Naruto 1. Babandod

Title: Knock on Wood Konoah

Part 1

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babandod

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mystery. mystery. mystery.

r.

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Naruto peeked around the doorway, careful to keep his chakra under control. Sasuke was sitting on a hospital bed, eyes focused somewhere out the window. He'd only been back a month and he hadn't woken up until this morning. Naruto had been beside himself with worry for the raven haired genius to the point where Iruka had to drag him home for a shower and force him to eat. It figured the teme woke up the onetime Naruto left for his first meal outside of the hospital in weeks. He'd sprinted the entire way back to the hospital and nearly broke the doors down in his hurry to get inside. The medic nins hadn't been too happy about that.

Now, he'd been standing outside the door for fifteen minutes, suddenly afraid to enter. What if Sasuke didn't want to see him? He had inadvertently led to his return to Konoha and he wasn't sure how Sasuke felt about that. They hadn't exactly parted on the best of terms. Though that was mostly Sasuke's fault now that he thought about it. But Naruto using the memory of Itachi's revelations about the demise of the Uchiha clan to force Sasuke back probably evened out the blame.

Damn they really needed to just sit down and talk Naruto realized.

"OI TEME!" Without thinking, Naruto stormed into the quiet hospital room. On the bed Sasuke started, head snapping around to look at Naruto without the grace the blond remembered. Naruto's words caught in his throat as Sasuke's eyes narrowed into a glare and he swallowed nervously. They'd both grown stronger over their separation but Naruto knew without a doubt that if they fought each other to the death Sasuke would win. Naruto didn't have it in his heart to kill him. "Er…uh…ummm. Welcome back…?"

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Iruka sighed and glanced up at the sky as he walked to the academy. The sky was clear, not a cloud insight, Shikamaru was going to be disappointed. The chill was still in the air but lowly beginning to fade, replaced by a gentle warmth.

Sasuke's return had heartened Iruka, taking a weight off his shoulders that had been there so long he'd forgotten about it. And had, at the same time created a greater one. And now Naruto was finally back to normal, well as normal as Naruto got. The rest of the Rookie 9 as well had cheered up considerably.

Inexplicably Iruka looked up, titling his face to the sun and grinned.

"Good morning Kakashi-sensei."

Kakashi jumped down from the roof he'd been crossing and nodded to Iruka, tucking his book into his vest and slouching his way to Iruka's side. "Heading to the academy sensei?"

"Yep. How was your visit?"

"Fine," Kakashi answered simply as he fell into step next to Iruka. It was odd, having someone know so much about him, but Iruka had always been good with details and Kakashi wasn't the only jounin he'd thrown off guard with it. The over protective chunnin sensei made it a habit to know as much as possible about those who would take over teaching his students. Most of them didn't mind, it had piqued Kakashi's interest.

"Have you seen Sasuke since he came back?"

Kakashi nodded. "A couple of times for training with Sakura and Naruto. Other than that he seems to want to be by himself."

Iruka nodded, not surprised. "Understandable."

Kakashi cocked his head and Iruka understanding the silent question, explained. "He's probably questioning his whole life right now, past and future, where he belongs, his purpose. Give him time, I'm sure he'll be back to his old self soon."

"You sound sure."

Iruka shrugged, shifting his papers under his arm. "Sasuke is that kind of person. He struggles constantly with knowing and not knowing. But he's smart and he's strong and whether or not he realizes he has lots of people willing and waiting to help. He just needs to realize his reasons."

Kakashi studied the chunnin teacher. When they had first met he hadn't even remember what the chunnin looked like three days later. But spending time with Naruto inevitably meant spending time with Iruka and Kakashi had quickly learned to accept it. They weren't friends, and that wasn't just on Kakashi's part. Iruka was hesitant to have any kind of relationship above casual acquaintances with the copy-nin and Kakashi wasn't exactly one to go out of his way to convince someone to be his friend. They'd settled to mutual respect, no pranks, no insults.

Despite that Kakashi had always felt a strong physical attraction to the chunnin, made all the stronger by the chunnin's blatant refusal. Kakashi had always felt ridiculously calm in Iruka's presence, something any jounin of Kakashi experience would appreciate and fight for. Kakashi was also convinced, and he wasn't the only one, that Iruka may have feelings for him as well. Why he still refused a relationship Kakashi couldn't understand.

"You seem to know a lot about him. I didn't think you two were that close."

Iruka smiled, "A little training after school when he was in the academy and Naruto dragged him to ramen a couple of times."

"And you figured all that out? Maa, Iruka-sensei maybe you're the genius out of the two of us."

Iruka laughed and turned to Kakashi, his smile taking on a decidedly sad echo. "No, I used to know someone…" Iruka turned to the sky again, eyes falling to half mast and Kakashi almost swore he saw tears. "Who was just like him."

They walked the rest of the way to the academy in silence.

