Coming Home At Last

Kakashi stared at the barred wall of his cell, mentally kicking himself for falling for such an obvious trap but there wasn’t much else he could do about it now. He’d recognised his attackers hitai-ate’s as being from the new village of Sound. Very little was known about the village or its ninja but it looked like he’d learn something, if only he could survive long enough to get the information back home. He tilted his head to listen as the sound of soft, hesitant footsteps reached him. Soon a young man was standing in front of his cell. Although he wore a Sound hitai-ate his uniform looked like a standard Konoha chuunin uniform, except that it was in Sound colours. There was also something familiar about him. Kakashi stared at him and then it hit him, the photo on Sandaime’s desk.

“Iruka.” Kakashi whispered and the other nin jerked.

“You should feel honoured that Konoha’s vaunted copy-nin knows your name Iruka-kun.” A voice called and Iruka dropped to the floor in a kneel, his head bowed.

“Orochimaru-sensei.” He greeted respectfully and Kakashi’s visible eye widened. Orochimaru? Things were looking very bad.

“What are you doing down here little dolphin?” Orochimaru stepped into the light and rested a hand on the dark hair.

“I was curious sensei, forgive me. I have heard so much about him and have only seen him from a distance as a child.” So Iruka was really from Konoha.

“Curiosity can be a good thing but you should not be here. Attend to your duties Iruka-kun.”

“Hai sensei.” Iruka stood and moved away but not before their eyes met briefly. Kakashi could see fear and hopelessness in the chocolate depths and realised with a spark of hope that the other man was not totally lost to Orochimaru, if he only had the chance to reach him.

“Hatake-san?” A soft voice called and Kakashi managed to lift his head slightly. Just outside his cell was Iruka holding a lamp in one hand and a tray in the other. He slowly opened the door and slipped inside, moving to kneel beside him.
“I brought you some food and water, it isn’t much but it was all I could find.” He explained quietly.
“I have no weapons so you can’t steal them and escape.” He added sternly and Kakashi chuckled before stifling a moan.

“Thanks to your sensei I’m in no condition to try.” He stated dryly.

“Here.” Iruka held a bowl to his lips.
“It’s just broth.” Kakashi drank eagerly since he had nothing to lose by trusting him. Iruka put the bowl down once he was finished.

“Why are you doing this?”

“How did you know my name?” Iruka countered.

“A photo on Sandaime’s desk. I heard him say your name one day. There is no mistaking that scar even if you were only a boy in the picture. He misses you, he’s sad when he looks at the photo of the two of you.” He could see the shock in Iruka’s eyes although he managed to keep his face blank.

“After my parents died he’d stop by when he could. He…he had me put on sensei’s genin team.” Iruka said softly, refusing to make eye contact.

“You’ve been with Orochimaru that long?” Iruka nodded. Kakashi was shocked that the other nin had any humanity left in him at all and yet he seemed almost timid and kind.
“You know, there aren’t any Iruka’s listed as missing-nin…” Kakashi said before drinking the offered water. Iruka’s eyes widened and his hand trembled slightly.

“But I left with sensei. How?”

“Maybe an old man hoping that if given a chance the boy he cares about will come home.” Kakashi said softly.

“I have to go.” Iruka gathered his things and fled. Kakashi let his head fall back. Was it true? Was that why Iruka hadn’t been declared a traitor along with his teacher? Did Sandaime really still hold out hope that he’d return one day? If so then maybe he could make the Hokage’s wish come true. It also explained why Anko clammed up when asked about her third teammate, did she hold any hope for Iruka or did she believe him to be loyal to the sannin?

Iruka lay on his bed thinking about what Kakashi had told him. Could he really return to Konoha? Surely Sandaime would have had no choice but to list him as a missing-nin even if only as a low ranked one. His thoughts slowly wandered back to his days on his genin team. He’d had a crush on Anko since the Academy and had always been clumsy around her. Nori had been friendly enough though quiet. But that had all gradually changed under Orochimaru’s tutelage. In a way he was lucky since he had been spared a lot of it in those days due to Sandaime’s interest in him but that had caused the others to slowly begin to resent him even though he hadn’t understood why back then. And then Nori had been killed on a mission, or so sensei had claimed. Neither he nor Anko had witnessed their teammates death. It was shortly after that that sensei had told them they were leaving Konoha for a while to train. Neither of them had thought anything of it and Anko had paid with her life for their ignorance of Orochimaru’s true motives. Iruka curled up into a ball; it still hurt to think of her death. To hear her screaming again for him to help her even as sensei pulled him away, called her useless. That day had been the first time he had tried to run but Orochimaru had easily caught him.

Iruka’s hand crept up to his bare neck. He was one of the few high-ranked ninja in the village that didn’t bare the cursed seal and for that he was glad. Orochimaru had told him that he would not risk his favourite until the seal had been perfected and Iruka dreaded that day. He didn’t want the extra power, not when he’d seen what it did to people, seen it slowly drain away their humanity. Should he…could he help Hatake escape? Even if he didn’t go back to Konoha with him and jut fled Sound? But where could he go? Somewhere with no hidden village where he could live out his life peacefully, maybe as a schoolteacher. He rolled over, trying to clear his mind enough to sleep. Tomorrow was a big day, sensei would be testing him and he had to finish the genin team lists. As he drifted off to sleep the memory of a blonde baby surface, he’d be taking his genin test sometime this year too.

‘Good luck…Naruto.’

Iruka sat still as Kabuto bandaged his ribs. He didn’t like or trust the medic but sensei deemed him important and he was good at his job so Iruka put up with him.

“All done Umino-san. Orochimaru-sama was impressed with your performance today. Perhaps you’ll be promoted.” Iruka pulled his shirt back on and nodded.

“Perhaps. Thank you for your assistance.” He bowed politely and went to leave.

“Orochimaru-sama instructed me to tell you that the genin lists are to be given to me as he will be recovery for the next few days and unable to approve them.” Iruka turned back; somewhat irked that his work needed the younger mans ‘approval’.

“Recovering?” He asked.

“He will be transferring bodies in the morning to the copy-nin. A single sharingan is still better than none after all.”

“That it is. You’ll have the list by tomorrow.” Iruka left the infirmary, keeping his face carefully blank. Why should he care if Hatake was to be sensei’s new body? He didn’t know the man and had they met under any other circumstances he doubted the jounin would have hesitated to kill him. But something about the other mans presence had woken his conscious and he fond the thought of Orochimaru using his body sickening. He continued on to his rooms and locked the door, doing a quick scan for surveillance equipment. He did it regularly so his actions wouldn’t raise suspicion if he was being monitored but thankfully he wasn’t. He quickly gathered what he needed and then sat down to finish the lists, he had to appear as if everything was normal for now.

“Hatake-san.”

“Iruka?” He raised his head as the cell door opened to admit the Sound-nin. After the way he had fled the other night Kakashi hadn’t expected him to come back.

“Here, soldier pills. They’re from my own supply so they’re clean.” Iruka held the pills out.

“They’ll know someone was in here if I take them.” Kakashi protested, not wanting to endanger the other man for some reason.

“Doesn’t matter. Neither of us will be here for them to find.” Iruka stated firmly but Kakashi could see the fear in his eyes.

“He’ll kill you if we’re caught.” He warned.

“Maybe, but it would be preferable to living like this anymore. Thank you.”

“For what?” Kakashi asked before swallowing one of the pills.

“Waking me up.” Iruka answered and then went to work on the chains. He helped Kakashi up and into a Sound uniform.
“It’ll do as long as no one gets too close.” For the first time Kakashi noticed that Iruka was wearing the normal Sound uniform as well.
“There’s a shift change soon, the current guards will be half asleep and not alert since no one knows where the village is. We’ll slip out just before the change. Stick close and do what I do. Anything happens run and don’t look back.” Kakashi nodded, realising that if someone sounded the alarm Iruka intended to stay behind and buy him time.

“Thank you.” Iruka flashed him a wiry smile as he opened the cell door again.

“Thank me when we’re away from here.” He said and slipped from the cell silently.

Kakashi watched Iruka as he slept. They’d made it out without too much difficulty although Iruka had killed a ninja who had had the bad luck to stumble across them while they were waiting to make their move on the gate. The way he had calmly killed the man had been a little disturbing considering they had been comrades just that morning but it had been necessary. He just hoped Iruka could deal with everything he had been through once he was in a more relaxed atmosphere. Or would he handle it like Anko did? He shuddered a little at that thought, one Anko was enough.

Iruka suddenly blinked and stretched, looking around to check their surroundings.

“How long did I sleep?”

“Not long, you can get some more if you want.” Kakashi offered, seeing the younger man was still tired.

“No, we better move while that soldier pill is still working. I don’t want to have to carry you all the way to Konoha.” Iruka stood and stretched carefully. He rubbed at his scar and then his hand drifted up to his Sound hitai-ate. Kakashi watched silently as Iruka pulled the cloth from his head and stared at the musical note etched into the metal plate. Then he slammed it into a nearby rock with chakra-increased strength, shattering the metal. He retied the cloth since it helped keep stray strands of hair out of his face and then offered Kakashi a hand up.

Iruka followed Kakashi towards the main gates of Konoha nervously. He didn’t know how to feel about being back or what could be done to him. He knew that Kakashi could sense his nervousness but the older man remained silent, there wasn’t anything he could say to make things better, Iruka’s fate lay in the hands of the Council and Hokage.

“If you run I won’t stop you.” Kakashi said suddenly, almost making Iruka jump. Instead he turned to Kakashi, eyes wide with shock. Even Kakashi was surprised by his words but he owed Iruka his life and he didn’t want to see him killed, which was a possibility if he stepped through the gates. He knew Iruka wouldn’t go back to Sound if allowed to run, he had a feeling the younger man would run as far as he could and then settle down in a civilian village and give up the shinobi life.

“No.” Kakashi blinked at the strength behind that one word.
“I won’t run.” Iruka stated firmly, head up and back straight instead of the almost half huddled posture Kakashi had gotten used to seeing. He nodded and they stopped so Iruka could hand over his weapons. They’d both changed out of the Sound uniforms once within Fire Country’s borders but Iruka had remained armed in case searchers caught up to them. But he would enter Konoha unarmed although Kakashi had not offered to bind him since Iruka was there of his own free will.

“Hopefully I can get us straight in to see the Hokage.” Kakashi told him and Iruka nodded. The Konoha-nin didn’t comment as their pace slowed, Iruka was taking the time to look around a place he had once called home, a place he hadn’t seen in eleven years. Kakashi made sure they were side by side when they reached the gates.

“Hatake-san.” One of the guards said in surprise.

“I need to see the Hokage immediately.” He stated as he handed over his id that Iruka had somehow managed to retrieve for him.

“Of course. Your companion.” The guards were eyeing Iruka and his obvious uniform, especially his now simple cloth hitai-ate.

“He has information for the Hokage’s ears only. He’s unarmed and I’ll vouch for him.” The guards looked at each other, unsure before eventually agreeing and allowing them through. Iruka immediately relaxed a little once inside the village, again staring around him in wonder.
“Come on.” Kakashi said gently, leading Iruka onto the rooftops.

