Archive of Our Own

The beeping of something to his right is the first thing he hears, the sound dragging him slowly from the darkness of unconsciousness until he becomes vaguely aware of his surroundings. He’s warm, a soft surface under him. A hint of antiseptic lingers in the air and accompanied by the beeping makes him think of the hospital.

With a grimace, he drags heavy and gritty eyes open, wincing as the light makes them ache and water at its brightness. Someone walks by, their steps silent but he can hear the faint rustle of clothe before the light lessens, something being drawn across it to cut the intensity of it.

White meets his view, the ceiling tiles of his hospital room familiar in the way that all hospital rooms are. The rustle of clothe again and he looks to his right to see a blonde woman staring down at him and he frowns. Senju Tsunade looks a lot like the picture the Sandaime had of her and her team in his study, though older of course.

“Welcome back,” she mutters with a faint frown, glancing down at a chart in her hands. His throat feels tight with thirst, his mouth paper dry. “You’ve been in the hospital for three days recovering,” she informs him when he doesn’t speak up and he nods faintly.

“What–,” he can’t figure out how he wants to finish his sentence and lets it hang.

“What’s wrong with you?” she asks with an arched brow and a bit of a snide tone. “Oh, nothing much, except for the severe cases of dehydration, starvation, and an idiotic fox that forgets that human bodies need food and water to survive and can’t just live off of chakra,” she snaps and he blinks up at her slowly, mind sluggish and having trouble following.

Her eyes close and she drags in a deep breath before letting it out slowly and opens them again. “What do you remember last?” she asks evenly.

He blinks and then frowns, thinking back. “I…I was home,” he rasps out. “Making breakfast and…and someone appeared in my apartment. He…,” he frowns harder and then the memory finally clicks and he jerks up in panic, the monitor hooked to the clip on his finger suddenly beeps erratically. “I can’t be…I shouldn’t be here,” he starts, aiming to pull himself out of the bed weakly.

Tsunade grips his shoulder and with very little strength, pushes him back against the bed and he collapses back. “You’re not going anywhere,” she snaps with a glare and a pointed look to stay still. The monitor is still beeping and she sighs. “It’s fine, you’re safe,” she assures him. “We’re aware of the compulsion that was put on you. It’s why you’re here and not in the suppression cell.”

“You…you know,” he says, whirling thoughts halting at her words.

She nods, “Actually, it was that brat Itachi that figured it out. Managed to pry it out of your passenger’s tight lips and figured out just what had been done. He and Fugaku removed the compulsion from you,” she explains.

“So I’m…I’m not a danger?” he asks.

“That depends, are you going to try and get out of this bed any time soon?” she asks with an arched brow.

“Ah…um…no,” he offers her meekly and she nods approvingly. “What…what exactly happened?” he asks.

Tsunade sighs and pulls the chair next to the bed closer and collapses into it. “To be clear, I wasn’t even here yet but according to Kakashi and Itachi, they discovered two Akatsuki members in the village. They slipped in without setting off our defenses with a space-time ability. It’s how they got into your apartment without setting off your wards or alerting your guards. Kakashi and Itachi tried to follow but were forced to fight the other Akatsuki member. By the time they reached you, well, you’d already given control over to that stupid fox,” she huffs and Iruka feels a faint flare of heat at her words.

“Did…did he do anything?” he asks.

“Hmm, of course he did. Why wouldn’t he? He had a nice scuffle with Kakashi, Itachi and your two guards Lynx and Fox at the time before they managed to subdue him,” she waves dismissively.

“Did anyone get hurt?” he asks, feeling guilt well up.

“A few injuries. The Hatake brat’s going to have an impressive scar on his chest, but nothing they wouldn’t have gotten on a normal solid A-rank,” she informs him offhand. She looks up at him and sees the pained expression on his face. “Stop it,” she snaps and he looks up at her in surprise. “You are not responsible for this. In fact, your quick thinking stopped something even worse from happening. What happened afterwards is on the Kyuubi, not you.”

Iruka sighs but nods, rubbing at his face in frustration. A faint tug on his hand draws his gaze to the IV needle inserted into the back of it. He lowers his hand again and looks around finally. “I’m surprised Naruto isn’t here,” he comments mildly.

Tsunade snorts, “Oh, he has been. I ordered him to take a break. The brat’s been here most of the last three days. I told him to go eat and rest, and above all else, if he can’t do those, then to at least take a shower. He was starting to turn rip,” she mutters and Iruka huffs faintly in amusement.

“What’s going to happen to me now?” he asks the question that is burning in his chest.

Tsunade lifts a pale brow but shrugs, “Well, you’ll remain here until I feel you’re ready to leave. Don’t even try to weasel out of that kid. Nearly a week without eating or drinking anything on top of the stress  and strain you put on your body switching with the fox, you need time to recover,” she shakes a finger at him and he nods.

“Good,” she mutters before continuing. “Jiraiya took a look at your seal while you were out of it and he deemed it whole. No breakdowns or fractures in it. So, after I feel like you’re good, we can release you back to the general population.”

“What?” he asks, shocked.

“What,” she snaps and then sighs. “I’m not the council elders, Iruka, punishing you for every little thing and trying to control your every move. Yes, this wasn’t little but you were smart, kept your head about you and managed to turn it around in your favor. You took a risk and we will be watching you for a while to make sure there are no repercussions from this, but all in all, it’s been kept quiet, only a small number of people in the village are even aware of what has happened.”

“Oh,” he murmurs, relief sweeping through him.

“Now, there is one thing we need to discuss,” she informs him and he nods. “What was the order he gave?”

Iruka frowns, hands fisting in the blanket over his lap and pulls a slow breath in, “He said he didn’t need me, and Naruto, just yet. That his plans were still in the beginning stages, but that when he called, I was to go to him and take Naruto with me. He said he would explain everything eventually and then ordered me to forget the moment ever happened,” Iruka says evenly, staring up at the ceiling.

She hums in thought. “Sounds like this Tobi is possibly the leader or maybe one of them if there are multiple. We can work with this,” she says with a smirk and Iruka looks over at him. “He thinks the compulsion worked, that you forgot and that when he gives his signal, you’ll come. That means we can lay a trap of our own for him, when he does make his move. He made a mistake and we’re going to exploit that.”

“I’m the bait then,” he says and she nods, “Won’t that be taking a risk? If he has space-time abilities, he could take me somewhere before you could even spring the ambush.”

“True, but it is a risk we will be planning for. I doubt we’ll have to worry about that for a while. It sounds like they’re waiting for specific condition before grabbing you and the shrimp,” she waves off and he nods.

Before their conversation can continue, the door opens and a head of bright blonde hair pokes in. They turn to see Naruto staring at him with wide blue eyes. “I-Iruka-nii,” he whisper and then slams the door the rest of the way open as he rushes to the bed, throwing himself on it as Iruka reaches out to drag him close.

