Cinnamon and Smoke

by Duke Aster Williams

Disclaimer: No Beta.

Trigger Warning: Dark, sexual, and mature themes. This may include but is not limited to sexual situations, sensitive topics, character death, etc. This will not be a safe place.

NOTES: Playing with different concepts of ABO so traditional ABO concepts may or may not apply here. Have not watched all of Naruto nor of Naruto Shippuden. RIP.

INTRODUCTION:

"You have no name. You have no feelings. You have no past. You have no future. There is only the missions."

Those were the words embedded in his mind from day one. As soon as he had grasped that hand that saved him, he lived and breathed those words. He was born without a name. He was to cast away any feelings he had as they were useless. They did not speak of his past as it was filled with sorrow. And he should not think about the future because it was unreliable. He lived to carry out his missions, the will of his savior.

Before he was saved, all he knew was nothingness. His memories were foggy and hazy, but he couldn't shake the feeling that he felt both cold and isolated. Flashes of faces would appear, but none were concrete enough to remember them. All he knew was that he was sinking deeper and deeper into the darkness, and the fact that the next time he closed his eyes, he won't be able to see ever again. So he prayed for someone to help him stay awake. He yearned for someone, anyone, to save him. Thankfully, his prayers were answered by a man who cherished him the moment he broke free from what appeared to be a tube. He was told that he was special by that man, that he was the chosen one out of all of his siblings. He was told that he was the sole survivor and destined for greatness as he possessed an ability that many could only dream of owning.

To newly developed ears, those words meant nothing but everything to him. He immediately bonded to this man, practically worshipping him as he was the one who saved him. He would do anything for this man. And that meant embracing the motto of Root, the Foundation: he would have no name, no feelings, no past, nor no future. He had nothing but his missions as this is what this savior wanted.

But it's a shame to put that all on a child who was lost in the world. His sin that he would continuously commit would be the second rule: you have no feelings. But who could blame him? That was what his savior told him always that he was forgiven for being giving into his emotions. After all, he was just a child who was still learning to control them. In time, he will be able to embrace the words that they carved into every inch of their entire being. So slowly, he learned to put his emotions aside. He learned to suppress his desire to stand out as he slowly realized that there was no reason to compare him to the more experienced veterans when he was still just a child. In time, he would become a veteran ANBU with younger recruits aspiring to be as amazing as him one day. With each day, he would cast away the emotions that he harbored inside and focused on the mission tasked by his savior himself: to improve his wood style jutsu. There was no need to stand out more than he already did. He was already unique because he was the sole user of the wood release.

As the years would come, he learned only what he needed to learn. His savior, Lord Danzo, personally trained him. It was an honor gifted only to him because of his unique talents, and he remembered the surge of pride and happiness for such special treatment.

But he learned to keep his joy under control and instead focus on the task at hand. He needed to master the wood jutsus entrusted to him by Lord Danzo. Slowly but surely, Kinoe mastered one jutsu at a time. He was a quick learner but was far from being a child prodigy. He constantly struggled, leading him to become frustrated and Danzo disappointed that he was letting his emotions get the better of him. Yet he was forgiven because he was still just a child. A child still learning how to control his emotions.

He was ten years old by the time he was given his first mission as recommended by not only Danzo but also his fellow ANBU operatives. It was an honor to be given such a task at the age of ten and for such an important mission: to assassinate the third Hokage so that Danzo could take his place as the fifth Hokage. Kinoe remembers smiling up at his partner Kinoto, who simply gave him a nod back. It was a subtle reminder that despite Kinoe's joy, their task was the number one priority even if it meant giving up their life. That there was no need for such emotions because they lived to breathe their missions. So Kinoe's smile faded as he slipped on his mask as headed out to carry out his mission.

Unfortunately, it would be to his embarrassment that he failed the mission. He found himself so easily overpowered, and he caught a glimpse of death. The sound of chirping birds filled the air as his eyes were blinded by the light emitting from the hands of his enemy. He found himself staring into the eyes of blinding death, but he did not fear it. He was prepared to die honorably for Lord Danzo's cause, even if deep down inside he did not want to die. However, there was hesitation by the other ANBU that reeked of smoke and hostility. They questioned him as if their harsh demands would be answered. As if they have forgotten that ANBUs don't leak secrets as easily as other ninjas.