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Tsunade mentally sighed, but outwardly kept her gaze focused on the masked figure in front of her. The stark white mask was blank, the only one in ANBU designed like that.

The man who wore it was as blank as the mask itself, a doll with stone eyes. Hundreds of meetings with him and Tsunade still couldn't get a read on him. Rumor was he'd been the student of the hunter nin known only as Henge for his love of henge jutsus. It was said he'd never appeared as the same person twice so no one could even guess what he looked like.

It made Tsunade wonder if his student had ever seen his real identity.

No one had ever seen the Commander of ANBU's real face and Tsunade had always wondered what he was hiding that would lead him to such lengths. She briefly dreamt of ordering him to remove the mask but she wasn't nearly so foolish as to give into that whim.

Still, how could one man be so ashamed as to hide his face for his entire life?

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The first time Naruto remembers meeting Iruka he was eight years old. Not surprisingly his first memory is Iruka's yelling drown out by ramen.

The first time Naruto met Iruka was many years earlier when he was only an infant.

He can't remember it, but he's heard stories, about a cherub cheeked infant, a broken Iruka, and a kind Hokage who cared almost too much.

***Flashback***

Sarutobi smiled and gentle cradled the blond, blue eyed infant with rosy red cheeks and whisker marks.

"Naruto…."

He was so innocent. Clear blue eyes stared back up at Sarutobi unblinking and the old man felt his heart twinge.

"Poor boy…"

"Sandaime-sama?"

An ANBU spoke and Sarutobi looked up.

"Yes."

"Iruka's here."

Sarutobi nodded "Let him in."

It was a testament to how much of a fixture Iruka was becoming in his household that he walked in before the ANBU was even completely out of the room. Everyone was getting so used to having him around that he had a freedom that rivaled the Hokage's. Just the other day the Hokage had had to rescue a majority of the ANBU from one of his pranks in their own head quarters….their top secret, classified, mystery headquarters that apparently Iruka had just walked into.

So much for top secret, classified, mystery….

Sarutobi smiled at the scared young boy. "Iruka come here a moment, there's someone I want you to meet."

Iruka hesitated eyeing the tiny bundle with apprehension and fear. No wonder, considering just the night before the Kyuubi sealed in the baby had massacred half the nins in the village when they had tried to stop it, Iruka's mother as well.

Iruka hesitated, his steps faltering as he inched closer. But he did come closer. It gave Sarutobi hope for Iruka, for Naruto, for the village that so soon after the tragedy forgiveness was already fighting its way through. When he finally reached Sarutobi's side he stopped, eyes narrowed.

Sarutobi held Naruto out to him.

A flash of panic raced across Iruka's face quickly replaced by forced disgust but when Sarutobi refused to back down and Fugaku blocked the door, Iruka reluctantly gave in. Iruka was ungodly stubborn but he also had an unnatural instinct for survival that appeared whenever he was faced with a situation that meant a change in his life. It never ceased to amaze Sarutobi the situations Iruka could get out of or avoid completely. Something in him must have realized that Naruto wasn't a threat and Sarutobi hoped that knowledge would one day lead Iruka to accept the boy. He had a feeling they were going to play very big roles in one another's lives.

Naruto wailed and waved tiny fists.

Iruka reached out a hesitant hand and touched one of the tiny fists.

Naruto clenched Iruka's much bigger hand and quieted.

***End Flashback***

"When did you start training with him?" Naruto's not sure why they are talking about this. It's a dangerous topic. Sasuke and he have always been rivals and always will be but this is the one thing Naruto has no urge to fight him over and it's probably the one thing Sasuke will fight him to the death over.

Sasuke's return had heartened Naruto, though their relationship was nowhere near as good as it had been, and that was saying something given the state of their relationship before everything had happened.

"My second year in the academy," his voice is cold, mocking, and underneath it Naruto just barely hears the lace of jealousy.

"What happened?"

"I got upset when someone said I would never be as good as my brother. Iruka over heard and talked to me. Offered to give me lessons after class, I accepted, kept up until I graduated."

"Cool," Naruto slurped more of his ramen, looking sideways at a somber Sasuke as he did.

"He picked you."

"Hmmm?" Naruto swallowed and turned to face him confused. "What?"

Sasuke turned to him, face dark.

Naruto's stomach fluttered.

"He picked you over me."

"What?" Naruto starred wide eyed at him for a moment then snorted. "No he didn't. He picked us both. Iruka-sensei doesn't believe in picking one over the other."

Sasuke turned and stared hard into his ramen.

"He told me about you," Naruto continued quietly turning back to his own ramen. If Sasuke wasn't going to talk Naruto was more than willing to make up the difference.

Maybe then they could be friends again.

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Hinata threw several well aimed kunai at the tree, watched them land with perfect precision and blinked away tears.

Another day, another overheard conversation between her father, Neji, and Hanabi about ways to toughen her up to insure the strength of the Hyuuga line.

