hang out next time!"

"Definitely,"

Kaori agreed, hoping against certainty such a thing never happen again.

Turning towards the flustered Ramen Lady, she placed a few ryo on the counter.

"The food was delicious,"

She said, not waiting for a response before making a hasty exit from the Ichiraku Ramen stand. As she slipped out into the chilly night air, she couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief. 

'Talk about troublesome.'

Now she understood why that old fool assigned her to tail Kushina, after all, if they both were friends then it was unlikely that Kushina would yoink her out the window for invading her privacy. 

***

Kaori made her way back home, and by home, she meant the ANBU dormitory on the back of the Hokage rock. The ANBU main HQ was located there, so were the Interrogation Department, and the Intelligence Office. Pretty much every clandestine activity going on behind the faces of the Hokage. Guess Tobirama had a knack for making ironic statements.

As soon as she began her ascent of the cliff, a chill passed through her body. Someone was watching her with a keen interest. Must be the ANBU on guard duty.

The screening for ANBU candidates begins as early as the Academy. Talent matters of course, but it doesn't take priority over personality and character, even exceptionally talented Shinobi may never get the opportunity to join the prestigious ANBU.

As early as the Academy, accomplished children are scouted to eventually join. While recruiting, they are handpicked by the Hokage, for their capabilities and skills. Their past no longer matters, age, gender, background, or even previous ranks bear no significance. Once joined, they undergo strict training, including studying the human body, surveillance training, tracking training, assassination training, wearing masks to conceal their identity, and using code names instead of real names.

By the time she finished reminiscing, she had already made her way up to the tunnel leading to the ANBU HQ. It was not much of a surprise that the tunnel was directly behind Lord Second's head, that guy loved his dirty secrets and ironical statements. 

The tunnel was dark, with no source of light, not so much as a single candle. Not to mention the bone-chilling cold and the thin layer of frost covering the slippery floor. Kaori was forced to use chakra so that she wouldn't slip.

'Man, this place really needs a makeover.'