“Naruto,” he breathes out and clutches at him, Naruto holding just as tight.

A little bit later, they pull apart and Naruto sniffs wetly, dragging the sleeve of his jacket across his eyes. He looks over at Tsunade who has turned away to read something in his file. “Is he really okay?” he asks.

Tsunade looks back, “He’s fine brat. He’ll need a few more days to get back to his usual self but I doubt we’ll need to keep him longer,” she says with a lazy wave. “That should hopefully give the workers time to finish fixing up your apartment,” she adds.

“Apartment?” he asks, confused.

Tsunade nods. “The five of you did a good amount of damage to it, but nothing structural. You need a new couch though. Apparently the Kyuubi doesn’t like your taste in furniture,” she mutters.

“Where have you been staying, Naruto?” he asks with an arched brow.

“Sasuke said I could stay with him in the Uchiha Compound, until everything was fixed up,” he says with a shrug.

“That was nice of him,” Iruka says with a smile and Naruto smiles back, though it’s a little wane.

Tsunade walks over and thumps the flat of the clipboard onto Naruto’s head. “Did you actually eat brat, or did you shower as fast as you could and rush back over here?” she asks with an arched, knowing brow.

Naruto’s shoulders hunch a bit and he shakes his head. Tsunade sighs with a fond shake of her head. “I’ll have someone send up two meals then, something light for you, sensei. Best not shock your poor stomach with something heavy and have you throw it up,” she comments.

“Thank you, Tsunade-sama,” he murmurs with a smile sent her way.

She shrugs, “Don’t mention it. Visiting hours are ending soon, brat. Go home after you both eat,” she orders.

“But–,” Naruto starts.

“Naruto,” Iruka cuts him off. “I’m okay, but you need to take care of yourself too. Why don’t you let Sasuke and Itachi know that I’m awake and you can come visit in the morning,” he coaxes him.

Naruto looks a little mulish but finally nods, “Okay.”

“Alright, I’ll have someone bring the meals. I’ll check on you tomorrow, sensei,” she calls as she nears the door and Iruka nods.

Once she’s gone, Iruka turns to smile at Naruto. “Why don’t you tell me about what you did while you traveled,” Iruka says and Naruto nods eagerly, quickly falling into a tale of some of Jiraiya’s exploits in the Red Districts they visited while they searched for Tsunade and Iruka lets himself be distracted from his swirling thoughts and tangled feelings.

~*~

He’s looking for something. He’s not sure what exactly it is he’s searching for, but it’s important and he pushes through the milling crowd with a frown. The sun is setting, nearing dinner time and he needs to find…whatever it is so he can go home.

“Iruka-nii,” Naruto calls from the crowd and it clicks. That’s what he’s looking for. He pushes towards the direction Naruto’s voice called from, shoving through bodies and ignoring the shouts left behind. He needs to get to Naruto, a sudden urgent drive welling up in his chest. He needs to find him now.

“Iruka-nii,” Naruto calls again and he’s closer and with a final shove between milling people, he stumbles out into a clear section and there, his back turned to him, his bright orange jacket standing out like a beacon with his golden hair, is Naruto.

“Naruto,” Iruka says with a relieved sigh, stepping closer, focused on the boy and nothing else.

Naruto turns with a laugh and Iruka pulls up short, heart in his throat. “Iruka-nii, there you are,” Naruto shouts with his signature grin, waving. Iruka can only stare in horror at the red of his eyes, the dark tomoe in them swirling around his pupil.

“Naruto,” he croaks out, throat suddenly dry as he finally takes a look around him and realizing no one is there. All the people he just pushed through are gone. The street is deserted, silent, the shadows growing as the sun sets further and he watches the shadows reaching for Naruto.

“Naruto, come here,” Iruka shouts, frantic but as he goes to move closer, he can’t make his feet move, fear welling up in his chest at the sight of the red eyes staring at him. As he watches, they shifts, tomoe turning into a shape burned into his mind.

“But Iruka-nii, he says he can help us,” Naruto says cheerfully as a cloaked figure steps out from the shadows, placing a gloved hand on Naruto’s shoulder. His masked face cocks to the side, red eye glowing from the shadow of the hole in the mask.

“No, Naruto, get away from him!” Iruka shouts, shaking.

“Come with me, Iruka-nii,” Naruto calls, still grinning brightly, holding a hand out.

“Naruto, don’t!” Iruka screams as they turn away, Naruto following him as the shadows warp and swirl around him and they’re gone from sight.

“Naruto!”

Iruka sits up with a muted cry; jaw clinched so tight it aches. He breathes heavily, brokenly, keeping the sobs that want to wrench their way out of his chest tucked deep down and hidden. Closing his eyes tightly, he breathes slowly; breathe shuddering as he fights back the fear. He curls into his knees, hands fisting in his loose hair as he struggles to bring himself back under control.

Minutes pass as the adrenaline in his body slowly ebbs away, heartbeat slowing to a steady pace and breathing no longer difficult from a tight throat. With a long drawn out sigh, he slumps back against his pillow, still a little shaky and cold with the fear sweat on his skin. “Fuck,” he mutters under his breath, rubbing his hands over his face.

That was…intense. He should have realized something like this might happen. It had felt so real, his mind playing with him. His hands fall limply to his lap and they still tremble faintly so he clenches them into the blanket there.

He sits there, simply breathing and trying to think about nothing, for a while. Outside the window, he can see a sliver of night between curtains over the window, but there’s no clock in the room and he can’t see the moon to judge the time by.

He’s not dozing, but he’s drifting when he hears a faint sound, something deliberate and he tenses, ready to go for a weapon when he remembers he has none. He’s still in hospital scrubs. Opening his eyes, he looks around the shadows of his room and sees four shadowed figures and it takes a moment for his heart rate to slow when he recognizes them, the pale masks on two them standing out in the shadows, one with a pale shock of hair and one with a pale face he recognizes the shape of.

Sighing, Iruka rubs at his eyes,” Isn’t it a bit late for visiting hours?” he asks the four shinobi in his room, dropping his hand to look at them.

Kakashi hums and Iruka can see the bright orange cover of his book in his hands and frowns, wondering if the man is actually reading in the dark or pretending before he decides he doesn’t want to know. “Well, we’re shinobi, so…hospital rules don’t apply to us,” he dismisses with a wave of the book.

Iruka snorts softly, “Why don’t you tell that to Tsunade-sama’s face and please do it where I can watch so I can see her punch you over the hospital,” he comments mildly.

Fox laughs softly, reaching out to slap Kakashi on the shoulder while Lynx just shakes his head. Kakashi just sends a glare at Fox and slaps his hand away with his book. “Not that I’m complaining, but is there a reason for this visit?” he asks with a small smile.