The damn Hyuuga line! It was fine and they acted like the entire clan was doomed just because she was the heir.

Hinata blinked furiously, refusing to cry, but felt tears welling up anyway.

"Don't cry for them."

The voice was warm, masculine and Hinata spun around in surprise.

Niku.

Commander of the ANBU forces of Konoha.

Tall, dark, dressed entirely in a black ANBU uniform with long sleeves and a hood over his head, no part of his body was visible, no flash of skin, no nothing. No one even knew if Niku was male or female.

Hinata stared, eyes wide too shocked to cry.

"They aren't worth your tears."

Hinata blinked. "I-I…"

"You have promise, especially where your…special technique is concerned."

"My…! How do you know about that?!"

"A friend told me."

"A friend?"

Though she couldn't see through the mask, Hinata was pretty sure Niku was smiling.

"Wh-who?"

"What's wrong? Don't you trust me?"

"No."

She'd probably never spoken with such conviction in her life.

Faster than Hinata could see Niku was suddenly directly in front of her, centimeters away.

"Well, well, nice to know you're not a complete pushover. Maybe I can help you."

Hinata blinked.

"Huh?"

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Kikyo had a long memory, a curse of the Uchiha clan. It was easier when she was busy, but things had slowed down lately and even Shinji hadn't been enough to distract her. It was autumn, winter would be coming in the next few weeks and even shinobi slowed down in the snow. Kikyo herself wasn't a fan of the cold; no one in the Uchiha clan had ever been fond of it. That was what happened when your very chakra was based on fire. But she liked the season and the snow on Konoha made a beautiful picture.

She glanced towards the Hokage's tower. It had been a long time since someone Kikyo respected had been in the top office. She hadn't liked the idea of letting Tsunade take over but in the end it had been his decision not hers. He wanted to wait until things calmed down, as much as they could in a ninja village, until everyone had relaxed and let their guard down. It would be the quickest victory then when they least expected it.

The next turn was coming, like a dance, three stages of a waltz, of life, of countless other things that came in threes.

It's probably fitting then, that genin teams come in threes…after all, that was where all of this had started.

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….diwedd….


	2. cyffwrdd a maen

Title: Knock on Wood Konoah

Part 1

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cyffwrdd a maen

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_I think that somehow, we learn who we really are and then live with that decision._

_Eleanor Roosevelt_

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Yajirobi had known what he was going to be from the day he was old enough to decide. He had never waved, nor hesitated. Though his loyalties had changed over the years as had those he'd plan to use his skills for. He glanced out the window at the forest surrounding Konoha.

He'd been on thin ice since the Chunnin exams three years ago. An offical reprimand for not realizing his students were traitors had gone in his record but his performance in the following years had done much to reinstate his reputation. It was odd, he didn't care at all what Tsunade, Hatake and the others thoughts but he felt a well of satisfaction as they acknowledge his skills.

It would only be a few more weeks before they could see his real skills. His plans had changed of course as Yajirobi had known they would. The situations around them had to be taken into account before his plans could be implemented.

It was going to rain blood in the Hidden Village of Leaf and the thought made Yajirobi smile.

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Iruka looked out the classroom window. The ancient tree right outside was starting to blossom, a sign that summer was coming. He sighed. The kids were taking a pop quiz courtesy of Konohamaru's latest prank. Super glue on all of his pens, really, how old was that one?

He watched as the wind blow through the leaves and a conversation from years ago flitted through his mind. One that had happened in that very tree.

"_They should just leave you alone," Itachi says darkly._

_Iruka chuckles and pretends that Itachi is somewhat concerned about Naruto and not just upset that someone else is dragging Iruka's attention away from him._

"_They will eventually. When we prove them all wrong," he says calmly turning to face the younger man._

_Itachi is staring at him again._

"_That could take a while," Itachi says quietly._

_Iruka grins. "Haven't I taught you patience?" And leans forward, pressing a deep kiss to the younger boy's cool lips._

_When he pulls away, Itachi's eyes are narrowed and the younger boy licks his lips._

"_Yes."_

_Iruka grins. _

And as he sits at his desk, nearly ten years later, he still feels the same tug at his heart, the same sharp pain that he's felt every day since Itachi left.

It was odd, how life never turned out like you thought it would.

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Sakura wandered down the street, half heartedly looking around at the shops and stands.

Her mind focused on the conversation she'd over heard in Tsunade's office earlier.

