Fanfic / sunflower (Naruto)

Namikaze Minato left behind many things when he sacrificed himself to save Konohagakure. Many of these fell through the cracks — until, by sheer chance, one is found. A warning to Sarutobi, declaring that ANBU has been compromised. The elite organization has been infiltrated by agents who are not loyal to the Hokage or the hidden village of the leaves, and whom Minato fears will act against their best interests.

In hopes of preventing insurrection, Minato was scouting out potential candidates to enter ANBU. People he trusted to remain loyal, and to help find and expose those who would turn ANBU against the very institutions they were meant to protect.

People like Maito Gai.

sunflower is a Naruto fanwork by Lapidist and cloudnebula. Thanks to Minato's posthumous recommendation, Gai gets to enter ANBU after all... charged with searching for spies and insurrectionists. But is he prepared for all that will entail? Can he keep his Eternal Rival unaware of the fact that he's fighting alongside him as an unassuming and quiet mouse? And can he root out the source of the rot that threatens to overtake ANBU from within?

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This fanfic includes examples of:

• Adaptational Angst Upgrade:
  • Gai gets one simply by being admitted into ANBU, having to deal with all that entails.
  • On top of all of his canonical suffering, Kakashi has to deal with the fact that the rest of the Hatake Clan turned their back on Sakumo and abandoned him after he married Kakashi's mother. Then there's how his superior officer Okami utterly despises him, since Sakumo rejected her mother's offer to marry.
• Adaptational Sexuality: The fic is marked as Kakashi/Gai, though the two are not a couple when the story begins.
• Age Lift: Shisui is seven years older than Itachi here, while Torune and Fu are both four years older than him.
• Ambition Is Evil:
  • Minato's posthumous warning is rooted in fears that somebody is planning a coup in hopes of gaining control of Konohagakure.
  • Kakashi is deeply disgusted by anyone who seeks glory and recognition in ANBU, believing it to be purely about taking care of Konoha's Dirty Business.
  • Yamakujura is a posturing braggart who constantly sings the praises of his own unit, emphasizing and exaggerating the vital role they play in keeping Konoha's public image spotless by disposing of the evidence of their ANBU missions. He displays naked ambition, all but declaring outright how much he'd love to be promoted to an even higher rank.
• Animal Stereotypes: Since all ANBU have animal-themed masks, this naturally comes into play:
  • Kakashi is Inu; when on duty, he comes off as gruff and unpersonable, barking out orders.
  • Gai is somewhat unhappy to have been assigned a mouse mask as Nezumi, having hoped to receive something more intimidating. It's heavily implied the assignment was made to encourage him to stay quiet. He also quickly establishes himself as one of the nicer members of Team Ro.
  • The youthful and nervous Himizu is a shrew mole, complete with a conical nose. He's swiftly established as being bright and bumbling, but eager to please.
  • The tall and elegant Fukuro has an owl mask, marking them as mysterious and knowledgable, as well as quietly intimidating.
  • Uzura, a nurturing medic-nin who frequently clashes with Fukuro due to being more emotionally open, is a quail.
  • Neko has a cat mask, and is also Tenzou/Yamato, mokuton arts and all, fittingly contrasting their unit leader.
  • Mangusu, a mongoose, proves to be perky and chatty, unintentionally causing trouble due to their lacking restraint.
  • Yamakujura wears a boar mask, and wastes no time establishing himself as a grade-A Jerkass who mocks Captain Inu over his reputation.
• Animal Theme Naming: Par for the course in ANBU, since they draw their codenames from their masks.
• Armor-Piercing Response: Kakashi is struck speechless when Gai gets two of these in short order:
  Kakashi: When a directive is given, you follow orders. You don't question. You don't hesitate, that's what a ninja does.
  Gai: Not when it goes against what's right. (Kakashi stares at him, caught off-guard) Not when it involves abandoning your teammates. Disrespecting your fellow human beings.