“Naruto informed me you were awake so Kakashi-taichō and I came to check up on you before we head out for a mission in an hour,” Itachi murmurs, ignoring the others.

“Oh, thank you,” Iruka mutters.

“These two are just nosy and decided to follow,” Kakashi adds, jerking a thumb at Lynx and Fox.

“We’re on duty and saw two suspicious figures heading for the hospital,” Fox mutters. “We came to see who was breaking into the hospital. We can’t be too careful.”

Iruka feels a twist of guilt at his words, even if they’re in jest. He looks at them, recalling Tsunade’s informing him of Lynx and Fox being his guards during that fight. “I’m sorry,” he murmurs, head bowed as he fidgets with his blanket. “You all were forced to fight the Kyuubi because me and got hurt by my actions.”

“Maa, maa, sensei, it’s fine,” Kakashi assures, the other’s nodding. “And to be honest, I’ve had worse injuries. The Kyuubi was no worse than a particularly angry kitten,” he adds with an eye smile.

Iruka blinks at the heat in his gut at Kakashi’s words and laughs a little, “I don’t think he liked that comment,” he explains when they look at him.

“Kakashi-taichō, please don’t antagonize the Kyuubi,” Itachi sighs, Lynx shaking his head dejectedly at Kakashi’s antics as Fox laughs again.

Iruka snorts, feeling a little better and the last dredges of his nightmare fade. He looks at Itachi and smiles, “Hokage-sama says I have you to thank for stopping me,” he says.

Itachi nods faintly, “That’s what friends are for, Iruka-san,” he murmurs.

“Still, thank you and for looking after Naruto as well,” he adds.

“Of course,” he assures and then glances at something. “We should be heading out soon, Kakashi-taichō,” he adds.

“Ah, try to stay out of trouble, Iruka-san,” Kakashi says with a salute, Itachi giving a nod in farewell as Iruka says goodbye and then they fade into the shadows and leave the way they came in.

Lynx and Fox nod as well and fade back as well, leaving him alone in his room once more. He doubts he’ll get back to sleep, but at least for the moment, he feels a little lighter.

~*~

Iruka sits silently in their apartment, staring at nothing as he lets his thoughts tumble over each other. It’s only been a couple days since Tsunade released him from the hospital with orders that he ‘take it easy’ and he had accepted it with aplomb, not wanting to draw her wrath. But he’d forgotten how boring it can be without something to do.

It had been decided that instead of finishing the rest of the school year with his class, his replacement would continue in his place. He’s not surprised by the decision. They want to make sure nothing happens from his actions and that means not letting him near vulnerable pre-genin. It hurts to realize they think him that dangerous that he would attack his students but logically, he can understand their caution.

And with him being on a rest order, it means he can’t train, though he still feels a little fragile right now and even he can recognize the idiocy of pushing himself too soon. He doubts Tsunade would authorize him to work a shift at the mission desk either, which leaves him stuck at home with nothing to do except stare at his newly painted walls.

He can see the faint markers of the damage done: new swaths of paint on the walls, newer looking wooden floor boards in the kitchen and hall, a whole new door and the brand new couch he’s currently sitting on. It still smells new and it’s disorienting when he doesn’t get the familiar scent of the old one when he sits on it.

He glances towards his room down the hall and frowns before getting up and heading into it. He doesn’t want to go outside right now. Word had gotten out of the cover story they fed the populace that he’d gotten called on a last minute mission and gotten hurt and needed time to recover, but he doesn’t have the patience or energy to keep with the cover story should people want to talk about it. Heading for his book shelf, he pulls a wooden box off of it, the lines of seals curving across it.

Pressing a hand to it, he unlocks the seal and opens it to reveal Jiraiya’s storage scroll inside. If he’s going to be stuck inside until they deem he’s ready to be allowed back to work, he might as well keep up with his studies. At least this way he won’t go stir crazy doing nothing.

Pulling it out, he heads for his living room and sets the scroll down before he heads to the kitchen to grab something to drink. The curtains on the window are drawn open fully. He hasn’t felt comfortable leaving them closed since he got back. He glances out the window but can’t see either of his guards but he knows their watching. He’d rather lose that bit of privacy rather than let that man slip into his apartment unseen again.

Grabbing a bottle of water, he settles back at his table and unseals the scroll, pulling out the scroll from the pile he had been working through before this all happened. He quickly loses himself in the words written on the scroll, pulling his notebook closer to take notes and the world falls away as the hours pass him by.

~*~

“So apparently Sakura-chan has started to visit the hospital a lot lately,” Naruto informs him as they clean their dinner dishes. “She said she’s learning to be a medic nin.”

Iruka hums with a nod. “That’s a difficult specialty to master, but I’m sure she’ll excel at it,” he says, handing a bowl to Naruto to dry and reaches for another to clean.

“Really? Should I try to learn it?” he asks, serious.

Iruka laughs a little, “You can certainly try, but medics and iryo jutsus require very precise chakra control and unfortunately, we both just have too much chakra to be able to wield it that way,” Iruka says with a hip check to Naruto and a grin when the boy looks at him and Naruto laughs.

“Has Sasuke started to specialize in anything?” he asks, handing over the next bowl.

Naruto shrugs, “Kakashi-sensei’s been working with him a bit but he’s been working with that weird sick looking jounin too. Apparently, he’s learning kenjutsu,” Naruto mutters.

“Oh, Hayate-san, I know him,” Iruka says with a nod. “Sasuke said he was interested in it, I guess he decided to learn from one of the blade masters of the village.”

“Blade Master?” Naruto asks.

Iruka nods, “The Gekkō clan, while small, has always excelled in the art of kenjutsu. My grandfather was on the same genin team as Hayate-san’s grandmother and it’s where he learned to fight with a blade and where my wakizashi came from,” Iruka explains with a faint smile, remembering his father telling the story to him as a kid and showing him the blade.

“Wow, that’s so cool,” Naruto says excitedly and then he frowns, “What should I specialize in then?” he asks.

Iruka shrugs, “That’s for you to figure out. Not everyone specializes in something. There’s nothing wrong in knowing a bit of everything and in fact, that often makes a shinobi a better fighter in the long term if they are well rounded. Like being able to attack and defend. Either one is good, but if you can do both, you’ll be better for it,” Iruka says with a knowing look at Naruto and hands him the last cup to be dried.

“Oh,” Naruto says, seeming to be mulling over his words. “Like you, Iruka-nii,” he says, looking up with a grin.

“Me?” he asks, arching a brow.

“Well…yeah. You can use barriers but you can also use jutsu and your sword and now seals too. So I should be like you,” he says with a grin.

Iruka smiles fondly at him and hugs him around the shoulders, “Well, something along those lines,” he agrees and Naruto laughs as he puts the cup on the dish rack.

