Chapter 2

Waking up was not a pleasant experience when you've been bound and gagged, less so when one remembers what happened leading up to being knocked out. Looking around, Yoru found himself in a dimly lit room surrounded by people wearing blank masks and other children, crying children. Spreading his consciousness out a bit, he was able to pick up on others thought. Scared, sad, hunger and hurt were the thoughts and feelings of the children. The masked men though, had only one thought, to serve Konoha by following Danzo-sama orders. Sending his brain waves out further, he felt different emotions. Pain, pleasure, excitement and giddy-ness. 

After a bit the doors to the room opened and a bandaged man followed by 2 guards entered. The man in the lead had bandages all over his body, including his left eye and a X across his chin. The 2 behind him were wearing black clothes with a metal chest plate and a white mask with the character "NE" on it.

'If memory serves, that's Danzo and I'm being inducted into root. Thanks to one of my gifts, his seal will be meaningless, but he doesn't have to know that' thought Yoru. 

"Welcome to the ROOT that holds the Great Tree known as Konoha. In the coming years, you will be trained into the best weapons you can be to protect our great village. The training will be brutal and not all of you will make it, but for those that will, the village will forever love you, even if they don't know of you. We in root report directly to the Hokage, who gives us missions that if the normal shinobi and ANBU took, would cast this village in a bad light. We in root live to give our all to the village. Our mind, soul, and bodies, everything we have is for the village. For now you will be escorted to your new rooms, and in a week training will commence. That is all."

After being escorted to my room, room 394 along with another child name Yumi, I looked around the room. It was big enough for 2 people with 2 beds, 2 closets and 2 desks along with a bathroom with a full shower and a small kitchen with all the necessities. The cupboards were stocked with high energy food and the fridge had high energy foods as well. Yumi laid down on a bed and started crying, obviously missing her family. I myself was feeling anger at the fact that these ROOT agents had eliminated my mother in front of my eyes and kidnapped me, though I noticed the feelings weren't my own but this bodies past host. Deciding to ponder on it later, I turned in for the night.

The next few years were rough. After the first week, we had our chakra unlocked followed by a test to determine our affinities. Mine were Fire, Lightning and Wind, which surprised Danzo, though he didn't let it show. For the next year we worked on chakra control, taijutsu katas, kenjutsu katas and basic ANBU knowledge. After finding out I was mute to do an injury during the kyuubi attack, I was quickly taught ANBU sign language along with regular sign language so I could hold a conversation when needed. During my free time, which we surprisingly had, it included one day off a week and about 4 hours a night outside of sleep, I studied human anatomy. I had a plan to learn as much as I could and not have to rely on the chance someone else had the knowledge on something that I needed immediately. So I learned as much as I could.

The second year we added physical conditioning and throwing weapons to our normal routine. Whenever I was around the other training grounds, I discreetly activated my sharingan and copied hundreds of other jutsus including a single wood jutsu from a guy who was gone a week later. If my memory served me then that was Tenzo who ended up joining ANBU and was free of ROOT. One thing id realized was that ROOT wasn't like it was depicted in the anime, especially seeing as the third hokage made an appearance on occasion and so far, hadn't disbanded the group. As time went on, my chakra kept growing higher and higher. I'd been told before that my chakra was already higher than most chuunins, much to my shock and I couldn't figure out why. After thinking on it for a while I figured maybe since I had learned a wood jutsu, it had unlocked mokuton like the Senju had and blessed me with more chakra. Hell, my chakra control was the highest of us all!

Years three and four were more physical conditioning along with more studying. I used my sharingan to memorize all the text books the day I received them, so I had no issues with the classroom side of things. Yumi and I had become best friends and were quickly known to be one of the best tag team groups. With our speed and stealth, we had no problems defeating our peers in matches time and time again. We had even been dubbed the "Ultimate Tag Team" in the younger group.

One of the abilities I had copied was a wood clone. It took half of my chakra but could share thoughts, sight and sound with me, as well as sharing my inventory. I had decided that on my first chance I got, I would send it out to do some recon for me and if possible, store supplies away for me. I had doubts about staying inside Konoha, too much seemed wrong from what I remembered from the anime and knowing what the possible future held, you could say I was more than worried. I needed to have a fallback plan if I were to survive. If my memory was correct, didn't Team 7 have to face a man who was hired by 'One of the richest men in the world?' 'If I can get to him before Naruto's generation graduates, I could claim his wealth as my own. Obviously I would have to destroy all his hired guns but after root training that wouldn't be so hard to do' Yoru thought.