There was a moment of silence as Kinoe waited for his demise. His pitch black eyes were empty as the night, only reflecting the blinding light that was emitting from the lightning user's hands. In his mind, he wondered what was going through the other's mind. Usually, he would be dead by now as told by his fellow operatives. But the moment passed too long. Kinoe was taking more information that he cared to learn. His eyes adjusted to the light, looking past it and looking up at the man who hesitated to kill him.

A Hound mask. Silver hair. A smokey scent. A hint of cinnamon.

"Leave…quickly!"

Eyes widened as the emptiness was filled with emotions of confusion. As the blinding light dispersed and the tension in the air was lightening, the thick smoky aroma was being overlaid with the scent of peppermint. The sudden shift in tone caught Kinoe off guard as he slowly struggled to stand on his feet and promptly run away. He felt pathetic, like a scared little dog running away with his tail between his legs. He stumbled as he ran, barely making it back to the rendezvous point. But it seemed like the other ANBU had failed as well, barely making it back alive with all those scratches and wounds. He was the only one who seemed to escape without a scratch on him…yet he couldn't get that scent out of his head.

When they returned to report back to Lord Danzo, there was no surprise to learn that they would be punished for their failure. They have made Lord Danzo lose face in front of the Hokage, something that was far worse than death for many of the loyal ANBU. They took their punishment with no retaliation, no matter how easy it would have been to break the genjutsu they were put under. If their leader saw it fit to punish them like this, then they would take their punishment without a second thought. After all, they have failed their mission: the only thing they lived for.

It lasted for what felt like days, but Kinoe did not dwell on his punishment. The outcome of the mission could not be changed at all, and it was the time to reflect on his mistakes, but he found that he had become obsessed with the Hound ANBU and his blinding light. The young ANBU wanted to fight that man once more, to prove to himself that he could not be overpowered too easily. So he trained continuously, becoming more hostile and letting his aggressive nature be seen in his eyes. There were rumors that he would undoubtedly present as an Alpha as the mood seemed to shift whenever he entered the arena. The hostility in his blows and the amount of pheromones in the air only came out when he was fighting. The other alphas in the room seem to follow suit, and the whole place seemed to reek of blood, sweat, and smoke.

But he had to stay away from the training grounds, finding that the reek of smoke disgusting. It held no undertone and was almost suffocating to be around for too long. He would find himself venturing out into the village, roaming the streets and found himself hiding in the alleys of the food district. There he would watch people eat with their friends and family. Some reminded him of the ANBU…but he was not sure if they were them. After all, he wasn't allowed to venture outside the Foundation.

Yet it was less than a week when he caught wind of the Alpha with silver hair. The slight whiff of cinnamon that was not potent enough to be the actual spice and not fake enough to be a fragrance was still embedded into his memory. There was no doubt that the subtle scent of cinnamon was what Kinoe craved. He would follow the trail, making sure not to reveal his presence to the other ANBU. He was taking the risk of traveling far away from the Foundation, should he get caught, Lord Danzo would not be pleased. So this was his first act of rebellion. It made his heart race and made him want to learn more about the Hound ANBU as if he was a forbidden fruit that must not be touched.

He followed the man: watching, waiting, observing. In his mind, Kinoe convinced himself that this was just training for future missions. He was learning to mask himself in a public place while gathering information. But despite how transparent and ignorant the Hound ANBU seemed to be, there was little information he revealed to Kinoe. Most of the time, the silver haired man would carry on his day like any other citizen of Konoha. He would buy groceries and train. He had little interactions with people and seemed to be somewhat reserved. The only form of friendly interactions was with his energetic friend clad in green spandex. Other than that, the other odd habits the man held were washing his hands until they were raw and spending hours talking to gravestones. But a week would go by before Kinoe learned that he had been too careless in his observations. As soon as he saw the Hound ANBU almost kill his own friend in green spandex, who was trying to sneak up on him…Kinoe knew that he must depart from his personal mission.

So he stayed away from the cinnamon scent, instead drove himself further and further into his training. He noticed his senses had heightened. He became aware of how much he liked the scent of the other Alphas within the ANBU. Although there were few, he noticed that underneath the hostile smoky tones, there were notes of spice and musk. As his eyes would start to linger a second more than he usually did when he scanned the room…Kinoe knew that he would be presenting soon.