*****Flashback*****

_Sakura hummed as she walked down the hall to Tsunade's office for an impromptu lesson that she planned to annoy out of the sannin healer._

_She smiled and raised her hand to knock then stopped, she could hear voices through the door._

"_You can't be serious Danzo!"_

"_I am deathly serious Lady Tsunade. Naruto is approaching his 18th birthday. He is already a danger to this village, and he will only become a greater danger to the village in the future."_

"_You don't know that, no one does."_

"_You cannot deny that it is a very likely possibility."_

"_He's shown no sign of going rouge or leaving the village before now, and I highly doubt he's going to, we would have seen signs by now."_

"_With all due respect Lady Tsunade, I have watched him since he was a child, some of the influences in his life have been less then…decent."_

"_And you think that means he's suddenly going to turn and become rouge?"_

"_I have seen it before!"_

"_In seasoned ANBU, not a child. Umino has been keeping a close eye on him whenever he is in the village."_

"_Ha! I Know you don't trust Umino, Lord Hokage, and you well shouldn't. That man is planning something and Uzumaki is probably in on it."_

_Sakura paled and backed away from the door, turning on her heel and fleeing the building, ignoring Shizune's concerned calls._

*****End of Flashback*****

Sakura turned left and entered the Yamanaka flower shop. Ino was standing behind the counter reading a book. She looked up when the door bell rang.

"Hi, how can I-Oh, what's up billboard brow?"

"Hey, Ino got a minute?"

Ino frowned. Something was wrong with her friend. "Yeah, sure what's up?"

"I overheard Lady Tsunade talking to someone in her office today."

"About what?"

"Naruto…"

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Iruka sighed and looked up at the stars above Konoha. He was seated on the Third's carved head on the Hokage's monument. It was his favorite place to sit and think. He'd found and lost himself and started his life as a hunter at that spot.

He laid back, relaxing in the warm evening air. Kikyo was out, had been for a month now and Iruka had no idea when she'd be back, she had to meet up with Itachi and Kabuto and stop by the Mizukages'. Niku was busy managing ANBU and keeping an eye on Danzo and his Root ANBU. Kotetsu and Izumo were both busy with the missions and records and their new girlfriends. And Yajirobi was keeping a low profile and working double shifts in the hospital. Iruka himself had barely had time to sleep let alone relax. He wasn't about to waste his time on the mount. Hopefully he and the rest of his academy class could get together sometime soon, they had a lot of catching up to do.

Tsunade and her jounins had been driving him up the wall lately. Late mission reports meant less work for Tsunade because she could get away with just signing them off later when everyone had forgotten about it. She also allowed the Elders and councilors far too much power and standing in Iruka's opinion. And she hadn't dealt with Danzo yet. If he was honest Iruka could make up complaints about the woman for hours but it would solve nothing and Iruka didn't like to waste time.

He sighed and stared at the sky, mapping out consolations in the stars. The last time he'd been up here just looking at the stars he'd had Naruto cradled in his lap and he'd been teaching him about the constellations. But now Sasuke was back and Naruto was devoting most of his time to winning the Uchiha heir over, in turn said Uchiha was spending most of his time avoiding everyone including Naruto. A noble cause to be sure but Iruka had always been fond of the underdog, Sasuke didn't stand a chance.

He smiled, Naruto was still the brightest thing in his life, and there were days when the young boy, nearly a man was the only thing that got him out of bed in the morning. The temptation to tell all of Konoha to go to hell was getting stronger every day and Iruka, while he had infinite patience when it came to children who didn't know better, he had none for adults who did.

His twenty six years were starting to catch up with him and Iruka was more than ready to just disappear from the world of ninja and settle down somewhere quiet.

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Kakashi calmly walked into Tsunade's office. The large busted Hokage was sitting behind her desk scribbling furiously on several papers at a time. She looked up when he slouched in front of her desk.

"Shizune give us a moment."

Her assistant nodded and stepped outside the office without question.

A flare of Tsunade' chakra and Niku, the ANBU commander appeared at her shoulder.

"I can guess while you're here so let's cut to the chase."

There were few reasons to ask a meeting of the Hokage and the ANBU commander and since Kakashi hadn't been on a mission recently, which really on left one reason.

Kakashi wanted to make a touchstone request. The first of his entire life. And Tsunade had a damn good idea who he wanted.

"I want Umino Iruka to be my touchstone," Kakashi was blunt, he knew the Hokage already suspected what he wanted, hell there was a bet among the jounin how long it would take him to get Iruka into bed. And while Kakashi would never force anyone his opinion on the subject was well known. He wanted Iruka. Plain and simple and since Iruka had no other romantic interests no one would be hurt.

He saw Niku jerk as he spoke and frowned. Tsunade must have felt because her eyes flicked towards the ANBU commander before turning back to Kakashi.

"Granted."

Kakashi smiled under his mask.

Niku cursed under his.

"Lord Hokage," Niku started, his voice starting both Tsunade and Kakashi, "May I speak?"

Tsunade waved a hand dismissively, encouraging him to continue.

"I don't think making Umino Iruka a touchstone is a good idea."

"Why not," Tsunade scoffed, "He's unattached, attracted to Kakashi and Kakashi wants him. No one gets hurt."

"With all due respect to Hatake-san, do you know for a fact Iruka is attracted to you?"

