CH_8.12 (277)

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———

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Takuma gazed at his washed and ironed Police Force uniform he hadn't worn in a year—the last time being in it was before the assassination attempt. Beside it sat his standard Leaf uniform. His first outing in the town the day before had been with his friends for lunch, and afterwards, they stopped by several places, including the storage unit with all of Takuma's belongings, to retrieve his clothes.

"Are you going out, young Takuma?"

He turned around to see Maruboshi standing at his door, looking at him and the two sets of clothes.

"Yes... I went to the bank yesterday because my standard pay for the last ten months hasn't been deposited," Takuma sighed. "I have a month left on my Police Force contract, so I'm technically still employed there, and they handle my salaries. I need this sorted out before I start looking for an apartment without worrying about money."

Maruboshi entered the room and stood beside him. "And you're confused about what to wear?" he asked as they stared at the two sets of uniforms on the floor.

"I don't want to work in the Police Force anymore," said Takuma. His animosity and anger against the Police Force had long since subsided; after what he had gone through. However, that didn't mean all was forgiven; they had taken away something he had built from the ground up. "But at the same time, I wonder if I should renew my contract with them. I'll have a higher pay, and while I'm there, I'll just coast with the bare minimum work while preparing for the next Chunin Exam."

The Chunin Exam was a bi-annual event; the last one ended last month and he had enough time for preparation and was thinking about asking Masaaki and Nenro to make a team with him for the next exam in less than six months. As the minimum length of service, the one-year contract at the Police Force was a safety net for his resume if he failed his first Chunin Exam and didn't want a one-year gap in the Genin Corps.

"Any advice?" he asked. Choosing his uniform was his way of locking in his decision. The standard uniform signified separation, while the police force uniform meant using them as a safety net.

"Both choices have merit, but I suggest you go through with what makes you happy. It may feel as though there are several things more important than your happiness, but the truth is that you'll not regret anything as much as forsaking your own wishes," said Maruboshi. "Ask yourself this: does this bridge need to be burned, or does it need to be rebuilt?"

Maruboshi patted his shoulder and left the room for Takuma to decide.

Takuma gazed at his two uniforms and thought about Maruboshi's words, which brought up the faces of the team he had hand-picked himself. He had been angry when the Narcotics Taskforce was taken away and avoided his team during a period where a few words from him would have helped them a lot.

He didn't regret his actions, but they deserved better from their leader. Perhaps it was too late, but he had to try it. In the end, he chose the option where he would be happy while deciding to rebuild the , after a long look at his standard uniform, Takuma picked up the Police Force uniform for one last time.

———

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Uchiha Kano was a senior officer in the Police Force's Department of Organised Crime and had great taste in fashion. The red-tinted shades that she never removed to obscure her Sharingan gave her a distinguished look, which she paired with kunai-shaped earrings and a choker to round out the outfit.

It was a regular day for her in her office and she spent the hours going through case files to narrow the suspect list. Kano looked into the bullpen at the two desks reserved for the two junior officers assigned to her. The desks were empty; undoubtedly, her two subordinates were near the water cooler gossiping again.

She shook her head and returned to her file, only to catch a figure walking to one of the desks. Thinking it was one of her subordinates, Kano looked up to call out to them, only to see it was someone else entirely. He was gazing at the desk with his hands in his pocket and even leaned down to look at the things on the desk.

The man had long hair tied in a short ponytail with loose hair framing his face and wore the uniform cap, obscuring her view of his face.

"Hey!" she called. "Can I help you?"

The man straightened and turned to her face, and Kano was surprised because even though his face was gaunt and there was a scar on the edge of his lips, she could recognise those uniquely tired eyes anywhere.

They had been like that since the first day she met him.

"Takuma?"

"It's been a while, hasn't it," Takuma said casually as he walked into the office. "I see you have new subordinates. May I sit?"

"Of course. When did you return?" she asked.

"Last week. I was sent home early," Takuma said as he sat down. "I heard that the ANBU took over my case from the Police Force."