  Kakashi: (snidely) What do you know about being in ANBU, Gai?
  Gai: You know better than anyone that good shinobi don't always strictly adhere to the Ninja Code. You know they don't account for everything. You know how trust goes both ways. You can't expect anyone to trust you when you can't trust them, Kakashi.
• Back-to-Back Badasses: Kakashi and Nezumi pull this off during their second mission together.
• Canon Character All Along: Played With in that two of Nezumi's teammates, Neko and Mangusu, are swiftly revealed to be Tenzou/Yamato and Uzuki Yugao. Their identities are not hidden to the reader, but Gai is unfamiliar with them, on top of generally struggling to recognize faces.
• Cerebus Retcon: In this work, Kakashi does not like Icha Icha Paradise; the book functions more as a Tragic Keepsake/reminder of how Minato tried and failed to get Kakashi interested in Jiraiya's first work, The Tale of the Utterly Gutsy Shinobi. Kakashi cannot bring himself to read Gutsy Shinobi, and repeatedly forces himself to read Icha Icha Paradise in an effort to identify just what Minato enjoyed about Jiraiya's prose... though his thoughts suggest other motivations, as well.
• Cherry Blossoms: Early on, Gai recalls his father telling him the legend of Sakuya-hime, and waxing on about how cherry blossoms serve as reminders of renewal, hope and Youthful Energy.
• Content Warnings: Several chapters are precluded by an author's note warning about what kind of content to expect. Certain sections include special symbols to mark the beginning and end of particularly graphic content, so that readers can skip past those sections at their discretion.
• Cute Mute: To help maintain Gai's Secret Identity, Nezumi is registered with ANBU as being mute. Instead, he communicates with the rest of Team Ro primarily through pantomime.
• Darker and Edgier: Being centered around ANBU, the story does not shy away from the darker aspects of the shinobi system, or from graphic violence.
• Deuteragonist: While most chapters are from Gai's point of view, some focus on Kakashi's perspective, showing his side of things and gradual development.
• Disappointed in You: When breaking up a fight between Itachi and Mangusu, Inu berates the former for addressing the latter by her real name while she's masked.
• Dramatic Irony: Inu viciously upbraids Himizu for starting to introduce himself with his real name, angrily lecturing him on the importance of keeping his identity hidden. Kakashi himself is incredibly incautious with his own Secret Identity, and will turn around and take offense at Nezumi's paperwork not including his given name... and what's more, Himizu knows that Inu is Kakashi and was implicitly following his lead.
• The Dreaded: Okami, the head of the Generalist Squads, is known as the 'Wolf God of the Woods', and is able to shut up Yamakujura with a brutal dressing-down.
• Due to the Dead: Discussed when Inu berates Mangusu for not showing proper respect to a gravesite. The young ANBU didn't actually recognize it as one, as the story surrounding it was covered up by Konoha.
• Exact Words: Gai expressed a desire to have a squad like Kakashi's. Hiruzen interprets this by putting him on Team Ro, Kakashi's team.
• Expressive Mask: Defied, but referenced when Gai mentally notes how Himizu's droopy shrew-mole nose would be drenched if he was capable of sweating through the mask.
• Flower Motifs:
  • Along with the fic title, each arc is named after a type of flower symbolically connected to that arc's contents.
  • Discussed when Team Ro comes across a field of strong-smelling columbine, with two members arguing whether the flowers are symbols of strength or of foolishness before another asks why there aren't any insects attracted by the scent, right before they're ambushed.
• Foreshadowing: While being scolded about the importance of maintaining his Secret Identity, Gai complains that Kakashi walks around in his ANBU gear with his dog mask off all the time, much to the Sandaime's alarm. Not long afterwards, we learn one major consequence of this: Himizu already knows that Inu is Kakashi, and is heavily demoralized by having the famous Copy-nin tear him down, making him even more desperate to earn his respect.