A tap at the window has Iruka tensing and he turns to see Fox’s mask staring at them from behind the glass. “Hang on a second, Naruto,” he says and pulls away to head for the door. Opening it, Fox nods in greeting to him, “Yes, Fox?” he asks.

“Hokage-sama has asked for you to come to a meeting now,” he says simply.

“Ah, okay, um,” he looks back at Naruto about to tell him he’ll be back in a bit.

“She asked for both of you,” Fox cuts in and Iruka jerks back around to look at Fox.

“Did she say why?” he asks evenly.

“No, Iruka-san, only that I was to bring the two of you,” he says and with a sigh, Iruka nods.

“Naruto, gets your sandals on,” he says to Naruto who is staring curiously at the ANBU on their balcony.

“Okay,” he says, following Iruka’s example and pulls on his sandals and grabs his hitai-ate off the table before following Iruka back to the door where Fox has stepped aside to give them room to step out. Shutting the door, Iruka locks it, bringing up the wards and turns to Fox who nods again and leaps across the way to the next building. Iruka and Naruto follow, Naruto asking what’s going on but Iruka simply shakes his head, unsure.

They reach the Hokage Tower in minutes and silently follow Fox up through the nearly deserted tower to a floor that never means anything good in Iruka’s mind. He flicks a glance at Fox but the mask and the calm posture gives nothing away as he stands beside the double doors in front of them and so Iruka is forced to reach out and knock, hearing a muffled ‘enter’ from inside.

Opening the door, he blinks when he only sees three figures seated around the square table rather than the whole council. Tsunade looks up from a scroll she’s reading and nods for them to enter. Jiraiya is busy sipping from a cup of sake while Kakashi is seated across from him reading that trash he always reads.

Iruka steers a confused Naruto to the free couch, noting the four familiar masked individuals in the corners as Fox takes his spot and Iruka can already guess that this will be something big. “Hokage-sama, Jiraiya, Kakashi-san,” he greets easily, though his mind is turning over what this is about, aside from the most obvious of the recent attack against him.

“Thanks for coming,” Tsunade says, setting aside the scroll and sends a look to Kakashi who quietly tucks his book away with sigh. Naruto snickers at his sensei being treated so by Tsunade.

“Baa-chan, what do you want?” Naruto demands in the silence and Jiraiya coughs as his sake goes down wrong, Tsunade raising a brow at his choice of names.

“Baa-chan?” she asks slowly.

Naruto shrugs, not embarrassed in the slightest, “We’re related, sort of, and…well, you’re old so you’re a baa-chan…unless I should just call you old hag from now on,” he says with an impish grin.

“Naruto,” Iruka sighs, rubbing at his face as Tsunade silently seethes while Jiraiya tries to clear his throat and not laugh at the same time.

“Baa-chan is fine, but in private. In public, it is Hokage-sama to you, brat,” she grumbles but Iruka peeks up and can see a faint flush on her cheeks.

“Ooh, does that mean you’re Iruka-nii’s baa-chan since he’s my nii-san?” he asks excitedly, jumping onto the topic excitedly.

Iruka coughs awkwardly, feeling himself flush a bit, “No, that’s…the Godaime and I are not related like that Naruto,” he reminds him, ignoring the faint snickering coming from one of the corners of the room.

“I don’t know. I’m sure if you asked nicely, she’d adopt you both,” Jiraiya says easily around a snicker and Tsunade reaches out and snatches his bottle of sake away, taking a deep gulp from it with a glare sent his way.

“Enough,” she grumbles.  “We’re here for a reason,” she reminds them and Jiraiya sighs but nods.

“Yeah, you never answered my question,” Naruto grumbles and Iruka reaches out to clasp a hand over his mouth in a vain attempt to keep him from getting Tsunade even more annoyed at him. He’s sitting right next to him and would be in the crossfire.

Naruto licks his hand and Iruka just sends him a look, “Since when has that ever affected me,” he reminds the boy who pouts. “Behave,” he orders and Naruto nods mulishly. Letting him go, Iruka faces forward again and bows slight, “Sorry, Hokage-sama,” he murmurs.

Tsunade waves him off. “Lynx, the wards,” she orders and Lynx steps towards the door and brings up the privacy wards before returning to his place. She looks at Naruto with a serious frown, “What is said in here is secret, brat. That means you don’t talk about it with anyone outside of this room unless you get permission from myself, Jiraiya, Kakashi or Iruka, do you understand?” she asks.

Naruto nods quickly, “Yeah.”

“Good,” she mutters and then sits back, picking up the scroll she had been holding earlier. “This is all the information Jiraiya has been collecting about Akatsuki in the last few years and it’s depressingly short,” she mutters, waving it around as she speaks.

“Is Akatsuki the ones who attacked Iruka-nii?” Naruto asks softly, hands fisting on his knees.

Tsunade nods, “They are.”

“Why did they go after him?” he asks, blue eyes angry at the threat to the man he considers family.

“I think you can guess, brat,” Tsunade says with a pointed look and Naruto flinches slightly, curling a little into himself and Iruka places a hand on one of his fists. “Akatsuki seems to be going after the other Jinchuuriki in the other countries first, though there have been no attacks against the villages as of yet.”

“What of the Jinchuuriki we know of?” Kakashi asks, grey eye sharp.

“The Ichibi’s host Gaara is being kept under guard and while our relations with them are very strained at the moment after the attack, we sent the warning just in case. Akatsuki getting their hands on the bijuu is not something good, no matter what country they’re from,” Jiraiya says with a level look. “I know Kiri has two Jinchuuriki, though I’m not sure which or who, but they’re in the middle of another civil war and my information is lacking in that direction. Iwa’s two have gone missing and I’m assuming they’ve been captured already. Taki has one, but Hisen has kept their identity firmly under wraps and even I don’t know anything about the host, not even whether they’re male or female. Kumo has two as well, but A keeps them on a short leash and I’d have heard if one of theirs went missing.”

“Do you think they’re saving the Kyuubi for last?” Tsunade asks, taking another sip from her pilfered sake.

“That’s my guess. Why else would they go through all the trouble of placing a compulsion on Iruka? More than likely, they want to get most if not all of them first and then come for the Kyuubi and they need both of them together to make it easier,” Jiraiya says, running a hand through his shaggy mane of hair.

“He did say his plans were only in the beginning stages,” Iruka says stiffly.

“So we have time,” Tsunade says with a nod and then glances at Jiraiya. “I take it you still plan to go through with your plan?” she asks.

Jiraiya nods, “It would be for the best.”

“What plan?” Naruto asks suspiciously.

Jiraiya lets out a sigh and leans forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “Akatsuki is after both you and Iruka and wants to take you both at the same time. The best way to keep them from their goal is to split the two of you up,” he explains.

