Chương 518: INTERLUDE_13.5 (518)

Taro stood in front of a fancy bungalow. The sun had completely set, and the evening sky had darkened. When the ANBU liaison had visited him earlier in the day, he was dreading another assignment, but it turned out to be scarier when he was given an invitation from Ratel to meet him in a residential area in one of the affluent locations—miles out of his price range, but the kind of neighbourhood his parents would talk about if they wanted a bigger house. He was scared out of his mind.

Why would Ratel want to meet him here when they had only met in the Analysis Team's conference rooms or at the ANBU Headquarters the few times he was called to work on something in the ANBU data archives? He had to admit that having a higher security clearance than his boss was one of the perks he enjoyed from being worked down to the bone. He walked into the property as instructed and walked to the entrance of the building when the door suddenly opened, and a masked ANBU stood inside. It wasn't Ratel.

"He's waiting for you inside," said the mask and stepped aside to let him in. Taro followed the unknown ANBU to the living room of the expensively decorated home. Everything seemed to be needlessly expensive, as if things were only bought because they were expensive.

"Welcome, Genin Taro. I hope it wasn't too much of a bother to call you after work." Waiting for him in the living room was Ratel, lounging on one of the couches that didn't look like they had been used much. They could be brand-new, untouched, and he wouldn't know. Taro paused as he was taken aback. He had seen Ratel in a couple of different outfits during the time they had known each other, ranging from fully cloaked to the standard Leaf uniform in ANBU colours, and once even fully decked out for combat.

But he had never seen Ratel in casual clothes. Ratel was wearing a black silk shirt and tan pants. He, of course, had his mask on, but he also wore a pair of black leather gloves that he always had on when they met.

"Sit," Ratel said before turning to the other ANBU-nin.

"Thank you. You may leave now. I'll call when we are done."

"Yes, sir," said the ANBU-nin before leaving the building altogether, leaving the two of them alone. Taro felt nervous and a bit apprehensive as he sat on a very comfortable couch opposite Ratel, but he was unable to enjoy it because his mind was occupied.

"What did you want to talk about?" Taro asked tentatively.

"Congratulations on your promotion. I heard it at the office," he said in an attempt to improve the ANBU-nin's mood, just in case. ANBU Lieutenant Ratel. Taro knew that becoming a jōnin was a requirement for being an ANBU Captain. That meant ANBU Lieutenant was the highest position a chūnin could achieve in ANBU. In fact, many would say that it was the highest position possible for all Hidden Leaf chūnin. There was no way to move up without literally becoming a jōnin.

"Thank you. In fact, it's why I have called you here today, among other reasons," Ratel said, his voice distorted by chakra, something Taro once thought particularly weird and off-putting, but had since gotten used to. Taro let hope grow in his heart. Maybe this was a farewell because Ratel's responsibilities were changing, and they wouldn't be working together any longer.

"You think I'm an asshole," Ratel said. Taro froze up in his chair. Sure, he had vented about his frustrations to his colleagues a couple of times, but he didn't think that would reach ANBU. He wanted to know which one of the traitors had blabbed out of their mouths.

"No, I don't think that. If someone said that, they were wrong and you should not listen to them," Taro said.

"You don't need to pretend. I have asked you to do a lot of things that are not part of your job description as an analyst. And I must say, you have been impressive." Ratel had praised him plenty before, but this somehow seemed different.

"How did you get that fūin-nin to reveal clues regarding that seal he made again? That was impressive." Taro was once sent to interrogate a Leaf fūin-nin, who had created a seal that ANBU and Ratel wanted broken within the day. Even if they employed other fūin-nin to break the seal, it would take a couple of days—time they didn't have. He had no idea why Ratel had asked him, and the pressure had made him sick in the stomach.