• Full-Name Ultimatum: Fukuro invokes this against Yamakujura when riled, addressing them by their full name of Ooraka Takeyama and insulting their family.
• The Greatest Story Never Told: Officially, Konoha refuses to recognize the courageous self-sacrifice of Maito Dai. Inu berates Mangusu for acting disrespectful at the sight of their Last Stand, much to her confusion; the Academy taught her about where various other heroes of the leaves fell, but she wasn't aware of this particular location.
• Heroic BSoD: Nezumi goes through one during his first ANBU mission, due to a number of factors — chief among them the death of young Himizu and his horror at the casual barbarity of the Cleanup crew.
• Hoist by His Own Petard: One group of defectos learns the hard way just why forbidden jutsu are forbidden when they use one against Team Ro, only for its power to consume them from the inside out.
• Iconic Attribute Adoption Moment: Kakashi's common excuse of "Sorry I'm late; I got lost on the road of life" is revealed to be an unintentional combination of Obito's old excuses and the catchphrase of the male lead of the Icha Icha series. He blurts it out for the first time when he shows up late to a debriefing by Okami.
• Idiosyncratic Episode Naming: Each arc is named for a type of flower.
• Ignorance Is Bliss: Kakashi muses about this while watching Naruto bounce a ball off a wall, completely unaware that Kakashi is watching and contemplating whether or not he could kill him For the Greater Good of Konoha.
• In the Hood: Nezumi's Custom Uniform includes a hood to help further mask his identity.
• Insistent Terminology: Yamakujura prefers calling his clean-up unit the 'Sweepers'.
• It's Personal: Okami absolutely loathes and despises Kakashi for a number of reasons, but chief among them is the fact that Sakumo rejected her mother's offer to unite their clans, opting to Marry for Love instead. She takes special pleasure in striking all of his Berserk Buttons, trying to provoke him into doing anything she can use as an excuse to punish him further.
• It's Quiet… Too Quiet: During one assignment, one member of Team Ro notes the absence of insects right before an ambush. Afterwards, the sound of insectsong signals the end of the skirmish.
• Likes Clark Kent, Hates Superman: Kakashi is not fond of Nezumi, feeling that they're woefully out of place in ANBU and aggravatingly insubordinate, on top of the bizarre contrast of them feeling both fake and too honestly genuine for their own good. Meanwhile, he's much fonder of Gai than he cares to admit.
• Living a Double Life: Gai is effectively forced to do so, unable to let Kakashi or anyone else know that he's Nezumi.
• Loser Son of Loser Dad: Both Kakashi and Gai had to deal with this reputation growing up, as the White Fang was derided for falling out of Konoha's grace and Gai's father was labeled the 'Eternal Genin'. Kakashi believes that Gai was eventually able to escape his father's shadow and earn recognition of his value and virtue as a strong shinobi in his own right, while Kakashi still has to deal with the White Fang's tarnished reputation. Especially in General Okami's eyes.
• Malicious Misnaming:
  • Kakashi deliberately misidentifies Nezumi as having a hamster mask rather than a mouse, partly to see whether he'll break his silence to protest.
  • He calls Yamakujuri the simpler and less flattering 'Inoshishi' instead.
  • He also applies this to Naruto, spitefully identifying them as the Kyuubi.
• Mirror Character:
  • Both Hiruzen and Gai are faced with the heavy prospect that their old friends Danzo and Kakashi have dark and terrible facets to them. Parts that threaten to destroy all they hold dear. Both grapple with this Awful Truth; however, Hiruzen is much more acutely aware of Danzo's darker side and mired in much deeper denial about how much of a problem those issues pose.
  • General Okami, Kakashi's direct superior, serves as a tangible reminder of what Gai fears his Eternal Rival could become: a model shinobi soldier singularly devoted to completing missions at any cost, completely inured to the human cost. Utterly vicious and unyielding.