Sarutobi looked up as two ninja dropped into his office from the open window. He was relieved to see Kakashi home safely if a little the worse for wear. His attention went to the second man and his pipe slipped from his hands.

“Iruka?” He asked in disbelief and hope, standing to walk out from behind his desk and take a better look at the young man.

“Hai Hokage-sama.” Was the quiet response even as Iruka stared at the floor, unable to meet the old Hokage’s eyes in shame. He started as a gentle hand raised tipped his chin up.

“I had all but given up hope child. Welcome home.” Iruka just stared in bewilderment until Kakashi gently pushed him down into a chair even as Sandaime retook his seat behind the desk.
“I have a feeling your report will be very interesting Kakashi.”

“The most disturbing part of what I learned is that Orochimaru is with Sound.” Kakashi’s eye flickered to Iruka briefly.

“No.” Iruka said abruptly, making both older men look at him.
“Orochimaru created Sound. He’s named himself Kage.” He explained. Kakashi nodded at the correction and continued his report. He ended with a description of their escape and flight to Konoha. Sarutobi couldn’t hide how much the information disturbed him but nodded when Kakashi finished.

“Report to the hospital, Iruka and I will join you shortly.” Kakashi nodded and stood to leave but paused to give Iruka’s shoulder an encouraging squeeze on his way out. Iruka managed a weak smile in response.
“Come Iruka.” The Sandaime led him to the hidden rooms behind his office, the rooms where he had once played with a blue-eyes baby. He smiled at the memories.
“Naruto has grown into a fine boy. He’s taken your old position as Academy prankster. He’ll be taking the exam for the third time later this year.” Sarutobi commented, correctly interpreting Iruka’s smile.

“I missed him. He wouldn’t even remember me now.” He said sadly.

“His memory is amazing actually. He saw your photo and was curious as to why he could vaguely remember seeing you before.” Iruka could only stare in shock, Naruto had remembered him?
“I told him that you used to look after him but that you had to leave the village and would one day be back. He asks about you on the same day every year.”

“I’m so sorry.” Iruka whispered, looking down. Sarutobi placed his hands on Iruka’s shoulders causing him to slowly raise his head again.

“You were still a child Iruka and you were taught to always obey your sensei. If anyone should be sorry it is me for placing you with him.”

“But Anko…she died because I didn’t help her. I wanted to but he pulled me away.” Iruka confessed.

“Iruka-kun, Anko is alive.” Iruka’s eyes widened in shock.

“What?”

“She survived the seal and one of our teams found her in the lab. She is a jounin now.” He explained to the shocked young man.

“She must hate me.” Iruka said sadly.

“No, she is angry at herself fro being unable to keep Orochimaru from taking you. You were never declared missing because it was believed you were dead.” Sarutobi explained and then frowned. He hated to ask but it needed to be dealt with and quickly for everyone’s safety.
“Do you have the seal Iruka?” He dreaded the answer but to his surprise Iruka shook his head, pulling his shirt down to reveal unmarked skin.

“It still isn’t perfected to his satisfaction. He said he wanted nothing less than perfect for his favourite student.” Iruka said hoarsely, swallowing hard.
“He made me study it, maybe I can do something for her.”

“Just seeing you will help I’m sure.”

“There’s no way I can just come ho, back. I’ve been a Sound-nin for the last three years, Orochimaru’s apprentice.” Iruka said almost desperately.

“And I dread thinking about what you have been through. As much as I wish it wasn’t necessary you will have to be questioned.”

“I expected no less Hokage-sama.” Iruka assured him. Sarutobi smiled at him.

“I believe you have truly come home Iruka, I don’t believe you were sent here as a spy.” He assured the younger ninja.

“Thank you.”

“Come, we need to have you examined by a doctor. I will stay with you during your questioning, Ibiki is sometimes too enthusiastic in his work.”

“Morino Ibiki?”

“The same.”

“I always knew he’d make a good interrogator.” Iruka said with a small smile.

“One of the best.” Sarutobi agreed.

Iruka sat very still in the chair he’d been restrained in, watching as Ibiki got everything ready. Sandaime had made it very clear that he wasn’t to be treated roughly since he had returned of his own free will and had agreed to the questioning without complaint. The old Hokage was seated against the wall, directly within Iruka’s line of sight for which he was grateful since it was helping him stay calm. His sensei’s training did have some benefits; he could sit perfectly still longer than even most other shinobi. He tensed slightly as the door behind him opened and the Hokage nodded at someone in greeting. A gloved hand rested briefly on his shoulder and he relaxed, recognising Kakashi just from that small touch. Sure enough the older man moved into sight, freshly showered and in a clean uniform. Iruka too had been allowed to shower first, using hot water for the first time since leaving Konoha. Orochimaru didn’t care much about creature comforts, at least for others. His skin was still slightly red from the heat but it had been worth it to feel truly clean and warm. He’d been given the standard dark blue clothes that made up a chuunin's uniform though minus the vest, the same as his old uniform just in Konoha’s colours instead of Sound’s.

“I’m ready to begin Hokage-sama.” Ibiki stated suddenly. Kakashi leant against the wall beside the Hokage and made eye contact with Iruka who gave him a small but grateful smile.

“Are you ready Iruka?”

“Hai Hokage-sama.” Iruka licked his lips nervously and then a cup was suddenly in front of him.

“Truth serum.” Ibiki informed him and Iruka nodded, taking a deep breath before opening his mouth and swallowing the liquid that was poured in. Since he was cooperating he hadn’t been given the type that had to be injected for which he was grateful. No truth serum was pleasant but the injected ones were the worst. He swallowed and waited for the serum to kick in. Orochimaru had trained him to resist most serums and to have a certain amount of immunity to many poisons but Iruka forced himself to let this one work as it was meant to. He knew he could throw off the effects if he had to and that helped him relax and not fight it. He blinked slowly as the world slowly became distant and blurred.
“He’s ready.” He heard Ibiki say as if from a great distance.

“Proceed.” The Hokage said and Ibiki nodded.

“What is your name?”

“Umino Iruka.” He answered dully.

“Age?”

“Twenty six.”

“Where have you been for the last eleven years?”

“Travelling for eight, he never told me where we were. Rice Country, Sound Village for three.”

“You never left the village?”

“No, Orochimaru didn’t let me leave. Had free reign in village but not allowed outside the walls. Didn’t want to loose his apprentice.” Sarutobi closed his eyes at Iruka’s tone; this young man was not the exuberant, playful young teen he’d once known.

“Did you ever try to leave?”

“After Anko I ran but he caught me, dragged me back, punished me.”

“Punished how?” Iruka shuddered and swallowed as if fighting the serum.

“It’s okay Iruka, he can’t hurt you anymore but we need to know.” Sandaime spoke up and Iruka relaxed.

“Whipped, scars on my back.” Kakashi winced, he’d been what? Fifteen? Who whips a fifteen year old let alone their own student?

“Did you ever try to leave again?”

“Couldn’t. Drugged or chained when not training. Hurt so much.” Iruka whimpered and tried to curl up but started to struggle when the restraints stopped him, not really aware of what was going on. Kakashi moved to his side and cupped his face.

“Calm down Iruka, you know where you are. You’re in Konoha. The drugs are making the memories feel real but you’re not there. Just relax.” He soothed and Iruka slowly relaxed again, brown eyes trying to focus on Kakashi but failing.
“That’s is Iruka, you’re safe.” Instead of returning to his place against the wall he stood beside Iruka, gripping his hand.

“When did the drugs stop?” Ibiki continued once Iruka was calm again.

“When I gave up.” Iruka whispered brokenly and Kakashi remembered the look in his eyes that day at the cell.
“Didn’t care anymore. Stopped chaining me too but I didn’t try to leave. Where would I go? No one wants me.” He stated as if repeating something he’d been made to memorise. Kakashi squeezed his hand.

“Why create Sound?”

“Still mad at Sandaime because of Yondaime and for stopping the experiments. Founded Sound, named himself Kage. Gathered missing-nin and people nobody wanted, trained them.” Iruka shocked them by suddenly smiling.
“He let me teach at the Academy when children started arriving. I always wanted to teach at the Academy one day. Had to teach what he wanted though but I tried to teach them what I’d been taught too. They were so eager. But then they’d graduate and change after that, especially if they got the seal. They rely on it, lose their humanity. I hate myself! Should have stopped it!” Iruka was yelling and sobbing, trying to scratch at his wrists. The three ninja exchanged looks before Kakashi knelt and rolled Iruka’s sleeve up, staring at the skin intently. There, so feint they almost couldn’t be seen were a series of fine scars. Obviously he had had the best medical care afterwards for them to heal so well that their own medics had missed them.

“You tried to kill yourself.” Kakashi stated in shock and Sarutobi shut his eyes in pain. He should never have assigned Iruka to Orochimaru but he had hoped the team would cement the sannin’s ties to Konoha. Instead three promising teens had been destroyed. Anko was no longer entirely sane, Nori was dead and Iruka…Iruka had had eleven years of hell.

“Slit my wrists. Stupid Kabuto healed me. Said Orochimaru-sama would be unhappy if all his work went to waste because I died.” The ‘sama’ was spat out but it was the name that caught their attention.

“Describe Kabuto.”

“Late teens, grey hair in a ponytail. Annoying glasses he’s always pushing up his nose. Disappears all the time but sensei trusts him, says he’s important.” A spy in Konoha would be considered important.
“He resented the attention I got as sensei’s apprentice. Could have it for all I cared. So lonely, don’t want to be alone anymore.”

“That’s enough, give him the antidote.” Sarutobi ordered.

“One more question please sir.” Sandaime stared at Ibiki before nodding.

“Why did you return to Konoha?”

“Had to get Hatake out. Sensei wants the sharingan badly, was going to transfer to him, use his body. Couldn’t let him. He knew my name; said Sandaime missed me, that I wasn’t listed as a traitor. He saw me, not Orochimaru’s precious student. Talked to me even knowing that. Woke me up, made me care again. Told him to run if we were spotted, he needed soldier pills to even move, I’d buy him the time to escape. Remembered Naruto, missed him so much. I just wanted to come home.” Iruka was crying again, rambling but still barely understandable.

“That’s enough Ibiki.” The man nodded and administered the antidote. Iruka’s eyes cleared and he looked down at the floor in shame. Kakashi undid the restraints and then got him some water and tissues.
“You have nothing to be ashamed of Iruka. That you survived so long is a miracle. I’m satisfied; there will be no more interrogation. For now you will remain in the rooms behind my office until we can find a way to bring you back to life. You may choose three people outside those here who will be allowed to see you.” Iruka stared at the Hokage in shock.

“I can come home?” He asked, unsure.

“You are home Iruka-kun.” Sarutobi assured him. Iruka swallowed and thought about it for all of two seconds.

“Anko and Naruto.”

“Very well, I’ll call them in tomorrow. For now you need rest, both of you. And I don’t think a hot meal would go astray either.”

“There something you need Hokage-sama?”

“Please sit Anko.” She eyed him but sat down in front of his desk.
“Some information has come to light regarding your old genin team-mate.” He started and she paled slightly.