“What?” Iruka asks, shocked.

“I don’t want to,” Naruto shouts angrily, jumping up. “I’m not going to leave Iruka-nii alone for that bastard to come after him again.”

“Naruto,” Iruka tries to calm him down, though even his own thoughts are swirling.

“No!” Naruto shouts again. “I wasn’t here and he hurt you,” Naruto says with a glare.

“You think that you, a genin with very little battle experience, could have done any good against him?” Tsunade asks sharply, voice turning icy. “You would have just become a liability at best and at worst he would have taken the both of you.”

Naruto turns his head away, tears threatening in his eyes and he angrily rubs them away. “I’m not going. I want to stay here with Iruka-nii and my team,” he says.

Jiraiya sits back with a hard look at Naruto, “Alright, say we let you stay here. What do you do when you’re out on a mission with your team and Akatsuki attacks?” he asks simply, voice still even. “Most, if not all of the members of this group are near or are S-rank missing nin,” he informs him. “So, they attack and they have no need for Sakura or Sasuke nor do they have a reason to spare them. They cut them down as they try to protect you because they’re your friends. Kakashi is near S-rank in strength, he might be able to take them on his own, but with three genin to protect, he’ll be limited to defense and it will make him vulnerable. Even he would probably fall trying to protect you. So now, your friends are dead, your sensei is dead or at least seriously hurt and they still get their hands on you. They send word to Iruka that if he doesn’t come, they’ll kill you and I’m sure Iruka would do everything in his power to save you, even sacrificing himself to save you. Now they have both of you in their possession. Is that what you want Naruto?” he snaps.

“I…,” Naruto can’t seem to figure out what to say to that argument.

“Naruto,” Kakashi says lowly and he looks with tear filled eyes. “I would give my life to protect you, but sometimes, the best way to protect those precious to you is to remove yourself from their lives so they aren’t in the crossfire,” he says gently, though his gaze is harsh.

“What about Iruka-nii? He’ll be by himself too,” Naruto says with a sniff.

“Iruka has been training for years and has his own backup,” Tsunade says, motioning to the four ANBU in the room and Naruto looks at them.

“Naruto,” Iruka says sadly, reaching out to turn him by his chin to look at him. “I want more than anything to be close by you,” he admits with a sad smile, “but even more than that, I want you to be safe. If the two of us splitting up will keep you safe, then I will do it in a heartbeat,” he says sadly, heart twisting in his chest when he realizes he’s already accepted this plan.

“It’s not forever, brat,” Jiraiya grumbles and Naruto blinks in shock.

“It’s not?” he asks.

Jiraiya shakes his head. “I’m planning to search for more information on Akatsuki and while I travel, I will train you as my apprentice until I feel you are strong enough that you can return,” he says simply.

“How long would that take?” he asks, wiping at his eyes.

Jiraiya shrugs. “A year, maybe two, but it depends on how fast you progress and what information I can get ahold of.”

Naruto goes silent, mulling over their words. “What about the Chuunin Exams?” Iruka asks with a frown. “If he’s travelling with Jiraiya, he won’t be able to advance like the rest of his year mates, and Sakura and Sasuke will need him to take the tests.”

Tsunade sighs, “Right now, next year’s exams are a bit of an unknown. They were to be held in Suna but after their attack, they’ve been pulled from the rotation until they can prove to be safe for the other villages’ genin. Until we know if an exam is even going to happen, we can’t plan for it. As for his team, there are many genin who need a team to take the exam. It’s happens all the time. Even your last Chuunin Exam was with someone not from your original team. We’ll keep it in mind, but if it’s not safe, he won’t be able to enter,” she says and Iruka sighs but nods.

“How come I’ll be safe with you but not in the village?” Naruto asks, brows scrunched up.

Jiraiya sighs but answers. “In the village, you’re a sitting target. With me, we’ll be moving constantly, never staying in one place more than a week. A target constantly changing location is a target that’s hard to pin down. As for why you’ll be safe with me: I am an S-rank shinobi,” he says with a hard look. “Even Akatsuki would be wary of attacking me head on.”

“Oh,” Naruto says, fidgeting with his jacket’s zipper. “Iruka-nii, you’ll be safe?” he asks, looking up at him uncertainly.

Iruka nods with a faint smile. “As safe as I could ever be. Without the element of surprise, he’ll be hard pressed to sneak up on me a second time,” he says with a grim nod.

Naruto nods back and then turns to face Jiraiya, “Okay. When…,” he swallows a little, “when do we leave?” he asks.

“Not for a couple more days,” Jiraiya says with an approving nod. “You’ll have time to say your goodbyes,” he assures and Naruto smiles faintly.

“Was this all the meeting was about?” Iruka asks.

“For the moment,” Tsunade says with a nod. “You two can get back home.” She looks at Kakashi, “Stay a bit longer. We need to speak to you about something,” she orders and he nods.

Iruka doesn’t need to be told twice, nodding silently in thanks to Lynx as he brings down the wards and walks out, Naruto gripping his hand tightly beside him, a silent companion. He ignores Fox following behind them as they take to the roofs and head back to their apartment building.

Naruto is still silent as they step into their apartment, the window shutting behind them. “Naruto,” he says softly, uncertain of the boy’s thoughts.

He lets out a soft breath as Naruto throws himself at him, arms wrapped around his waist tightly. “I don’t want to go,” he mutters into his stomach, not looking up.

Iruka sighs softly and directs them over to the couch, settling onto it as Naruto clings to him. “I know,” he admits. “I don’t want you to go either. It hurts to even think about,” he says softly into bright blonde hair. “But, think about it this way: this is just another mission. There are missions like that, where a shinobi goes off for months, even years, away from the village. It’s hard, but they know that eventually they can come home. This won’t be forever.”

“I’ll write you every day,” Naruto says, pulling back with a frantic look. “I’ll tell you all about my adventures and the stupid stuff Ero-Sennin gets up to.”

“I can’t wait to read them…though perhaps you should limit them to once a week so you can have a lot to write about and I can have a lot to read,” he bargains and Naruto nods with a weak smile.

Naruto frowns a little, “What should I tell Sakura and Sasuke?” he asks.

“The truth: that Jiraiya is taking you as his apprentice to train. That it’s for our protection is just a side benefit. First is getting you strong enough to protect those precious to you,” Iruka says with a firm look.

“You’re my most precious person,” Naruto says with surety. “You and Sakura and Sasuke, and Kakashi-sensei and Itachi and Shisui and…,” he trails off.

“Sounds to me you have a lot of very good reasons to get stronger,” Iruka says with a proud smile. “We’ll be waiting for your return and you can show us how strong you’ve gotten.”