Kakashi could feel Niku's gaze through his blank mask and his eyes narrowed.

"It's rather obvious," Tsunade interrupted dryly, "Besides in the end it's my decision. It's a touchstone request not a marriage. If necessary it can be ended easily."

Niku's lips pursed under the mask. _Yes it will end, with broken hearts on both sides._

"It's settled then; Umino Iruka will be Hatake Kakashi's touchstone until further notice."

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Iruka was sitting at the mission's desk, shorting files and talking to Kotetsu and Izumo when Kakashi walked in. Asuma, Kurenai, Genma, Raido, Gai, Shinji Takehito, and a few other jounin were seated around the room. Kakashi nodded to them then turned and walked over to Iruka's desk.

"The missions desk is closed Kakashi-sensei, you'll have to come back tomorrow with your mission report that's already a week late," Iruka didn't look up from his papers as he spoke. Kotetsu and Iumo glanced at the copy0nin then turned away, as if deciding he wasn't interesting enough. It made his eye twitched, Iruka's two closest friends had the same lax attitude about rank that Iruka did.

"Iruka-sensei-"

"Oi Iruka are we still on for tomorrow night?" Kotetsu asked, stretching in his chair.

"Of course, I've never canceled before."

Izumo laughed, "Only because you risk losing your title if you're not there!"

The three friends laughed until Kakashi cleared his throat.

"Iruka-sensei."

"Yes Kakashi-sensei?"

"I made a touchstone request to the Hokage and she granted it. From now you are my touchstone."

Silence.

Asuma, Kurenai, and the others nodded in approval. Kotetsu, Iumo, and Iruka stared at Kakashi slack jawed.

"Oh. My. God." Izumo wheezed out, sounding like someone was trying to squeeze the life out of him.

"Holy shit." Kotetsu muttered.

Iruka started at the older jounin blankly.

Minutes passed. Kakashi felt himself start to get annoyed and a few of the jounin watching started muttering to themselves.

"Is he going to say anything?"

"I've never seen Iruka so shocked before," Kurenai murmured, a fact that sent chills down her spine.

Iruka blinked then spoke slowly and calmly, "Kakashi-sensei, I hope for your sake and the sake of everyone in this room that you are making a very, very bad joke."

That…actually hurt. Kakashi's eyes narrowed and he heard several jounin behind him jump up.

"You should show some respect Umino-sensei, this is an honor."

"You should mind your own business, Aki-san," Iruka returned coldly his gaze not leaving Kakashi. The jounin sputtered in disbelief but Asuma silenced him with a look, this was between Iruka and Kakashi and no one else had a right to interfere.

"This isn't a joke Iruka-sensei," Kakashi said calmly, "And I expect you to live up to your position."

His tone ended any discussion and Iruka was too shocked to argue.

It was Kotetsu who broke the silence. He tugged Iruka's sleeve until the other chunnin turned to him. "What the hell are you going to tell Anko?"

_Anko? What the hell did Anko have to do with this?_ Kakashi wondered.

* * *

...diwedd...

A/N: I don't know who created the idea of a touchstone, it wasn't me but if you'd give me your name I'll make sure you get the credit! Thanks.


	3. Cariad

Title: Knock on Wood Konoah

Part 1

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Cariad

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In spite of the cost of living, it's still popular.

Kathy Norris

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Kiba sat back and watched as his mother handled the Inuzuka clan elders. Though she preferred actions to words she was more than capable of talking the elders in circles when she wanted to and now was a prime example.

He wasn't sure what exactly they were talking about today, he picked up 'time running short', 'won't be eligible', 'advanced training', and 'dead' which really creped him out because throughout the entire conversation they kept glancing over at him and whispering.

If this kept up he was going to get paranoid.

An hour later the elders left and it was just Kiba and his mother which was probably even more nerve racking because she was staring at him with narrowed eyes and a serious look.

He fidgeted.

"Kiba."

"Yes okassan?"

"Have you thought about what you want to do with your life?"

He frowned. "Well, I'm going to be a ninja but other than that I don't really know." He paused. "ANBU maybe if I good enough."

She frowned. "Have you considered any careers beside shinobi?"

He frowned again. "No."

"Would you die for the people you care about?"

_HUH?!_ Kiba paled. What the hell was she talking about? "Uh, yes?"

A tense moment and Kiba started fidgeting under the heavy gaze.

"Kiba, have I ever told you about the genin team I lead?"

Kiba was taken aback. "No?" He hadn't known she'd lead one, in fact he'd never heard of any clan head having a genin team.

She smiled softly. "Most talented group of kids I've ever trained. All of them. Though none came from the same team," she sighed and there was a decidedly sad echo to it.

"Really?" Kiba couldn't help himself.

"Yup. Two girls and four boys who managed to be the most promising and troublesome bunch ever all at once. They…were a lot like you and your friends now that I think about it." She smiled sadly.