“You found…his body?” She asked quietly. She’d always half hoped that he had survived their sensei’s perverse experiments but if he had they could only meet as enemies.

“No. He is very much alive although different from the boy we knew. He is lucky in a way since he escaped your fate.” He indicated her neck and her hand moved towards the seal.

“He doesn’t have the seal?” She asked in disbelief and Sarutobi nodded.

“Apparently Orochimaru wanted to perfect it before using it on Iruka.”

“Wait…he’s here? In Konoha?” She asked in shock.

“Yes.”

“In a cell right? Who caught him? Where? There’s no way he came back on his own. He’s been with sensei for eleven years Hokage-sama, to last that long he has to be loyal to him.” She insisted even though it hurt to think of gentle, clumsy Iruka as a cold-hearted killer.

“Calm yourself Anko. He saved Kakashi’s life at great risk to his own and brought him back here. He willing submitted to interrogation at Ibiki’s hands. The things Orochimaru did to him…he crushed his spirit Anko, made him believe he had nowhere else to go. Something about Kakashi managed to spark his spirit again.”

“Where is he? I need to see him!” She demanded and Sandaime held up a hand.

“He asked for you after learning you were alive. He thought the seal killed you; it was the first time he tried to run away. Be careful, he’s been through a lot and…he may not be entirely stable. He’s ashamed and depressed at the moment but that could turn to anger.”

“I understand Hokage-sama. Can I see him now?” She asked impatiently. She had to see for herself, she’d know if he was lying she just knew that she’d be able to tell where his loyalties lay if she could just see him again.

“This way.” He led her to the hidden rooms and left her at a shut door. She slowly pushed it open and just stared at the man staring out the window. He’d grown since their genin days so that he wasn’t much shorter than Kakashi. He was wearing an unadorned uniform and his hair was in its familiar ponytail.

“Ruka?” She called hesitantly, needing to see his eyes, to know that he still cared about anything other than Orochimaru. He spun, taking a half step towards her before freezing awkwardly, uncertainty clear on his face. Anko felt something inside relax as their eyes met, his brown eyes held no coldness or lust for power and blood. Instead she could see fear and hope in the chocolate depths.

“Anko-chan.” He breathed almost unable to believe his eyes.
“I almost didn’t believe when they said you were alive. I…I’m sorry, so sorry. I should have stopped him.” Iruka looked down.

“How? We were kids Ruka, you did everything you could. He dragged you away by the hair! When I woke up in the hospital and you weren’t there I figured you’d be next only there wouldn’t be a passing Konoha team to find you in time. We all thought you were dead.” She told him.

“It would have been better if I was.” Iruka said bitterly and Anko moved, grabbing him in a fierce hug.

“Don’t you dare say that Umino Iruka! You start believing that and he wins. You can’t let him win, understand?” She shook him slightly and he eventually nodded.

“Hai Anko-chan.” He managed the ghost of a smile for her.

“I’ve missed you calling me that.”

“I missed you, even if all we did towards the end was fight.” Iruka admitted, sitting down on the couch and pulling Anko down beside him.

“We let him turn us against each other and it made it easier for him to use us. I’m just glad you’re back. Do you know what’ll happen to you now?”

“More questions, they need to know as much as they can about his plans. Sandaime’s trying to think of a way to bring me back from the dead that won’t end up with me being glared at suspiciously for the rest of my life. He’s considering the truth but with the twist that I was a spy for Konoha.”

“Might work. Will you still be a ninja? What rank will you be given?”

“No clue.” He answered, finally beginning to truly relax and Anko smiled as she realised that.

“I hope you’re a jounin with me, we could have a lot of fun.” She smirked, saddened to see that Iruka didn’t really react to it. Their sensei had done a good job of beating him down but she was determined to bring the old Iruka back. She’d have to buy Kakashi a drink or twenty for somehow managing to reach through his apathy to the old Ruka.

“Promise me something?” He asked suddenly, breaking her from her thoughts and gripping her hand hard enough to bruise, brown eyes deadly serious.
“Whatever happens don’t face him. He’ll kill you and I…I couldn’t bare it if you died at his hand.” Iruka finished fiercely, life finally burning in his eyes.

“Ruka…”

“Promise me! Please Anko.” He begged.

“I promise.” Iruka graced her with a smile, one that reached his eyes. He let her hand go and hesitantly pulled her close, hugging her and burying his head in her hair. Anko stiffened in surprise for a second before returning the hug. No one had done this since Iruka had left; no one really wanted to get that close to one of Orochimaru’s students.

“Please don’t let this be a dream.” He whispered brokenly, so softly she almost missed it and her arms tightened around him, trying to offer comfort.

“I haven’t done anything old man.” He smothered a chuckle at the first words out of the boys’ mouth.

“I know you haven’t Naruto.” He told the boy, pulling out a well-loved album.

“Oh. You have new pictures for nii-san’s album?” Naruto grinned in excitement; he enjoyed the time they spent on the album.

“I thought you’d like to be the one to give it to him.” Sandaime said gently and Naruto froze, eyes going wide.

“He’s back?” The boy asked quietly, unable to believe it.

“Iruka-kun is home Naruto.” Sarutobi assured him with a smile.

“Yay!” Naruto bounced around the room and Sarutobi smiled. Naruto had few reasons to be genuinely happy like this.

“You can see him in a few minutes but I need to tell you a few things first.” Naruto stilled at the serious tone.

“Is he hurt or something?” Naruto asked, worried.

“In a way. He did not leave Konoha by choice; his sensei took him away when he fled. No one honestly knew if he was dead or alive until he showed up with one of our jounin’s yesterday. He betrayed his sensei to save the ninja’s life. He’s been through a lot Naruto, none of it good.” Sarutobi explained.

“So he’s changed.” Naruto said, understanding what the Hokage was trying to tell him. He wasn’t as dumb as he played; he knew that if he let people know they would pay attention to him of the wrong sort.

“A lot. But he missed you and has asked to see you. Only you, the ninja he rescued, Morino-san, his surviving genin team-mate and myself know he’s here and it has to stay that way for a while.”

“I understand. Morino-san…you let him interrogate him?” Naruto glared, protective instincts in high gear, making Sarutobi hide a smile.

“Iruka agreed to the questioning Naruto-kun. Only truth serum was used.”

“You better be telling the truth old man.” Naruto was still glaring. Sarutobi handed him the album.

“You know the way.” Naruto nodded and moved into the hidden passage. He came to the door and raised his hand to knock but paused. He quickly straightened his clothes and made his sure his face was clean. He didn’t really remember Iruka but he still wanted him to like him and be proud of him. Since Iruka had left only the old man had been there for him and he was always very busy. Taking a deep breath Naruto knocked, holding the album tightly. The door opened and he smiled.

Iruka looked down to see a short blonde smiling up at him, some sort of book clutched in his hands. He smiled down at the boy and let him inside.

“Naruto.” He said softly and suddenly the boy was hugging.

“You’re back! I knew you’d come back.” The boy stated.

“I’m sorry I left you.”

“The old man said your sensei took you away so it’s not your fault.” He suddenly thrust the book out to Iruka.
“This is for you. Old man Hokage and I made it for you…well he did it till I was old enough to help.” Iruka took the book and sat down, Naruto curling up beside him to his surprise. He forced himself not to tense up at the boys’ presence and opened the book to see a picture of himself awkwardly holding a blonde baby boy. He smiled softly at the memory and slowly began turning the pages, watching as Naruto slowly grew. The only other person in the photos after Iruka left was the Hokage, where were Naruto’s friends?

“You’re at the Academy now?” He asked and Naruto nodded.

“Yep. This’ll be my third try at passing the genin exam.” He admitted.

“Your third try?” Iruka asked, frowning slightly. Naruto shrugged.

“The instructors don’t like me. They call me demon when they think I can’t hear and never help me in class. But it’s okay, I’ll pass for sure this time!” Iruka felt a flash of anger at the teachers, Sandaime had made the law to give Naruto a chance but they still held him back.

“What about your friends?”

“Kiba skips class with me sometimes and Hinata shared her lunch with me when some older kids stole mine.” Naruto shrugged and Iruka closed his eyes. Even in Konoha Naruto had been as along as he had been in Sound. If Naruto failed a third time…he frowned at the thought but then he remembered another option, one he doubted the blonde knew about. The question was who? As much as he’d love to take the boy on himself he knew he wasn’t ready plus he didn’t want anyone else learning sensei’s techniques. He wasn’t sure who was around that would treat Naruto right. Maybe Anko? Surely she had learnt other methods since she had to have had another sensei to get to chuunin. Kakashi seemed like he might be a good option as well, Naruto could learn a lot from the famous copy-nin.
“Iruka-niisan?” Iruka focused back on the present and smiled at Naruto.

“Sorry, I got lost in thought…what did you call me?” He asked, puzzled.

“Niisan.” Iruka swallowed and looked down.

“You don’t want me as your brother Naruto, you don’t know…”

“And I don’t care. You and Sandaime are the only people I’ve ever had. I was going to look for you myself but the old man said I should wait till I was a ninja so I could defend myself.” More like the Hokage had used it as an excuse to delay his search since if he had found them he’d be dead or worse. Iruka wondered what excuse the Hokage would have used once Naruto was a ninja.

“I’ve changed a lot Naruto, you might not like me anymore.” Iruka tried again.

“You’re sad and quiet but you’re still Iruka. Your sensei hurt you, didn’t he” Naruto asked seriously.

“Yes.” Iruka answered softly and was surprised when Naruto hugged him again.

“Well he’s never going to get the chance to hurt you again, I won’t let him and neither will the old man. You’ll be happy again one day niisan.” Iruka couldn’t help but smile slightly at Naruto’s optimism.

“I hope so Naruto-kun.” He hugged the boy back.

“He wants the sharingan. He was going to make do with Kakashi’s since it was available but now he’ll switch back to his original target, Uchiha Sasuke. He plans to give the boy the seal and some time within the next two years but I don’t know exactly when. His secondary goal is to destroy Konoha and he is constantly looking for allies to help do so.” Iruka explained. Sarutobi, Ibiki, Kakashi and Anko were spread around the room, listening intently.

“The Chuunin exams would be the perfect opportunity.” Anko stated.
“He could easily slip in using a foreign teams identity. The Uchiha’s up for rookie of the year, right?” The Hokage nodded.
"Odds are his sensei would nominate his team then. The second exam would be his best chance since the teams are alone.”

“Then attack during the third exam when nearly everyone is in the stadium. Packed in like that with civilians…” Ibiki picked up and then trailed off at the thought of just how bad it could be.

“It would be a slaughter.” Kakashi finished unnecessarily.
“Especially with Kabuto as his eyes and ears.”

“Kabuto?” Iruka tensed and paled slightly.

“He’s a genin. The fact that his sensei’s never mentioned he has tendency to vanish makes his whole team suspect. We’ve put them under discreet surveillance.” Ibiki told him and Iruka nodded.

“The exams make sense and would fit with his sense for the dramatic. It would also explain why he was concerned with genin teams this year. Usually he gives me free reign with them but this year he was triple checking everything.” Iruka explained.