“I promise I’ll get stronger,” Naruto says, holding out his pinky finger and Iruka smiles sadly, linking his with Naruto’s.

“Get strong, but also, stay safe…for me,” he orders gently.

“Only if you do,” Naruto bargains and Iruka nods and pulls Naruto into another hug. They don’t move from the couch for a while that night as they come to terms with this new path laid before them.

~*~

Iruka walks silently beside Naruto as they head for the main gate in the early dawn light. It’s a strange parallel to the last time he walked Naruto to the gate to meet Jiraiya. This time though, he knows the time between him leaving and returning will be much greater, years even. His heart is settled low in his chest, a heavy weight that he will bear gladly if it means Naruto being safe.

Iruka looks up from his observation of Naruto as they walk and sees Itachi and Sasuke already waiting beside the gate for them. Coming from another direction, he can see Sakura walking towards them. As they pull up, Iruka nudges Naruto to go talk with his teammates to give their final farewells.

Itachi is a silent presence beside Iruka and he’s grateful Itachi isn’t one to ask pointless questions. He knows how Iruka feels and talking about it won’t change it. A scuff of a sandal has Iruka looking up to see Kakashi walking along next to Jiraiya, the two talking quietly before something exchanges hands and then Kakashi shifts away from him to stand next to Itachi and Iruka.

“Well brat, ready?” Jiraiya asks.

Naruto steps away from Sakura and Sasuke who both are looking down but are putting on brave faces. “I…I guess,” he says with a shrug, his pack settled heavily on his shoulders.

“Then we’ll be off now. Try not to do anything stupid,” he says pointedly to Kakashi and the man shrugs nonchalantly at the remark.

Naruto dashes quickly to Iruka and wraps his arms around Iruka’s waist one last time, “Bye Iruka-nii,” he whispers as Iruka hugs him back.

“Be safe and have fun,” he orders and Naruto nods with a faint smile.

Pulling back Naruto waves to Itachi and Kakashi, “Bye Itachi-san, bye Kakashi-sensei.”

“Be safe, Naruto-kun,” Itachi says solemnly.

“Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do,” Kakashi says with an eye smile and Naruto frowns at the man before nodding slowly.

“Come on, kid,” Jiraiya calls and Naruto runs to reach him as he heads down the road. Turning back once, he waves before he’s forced to pay attention to the road to keep from tripping on the ruts. Iruka remains where he, watching as the two of them disappear down the road and around the bend. Eventually, Kakashi stirs and gathers the rest of his team to go train, sending a silent nod to Iruka as they pass.

“Iruka-san?” Itachi speaks up.

“I’m okay,” he murmurs before turning away from the gate to head back into the village.

~*~

Iruka putters around the apartment, a little lost in what to do. With classes out for the summer, he’d thought about working on lesson plans for next year but he can’t seem to get himself motivated enough to work on them. With no missions to worry about, his time is only really broken up by his shifts at the mission desk and occasional shifts picked up with the barrier squads in the week since Naruto left.

He wanders down the short hall to their rooms and slide open the door to Naruto’s half. It looks the same as he left, nothing moved or disturbed but he can still see the missing pieces Naruto took with him, though he had at least convinced him to leave the pictures of Minato and Kushina behind. Better to miss looking at them than to lose them. Lifting the glass of water in his hand, he reaches out to pour it into Ukki’s pot, running a hand over the plant’s green leaves. The tiny windows that let into their rooms offer enough light to keep the plant alive, but not much else.

Shaking the melancholy off, he heads to his side of their split room to grab his training gear. Kakashi had asked the night before if he would be willing to help with some training for Sakura and Sasuke and he’d agreed, glad to help and to have something to do.

Training ground 15, when he finally reaches it, is about halfway between the main village and the outer wall, over grown enough with forest to simulate the forest surrounding Konoha and covering much of Fire and far enough away from civilian areas that they didn’t have to worry about someone wandering in and getting hurt or having to hold back in training. He can see marks from previous training sessions: blackened and shattered trees, a few broken boulders, and tears in the ground from something cutting into the earth.

Sakura and Sasuke are already there, in the middle of stretching as they wait for Kakashi to arrive. Recalling many of Naruto’s complaints about his jounin sensei, he can expect the man to be at minimum an hour late.

Sakura is facing towards him and is the first to spot him. “Good morning Iruka-sensei,” she greets, waving from the leg stretch she’s doing. Sasuke nods from his own leg stretch.

Iruka smiles down at them. “I take it we have a bit of a wait on our hands?” he asks, standing beside them.

“Maa, Maa, sensei, you make it sound like I’m chronically late,” Kakashi says behind him and he looks up to see the jounin stretched out on a tree branch, nose shoved into a book as usual.

Iruka arches a brow at him. “Between Itachi and me, we’ve heard quite a bit about your tardiness. And I work at the Mission Desk as well. I’ve seen some of the mission scrolls you’ve turned in, often days late. I believe the current record is just over a month but I’ve not checked in a few weeks.”

“They keep track at the Mission Desk?” he asks gleefully.

Iruka nods, “They do. We’ve also got a betting pool for when Tsunade-sama finally gets tired of your shit and brings you to heel,” he adds with a grin and Kakashi’s eye narrows at his words. “Mine is set for a month from now by the way,” he adds.

“Hmm,” Kakashi hums and then tucks his book away and drops down to the ground. “Well my cute little genin, let’s get started.” He saunters over to them as Sakura and Sasuke stand up. “Today, we’ll be doing a mock battle against Iruka-sensei. Anything goes, as usual. The time limit is until noon to get him to yield,” Kakashi says with an eye smile. “Sensei, please try not to kill my students.”

Iruka glares at him, annoyed at the insinuation that he can’t control himself. “I’ve been a teacher far longer than you, Kakashi-san. I think I know how to train with those younger and weaker than me,” he grumbles, shrugging off his pack and pulling out a few scrolls to tuck them into his weapons pouch and secures his wakizashi across his back. “I’m ready,” he says with a pointed look.

“Go,” Kakashi says and the two genin quickly lunge at him. With a laugh, Iruka springs over them and runs up a tree and into the branches. “You’ll need to be faster than that,” he calls out as they disappear from view.

~*~

Pressing himself back against the trunk of a tree, he listens out, feeling for the approach of Sakura or Sasuke. Littered around him in various points are nonlethal traps he rigged up quickly. Let’s see if they learned anything from me, he thinks and slips a seal from his pouch.

It’s one he’s been working on for a bit here, ever since he saw Jiraiya’s perception seal before he left with Naruto the first time and he’d advanced far enough in his studies to really begin experimenting with them. Now, he presses it against his skin and feeds a little chakra into it, the seal paper sticking to his arm like it’s been glued.

Nothing really changes for him, no dampening of his senses or the world around. Slipping from his hiding space, he makes a quick clone and sends it running away from him to draw the two genin into his trap. They come quickly, following his clone like silent shadows.