Kiba felt his curiosity pique. "What were they like?"

Tsume's face darkened. "They were wild. Very, very wild. Some of the things they did," she shuddered. "We once had to use ANBU to break up one of their parties in the Forest of Death. It took over 40 ANBU and jounin six hours to round up over a hundred chunnin."

He gaped. "Why'd it take so long?"

"They were playing Shadow; they didn't even know ANBU was out looking for them until they got caught individually."

Kiba's jaw dropped.

"It was hilarious when they finally caught him, he just looked at them and blinked and said 'if you wanted to play all you had to do was ask'! He was thirteen years old too! Such gall!" She grinned.

Kiba watched his mother laugh and realized that it been a very long time since he'd last seen her enjoy herself.

"Who was he?"

Tsume smiled as she looked at her son. The curiosity was blazing in her son's eyes and she remembered very well how that determination in another boy's eyes had become a determination that had led to him becoming one of the greatest nins alive.

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"I'll rip him limb from limb," Anko snarled, safely ensconced in Iruka's arms, her fingernails digging into his biceps as she gripped him hard enough to turn her knuckles white. Her eyes were wet with tears that had yet to fall and Iruka reached up with one hand and brushed them away. "Do you want me to Iruka-chan, because I will. I'll make it so painful they'll hear his screams in Hell!"

Iruka smiled softly and rubbed gentle circles on the woman's back. "No killing anyone…..yet," Iruka added because god knows what was going to happen next and he might just change his mind about letting Kakashi live.

Anko sobbed her grip on Iruka tightening as her body shook. Yajirobi, Kikyo, Niku, Izumo, and Kotetsu were seated around them on the bed. Niku had one hand resting on Anko's leg, rubbing softly. Though Anko hadn't been one of them in the beginning, over the years she'd become closer and closer to the group, she was the only person outside their group that knew the truth about Iruka and she was the only they trusted. She'd grown up next to Iruka, whose step-father Umino Koji had been a master samurai and sparring partner of Orochimaru, who in turn had been one of their teachers. However because Orochimaru had been an unofficial teacher Anko had never been fully accepted into their group and it wasn't until after Orochimaru's defection that she'd become a close confidant and comrade in arms. Through those years Anko had become very attached to Iruka, the first person to show her kindness after her return and Iruka had unofficially become her touchstone as he was for all of them.

And now Kakashi had made Iruka his officially. The copy-nin was far over stepping his bounds, they all agreed. What they couldn't agree on was what to do with him. Anko, along with Kikyo and Kotetsu thought they should just kill him, while Niku, Yajirobi, and Izumo were more inclined to be lenient given that Kakashi didn't know what he was getting into, they suggested forcing him to rescind the request, using torture if necessary.

Iruka hadn't yet decided how to handle the situation. The copy-nin could be useful in many ways but troublesome at the same time. Iurka wasn't sure yet what he wanted to do with the man.

But he did know this.

Kakashi was going to suffer for hurting Anko.

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Later that night Iruka twitched as he sat across from Kakashi in his living room, a cup of steaming tea sitting on the floor in front of him. The jounin was calm and hadn't said a word since he'd shown up an hour ago. Iruka glanced at the clock on the wall, it was nine o'clock at night, he had plans at midnight. He turned back to Kakashi, the man looked damn near sinful in the candle light , it was a pity Iruka was so royally pissed off at him. He hadn't been laid in a while and he'd been attracted to the silver haired copy nin for a while.

Kakashi glanced around the chunnin's living room. His house itself was much bigger then Kakashi had expected, one floor, spread out and very open with large windows, and made of strong dark wood. It reminded Kakashi of a Shinto temple. Iruka's furniture was traditional Japanese style, a tad bit more expensive than normal. Something about it put Kakashi on edge. Iruka refused to allow him further into the house and had made it clear that it and the area behind it was private. Kakashi wasn't worried, he'd see it sooner or later and there wasn't much Iruka could be hiding. His house ended at the back property line of the Uchiha compound and it was walled off.

He gaze landed on the fire place and the pictures that rested above it. Most were of Naruto, a few of his other students, including all of the Rookie 9 and Gai's team. He was shocked to see Anko in several photos and the jounin he recognized as Kabuto's sensei. Kotetsu and Izumo were in quite a few, not much of a surprise there and two beautiful women, one tan skinned with blood red hair and a beautiful black haired pale skinned women Kakashi recognized as Shinji Takehito's current flame. But Takehito was on a mission for Tsunade to investigate her and that relationship was part of that mission. How did Iruka know her?

Kakashi frowned; lately he'd had more questions than answers about the scarred chunnin and that was not something he liked. Iruka was still sitting across from him, pouting about the whole situation.

"Stop pouting Iruka-sensei," Kakashi growled. "One would expect someone of your position to be above such behavior. Or have you been spending too much time with those pre-genin brats?"