“So we turn the trap around on its maker. We continue on as usual so that he doesn’t suspect anything. I’m sorry Iruka but this means you’ll have to remain hidden until the third exam. Hopefully when there is no word on you he will believe Kakashi killed you as a traitor after your escape, you ran off after escaping or we had you quietly executed. If that is the case his plans shouldn’t change. Anbu will be hidden amongst the spectators and replace two of our teams. Ibiki you will be in charge of the first exam, Anko the second and Hayate the third. Kakashi I’d like you to take a genin team this year, the Uchiha’s. You’re the only one you can train his sharingan when it appears but do not neglect the rest of the team for him either. Make sure they’re as prepared as possible in case Orochimaru finds them at some point. I’d prefer you not to nominate them this year but if you truly believe they are ready I won’t stop you.” Sarutobi paused to look at the group.
“I’ll recall Jiraiya, his toads will be a great help against any snakes summoned. We need to be prepared for anything. Iruka I’m giving you a choice, you can help protect the Academy students or be with me under henge. If you do…”

“I’ll have to face Orochimaru.” Iruka finished for him.

“No Ruka.” Anko protested.
“You made me promise to stay away from him. You can’t fight him.” She begged. Kakashi and Ibiki stared at the Hokage but Sarutobi knew Iruka would have to face his sensei again if he was to ever heal.

“I will go with you Hokage-sama. You’ll need someone who knows what to expect from him in a fight.” They could all see the fear in his eyes but there was also determination, something that had been missing for a long time.
“I can fight him, he tested me before I helped Kakashi and he doesn’t hold back much in those fights. I only broke my ribs this time.” Anko’s eyes widened, Iruka had improved, a lot, since their genin days if he could walk away from a fight with a sannin. But had the price been worth it? She had the feeling Iruka would say no.

Sarutobi nodded and held his hand out to Iruka. The younger man held out his hand and a brand new Konoha hitai-ate was placed in it. Iruka looked at the strip of blue cloth and then up at him, smiling.

“For now your rank will be that of a Tokubetsu Jounin. You’ll be evaluated properly after the exams and your rank either confirmed or changed.”

“Thank you Hokage-sama.” Iruka stood and gave a respectful bow.

“We’ll adjourn for now and meet again in a week.” They nodded and began to leave, only Iruka staying since he couldn’t leave.

“May I have a word Hokage-sama?” He asked just before Sarutobi left.

“Of course Iruka-kun.”

“It’s about Naruto. He’s told me some of how he’s treated at the Academy and I’m worried about his chances of passing. I was wondering if the apprentice system is still an option?”

“You’d take Naruto as your apprentice?” Sandaime asked, surprised but not unhappy. They’d be good for each other although he was worried about many of the techniques Iruka knew.

“No. I want to be there for him but I know I’m not ready to take on that sort of responsibility. I won’t pass his ways of fighting on and they’re all I know. I honestly don’t think I’m ready emotionally to care for a child.” Sarutobi nodded, seeing his reasoning.

“Do you have someone in mind then?”

“Either Anko or Kakashi. Anko and Naruto are about as stubborn as each other and they could end up a near unstoppable team. She wasn’t as fully trained as I’ve been so she must have picked up other techniques. I’d thought of Kakashi before you mentioned him taking the Uchiha’s team but if Naruto fails there may be uneven numbers. If that’s the case then he could do both and end up with a team of three, giving Naruto a chance to make friends.”

“Good choices. I’ll talk to them both about it and approach Naruto if he fails. Now, how about I summon Naruto and we all have lunch together?”

“Why the long face Naruto-kun? Iruka looked up from his scroll. Sarutobi had been giving them to him so that he could widen his jutsu arsenal and give his old sensei a surprise or two.

“I know that bunshin is going to be part of the exam, it always is. But no matter what I do it doesn’t work!” Iruka put the scroll aside and leant forward slightly.

“Show me. Maybe I’ll be able to see where you’re going wrong.” Naruto nodded and preformed the jutsu but ended up with a dead looking…thing. Iruka got up and studied it before circling him slowly.
“Looks like you’re putting too much chakra into the jutsu. Try using less, a lot less.” He suggested and Naruto nodded before trying again with similar results.
“Frankly your control is non-existent. You’ve got a lot of chakra and without proper control your using too much and overloading the technique.”

“Oh.” Naruto’s face fell and Iruka gave him a smile.

“So you need to work on your control. Have you ever heard of the tree climbing exercise?”

“How is climbing a tree going to help?” Naruto asked in disbelief and Iruka’s smile widened.

“Because you’ll be using chakra to climb the tree.” Iruka explained the exercise carefully. Naruto thought about it and then smiled.

“Thanks niisan.” He hugged Iruka and ran out of the room.

“If you need more help ask for Hatake Kakashi or Anko. You can tell only those two that I sent you.” He called after the running boy and got a shouted response. He shook his head at Naruto’s enthusiasm and went back to his scroll. He looked up and blinked, Naruto’s clone was still lying on the floor. He got up and stared at it, the boy definitely had chakra to spare.

Naruto glared at the tree. He’d been at this for three days and had only made it a few feet up the stupid thing. As much as he hated to do it, it was time to admit defeat and ask for extra help. He decided to try Hatake Kakashi first, since he at least knew his whole name. After all there could be tonnes of Anko’s in the village. The people he asked just glare and said that such a great ninja would never speak to him but that just made him more determined to find the man. Finally a weirdo dressed in green spandex told him to try the memorial stone so Naruto headed over. He grinned as he spotted a man standing in front of the stone.

“Excuse me, are you Hatake Kakashi?” He asked politely since he was asking for help and he didn’t want Iruka to be disappointed with him.

“Yo.” The man glanced at him over his book. Naruto looked around and then motioned for him to bend down so he could whisper. Amused, Kakashi did so.

“Iruka-niisan said I could ask you for help.” The boy backed away nervously and Kakashi could see he was expecting to be told to leave. He smiled behind his mask and put his book away.

“Ask away Naruto.” Blue eyes widened in shock and then Naruto grinned.

“Well, he said I have no chakra control so he told me this exercise where you climb trees. But I just can’t do it and I’ve been trying for three days.” Kakashi nodded, lousy control would explain the results Sandaime had shown him and Anko. The boy had the knowledge but not the control to execute the techniques he knew.

“Show me your tree.” Naruto took off and Kakashi ran to catch up, he was pretty fast for a kid. They stopped at a little used training ground, a good choice for Naruto. Naruto pointed at a tree and Kakashi could see the cuts where Naruto had marked his progress.
“Lets see what you can do.” Naruto nodded and ran at the tree. He made it about four feet up before falling, flipping back so he could land on his feet. Kakashi frowned; he appeared to be doing it correctly so why wasn’t he progressing?
“Again.”

“I did it!!!!” Iruka smiled as Naruto ran into the room, it was a good thing they were soundproofed.
“Watch.” Naruto concentrated and then walked up the wall and onto the ceiling. Iruka laughed and clapped.

“Congratulations. Try bunshin again now.” They both groaned at the clone that appeared, sure it was an improvement but not enough to pass. Naruto tried again but the results weren’t much better making Iruka frown.
“This doesn’t make sense, your execution is flawless and your control is good enough so why isn’t it working?”

“Maybe I’m just not meant to pass.” Naruto groaned.

“Nonsense. Did you get help with the tree climbing?”

“Yeah, I tracked down Hatake-san. He figured out what I was doing wrong and even stuck around till I could run up and down the tree though he did read his book the entire time.”

“Looks like you’ll need to find him again because I can’t figure out what’s going wrong.” Naruto groaned.

“Great! I spent a whole day looking for him last time! At least I know where to look this time. Thanks niisan.” Naruto hugged him and left.

“He’s an eager student when someone takes the time to go through things with him.” Iruka turned and smiled at the Hokage.

“If things had gone differently maybe I would have been one of his instructors.” Iruka said wistfully. Sarutobi smiled sadly at him before lighting his pipe.

“I’ve had one of the older training grounds sealed off if you’d care to show an old man what you’ve learnt?”

“What? If I’m seen…”

“My most trusted Anbu have surrounded it so that no one will see a thing. I thought you might like some fresh air. You should also look in the closet.” Curious, Iruka went into the bedroom and smiled as he removed the standard jounin vest, slipping it on over his shirt and pulling a roll of bandages out of one of the pockets to bind his lower legs. Practised hands situated his kunai holster and pouch and re-fixed his hitai-ate before he slipped his sandals on.
“Now you look like a true shinobi of Konoha.” Sarutobi guided him to a full-length mirror and Iruka stared at his reflection in shock. He smiled slightly.

“I definitely like the colour scheme better.”

Kakashi wasn’t surprised to find the Hokage in the hidden rooms but what was surprising was the condition both men were in.

“What happened?” He asked, scanning the room for threats.

“Calm down Kakashi, it was merely a friendly spar.”

“No offence Hokage-sama but throwing your opponent into a cliff does not count as friendly.” Iruka winced as he felt his ribs, bruised but not cracked. Sandaime chuckled, Iruka had shown more of his old self in the last few hours than in the rest of the time since his return and it gave him hope that the younger man was beginning to heal, however slowly.

“So what can we do for you Kakashi?”

“It’s Naruto, he came to me for help with the bunshin jutsu.”

“Do you have a problem helping him?” Sarutobi asked as Iruka stiffened.

“You know I don’t Hokage-sama. We tried everything I could think of and he still can’t do it. Although he has improved, he can now make two half dead things. It’s his chakra; he just can’t not overload the jutsu.”

“The seal was designed so that the Kyuubi’s chakra would be changed and absorbed but this side effect was never considered. Do you have a solution Kakashi?”

“Kage bunshin. He definitely has the chakra for it.”

“I can’t give permission for an Academy student to learn that, however…if he were to see someone using it and managed to work it out from there…”

“Understood. Another thing is his taijutsu. Frankly he’s hopeless at it. He telegraphs his moves more than even an Academy student should and the moves themselves are too simple. Most of the time they’re not even done properly.”

“Without anyone willing to teach or train with him Naruto has had to do his best alone. You don’t believe he’ll pass, do you?” Sarutobi knew what Kakashi’s answer would be but asked anyway.

“No. But it isn’t necessary for him to take the exam; I’ll take him as my apprentice. Since that will leave a team of two come graduation I’ll take them as well. Naruto needs to learn more about interaction or he’ll never make it past genin.”

“I’ll summon Naruto and we’ll tell him the good news now.” Sandaime left and Iruka smiled.

“Thank you.”

“For what?”

“Taking the time to see past the demon. He won’t disappoint you.”

“What’s going on? Naruto asked suspiciously as he stared at the only three adults who didn’t hate him. At least he assumed Kakashi didn’t since the man had been helping him but he couldn’t be certain yet.

“Nothing’s wrong Naruto. Were you aware that there is another option for students who don’t pass the genin exam or have skills generally not utilised by a standard genin team?” Sandaime asked and Naruto shook his head.
“Any ninja of jounin or higher rank has the option of taking an apprentice. Such an offer has been made for you.”

“But who…” He glanced at Iruka but he shook his head.

“As much as I would love to there isn’t really anything I could teach you.” Iruka told him sadly and Naruto nodded, his gaze going to Kakashi who nodded.