It’s Sasuke who stops them, Sharingan whirling and spotting the faint gleam of light on a trip wire. “Hang on,” he hisses to Sakura and Iruka nods in approval. He learned his lesson from his time with Iruka’s class.

The clone stops in the center of the minefield and turns to stare at them with a smirk, drawing its blade and waits. “Is there a path through?” Sakura asks, spotting the trap as well and glancing around.

“Yes, I can see it,” Sasuke mutters, eyes flicking constantly, taking in every detail across the ground, evidence of Iruka’s scheme, not that it will help them much. “Step where I step,” he orders and Sakura puts herself at his back, following his path.

Grinning, Iruka slides silently from his spot and follows the outer path they haven’t noticed, too caught up with following his clone. Reaching down, he waits, judging when they’re in the perfect position and cuts one of his wires. The trap whirs and the air explodes with flour and rubber pellets. A dummy explosive tag, meant to train demolition experts.

Sputtering and coughing, they wipe the flour off their faces, whirling to see where the attack came from but Iruka’s already moved and he triggers his next one, glitter blasting at them from two different directions and he feels a little bad about doing this but they need to learn.

“Run,” Sasuke grits out, grabbing Sakura’s arm and pulls her from the center of his trap back the way they came and Iruka holds off on triggering his next one, feeling a little merciful.

“Follow,” he orders his clone and it nods, rushing after them, like an enemy would now that it has them on the defensive and in retreat.

He follows behind and comes on Sakura and Sasuke fighting with his clone, trading blows. Sparks fly as his blade and Sasuke’s meet and then it shifts to avoid Sakura’s quick jabs, her punches glowing faintly with chakra that would break bone if they connected.

A sudden blur of movement, a rain of shuriken and the clone pops with a puff of smoke and Iruka grimaces as the memories from his clone’s death reach him and he pushes them aside. Kakashi lands lightly next to his genin, eyeing their flour and glitter covered forms. “I see Naruto shared the kage bunshin with you Iruka-sensei,” Kakashi says casually.

“Did you really think he would keep quiet about that with me?” Iruka asks, pleased when the perception seal distorts the location of his voice. “I thought this was a test for your genin?” he asks, moving silently around them to another tree.

“I said Team Kakashi and I happen to be a part of that team,” Kakashi says with an eye smile. He can see the man glancing around, gaze sharp as he looks for any kind of movement, but he won’t see anything. Iruka silently unsheathes his wakizashi.

Kakashi silently motions for Sakura and Sasuke to put their backs to his, gaze flicking around. A hint of movement, just the faintest of sounds and Iruka whirls, blade coming up to block the incoming shuriken and sees Kakashi behind him. At his feet, a ninken sits panting happily.

“Hello there, sensei,” Kakashi says with another eye smile and Iruka realizes his mistake and ducks the slash from Sasuke’s katana as the boy drop from above. The clones, two of which are henged, disperse as Sakura bursts from the ground to try and grab his feet.

Jumping, he uses the tree next to him to push away from her grab, a blow easily dodged as she lashes out, he reaches out to grab the hilt of Sasuke’s blade as he goes for another slash and a seal blooms along the grip and he drops, the weight suddenly triple what he’s use to and he gives a surprised shout but Iruka doesn’t have time to react as Kakashi comes in close and he can’t do anything but use his blade to block the kunai to his side.

They quickly speed through the trees, trading blows and Iruka frowns because some of Kakashi’s moves feel…familiar. Maybe from when he fought the Kyuubi and it’s just bleed through? He doesn’t have time contemplate it as a heavy kick catches him in the chest and he flies backwards, barely catching himself before he slams into a tree.

Ducking under a rain of kunai, he jerks out of the way of sharp teeth as the ninken from earlier lunges and before he can redirect, his feet are swept out from under him and Kakashi in knelt over him, kunai pressed to his throat.

Panting, Iruka presses the tip of his wakizashi a little harder against Kakashi’s side and then feels teeth clamp and dig into the skin of his wrist and he glances to see the ninken gripping the wrist of his sword arm. “Not bad, sensei,” Kakashi admits, “You almost had me there.”

“I yield,” Iruka sighs and lowers his blade, letting the tension bleed out of his frame.

A beeping announces the stop watch going off and cheers from the other side of their clearing as Sakura and Sasuke emerge, sans flour and glitter. “Not bad you two,” he says with a grin as Kakashi steps back and offers him a hand up.

“You’re really hard to see right now, Iruka-sensei,” Sakura says with a frown.

“Oh, yes,” he says and pulls the seal off, chakra draining from it and they blink as his image comes fully into view. He holds it up to them, “Something I’ve been experimenting with,” he admits.

“A Chameleon seal?” Kakashi asks, looking interested.

“Less chameleon and more perception,” Iruka explains. “A bit like a subtle genjutsu. It tells whoever is looking at you that you’re not important, that they should look away. I’ve managed to get down the sound distortion and the visual component but as you can see,” he motions towards the ninken, “Scent is still an issue.”

“An original?” Kakashi asks.

“An alteration on something Jiraiya showed me. I’m not good enough to make my own just yet,” he admits with a sheepish shrug.

“Can you get this off my sword now?” Sasuke asks, dragging his blade to him, arms straining against the weight.

“Ah, sorry. It was something I found in one of the scrolls. It triples the weight of an object to make it heavier,” he explains and shatters the seal and Sasuke stumbles at the sudden weight loss before catching himself and sheathing his blade.

“So, did we win?” Sasuke demands.

“Just barely,” Kakashi says with an eye smile. “You need to be faster with your strikes and keep your guard up. If an opponent can touch your hilt they can disarm you. Sakura, your form was good but your strikes could be faster. Iruka isn’t one for speed and even he could see your punches coming.”

“Yes, Kakashi-sensei,” they sigh.

“Go do your cool down stretches and then you’re free for the afternoon. Don’t forget we have back to back D-rank missions tomorrow,” he reminds them.

“Okay. Thanks for the fun, Iruka-sensei,” Sakura says with a smile and rushes off, Sasuke nodding and following her.

Iruka sighs, “They’ve gotten stronger,” he says.

“Hmm, they’re figuring out how to function as a pair instead of a full team,” Kakashi admits.

“Naruto would have run straight into those traps,” Iruka huffs wryly.

Kakashi hums, “I’ve not seen those before. An invention of yours as well?” he asks with an arched brow.

Iruka actually laughs at that, flushing a little in embarrassment. “You could say so. I had a bit of a prankster phase after the Kyuubi attack. It got me into a lot of trouble but it also got me those as well. I liked to cause mayhem without actually hurting people. When the demolition squad found about them, they asked if they could steal the designs for training purposes. I still get thank you notes from Kudechi-san for giving him my designs. I always know when they’ve had a training session by all the glitter trailed around the village.”