With a semi plan in mind, Yoru dove head first into his training again and again, striving to be the best he could be.

Year five brought forth the beginning of missions. By now Yoru could hold off a ROOT jonin for five minutes. He could effectively "Kill" anything below jonin in a matter of minutes, less if it was an assassination. 

Yoru and Yumi continued to excel in tag team attacks, especially assassinations and were told they would be sent out on missions together next year, much to each of their excitement. By now Yoru had a 100% hit rate with kunai and shuriken. His kenjutsu and taijutsu were jonin level, speed was ANBU level as well as stealth and was deemed ready for missions after he was blooded.

The blooding was brutal. Yoru had to kill multiple prisoners ranging from dangerous nuke nin to bystanders that had been in the wrong place at the wrong time, including children. It was when he had been forced to kill a innocent child that he had awakened his Mangeykyo sharingan and it advanced to the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan. He later discovered his four abilities were Tsukiyomi, Kamui, Amaterasu and Pocket. The first three he remembered from the show but Pocket was a new one. In one of his free times, he had discovered that it was a personal pocket dimension that only he and whoever else he allowed could enter, and like with his sharingan, he hid it from everyone else. After all, a shinobis best tool was wrong information.

Year six through 8 had him and Yumi tag teaming assassination targets. It was during a mission close to the land of Wave during year seven that he made a wood clone and sent him out to scout and possibly secure his financial future. He had also noticed that when using his EMS that it had no chakra consumption be it using techniques from the EMS or just normal jutsu while using it, he would never run out of chakra.

Year eight brought with it the Uchiha massacre. The village was in turmoil for awhile with the loss of the Uchiha Police Force That left a void in the village that the ANBU had to fill. Danzo offered some of his forces to protect the citizens and it was accepted. For the following year Yoru was a part of the force that patrolled the village.

Year nine Yoru was recalled to ROOT for more specialized training in the art of infiltration but thanks to copying Narutos' version of the Henge jutsu, it was shown he was perfect at it. With his ANBU level assassin and stealth skills and his infiltration skills, he was sent out on higher level missions. Within 6 months he and Yumi had completed 60 S level missions bringing astounding wealth to the village and themselves. By the end of the year, they had doubled that number. 

The tenth year was when Yoru struck in wave. In a single night, it was reported that a unknown person or group had eliminated Gato and his 2000 strong group of thugs, whisking away his entire wealth and signing over his legal empire to a simple bridge builder and his family after Gato had slaughtered one of their family members. Surprisingly no one had seen or heard a thing, and the only thing the bridge builder Tazuna told them was the shinobi had spoken to him in his head.

All was well for Yoru and Yumi. Their relationship over the years had gone from strangers to best friends. Both had an immense like for each other but were too afraid to tell each other. Everyone else had noticed it except themselves. There was even a betting pool as to who would confess first. Yumi was a year older than Yoru, at 16 years old she had shoulder length chestnut brown hair and green eyes. she was 5'4 with a cheery personality, surprising seeing the kind of work they had to do. Yoru by now was 15 years old with short black hair, black eyes, stood at 5'10 and liked to joke around when he could. So far Yumi was the only one he had shown his telepathy to, as he trusted her the most. It was due to this that they were able to work so well together as a two-man team, and with their success as a duo, Danzo had no plans to separate or alter their team. 

Thanks to the hundreds of missions they had done, Yoru and Yumi had saved enough to buy a house on the outskirts of the village, which they planned to do when they switched from ROOT to ANBU, which had been encouraged by both the Hokage and Danzo, so both groups would work well together as a team. Yoru and Yumi had decided that when Yoru turned 16, they would transfer to ANBU and move in together. 

Year eleven rolled around and the duo switched from ROOT to ANBU. By now both of their skills were at ANBU level and due to Yoru being unable to talk outside of sign language, they were kept as a 2 man cell. For the first couple of months, they had village patrol duty which was boring but better than gate guard duty. During these few months Yoru and Yumi had bought a plot of land near the edge of the village and built a simple house with a basement. The house had five bedrooms, three bathrooms, a living room, a decent size kitchen. The house was located near the Naka river so they could go fishing or swimming whenever they felt like it and there was a beach like inlet they could relax at and not worry about being swept down stream.