“I want to take you as my apprentice.” The jounin told him.

“Why?”

“Because I think you have a lot of potential. The Academy hasn’t worked for you but you shouldn’t be penalised for that. I will still be taking a genin team this year but it will be a team of two so that you can stand in as the third member. As my apprentice you will get more personalised training than they will and spend most of your time with me, in fact you will be expected to live with me at least until you reach chuunin.”

“I can’t live with you!” Naruto exclaimed, backing away.

“Naruto-kun I know Kakashi’s reading material is questionable but I assure you he would never harm you.” Sarutobi stated firmly but gently.

“But my being there would hurt him!” Naruto argued.

“Let me worry about the villagers Naruto, I can look after myself. Do you accept my offer?” Naruto looked between the three adults, unsure. Then he met Iruka’s eyes, they held hope for the first time Naruto could remember.

“I accept.”

“Congratulations Naruto-kun.” Kakashi removed his goggles and replaced them with a new hitai-ate as Sarutobi was speaking. Naruto reached up and touched the cool metal in shock.

“Wow.” He whispered. Iruka pulled him into a tight hug but Sandaime could see the slight fear in his eyes.
“So this means no more Academy, right?”

“You can go tomorrow if you want to finish the week and say goodbye to anyone.” Naruto thought about it and nodded.
“I’ll have a note sent to your teacher.”

“Come on Naruto, let’s get your things and let you settle in.” Kakashi put a hand on his shoulder and began to steer him from the room.

“Oh Naruto?” Iruka called and the boy turned to him.
“If you see any little orange books lying around, burn them.”

“NO! No need to do that, there won’t be any left about.” Kakashi blurted and Iruka smiled as they left quickly.

“You know Kakashi won’t hurt him.” Sarutobi said gently and Iruka looked down.
“Kakashi will die if necessary to protect a team-mate, especially someone not as able to defend themselves as he is. Yes, Naruto will be injured occasionally but no more than any other genin. Kakashi will look after him.

“I know that but…”

“But you’re still afraid. It’s natural Iruka. I wish I could go back and undo the decision to make Orochimaru your sensei but I can’t.”

“I never blamed you for any of it.” Iruka looked at him solemnly.

“This is your room.” Kakashi pushed him inside.
“I haven’t lived here since I was a child so the place needs some work which we’ll do together. We have three months until the genin teams are announced to focus solely on you and your training. We’ll use this weekend to fix the place up and start formalised training on Monday.” Naruto listened as he explored the room. It was bigger than his old room with a comfortable looking bed and several indications that the room once belonged to a child.

“Was this your room?” He asked. Kakashi nodded.

“I’ll leave you to unpack. Dinner will be in two hours.”

“Thank you Kakashi-sensei.” Naruto smiled at him and Kakashi found himself smiling back before he left the room.

“Very amusing Naruto.” He stared at the silver haired sensei in confusion.

“Mizuki-sensei?” He asked, the whole class looking on.

“Forging a letter from the Hokage saying you’re being removed from the Academy because you’re being taken as an apprentice.”

“But it’s true!” Naruto glared at the chuunin, he’d never liked the man and he knew the feeling was mutual.

“Take your seat. You’ll be cleaning the entire Academy after class today.” Naruto sat angrily and glared at the teacher as he began to lecture.

“I think you went a bit too far Naruto.” Kiba whispered.

“I didn’t do anything.” Naruto growled. By the time they broke for lunch everyone knew about the so-called ‘forged letter’. Naruto sat alone, picking at his lunch. He should have known this would happen, he shouldn’t have agreed to attend for one last day. He looked up and glared as he saw Sasuke approaching.
“What do you want teme?”

“As if anyone would want you as an apprentice dobe.” Sasuke smirked and Naruto clenched his fists. He wanted to punch that stupid smirk right off his face but held himself back, he knew the truth even if no one else believed him. He wasn’t an Academy student anymore, he was a genin and he had to set a good example.

“Whatever. Have fun in the rest of these boring classes.” Naruto stood and went back inside, lunch would be over soon anyway.

Naruto glared at the clock as it approached the time for class to end. Could they really make him stay? He closed his eyes but opened them as the class suddenly went silent.

“Yo. Sorry to interrupt Sensei.”

“Not at all Hatake-san. What can we do for you?”

“Just came to collect my apprentice.” Naruto grinned at the dumbfounded look on Mizuki’s face.

“Your what?”

“Didn’t you get Sandaime’s letter? Lets go Naruto.”

“Hai sensei.” He stood and gathered his things as the class broke into disbelieving whispers.

“But…but there are so many more deserving students, Sasuke-kun for example.”

“My decision is final. Naruto has great potential; potential you teachers have done your best to destroy. Perhaps the system needs a complete overhaul. Come on, we need to go.” He motioned for Naruto to precede him from the room.

“What do you need me for sensei?”

“At the moment? Nothing. Figured they’d give you trouble.” Kakashi shrugged and Naruto gave him a small but honest smile.

“Thanks.”

“Sensei?”

“Mmm?” Kakashi glanced up from his painting.

“You said you haven’t lived here since you were a kid. I was wondering why?”

“Too big for one person.”

“Oh.” Naruto continued painting but Kakashi had stopped to watch him.

“I’d say we’ve done enough for today. Why don’t you get cleaned up and go visit?” Naruto grinned and nodded, putting his brush in the water and running inside. A few minutes later he was running through the front gate towards the Hokage tower.

“Nii-san!” He yelled and Iruka smiled, accepting the welcoming hug.

“Hello Naruto-kun, have a good day?”

“Yep. We weeded the garden, fixed the fence and roof and almost finished painting the house. Kakashi-sensei even turned it all into training. We’ll have the house finished tomorrow and then he said we’d start formalised training. What do you think he’ll teach me?”

“More chakra control, taijutsu, it depends on what he thinks you need the most work on.” Iruka explained.
“So you like him?”

“He’s weird. Who wears a mask all the time? But he showed up at the Academy yesterday and set them straight. Mizuki-sensei was saying I’d forged the Hokage’s letter. You should have seen everyone’s faces when Kakashi-sensei showed up and called for me.” Naruto grinned at the memory.

“I’m happy for you Naruto.” Iruka told him honestly.

“Cheer up nii-san. The old man said you get to leave here for the chuunin exams that’s only seven months away.” Naruto said innocently, not knowing what they expected would happen during the exams. And then it hit him. Naruto would be on the Uchiha’s team.
“Do you think maybe next year I can take the exam?” Naruto asked, bringing him out of his thoughts.

“Huh…next year?” Iruka blinked.

“Well there’s no way I’ll be ready this year but what about next?” Iruka smiled and felt himself relax a bit.

“You should be, if you work hard.”

“Great!” Iruka couldn’t help smiling at his enthusiasm, he had never gotten to participate in the formal exams, Orochimaru had just given him the rank one day after they’d fought.
“I better go, dinners soon.”

“Be good for Kakashi-san.”

“Does that mean no pranks?” Naruto asked innocently as he reached the door.

“Naruto!” The boy laughed as he fled.

Iruka watched carefully over the next few months as Naruto flourished under Kakashi’s tutelage. The masked man had burnt the horrid orange jumpsuits to demonstrate a katon jutsu in the second week of training, forcing Naruto to get a new wardrobe. It was then that the shopkeepers learnt the boy was now under the protection of one of their most famous ninja. Needless to say Naruto no longer had any trouble shopping. He now wore black pants and sandals with a dark red shirt and a black jacket trimmed in red. He also taped his lower legs and wore fingerless gloves. Iruka had been shocked by the sudden drastic change in wardrobe, shocked and scared until Kakashi had explained why Naruto had always worn the jumpsuit. Then he’d been plain mad and the shopkeepers never knew how lucky they were that he couldn’t leave the tower.

Iruka had also noticed the slow disappearance of Naruto’s foxy grin. Instead more and more real smiles were appearing, true, happy smiles. With Kakashi’s protection he was finally able to be himself, no longer worried about how he was going to pay for everything or when his apartment would next be vandalised.

Naruto’s skills improved until he was finally at normal Academy level in everything and above it in some areas like ninjutsu. Since he was no longer a student Kakashi had taught him kage bunshin and he used it very well since with his stamina he could keep up a large number of clones for a prolonged amount of time.

And as time passed Iruka slowly lost his misgivings and became actual friends with Kakashi. Yes, he had suggested the man as Naruto’s sensei but he had always held the fear of him using Naruto as his own sensei had used him. But now that fear was gone. Plans for the chuunin exams were complete and the genin exams would take place the in a few days.

“So who do you think you’ll be getting sensei?” Naruto asked as they walked towards the Academy, two hours late.

“I know we’re getting the Uchiha boy.” Kakashi said, watching Naruto’s reaction from behind his book.

“Because of the sharingan?” Naruto asked and he nodded.
“Makes sense I guess. Do I have to be nice to him or can I prank him?” The blonde asked, a mischievous look in his eyes that Kakashi was happy to see. The teen had been subdued since finding out about being the kyuubi’s container. The law hadn’t said anything about writing the information down and leaving it somewhere Naruto would find it so he had done just that a few days ago. Better Naruto learn the truth from him than a half-truth from someone trying to use him.

“I suppose the occasional prank could be overlooked as long as you don’t go too far.” He stated and Naruto grinned, already planning.
“Ready?”

“As I’ll ever be.” Naruto answered and Kakashi opened the door. Naruto groaned silently. Uchiha and his number one fan girl. Sure he used to have a crush on her but he wasn’t going to waste his time chasing someone who would never really see him.

“Naruto! What are you doing here?” Sakura screeched.

“Accompanying my sensei. I’ll meet you on the roof.” He said, unable to deal with her just yet. Kakashi nodded and Naruto slipped out the window, walking up the wall to the roof. Once he was gone Kakashi turned to his two new students.

“Lets get something straight. You two may be my genin team but Naruto is my apprentice that means pinky that he has more training than you. I suggest you show him a little more respect if you want to stay on this team. Meet us on the roof.” With that he vanished.
“You okay?”

“What did I see in her?” Naruto asked in confusion and Kakashi laughed.

“Mostly hormones I’d say. So you’re over her?”

“I hope so.”

“They’re almost here.” Kakashi warned and Naruto nodded, sitting on the rail next to his sensei. The other two soon arrived and sat down.
“Now that we’re all here we’ll start with introductions.”

“You first sensei.” Naruto chirped and Kakashi looked at him.

“Fine. My name is Hatake Kakashi; you don’t need to know my likes or dreams. I dislike several things and have a number of hobbies.” Naruto shook his head in amusement, grinning at the look on Sakura’s face.
“Naruto?”

“Uzumaki Naruto. My hobbies are training, finding blackmail on sensei and pranks. I like training with sensei, talking with him and some of the other jounin, bugging Sandaime-sama, spending time with my nii-san and ramen. I dislike prejudiced people, fan girls and people who don’t take being a ninja seriously. My dream is to be the best ninja I can and to make my family proud of me. And maybe to make it to Hokage. Happy?”

“Ecstatic. You next pinky.”

“How did the team meeting go?”

“Yuk! We got stuck with Sasuke and Sakura.” Naruto pulled a face and Iruka laughed.