“I’m glad it was only my clones then,” Kakashi huffs as they walk towards where Sakura and Sasuke disappeared to.

The silence lingers for a moment before Iruka side eyes Kakashi, “So, did I pass?” he asks casually.

Kakashi hums, “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Iruka-sensei,” he says with an eye smile.

“I know when I’m being tested Kakashi-san. It’s happened a lot in my life, so don’t try to play dumb. Hokage-sama wanted you to see if I’m fit for duty, I’m assuming,” he says without looking at Kakashi.

“You passed,” he says with a faint grimace hidden mostly by his mask.

“I’m assuming this was to see if the Kyuubi would emerge?” Iruka asks softly.

“Yes,” he admits.

Iruka stops and turns to Kakashi and the man follows suit. “I’m not mad at you Kakashi-san, so you can stop worrying. If anything, I’m glad she’s taking this seriously. I just hate being left in the dark,” he says with a shrug.

He eyes Kakashi’s tense form and smiles a little, “Once I’ve gotten the seal down I’ll give you a copy of it. I’m sure it will come in handy on missions. It’s a little chakra heavy so you can’t use it for long amounts of time but it’s good for infiltrations,” he says with ease.

Kakashi nods with a look of relief and they finish the walk back to where Sakura and Sasuke are just finishing their stretches. “I’m starving after that work out. How about I treat you two for a good training session?” he asks and they nod eagerly.

A faint whimper draws his gaze down to the ninken and then he glances at Kakashi, giving the same kicked dog expression. “I guess I can pay for you two as well,” he agrees and the dog barks excitedly.

~*~

He’s just cleaning up his station at the mission desk at the end of his shift when Shizune pokes her head into the room. “Oh, Iruka-sensei, good, you’re still here. Hokage-sama needs to speak with you about something,” she says.

“Alright, I’ll be there in a moment,” he assures and she nods once before disappearing out the room.

Finishing stowing away the mission scrolls into their warded drawers for the next person to take his place, he stands with a wince. He’s been sitting at this desk for a while and his lower back is tight. Stretching it out a little, he steps away, nodding to Keiko and Gyashu, the other two chuunin currently on duty at the Mission Desk.

“Goon night, Iruka-sensei,” Keiko says with a smile and a wave.

“Good night. I’m sure Senda-san should be here in a few minutes,” he says and they nod, knowing Senda is almost always late to his late shifts. They usually don’t mind. The man has three kids to take care of.

He grabs his satchel and slings it over his shoulder before making his way out of the room and towards the Hokage Tower where it’s connected to Administration. He doubts Shizune meant the council meeting room so he heads up to the top floor where the Hokage’s office is, large windows overlooking the village.

The windows are mostly dark though, the sun setting and only streaks of orange, red and purple light up the sky. The lamps in the office are on, casting shadows everywhere as Tsunade sits behind her desk sipping from a cup of sake as she reads through reports.

“Hokage-sama,” he says with a bow.

“Ah, Iruka-sensei, come in. I’ll just be a moment,” she says dismissively and waves towards the chairs. Shizune wanders in behind him as he takes a seat, putting a small stack of papers near Tsunade’s elbow and she nods absently as Shizune heads to her small desk in the corner, Tonton asleep on a small cushion beneath it.

With a snap, Tsunade sets her cup down sharply on the desk in front of her and sets the scroll aside to rub at her face tiredly before sitting back. “How are you feeling, Iruka-sensei?” she asks.

“I’m fine,” he assures. “Nothing lingering and even the Kyuubi has been quiet.” Too quiet if you asked him. He’d gotten used to the occasional caustic and sarcastic comment from the fox. That it’s been so quiet has left him…concerned.

“That’s good to hear,” she says with a nod and grabs a stack of papers off of the pile Shizune brought in. “Kakashi says you’re fighting fit and were even able to surprise him with some of the things you’ve thought up,” she says, not trying to hide the testing or the fact that he’s aware.

“I…thank you,” he says, not sure how to take the strange compliment.

“Cat has cleared you as well. So, here,” she grabs the rest of the stack and slides them across her desk to him. “Finish filling these out and turn them in tomorrow. You have a month to prepare.”

Iruka takes the papers, the forms he realizes, and looks them over. He looks up in surprise, “Hokage-sama, these are forms to take the Jounin Exam,” he says slowly, making sure she understands him.

“I’m aware of what the forms are as I requested them in the first place,” she says easily.

“But, I’m not…I can’t…,” he flounders on what to say.

“Let me put this bluntly, Iruka,” she says sharply, leaning forward to rest her elbows on her desk. “We lost a lot of man power in Orochimaru’s attack and while we have recovered some, we need every available person at their correct status and doing what needs to be done to keep this village afloat. There are many who were being considered for the promotional exam who have been given the go ahead to try, simply because we need the man power. I’ve read your file,” she says and reaches over to snag a file from the stack in front of her.

“Graduated the Academy at 11, less than a year after being made one of the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki. Many thought it would take longer for you to adjust to the Kyuubi’s added chakra but you proved them wrong. Then it took you five years to make Chuunin? Some might say it was poor skill on your part but I’ve seen you in action and how you think. You held yourself back…because of Naruto, didn’t you?” she says with an arched brow.

“Why would I deliberately hold myself back?” he demands.

“He was young, not even in the Academy yet. You feared they would make you let someone else raise him to make time for the mission required of active duty chuunin. Though you couldn’t have known about the Councils plans for you to remain village bound,” she says and he stills but he knows she can see it as clearly as if he flinched. “Don’t get me wrong, sensei, I’m not complaining. The brat needed a support system and you needed it as well.”

She looks back at the file, “Then your training with Cat began. Let’s just say he had a lot of questions for the Sandaime about why someone with your skill set was being kept village bound, even as a Chuunin. You could have…should have, made jounin years ago. Especially under Cat’s training. I can understand sensei’s plans to have people underestimate you but the time for that kind of subtlety is over.”

“And if I don’t want to take the exam?” Iruka asks flatly.

“This isn’t a request, Umino,” Tsunade says sharply. “This is an order. You will be taking that exam. You are a weapon, a tool, just like every other shinobi in this village and I will use you to your full extent. Your days of being village bound are past you. It’s time you stretched your legs a little,” she says with a sharp grin.

“What?” he asks, pulse a fast tattoo in his throat.

“We’ll go over the details of how this will be done, after you pass your exam. Don’t disappoint me,” she says simply. A clear dismissal, Iruka stands shakily, still clutching the forms and staggers out of the office. He walks in a haze back to his apartment and spends the rest of the night staring at the forms, hands shaking faintly before, with a determined look, he pulls them close and begins to finish filling them out.