The assassination attempt on Takuma had been seen as a slight against the Police Force, and they had been adamant about finding who it was until the trail went cold. They could've gained instant progress if they hadn't been stubborn about solving the case in-house and refused to share information with ANBU, who instantly recognised the blacksmith's touchmark.

Kano felt embarrassed because she was the lead officer on the case. The case started back up when they received a package through the war commission with another dagger bearing the same touchmark—and this time, ANBU came with it as the war commission had chosen to contact them before coming to the Police Force. It was revealed that ROOT was behind the assassination, and it automatically became ANBU jurisdiction.

"I managed to make more progress on the case while fighting a war behind enemy lines," said Takuma. His tone was flat, but Kano could tell he wasn't pleased.

"I wanted to get our liaison with the ANBU to take a look, but I wasn't allowed to share anything with anyone outside the force," Kano sighed.

"Useless pride," Takuma said, and it was true. Pride and politics interfered with things where they didn't belong. The case would've gone to ANBU regardless, but at least there would've been some progress. He continued, "Give me the case files, Kano."

"There's not much—"

"I don't care. I want any and all work that you guys did."

Kano wasn't allowed to give him the case file; they both knew it, and he still asked, which meant he wanted them anyway. She nodded and unlocked the cabinet behind her to take out a copy of the case file she had kept after ANBU took everything away.

She knew this wasn't against the rules, but technically, Takuma was still part of the Department of Organised Crime, and she could share certain material with her 'peers'.

"I am sorry that I couldn't make any progress," she said, sliding the file toward Takuma. "Truly."

"I don't blame you," he said with a sigh as he glanced inside the file. "This place is the real problem."

Kano's eyes narrowed behind her shades. She was part of the so-called place that Takuma called a problem. It was built by her clan and was one of the symbols of their prestige and power; saying that it was a problem was an affront to her clan. But she didn't say anything because she recognised that Takuma wasn't pleased with the Police Force and how they handled his position and case.

She switched the topic. "How was it out there?" she asked.

"Terrible." Takuma stood up, surprising Kano. "I want to stay and chat, but I have a lot to do, and I'm sure you do as well. I'll just pop in to meet with the team before I meet Setsuna. Let's chat some other day."

Kano was taken aback and shook her head bitterly. It couldn't have been clearer that he was upset with her. He had only come to her for the files, and was leaving after he got what he wanted, wasting no time playing nice.

"Of course," she replied, standing up to see him out. "One thing, the team has moved. You won't find it in the old place." She gave him the directions to the Narcotics Taskforce's new location inside the headquarters.

Takuma had a peculiar look, and she knew why. The new location was bigger because the taskforce had grown in size, and she guessed that it was a complicated feeling that the team he had built on his own had grown in his absence, especially when he was unwillingly removed.

As Takuma left, Kano thought if she should call ahead to tell them that Takuma was coming just in case something happened, but decided that she wanted no part of the drama and left Yakumi, the new head of the Narcotics Taskforce and her former boss, to deal with it on his own.

———

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The Narcotics Taskforce's new office space was massive. The team had added new members, causing it to grow twice in size since Takuma was forced to vacate his position. He recognised the first people he saw in the bullpen from other departments and teams, and his first thought was that he would've not added them to the team if he had been in charge.

"Hello, do you want something?" asked a man. He was a Uchiha who had unlocked his Sharingan, which surprised Takuma because he had only managed to get one Uchiha on his team, and he hadn't even unlocked his clan's eyes until the farm raid.

"I'm here to meet Fuma Arisu. Could you call her, please?" said Takuma.

"May I ask what this is about? She's busy right now. If it's not urgent, you can leave a message with me, and I'll give it to her when she's free."

"... I'd prefer if you called her now. Please tell her that Takuma is here," he replied. He had complicated feelings about seeing the Narcotics Taskforce's growth, but he was pleased to see someone fielding people for Arisu; it meant that she had enough on her plate that she couldn't meet people randomly, and her team members understood it.