“Be nice Naruto.” He admonished.

“Kakashi-sensei said I can play the occasional prank and he’ll ignore it.” Iruka shook his head, the last thing Naruto needed was encouragement.

“Do you think they’ll pass Kakashi’s test?”

“No way. Sasuke’s all ‘I’m an Avenger and need no one’. Sakura will follow him around like a puppy and ignore me. It’ll take a lot to get those two to work with me as a team.” Naruto shrugged, not really bothered by it. But it bothered Iruka; Naruto needed friends his own age. He couldn’t have that until they acknowledged him though. As Kakashi’s apprentice he’d gotten to know some of the jounin well so hopefully they’d encourage their teams to include the blonde.

“Naruto you’re late!” Sakura yelled.

“Sensei’s always late so why should I be on time? He’ll be here in another half hour or so.” Naruto said as he began to warm up.

“Stop trying to act so cool.” She insisted and Naruto sighed.

“I’m not. It’s called warming up Sakura. Why don’t you try it, wouldn’t want to pull a muscle. Book smarts aren’t going to get you far now.” Naruto stated, never pausing in his exercises.

“You’ve changed dobe.”

“Nope, just stopped acting. Morning sensei.” Naruto called.

“Where is it Naruto?” Kakashi growled and Naruto grinned.

“Where’s what? Oh…that. You left it out so I followed nii-san’s advice.” Naruto shrugged.

“You’re dead!” Naruto dodged, putting a clone in his place.

“The test sensei!” He yelled.
“You can kill me later.”

“Good point.” Kakashi put his kunai away and took out an alarm clock.
“The test is simple, you have until noon to get a bell off me. Whoever doesn’t goes back to the Academy. To make it more fun Naruto will be participating but without the risk of returning to the Academy should he fail.”

“But you could get hurt sensei.”

“Yeah right, he’s a jounin Sakura. We won’t even bruise him.” Naruto knew that for a fact, he’d been trying for the last three months after all.

“I suggest you come at me with the intent to kill. Start…now.” All three teens vanished, he knew exactly where they were of course but it wasn’t bad. He ducked suddenly as a rain of shuriken sailed harmlessly overhead.“One on one Naruto-kun?” He asked, smiling.

“Figured I might as well show them what they’re up against.” Naruto called from the trees. Kakashi knew it was a clone but he destroyed it anyway.

“So lets see what you’ve learnt.”

“Hey Sasuke.”

“What do you want dobe.”

“You do realise the only way to get the bells don’t you?”

“Yes, by staying away from idiots like you. You don’t attack a jounin head on like that.” Naruto shrugged.

“We were messing around. Though I’d be nice and give you two an idea of how he fights since I already knew.”

“Yeah right.” Sasuke walked off.

“Suite yourself.” Naruto shook his head as he heard Sakura scream.
“Think you over did it sensei.”

“Maybe. Didn’t realise she’d take seeing Uchiha injured that badly.” Kakashi shrugged.

“She’s a fan girl! Suppose I should go wake her up. Can you please kick Sasuke’s ass? Pretty please?” Kakashi laughed, ruffling Naruto’s hair before vanishing while Naruto went to find Sakura.

Sakura opened her eyes to see Naruto leaning over her. He pulled her to her feet and then stepped back.

“Sasuke-kun! We have to find him!”

“Why?”

“He’s hurt you baka!”

“So you fainted? You fell for a genjutsu Sakura. Sasuke’s facing sensei right now.” Naruto began to walk away.

“We have to help him!”

“Why? He doesn’t want help.” Had she worked it out?

“Oh.” Naruto felt like hitting himself. He was very glad Kakashi had yanked him from the Academy or he’d be just as clueless, probably more so actually.

“Fine, lets go.” He changed direction to head for where he could sense Sasuke, Kakashi had vanished a few seconds ago. What he saw when he entered the clearing made him crack up. Sasuke was buried up to his head in the ground.

“Naruto?” Sakura stepped around the laughing blonde and froze. She screamed and fainted again, leaving the two boys to stare at her.

“Need a hand?” Naruto began digging Sasuke out and he glared but began helping. He was soon free of the hole and Naruto lifted Sakura, earning a look from Sasuke.
“What? Can’t just leave her here. I’d never hear the end of it.” Naruto shrugged and Sasuke nodded. He opened his mouth to speak but the alarm rang.

This time when Sakura woke she couldn’t move.

“What?” She looked around to see Sasuke sitting on the ground with Naruto lounging nearby.

“Congratulations, neither of you should go back to the Academy.” Kakashi said and Sakura smiled.
“You should quit being ninja. By fighting me in the open Naruto gave you the perfect opportunity to watch my fighting style and plan accordingly. Sakura, all you did was wander around looking for Sasuke. Sasuke, Naruto came to you and gave you several hints on what to do. Instead you ignored them and insulted him. Both of you missed the whole point of the test.”

“But the point was to get the bells.” Sakura all but whined.

“Teamwork!” Naruto yelled, frustrated.
“Only by working together would we have a chance of getting the bells. He’s a jounin, we’re genin work it out!”

“Thank you Naruto.” Kakashi frowned slightly; Naruto was not dealing with this at all well.
“There is a reason you’re put into teams of three, you have to be able to work with others no matter what your personal opinion of them is. I’ll give you one more chance after lunch but it will be harder. Sakura goes hungry.” He vanished and Naruto pulled one of the lunches over to himself. Sakura watched them eat, her stomach growling loudly. Sasuke sighed and held his lunch up to her.

“But Kakashi-sensei said.”

“He’s not here and we don’t need you fainting from hunger. Eat.” Sasuke stated coldly. Naruto stood and cut the ropes so that she could use her hands since Sasuke had made the first step. Dark clouds suddenly appeared over them and then an angry Kakashi was in front of them.

‘YOU ALL…pass.” Kakashi grinned and Naruto playfully rolled his eyes at his sensei’s antics.
“Congratulations. We will meet here tomorrow at seven.” With that he was gone.

“So what do you two want to do now?” Naruto asked, willing to give being friends a chance. Sasuke just turned and walked away, Sakura running to catch up.

“Sasuke-kun will you go out with me?” Naruto sighed sadly, why had he thought things would change? He watched them go and then his chin went up. So what if they didn’t like him, he’d work with them because he had to. He had Iruka, Kakashi, Sandaime and the other jounin.

Kakashi looked up in surprise as Naruto walked in.

“You three didn’t stay out very long.” Naruto just shrugged and went to his room, Kakashi watching sadly. The children of Naruto’s generation mimicked their parents where he was concerned but he’d hoped that after realising they were a team the other two would let him in. Obviously not. He hid his book and then knocked on Naruto’s door.

“It’s unlocked.” He looked in to see Naruto studying a scroll on doton jutsu’s.

“I’m heading out for a bit. Want to get some ramen later?”

“Okay.” Kakashi watched him for a few more seconds before shutting the door and using a jutsu to get to Iruka quickly.

“Kakashi! I wasn’t expecting you, is something wrong?” Iruka’s welcoming smile turned to a look of concern as Kakashi sat down.

“They passed the test, Team 7 is official.”

“That’s great, isn’t it?” Iruka sat down opposite him.

“Sasuke thinks Naruto is an idiot and to be ignored. Sakura follows Sasuke and snubs Naruto. I left the three of them to spend time getting to know each other and Naruto was home not fifteen minutes later.” Kakashi explained and Iruka looked down.

“I see. How did Naruto take it?”

“He’s in his room studying quietly. He may not like either of them but he was willing to try.”

“Now he’ll close off.” Iruka said sadly.
“He’s been hurt by rejection too many times, he won’t easily give them another chance.”

“He needs friends his own age, a support group.”

“What about Gai-sans student, you said they spar sometimes.”

“But they don’t really talk, except when Lee’s parroting Gai.”

“Maybe they just need some more time?” Both of them knew Iruka was just grasping at straws.

“Maybe, but like you said, he’s been rejected too many times.”

“Pack for a week.” Naruto looked up to see Kakashi in the doorway.

“Sensei?” He asked, already moving to where he’d stored his pack.

“We have a C-ranked delivery mission.” Kakashi explained.

“The others are meeting us at the gate?”

“No, it’s just us. I asked for a mission for the two of us.” Kakashi smiled and Naruto nodded, a small smiled on his lips as he began packing.
“Since this is your first mission outside the village I will check your gear before we leave but after this it is your responsibility.” Naruto nodded.

“Where are we going?” Naruto grabbed his weapons, checking them carefully.

“A small village to the south. There shouldn’t be any trouble but that doesn’t mean you let your guard down.” What Kakashi didn’t mention was the well-known weapon smith that lived there. He wanted Naruto to have something unique to him.
“Once you’re done you can go say goodbye.” Naruto nodded again as he added his first aid kit near the top of the pack.

“Nii-san.” Iruka left the small bedroom and frowned slightly when he saw Naruto’s pack lying at the teen’s feet.

“Naruto?”

“Kakashi-sensei got us a mission, a c-rank.” He grinned in excitement.
“I’ve never been out of the village before.”

“Where are you going?” Iruka asked tightly, mentally reminding himself that Naruto would be back.

“Some village to the south, it’s a delivery mission. He said we’ll be back in a week. Don’t worry, Kakashi-sensei said there shouldn’t be any trouble.”

“I’m sure the four of you could handle it if there was.” Naruto shook his head.

“Just the two of us. Since he’s had to split his attention and I’m his apprentice the old man gave us this. Some one else is taking the others for the week.” Iruka’s heart leapt into his throat but he forced himself to swallow and nod. Naruto watched him and then hugged him.
“You know he won’t let anything happen. He’s a tardy pervert but he’s not a bad person. We’ll be back before you know it.” Naruto pulled back and grinned.
“Got to go, don’t want to be late.” Naruto shouldered his pack and turned to go.

“Naruto.” The blonde turned back.
“Be careful.”

“I will. I’ll pick you up a souvenir.” He flashed a grin and was gone.

"Hey Naruto!” He turned and waved at Sakura.
“Where are you going?” She asked as she caught up to him.

“Mission.” He answered, walking quickly, it would look bad if his sensei beat him to the gates after all.

“Don’t lie! We don’t have a mission.”

“You don’t, sensei and I do.” Sakura snorted.

“Why would Kakashi-sensei take you on a mission?”

“Because he is my apprentice Sakura and this is a mission for the two of us. Said your goodbyes?”

“Hai sensei.”

“Good, I need to talk to Sakura for a minute.” Naruto nodded and moved closer to the gates. Kakashi pulled Sakura aside and stared down at her, disappointed.
“I had hoped that your attitude would have improved by now Sakura. Frankly Naruto is a hundred times the ninja you are and yet you continually put him down. He is my apprentice and as such there will be times when only the two of us have a mission. You need to grow up fast if you want to survive the life you’ve chosen. You need to take a long hard look at your reasons for becoming a shinobi.” He told her firmly.

“But everyone says he’s bad.” She protested weakly.

“So you just follow the crowd? I’m ashamed of you Haruno.” He turned and walked over to Naruto, leaving her standing alone in tears.