Iruka's eye twitched.

Which was all the warning Kakashi really got.

The next thing Kakashi's mind registered was he back flat against the cold floor with a pillow behind his head and Iruka was crouched above him, pinning his arms and legs.

"What the hell?!"

Iruka stared down at him face blank. "Relax Kakashi-sensei, the harder you struggle the stronger the hold and you can't break out of this one."

Kakashi snarled, throwing his weight around in an attempt to dislodge the chunnin. Iruka didn't budge, just smirked down at the jounin, his expression hungry.

"You're like a wet cat Kakashi, I can practically see your fur bristling."

"Wh-what?" Kakashi sputtered, he could hear his blood rushing. Heat was crawling up his skin from where Iruka's body touched his. Heat like Kakashi had never felt before, it danced over his skin and sent his head spinning. He felt Iruka remove his hiate. "What are you doing!?" He demanded, panting for breath even though he hadn't struggle enough to.

"Relax," Iruka breathed, tossing the hiate across the room.

Kakashi heard it bounce off the wall and felt a bubble of panic as he squeezed his eyes shut. How the hell had this happened? When had Iruka become strong enough to hold him down and why the hell couldn't he move!?!?

"Open your eyes Kakashi-sensei," Iruka ordered in a voice smooth as silk.

Kakashi opened his left eye but kept his sharingan tightly closed which was apparently the wrong thing to do.

"Both eyes Kakashi," Iruka snarled in a voice that sent chills racing up Kakashi's spine and his sharingan opened seemingly of its own accord. He felt his chakra explode, rushing forward like water trying to escape from a pipe. Kakashi tried to close his eyes but they refused, staying open and he felt his sharingan focus in on Iruka.

"Are you crazy the sharingan-"

"The sharingan can't hurt me Kakashi," Iruka interrupted softly and sure enough after Kakashi's wayward eye focused on Iruka it almost seemed to settle, it ceased to steal Kakashi's chakra and everything in his body seemed to simply…settle. He stared up at Iruka in disbelief.

"How….?" Kakashi trailed off, Iruka had a strange look in his eye. A glint and it made Kakashi angry. The chunnin was obviously playing with him.

As if he could read Kakashi's mind, Iruka rolled his eyes, "I'm not playing with you Kakashi, though I doubt you could say the same."

"I made an honest request Iruka-sensei, we're both attracted to one another, we're both unattached-"

"Who said I was unattached?" Iruka broke in.

Kakashi blinked his train of thought thrown off by the question. "What?"

"Who said I was unattached?" Iruka repeated slowly.

Kakashi felt a crushing weight he didn't recognize settle onto his chest. "You aren't?"

Iruka sighed. "It's not that simple Kakashi."

"Yes it is, either you have someone or you don't!"

Iruka's eyes narrowed, "You requested I be your touchstone not your lover or boyfriend or brother or friend. You might consider them all the same thing but I do not. I fill those roles for many people Kakashi and they return the favor. It has to work both ways or it's no good for anyone."

Kakashi glared up at him, torn between yelling and crying though he didn't know why he felt like crying.

"But then, it's not like you know these things, considering your limited experience with relationships." Iruka sighed. "You grew up to fast Kakashi. You should have enjoyed your childhood when you had the chance."

Iruka sat back on his heels suddenly, releasing his hold on Kakashi and allowing him to finally move again.

The heat disappeared the moment Iruka's body left his Kakashi noted and he felt colder than before. He sat up slowly, watching the chunnin warily. When had he gotten so fast? Iruka sat back on his heels, balanced perfectly, and staring at Kakashi, his eyes boring into the other man's without fear.

Kakashi stared back, but had the terrifying feeling of something creeping up the back of his neck like a spider.

Iruka frowned after studying the jounin, Kakashi sat stock still like a statue, eyes wide. "I scare you."

He sounded sad, Kakashi noticed. "No," Kakashi denied.

Iruka laughed. "For someone who lies so much you're not very good at it."

Kakashi frowned and silence descended over the room.

The chunnin and the jounin sat in silence, watching one another in the fading light.

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Niku watched impassively as her ANBU trained, left for, and returned from missions all with the silence and seriousness that they were known for. It gave her the undeniable craving to go find something loud and obnoxious.

I wonder if Iruka and Naruto are going out for ramen tonight? I could tag along. If Tsunade wasn't running Iruka ragged or interrogating him again.

"Niku-sama." The ANBU mask bowed and Niku was grateful for her own mask when she yawned in the middle of his report.

Maybe Hinata's free to train later….

I need a life.

Niku sighed and waved the ANBU out of her office.

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Shino stared at his father, his normally stoic face an expression of pure, unadulterated shock.

"You, what?" It's all he can get out and his father looks amused.

"No doubt your friends are probably receiving similar offers right now."