For the rest of the year, they performed various ANBU duties and modified their home. They turned one room into an armory for themselves and another into a study. Overall, it was a very nice place to call home. When the end of the year rolled around, something unexpected happened.

*Flashback*

Yoru had just returned from ANBU HQ. As he approached his home, he couldn't help but feel something was wrong. Sensing that Yumi was indeed home was normal. What wasn't normal was the second chakra presence that was there. Going on guard immediately, he sent a telepathic link to Yumi. 'Yumi who is in the house with you? Is everything Alright?' 

'Yoru oh thank kami, no we I've been beaten by an invader from Iwa asking for specific information. I can't do anything right now and I'm pretty sure I've got internal bleeding' she cried out mentally. 

Quickly going into mission mode, Yoru snuck inside the house and heard some noises. Pulling his Tanto from his back silently, he snuck around into the hallway and could see the back of the Iwa agent. Mentally he sent out to Yumi 'Is he the only one here?' Getting a mental nod back he asked her to distract him for a split second. Wiggling around trying to get out of her bindings, she alerted the Iwa shinobi who focused on her and that was the last thing he ever did, for the next second a blade slit his throat followed by a kunai to the heart. 

Quickly running forward, Yoru cut her bindings and wrapped his arms around Yumis' sobbing form. Opening up mentally he promised her she was safe and that it was over. He sent her as much feeling of safety and love as he could mentally to calm her down before she looked up into his eyes. Brown met black as he leaned down and kissed her on the lips for a full minute. It wasn't a sexual kiss, but a kiss full of love and kindness, which Yumi reciprocated once she got over her shock.

Mentally he sent out 'Yumi I've loved you for years now. You've been my best friend for most of my life and I couldn't ask for a better partner both on and off the field. After we get you healed up, let's get married' he said to her. Brown once again met black followed by another kiss before Yumi agreed with a beautiful smile on her face. Yoru then proceeded to use the mystic palm jutsu to stabilize her enough to be moved before storing the Iwa nins head and body in a scroll and shunshin to the hospital. After Yumi was taken to a room, Yoru was stopped by several guards and asked about the incident, which he signed out that he had to report it to the hokage, all the while flaring his ANBU tattoo in a certain pattern alerting a nearby ANBU, who escorted him to the hokage.

The Hokage tower was a tall building, painted in red and white. With his escort, Yoru was taken directly to the Hokage office where he gave a debrief of what had happened along with the scroll holding the enemy nins corpse. He gave out what little information he knew of what happened but informed the sandaime of who had more information so he could speak with Yumi when she could. 

"Yoru, I the Sandaime thank you on behalf of the village for eliminating a spy who intended to potentially cause damage to this village by obtaining certain information and using it for another nations gain. It will go on your record as a A rank mission and if there is a bounty on his head, it will be in your account soon. Is there anything else to report?"

'No sir other than the fact I proposed to her and she said yes' Yoru said with a big smile on his face.

"Well then congratulations are in order young man. Any idea when the wedding is? Who all are you inviting?"

'No idea yet sir and I honestly don't know many people well enough to invite them, mainly a few from ROOT and ANBU, but other than that I don't know many well enough to invite so probably both of my squads both present and former.'

"Well as long as I get an invite I will be happy. It always makes me smile seeing two young people get married and since you were once in ROOT I'll drag Danzo with me. Now go and be with your fiancée, I will inform your squad commander that you are on leave for a week due to this event. Go on now" he said with a chuckle.

Bowing my head i exited the room and shunshin back to the hospital and make my way to Yumi room, deciding that all I want to do is be around her as much as I can.

*Flashback end*

When Yumi had been released, I took her back home and didn't let her do anything for days until I was sure she was fully healed. When it was time for bed after she dressed in her PJ's, I laid next to her in bed, holding her tightly. 'Yumi, I won't Do anything until we are married or you want to do it, but at the minimum I will hold you in my arms all night, after what happened today I can't bear otherwise.' With that, we both dropped off to sleep both with content smiles on our faces.