“What did you say to make her cry?” Naruto asked as they passed through the gates, looking back at her a little worried.

“Just a few needed truths.” Kakashi answered, smiling as Naruto stared about them in wonder.

“Feel free to look around but don’t wander too far or stay out too late. We’ll deliver the scroll in the morning.”

“Thanks.” Naruto checked his wallet and then slipped it into a hidden pocket before leaving the hotel to explore. Hopefully he had enough money to get something not only for Iruka but Kakashi and the old man too. He wandered aimlessly through the town, looking in the various shops but nothing caught his eye.

“Looking for something special?” Naruto turned and smiled at the old woman.

“For my older brother.” She nodded and led him around to another section.

“Rare to see ninja here.” She commented and Naruto shrugged.

“Just going where my sensei tells me to.” He answered flippantly. He smiled as he saw a small dolphin carved from some sort of stone.

“Beautiful isn’t it?” She smiled and he nodded.
“Twenty.” He thought about it and then nodded again.
“I’ll box it for you.” He followed her over to the counter and watched as she boxed and wrapped the figurine. He handed over the money and took the box.
“I hope your brother likes it.”

“I’m sure he will. Thanks!” Naruto grinned and left, wanting to hide the box in his pack before doing any more shopping.

Iruka started to turn as the door opened only to stagger as a blonde missile slammed into him. He smiled and hugged the boy as he got his balance back.

“I’m back! Did you miss me?” Naruto grinned up at him. Iruka ruffled his hair and began looking him over for injuries making Naruto laugh.
“I’m fine! We didn’t have any trouble at all. I got you something.”

“Thank you.” Iruka accepted the gift and slowly unwrapped it before opening the box. He reached in and smiled as he pulled out the beautifully carved dolphin.

“Do you like it?” Naruto asked nervously.

“I love it.” Iruka told him.

“Really?”

“Really. So did you enjoy the mission?”

“It was great! I’ve never been out of the village before. Kakashi-sensei even gave me time to explore by myself as long as I wasn’t out late and was careful. There was this really nice old lady, she showed me that and I knew it was for you.” Naruto bounced and Iruka smiled again.

Iruka smiled at the jounin as he entered the main room and slouched down on the couch.

“Kids giving you a hard time?” He teased. Kakashi smiled, happy that Iruka was now able to tease him even if it didn’t happen often. Slowly Iruka was learning to relax around him, sure Iruka had saved his life and had suggested him as Naruto’s teacher but he had always been tense around him. Kakashi knew that Iruka was scared for Naruto and so he always went out of his way to talk to the younger man about the blonde, trying to reassure him that all sensei’s weren’t like his. And to his delight it was working, slowly but surely Iruka had begun to relax and open up a bit. They were friends now and in a way Kakashi dreaded the day Iruka would be allowed to leave the tower because then he’d have to share the younger man with the rest of the village. As selfish as it was he liked having a friend he only had to share with three others and Anko didn’t really count, as she was more of a sister to Iruka. Sandaime was his mentor and an almost father figure, Naruto his little brother. But Kakashi was his friend and only that.

Sakura swallowed but then walked up to her teammate and tapped him on the shoulder lightly. The blonde turned and gave her an inquisitive look. She looked down at the ground, ashamed of herself. Since Kakashi-sensei’s little chat she‘d been taking a real good look at her actions concerning her teammates and she had to admit she wasn’t proud of herself.

“I’m sorry Naruto. You’re not an idiot or any of the other things I’ve called you. You really are a good ninja and I hope one day you can forgive me.” She turned and went to walk away but a hand on her arm stopped her. Serious blue eyes stared into hers; making her want to squirm but she fought the urge. Ever so slowly a small but genuine smile appeared on Naruto’s face, as he detected no lie.

“Want to get some lunch, just as friends?” He asked and she nodded.

“Sure.” She smiled at him and he released her arm. Hidden in a nearby tree Kakashi lowered his book and smiled at the two. It was good to see that she had listened to what he had said two weeks ago. Now if only he could remove the stick from Sasuke and take his ego down a few notches. He shook his head, sure he was a genius ninja but he was not a miracle worker. Hopefully he would see the better interaction between the other two and start to thaw out a little. Hey, he could dream, couldn’t he?

“Hey Ruka!” Iruka grinned as Anko entered his ‘living room’.

“Hey Anko-chan. What brings you here?”

“Gossip, what else? You’ll never guess who I saw heading for the ramen stand together, chatting like friends.” Anko saw it as her job to fill Iruka in on everything he’d missed and up to date with all the latest gossip. Wouldn’t do for him to be clueless once allowed out into the population after all.

“Um, Kurenai and Gai?” He picked two names that from what Anko had said he figured they would not be doing what she had just said on a normal day.

“Nope. Your little brother and his pink haired team-mate.” Iruka froze, eyes going wide and his jaw dropping in shock.

“Are you serious? You better not be joking Anko!”

“I’m not! They were walking side by side and Sakura was chatting away with Naruto listening to her and commenting occasionally. It wasn’t forced either.” She grinned, knowing the news would make him happy and sure enough he was soon grinning and laughing softly. Then he utterly shocked her by picking her up and spinning around, something he hadn’t sone since they were kids. She laughed as he put her down and blushed in embarrassment.

“Sorry.”

“Don’t be. You haven’t done that since before… It’s okay to be happy and shoe it Ruka.” He nodded slowly, no longer laughing but still happy. She surprised him by hugging him and then moving back to the door.
“Got to go, got a mission. I’ll be back in four days or so.”

“Good luck Anko-chan.” He watched her go and then collapsed onto the couch, unable to help another smile. So Naruto was finally starting to make friends. He wondered what had made Sakura change her attitude but he didn’t really care as long as her intentions were true.

“Yo.”

“Hello Kakashi. Anko tells me two of your students were seen together heading for the ramen stand.” Iruka smiled at him and Kakashi grinned.

“So she beat me with the news. Sakura apologised to Naruto for everything she’s down and it seems like he’s working on forgiving her. It was his idea to have lunch together. Looks like I now have two students who listen to me.” Kakashi slouched onto the couch beside him.

“You said something to Sakura?” Iruka asked, hoping he hadn’t pushed her into doing what she did.

“Relax, she did it all on her own. She was laying into Naruto before we left on that mission so I pulled her aside and gave her some hard facts. Obviously she decided to listen and take a good look at herself. I’m glad she did, all that screeching gets very annoying really fast. Missions should be smoother with those two getting along better.”

“What about Sasuke?” Iruka asked with a small frown. He worried about the boy since his sensei was after him and he understood how it felt to be an orphan but he didn’t agree with what he’d heard about his attitude. The way he was now Orochimaru may not have to kidnap him, Sasuke might go with him willingly if the sannin phrased things right.

“I’ll leave it a little longer, see how he reacts to the change in the others behaviour first.”

“Maybe it’ll shock him into reality? Doesn’t sound like he’s entirely stable, not that any shinobi is.” Iruka shrugged. Kakashi frowned but nodded in agreement, he knew he couldn’t talk but he’d picked something up in Iruka’s voice.

“You don’t think you’re sane?” He asked softly.

“How could I be after… I know I’m not entirely ‘right in the head’ Kakashi and I’m okay with it, I think. No one sane wakes screaming every night or tries to commit suicide. I nearly attacked Sandaime the other night I was so out of it.” He finished quietly.

“Every night?” Kakashi asked, shocked though he supposed it did make sense. Iruka simply nodded. He hesitantly squeezed his friends’ shoulders, trying to give him some comfort.
“That’s just your memories, it doesn’t make you even a little crazy. They’ll get better with time.” Kakashi told him firmly, hoping he was telling the truth.

“I hope you’re right.”

“Naruto, Sakura you two pair off. Sasuke you’re with me.” Kakashi called as they readied to spar. He received to nods and a bored look for his trouble and the two teens moved away before settling into their stances. Sasuke followed him but Kakashi could see him watching the other two from the corner of his eye. Using his inattention Kakashi attacked, forcing the teen to pay attention to what was happening and not what the others were doing.
“Want to know your main weakness?” He asked cheerfully as he sent the Uchiha flying. Sasuke glared at him and attacked.
“You’re too much a loner. Look at them. Even after how she’s treated him Naruto’s put that aside to give friendship a chance. You’re walking a lonely and self-destructive road Sasuke.”

“Hn.” Sasuke’s glare went up several dozen notches and his attacks become stronger as he fought to prove Kakashi wrong but in reality all he was doing was proving him right.

Kakashi sighed and walked over to where Naruto was now helping Sakura with her taijutsu.

“Finished already sensei?” The blonde asked and Kakashi nodded.

“Good work you two. Nice to see you getting along better.” He gave them his usual smile, only visible through the up curve of his eye. Sakura smiled.

“Thanks Kakashi-sensei. Naruto’s a good teacher.” Said blonde blushed ever so slightly at the praise.

“Well, lets go pick up a mission.” He led the three towards the mission room, Sasuke sulking in the back as the other two chatted amicably. The dark haired boy ignored all attempts to include him in the conversation much to Kakashi’s disappointment and annoyance.

Iruka smiled as both Kakashi and Naruto walked in, Naruto bouncing in excitement and Kakashi smiling.

“Sakura and I sparred today and she actually asked me for help! And then she told Kakashi-sensei that I’m a good teacher!” Naruto told him as he jumped onto the couch, making Iruka laugh. Kakashi shot him what appeared to be an amused grin, the mask made it hard to tell for sure, before sitting down as well.

“It’s great that you two are getting along now.” Iruka said honestly, happy for Naruto. The three looked up as the door opened and Sarutobi walked in, smiling to see the three together.

“Hey old man!” Naruto greeted happily and the Hokage smiled.

“Hello Naruto-kun, Kakashi, Iruka. I’m glad I caught you two here. A mission’s come in and I think it’ll be a good learning experience for your team and you and Naruto have already completed a C-rank before.” Sarutobi explained. Kakashi nodded and Naruto was instantly serious.

“What’s the mission?” The blonde asked curiously.

“To escort a bridge builder back to Wave. Should be a simple mission to introduce the other two to a higher ranked mission. Do you accept?”

“What do you say Naruto? Think you can keep from killing Sasuke for that long?” Kakashi asked with his usual smile. Naruto rolled his eyes.

“Yes sensei, I promise not to kill him. Another C-rank sounds good to me.” Naruto smiled.

“Then it’s agreed. Team 7 accepts the mission Hokage-sama.”

Naruto smiled at Sakura as he spotted her waiting by the gates. She smiled and waved as he walked closer before sitting beside her. They settled in to wait for their remaining teammates and their client.

“Looking forward to your first C-rank?” Naruto asked as he leant back against his pack.

“I guess. But are we ready? What happens if we’re attacked?”

“Don’t worry about it, I’ve already done one of these and it was a piece of cake. We’ll be fine! Sides, Kakashi-sensei is a really famous ninja so if anything did happen he’d be able to protect us.” Naruto assured her, grinning happily.