    • Okami also holds a grudge against Kakashi for something that was completely out of his control, treating his very existence as a reminder of how Sakumo rejected her mother's proposal. This reflects how Kakashi himself treats poor Naruto as an unpleasant reminder of his losses, even seriously considering killing the boy.
• Morton's Fork: While dressing Kakashi down, Okami orders him to shut up. She then accuses him of giving her 'the silent treatment'; when he points out that she told him to stay silent, she sneers about him attempting to blame his 'insubordination' on her.
• Oh, Crap!: Nezumi internally panics when he reflexively gives his new ANBU teammates a thumbs-up in his standard Nice Guy Pose.
• One-Steve Limit: Averted and joked about at the ANBU gathering:
  Kujaku: We got like, what, seventeen different Nekos? You know what they say about Administration...
  Crowded Chorus: They're not getting paid to be creative!
• Open Secret:
  • Played for Drama; unlike other ANBU, Kakashi makes no effort to conceal his secret identity as Inu. Among the issues this causes is Himizu being fully aware who his new team leader is and desperately desiring his approval.
  • Along similar lines, Itachi was assigned the weasel mask, meaning he effectively has no codename at all.
• Point of Divergence: Hiruzen is only willing to change his mind and give Gai a chance in ANBU due to finding a lost scroll containing Minato's dire warning and personal recommendation.
• Plot Parallel: Invoked by Kakashi's inner thoughts, which suggest that on some level, he identifies with the Unsympathetic Comedy Protagonist of Icha Icha Paradise and hopes to find some insight that will help him navigate his own relationship towards a romantic conclusion, despite feeling that neither of them deserves to hook up with their respective love interests.
• Sacrificial Lamb: Poor Himizu doesn't survive their first ANBU mission, contributing to Nezumi suffering a Heroic BSoD.
• Taking the Bullet: Nezumi does this for a tapped-out Kakashi during one mission, much to Kakashi's ire.
• Tragic Keepsake:
  • Minato gave Kakashi his signed copy of The Tale of the Utterly Gutsy Shinobi under the pretense of having Kakashi 'keep it safe' until he could give it back. After the Nine-Tails' rampage, it was one of the few reminders of his teacher Kakashi had left.
  • Played With through Kakashi's copy of Icha Icha Paradise: it was an advance copy originally intended for Minato, winding up on Kakashi's doorstep instead. Kakashi finds the book utterly repellant, but continues reading it in an effort to figure out just why Minato enjoyed Jiraiya's other work so much, as he can't bring himself to read The Tale of the Utterly Gutsy Shinobi.
• Unsympathetic Comedy Protagonist: As far as Kakashi is concerned, the male lead of the Icha Icha series falls into this, being a shameless pervert based off Jiraiya himself.
• What the Hell, Hero?:
  • Kakashi furiously upbraids Nezumi after he falls for an enemy trap, combining it with a blistering "The Reason You Suck" Speech about how unsuited he is for ANBU.
    Kakashi: Whatever idea of morality you're clinging to so desperately, you should have left at home when you put on that mask. You are a tool wielded by the Hokage, a weapon for Konoha. If I catch you not taking this seriously again, I will force you to kill until I am satisfied that you understand what it means to be in ANBU. Do I make myself clear?
  • He snaps at Nezumi again when he seemingly ignores his orders in favor of shielding him from an enemy attack. However, this time, his complaints taper off upon realizing Nezumi had already helped their teammates before coming to his aid.
• Wounded Gazelle Gambit: During Nezumi's first ANBU mission, he attempts to aid a woman and her baby trapped inside a burning house, only to discover they're actually a disguised shinobi.
• Write Who You Know: In-Universe, Jiraiya based the protagonist and Love Interest of the Icha Icha series off of himself and Tsunade, respectively, making for a Her Code Name Was "Mary Sue" storyline where her counterpart ultimately responds favorably to his perverted advances. Much to Kakashi's distaste.

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