"I put an 'expert' in front of him. That narcissist couldn't stop speaking after that," Taro smiled. He was not a Torture and Interrogation specialist and didn't think he would produce results through torture. Instead, he brought in another fūin-nin with acting skills and had them pose as a smug expert. They looked over the target fūin-nin's seal and blueprints and scoffed, loudly calling the design "amateurish," "fundamentally flawed," and "the work of a child who doesn't understand basic principles."

The tactic had worked like a charm. Overwhelmed by professional arrogance and the burning need to defend his intellectual ego, the fūin-nin snapped. To prove he wasn't a hack, he had furiously explained the mechanics of the seal, inadvertently revealing its specific operational clues and structural weaknesses, which they used to break the seal over the next couple of hours.

"You should contact my mother for things like that. She's more suited for it."

"Yes, she's good, and I do work with your mother from time to time. Not as much as you, though," Ratel said.

"You are right, she would have been more suitable for the job… Do you know why I asked you?" Taro thought about it before shaking his head.

"I wanted to see how you would do. All the things that I requested from you, I wanted to see if you could do them."

"But why? I'm an analyst," Taro asked. He always wanted to know why Ratel had chosen him and why he had continued to send assignments his way. Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

"For one, I wanted to test your potential. And I must say, you have done splendidly… You might think that you're only an analyst and none of what I have asked you to do has anything to do with your job, but the truth is that sitting behind a desk isn't enough if you want to be an analyst. Working in a room detached from the real world outside, not knowing how the information you're working with is sourced, not having the experience on the ground to collect the information—that lack of experience will limit you.

Once you know the ground reality, you see the information differently. Tell me, am I wrong?" Taro pursed his lips. It was the truth; after going on so many trips, he had realised that information was rarely objective. People framed facts in a way that benefited them, and knowing more about people and situations helped him understand how to untangle the information to see the real facts. He had gotten better at his job since meeting Ratel. He couldn't deny that even if he wanted to.

"Second, after I confirmed your potential, I wanted to move our relationship to the next level. And now that I've been promoted, I think it's the right time." Ratel raised his hand to stop Taro from saying whatever he was about to say.

"Before you say anything, I have a question. Do you hate your job?"

"No. Ratel, I—""I understand I have put a lot on your plate. You could have quit anytime or asked for a change of assignment anytime you wanted. You would've experienced pushback from your superior, but you would've gotten it. You did not do that. Not once. Why?" Taro opened his mouth only to close it without a word. Yes, he could have done that. For a moment, he wanted to use his mother as an excuse; she had gotten him the job, and he didn't want to anger her by quitting the job, but that would be a lie.

She would have understood his decision if he earnestly explained his problem… The truth was that despite all of his whining, he didn't have a problem. It was work that his past self would have baulked at, seeing how tough it was.

"Do you enjoy it?" Ratel asked. Taro paused. It wasn't until that moment that he considered that he might enjoy the assignments. He looked up at the ANBU-nin, and the feeling of being seen through wasn't entirely pleasant.

"So what?" he said.

"You're competent, something I value highly. You have the potential, and you like the work. I believe I can trust you. No, I do trust you. Having said and heard all of that, I want to do more with both of us."

"What would that entail? More work?" Taro asked. Inside, he was thinking about Ratel's words about trust.

"Higher-stakes work." Ratel paused and chewed on his words for a moment.

"I need someone outside ANBU I can trust. I think you're that person."

"Me? I'm a genin. What possible reason could there be for choosing me?"

"I have my reasons."

"Will you share those reasons?"

"Yes, I will, but only if you're willing to commit." Taro blinked, and he got the sense that Ratel wanted an immediate answer.

"Now?"

"Knowing you, you would only convince yourself out of anything, even if it's good for you." He couldn't deny that. Despite the difficult assignments, he had gotten comfortable with his current arrangements. He didn't want to disrupt what he had grown comfortable with. If he gave it more time, he would wrap himself in wanting to keep things the same.

"What if I don't like this high-stakes work?"

"I won't hold it over you. The changes will be reversed. All I ask is your secrecy."

"I'd be legally required to keep silent. I'm sure it'll all be confidential." Ratel nodded.