“Hn. That loser will probably be dead in seconds if we are attacked.” Sasuke sneered as he joined them, leading to Sakura physically restraining Naruto so that he wouldn’t attack the Uchiha. Naruto was extremely loyal to those he considered family and Kakashi had definitely become a part of his family. Sandaime was the kindly grandfather/elderly uncle, Iruka the big brother and Kakashi was big brother/father like figure/uncle all rolled into one. Insulting said family in front of him was not usually a good idea, which was why Sakura was clinging onto him. Sasuke just continued to sneer and then walked away from them before leaning against the wall. Naruto stopped struggling and Sakura slowly released her hold.

“Yo.” Naruto smiled as Kakashi finally showed up.

“YOU’RE LATE!” Sakura yelled and Kakashi laughed sheepishly.

“I had to say goodbye to a dolphin.” Naruto blinked and then laughed as Sakura yelled at him for being a liar since he wasn’t lying for once. He glared at the bridge builder as he insulted them all but didn’t do anything else since it would annoy Kakashi-sensei.

They’d been walking for what felt like forever when Naruto noticed the puddle just ahead, his eyes flickered to Kakashi but the older man motioned for him to keep walking. He obeyed but was ready to move if needed. Sakura screamed as Kakashi was torn to shreds in front of them. Naruto swallowed hard but then braced himself for a fight, sending a mental note to his teacher that that had better not be his actual remains splattered across the road. Sasuke moved, making his readiness unnecessary until one of the nins went for Sakura and their client. Naruto ran, throwing himself between his friend and their enemy, kunai held at the ready. He quickly formed to kage bunshins to help protect the two and then moved forward to meet the charging missing-nin. He relaxed as Kakashi caught the man, the other already hanging limp in his grip.

“Good work you three. We need to talk Tazuna-san.” Kakashi looked at their client and the man began to squirm.

“What’s wrong Iruka?”

“Nothing, just a bad feeling.” The younger man answered as he turned from the window.

“You’re worried about Kakashi’s team.” Sarutobi stated and Iruka nodded.
“It is a C-ranked mission, something Naruto has been on before. Kakashi will look after them all.”

“I know that but…”

“But you still worry and you will every time they leave the village. It’s perfectly normal to worry about loved ones when they are out of sight.” Sandaime assured him, smiling warmly at the younger ninja. Iruka blushed slightly in embarrassment but nodded. That made the Hokage’s smile widen since it was an old habit of Iruka’s that was slowly reappearing. Slowly but surely he was healing from the emotional damage done by his sensei. He’d probably never heal completely but he would improve.

Naruto swallowed hard and forced himself not to shake as the killing intent rolled over them. Kakashi-sensei had made sure he knew what it felt like but never to this level. How much worse did it feel to his teammates and client? Zabuza was way out of their league so Kakashi-sensei had to beat them or they would probably die, not that it would be without a fight. Feeling the mist-nin appear in the centre of their formation he shoved Sakura out of the way while throwing himself out of the swords path, Sasuke and the bridge builder being knocked of their feet. Before Zabuza could do anything else their sensei was on him, plunging his kunai into the mans stomach only for him to melt into water. He watched in growing horror as water clones were destroyed and Kakashi captured. He glanced at Sasuke and Sakura as Kakashi yelled at them to run and saw the same knowledge in their eyes, the time to run had long since passed, they would not make it if they ran.

Without a word Sakura fell back to cover the bridge builder as the two boys prepared for the fight of their lives. Zabuza’s clone attacked, aiming for Sasuke first only to be intercepted by a shadow clone. It was dispatched fairly easily but it gave Sasuke time to get out of the way and prepare his own attack. The two teens attacked together, for once managing to work together.

Kakashi watched in shock as the two perpetually fighting teens managed to work together against the water clone. So far they were holding their own but how long would that last? If only he could get free but there was no way with Zabuza keeping the prison in place.

Naruto dodged a swing from the massive sword but stayed down as Sasuke used his crouched from as a springboard to launch himself into the air, weapons drawn. As the clones attention switched to the airborne Uchiha Naruto lunched upwards and drove a kunai through its ribs, dissolving it even as he let fly a handful a shuriken towards the real Zabuza, Sasuke doing the same while still falling. With that many weapons aimed directly for and around him Zabuza was forced to release his jutsu and doge to the side, freeing Kakashi. Their sensei gave a brief nod of thanks before resuming his fight.

“I have something for you Naruto.” The teen moved closer to his still recovering sensei and watched as he revealed a short sword.
“I had this made for you on our last C-rank mission and was planning to start your training with it on this one. You won’t be anywhere near Zabuza’s level of wielding it before we have to fight him again but at least you can start.” He handed the teen the blade and Naruto stared at it and then him in shocked silence.

“I…no one’s ever…thank you Kakashi-sensei.” The blonde said quietly. Kakashi smiled behind his mask and ruffled his hair affectionately.

“You’re a close range fighter hence the short blade. With the help of your kage bunshin we should be able to speed up your training a bit. The blade has some special features I’ll explain once you’ve gotten to the point were there’s no risk of stabbing yourself.” Naruto grinned and then watched as Kakashi showed him how to properly hold the blade before going through a few simple moves.

“Hey Ruka catch.” He turned and caught the ramen container his old teammate sent flying in his general direction.

“Thanks Anko.” He sat down and opened the container as she munched on some dango.

“Kakashi and co back yet?” She asked as they ate and he shook his head.

“Something’s gone wrong, I can feel it.” He whispered and she put a hand on his shoulder.

“Kakashi’s good Iruka, really good. He won’t let anything happen to the kids. They’ll be back soon, you’ll see.”

“I hope so.” He smiled at her.

“Better finish that before it gets cold.” He nodded and began eating again.
“At least you’ll be out of here soon. Only three weeks till the exams.”

“Yeah, one month and three weeks until we’re invaded.”

“Don’t be such a pessimist. Just…be careful. I don’t want to get you back only to loose you again. It would kill Naruto if you got yourself killed and Kakashi wouldn’t take it to well either.”

“I promise to try my hardest not to die.” He assured her.

“Good.”

Iruka fell back as an orange missile slammed into him. He raised his head from the floor to find Naruto securely attached to his stomach. Fear slammed into him as he struggled to sit up and then check the blonde over for injuries.

“Naruto what’s wrong? Are you hurt?” He babbled in panic. Hearing movement at the door he looked up to see Kakashi hovering.
“Kakashi?” The older man shook his head and motioned for Iruka to see to Naruto. Once sure the boy was unhurt Iruka wrapped his arms around him and held him close, surprised to feel tears soaking through his shirt. Ten minutes later Naruto was asleep. Kakashi gave him a hand up and Iruka put Naruto into his own bed before rejoining Kakashi in the main room.
“What happened?” Iruka asked, voice filled with dread.

“Mission went south. The client lied about what was going on and it turned into an A-rank. We ended up facing some Mist-nin, including the Demon of the Mist.” Iruka went pale, his eyes wide.

“The rest of your team?” He asked shakily but Kakashi smiled.

“Fine, other than Sasuke’s wounded pride.” Kakashi assured him and Iruka relaxed a bit.
“But they weren’t ready to kill or watch people die. We were ambushed and I got captured. Naruto managed to get Sasuke to work with him while Sakura guarded the client. They took put Zabuza’s water clone and got me free. After the fight I passed out from chakra exhaustion but they managed to get us all to safety and Naruto even continued helping Sakura train while I was out. Sasuke...he reminds me a lot of myself when I was his age but darker. We faced Zabuza and his accomplice again at the bridge. The boys took on Haku and I faced Zabuza. With the mist I couldn’t see what happened but Sasuke was taken out in a way that made it appear like he was dead. Needless to say Naruto became...mad. For a second I thought, it felt so much like the day the Fourth died.” Iruka went pale as he realised what Kakashi was saying.

“But Naruto’s okay now?”

“He’s fine, the seal’s intact and he’s shown no ill effects. From what he’s said when e beat Haku the boy begged him to kill him and Naruto finally agreed. If it wasn’t for Haku sacrificing himself for Zabuza, Naruto would have made his first kill. As it is Naruto managed to get Zabuza to see what Haku meant to him and he was killed fighting against his employers thugs. Then the townsfolk showed up and the ‘army’ ran off. Naruto now even has a bridge named after him.” Kakashi fell silent and watched Iruka, nervous about how he would react to Naruto being put in that situation.

“I never wanted him to face that sort of thing...but that’s what it means to be shinobi. He’s blossomed under your training in ways I couldn’t have imagined and I know you’ll do everything in your power to keep him alive. I guess...a part of me wishes he’d never become shinobi but then I think that’s selfish. Naruto is so powerful, how many lives can he save during his life? And I want to save him from that?”

“Sounds like what any older brother would want to do.” Kakashi answered with a small grin and a shrug.

Kakashi listened as the upcoming exams were discussed, still fighting with himself over what to do. Naruto was ready for the exams, ability-wise so was Sasuke and Sakura wasn’t that far behind anymore. But when it came to teamwork...Sasuke seriously dragged them down. Plus Orochimaru wanted the boy which was another reason not to nominate them, plus Iruka would kill him if anything happened to Naruto. But Sasuke was also the perfect bait to make sure Orochimaru went through with the plans Iruka knew about.

Kakashi sighed and stepped forward, hopefully Iruka would make his death quick if not painless.

“Do you really think we’re ready sensei?” Kakashi looked over at Naruto. They were eating in for once so it was just the two of them sitting at the dining room table.

“Ability-wise, yes. You’ve come a long way since I took over your training. Sasuke’s ninjutsu is at the right level and Sakura has come a long way too. There’s only one thing that could make this more dangerous than normal.”

“Sasuke being a teme?” Naruto asked with a small grin and Kakashi chuckled but nodded.

“You and Sakura make a good team now but with Sasuke refusing to cooperate things could get deadly. Despite the fact that you can advance in rank individually the exams push teamwork for the most part. And with Orochimaru after Sasuke....”

“Do you want me to say no? If this needs teamwork only one of us has to refuse, right?” Naruto offered and Kakashi smiled at how far the blonde had come in such a short time.

“You need to make your own decision Naruto. I just don’t want you making a decision without all the facts.”

“Hey niisan.” Iruka smiled as Naruto walked in but it faded at the look on Naruto’s face.

“What’s wrong Naruto?” He asked worriedly but the boy smiled.

“Kakashi-sensei nominated us for the chuunin exams. I know Sasuke will say yes and I’m pretty sure Sakura will too so that leaves me with the deciding vote. Kakashi-sensei thinks we’re ready individually but our teamwork sucks thanks to the teme. Plus there’s the whole Orochimaru thing. I don’t know what to do.” Naruto shrugged and sat next Iruka. Iruka sighed and really thought about how to answer.

“I know I don’t want you in danger and these exams will be more dangerous than usual. But...you are shinobi now Naruto and danger is a part of the life. So if you want to participate then do it, just promise me you’ll be careful and if you see Orochimaru you’ll grab the others and run as fast as you can for help.”

Sakura waved as she saw Naruto approaching. Sasuke completely ignored them both until Naruto reached them.

“So?” She asked, still not entirely certain with her decision.

“I’m in.” Naruto answered with a grin and Sakura smiled, if Naruto said yes then she was in.

“Lets go.” Sasuke called, already walking towards the door. Naruto rolled his eyes and Sakura laughed but they followed him inside.