"Takuma?" said the Uchiha, his brows rising in surprise. "You're Takuma?"

"That's my name," Takuma nodded with a smile. "Would you please go inform her?"

"Ah, yes! Please wait a moment." The Uchiha quickly walked away and whispered something to another man on his way, who looked at Takuma in surprise.

Takuma didn't notice the interaction and gazed around the new space. In the old space, there were only three rooms. Takuma used one as his office, the other as a filing room, and the final was turned into a break room. The bullpen was also small and barely spacious enough to fit the team at the start, never mind the current number.

The new bullpen was tremendous with actual space to walk comfortably. Takuma found a spacious break room and other rooms labelled as [Evidence Locker] and [Archive], which used to be just the same filing room, among a couple more doors.

He was impressed and envious. The team was naturally getting more funding now when he couldn't even schedule a meeting about more money in his time.

"Takuma?"

Takuma responded to his name and turned to see Minoru, the Narcotic Taskforce's prized sensory-nin. There were big mainline departments that didn't have a sensory-nin. A lot of credit went to Arisu for recruiting him, but he was still proud that they had managed to get him on the team.

"Long time no see," Takuma said as they hugged briefly. "How are you, my friend?"

"You're really back…" Minoru said, looking spaced-out.

"I'm back from the war, yes," said Takuma and shook his head somberly.

Minoru read between the lines, and his smile dropped when he realised that Takuma meant he wasn't planning to return to the Narcotics Taskforce. "I-I see," he looked disappointed. "Are you sure? Won't you reconsider? Look at this place; we are bigger now and can actually do everything you used to talk about."

Takuma shook his head. "Sorry, buddy. I don't think it's going to happen."

Even if he wanted to return, which he did not, he had ended his cooperation with Enomoto; trying to rebuild it would send the message that he needed Enomoto, which would give the latter power over him. Going back to targeting drug trades without that connection would put him at risk of being exposed through mutually-assured destruction. Moreover, his team would notice he wasn't as effective as he used to be, which would be a problem in itself.

Minoru looked sad but nodded regardless.

"How's everyone?" asked Takuma as he patted Minoru's arm. "I hope the team is still doing good work."

"Things have changed. We have to be more organised because of our size, and Chunin Yakumi has a different way of doing things," Minoru said.

Takuma nodded. "I figured."

He noticed how Minoru was careful not to praise how things were done so as not to upset him. During Takuma's time, the team had been small enough to afford flexibility, but organisation and structure were required as the size grew, something they weren't exactly good at and adding more people came at the cost of flexibility. The Narcotics Taskforce had moved from a "new startup" stage to an "established company" stage.

Takuma looked past Minoru and saw people in the office gazing at him. "What's up with that?" he asked.

Minoru looked back. "Ah, you've developed a reputation," he smiled. "People know you as the outsider genin who established a sub-department that regularly outperformed others of bigger size, and then you went to fight in the war, which further bumped up your reputation."

"That's nice, I guess," Takuma said as he glanced at the watchers.

"It is. The people who come from outside the clan want to join the team, but because we're part of Organised Crime, no one can get it," said Minoru. The Department of Organised Crime was one of the most sought-after departments, but people had to pay their dues before applying for the limited number of openings. The higher-ups wouldn't allow new joiners to start there immediately. Takuma started directly in Organised Crime because the higher-ups wanted to promote the new external hiring, but that seemed to be a one-time thing. "You've become an inspiration and goal for non-Uchiha and the affiliated clans."

"Yeah... I heard they're using me as marketing material," said Takuma, unable to decide how he felt about that.

"Finally, you show your face!"

His musings vanished when he heard he'd desperately missed for almost yaer. He turned to face Arisu stomping her way through the office. She was the person he had spent most of his time before he was deployed and his partner with whom he had built the Narcotics Taskforce—his first ally and one of his few close friends.

"Hey... long time no see."

"Fuck off!"

If he could smile, he would've grinned.

.

———

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The link is in the synopsis!