"Okay, go on, tell me about the work." Taro wasn't sure what kind of work he'd be doing, and no matter what he thought of Ratel, the work had been important and valuable, and that seemed to be the only thing that kept him working.

"That'll come later."

"Oh, then what now?" Taro asked, surprised.

"I trust you, but do you trust me?" Ratel asked. The question gave him pause. To be honest, he didn't know enough about Ratel for questions of trust to come up. However, professionally speaking, Ratel had treated him well despite all the complaints he had. The work had made him his boss's favourite, which had given him a lot of leeway and made it easier to work. There were no unreasonable requests. Nor were there any ugly aftermaths when he failed some of the assignments.

His assessments were always fair, as he had promised when they had first met. As Taro was thinking about the question, he looked up and saw Ratel reach for his face and pull his mask down.

"What are you—!" Taro's words died in his mouth as he saw the ANBU-nin transform into his friend. His jaw dropped as he just stared at Takuma sitting there in front of him. He had thought about the person behind the mask many a time, but in none of his vivid imaginations did he see what was before him. Reality was stranger than fiction.

"Does this inspire trust?" Takuma asked.

"You fucker! You asshole!" Taro stood up, his eyes wide. He was about to say more things, but then he clamped his mouth shut and fumed in silence. In that time, Takuma just stared at him with a poker face. He eventually sat down and fumed for another minute.

"You knew the entire time! I vented to you with changed details about our work; you know exactly what I was talking about! Oh my god, that's why you were so good with the talks! Did you enjoy it? Laughing at me?" Takuma nodded with a faint smile.

"Yes, I enjoyed it thoroughly. It was very funny." Taro's eyes widened, and he wanted to scream, so he did. Takuma's eyes narrowed as he plugged his ears.

"I have sensitive hearing," he said.

"Why are you like this?!"

"I trust you," Takuma said.

"What's with that? You have been saying that over and over."

"The reason I chose you was that I trusted you," Takuma said, and that calmed down Taro. He recalled the first time he had met 'Ratel', who told him the reason he chose Taro was that he could afford a couple of mistakes from an inexperienced analyst.

"But don't be mistaken, I would not have done this," Takuma pointed at his face, "if I didn't think you were the right choice. I put you through all of this to make sure that you were ready. There are dangers both personal and professional, and it took a lot to make this decision. I was thinking about it until the moment you walked in… But I need someone I can trust, and you know me, I don't have many…"

"…friends," Taro finished the sentence. He sat down on the couch with a thump.

"So this is what has been keeping you away?" Takuma nodded. Just for a moment, he looked really tired.

"The guys at the academy would be shocked if they knew," Taro said, making Takuma chuckle.

"Who else have you told?" Taro asked.

"A few people."

"This is going to take a while to get my head around this."

"Take your time… What?" Takuma asked when Taro stared at him for a few seconds.

"I'll do it. Whatever this is, I'm in. If it helps you, yeah, count me in. From dead last to ANBU Lieutenant—that's a lot in a very short amount of time, Takuma. Yeah, let's do it." Taro nodded repeatedly as though finally committing to it.

"Thank you. I'll be counting on you," Takuma smiled.

"I want a personal life, though."

"Don't worry, you'll have a healthy personal life, but I'll also make sure your mother is happy with your productivity at work." Taro rolled his eyes because that meant he was going to be busy. He was about to continue the conversation, bringing it back to what they were going to do, when he looked around and realised where they were.

"Whose house is this?!" he asked, baffled.

"Hmm? Oh, it belongs to some random noble from the Daimyo's court. It's been empty for three years. I wanted a private place to have a talk, and I thought, why not? It's not like it's being used," Takuma said as though it was no big deal.

"Aren't you ANBU?" Takuma shrugged.

"I'm a spy," he said as though that explained everything.

"I have so many questions," Taro said.

"Ask away, we have the place to ourselves." And so they talked for a very long time.