Shino can't manage words so he settles for a wide eye stare, obvious even behind his glasses.

"I want you to think about it. For as long as you need. I never regretted my years as a hunter nin, no matter what the rumors say. It's a hard life, but in the end, if you're good enough, it can be more rewarding than anything else. And son, I think you, and your friends are good enough, and I'm not the only one."

His father was a hunter nin? Had been a hunter nin?

_When?_ Is his first thought.

_Why?_ Is his second. He knows the rumors his father is talking about, dark ones about the lives of hunter nins.

And then he remembers the last part of his father's sentence.

Shino's confused now. "Who?" His voice is still slightly cracked from surprise.

"Someone who cared very much for this village and its future. Someone who cared more than any of us deserved. Someone you know very well, even if you don't realize it."

Shino swallowed. He had a feeling that this went far deeper than his father was letting on and that it was much bigger than a simple hunter nin.

Shibi watched as realization dawned on his sons face. Realization that quickly turned to curiosity and then to a light spark of determination that Shibi had no doubt would one day be a blazing fire.

He smiled.

Shino was going to be just fine. Just fine.

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"Iruka! Hey, wait up!"

The chunnin sensei stopped and turned. Kikyo was jogging towards him, her black mask gleaming in the surprisingly bright moonlight. Iruka's own mask was resting on his hip and Kikyo pulled hers up as she reached him.

Her wild black hair framed her face and mask and she reminded Iruka of some ancient warrior god that he'd heard tales about as a child. Kikyo, as usual is oblivious to it, always has been and if they were lucky always would be. She's already quiet aware that she's the best fighter among them, lord knows how bad she'll be if she learns she's the prettiest too.

"What's going on?" She asks as if she doesn't already know.

Iruka sighed and started walking, Kikyo falling into step next to him. "Nothing."

"You say that and it's never true," Kikyo muses. She'd know, since she's known him longer than anyone. "Worried about this whole thing with Hatake?"

"He's going to be trouble," Iruka murmured and Kikyo nodded slowly in agreement. "He's already way too curious for anyone's good, especially his own."

"The good ones always are," Kikyo notes and Iruka glances at her out of the corner of his eye as they walk past the last row of houses in the Willow district. It's the farthest from the village, on the very outskirts of the city and it's the only place within city limits that they bare their faces in their hunter garb. They haven't been called on, Tsunade doesn't know how and as far as anyone else knows they've been disbanded because of their failure to prevent the death of the third Hokage. Tsunade hasn't needed them anyway and they'd taken up patrolling on their own.

"You know, when I said you could just kill him-"

"No one is killing Hatake," Iruka's voice brokered no argument.

Kikyo glanced at him. "It's dangerous to get so involved this close to zero hour Iruka."

Iruka winced, because she was right and he was being foolish but he still wasn't going to stop.

When he didn't respond Kikyo continued, "Then you better do something that puts him firmly on our side or something that will at least keep him from fighting otherwise he's going to be dead by the time this is over."

"A lot of people are going to be dead by the time this is over."

"You're not in love with a lot of people Iruka, you're in love, god knows why, with Hatake."

"And you're in love with Shinji."

"Yeah but I know he doesn't love me back, I'm ready for that betrayal when it comes. For all you know Hatake loves you back and that's far worse."

* * *

....diwedd...


	4. drylliad golwg

Title: Knock on Wood Konoah

Part 1

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drylliad golwg

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_I gave my life to learning how to live.  
Now that I have organized it all...  
It is just about over.  
Sandra Hochman_

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_*****Flashback*****_

_Eight year old Naruto stared as people walked past him in the street. Stares and whispers and no matter how Naruto attempted to get their attention no one stopped._

_No one spoke to him._

_No one looked at him._

_Naruto turned his face to the ground, hot tears falling down his cheeks._

_Why did everyone hate him?_

_He reached out to a young woman with a dirty hand, only to have her recoil violently and hurry off._

_The next one didn't even acknowledge that he was there._

"_Am I invisible?" _

_His voice was lower than a whisper._

_He didn't expect an answer._

"_Why on earth would you think that?"_

_It's a warm voice, like chocolate. It matches the skin he sees when he looks up. _

_And the eyes._

_Warm, dark eyes like pools of melted chocolate. And the first thing he thinks is the first thing out of his mouth._

"_I'm hungry."_

_The older boy with the chocolate skin and his companion, younger with pale skin and strange dark eyes, look at him in surprise._

_Then the chocolate skinned one smiles._

"_Really? Well we'll have to do something about that won't we?" He says kindly. His companion rolled his eyes, obviously the chocolate skinned one had a habit of doing this and his companion finds it amusing._

_Or annoying, Naruto really couldn't tell which._

_At the moment though he is more occupied with the fact that someone was speaking to him._

_And being nice._

"_I know exactly where to go. Have you ever had ramen before?"_

_His companion groaned._

_Naruto shook his head._

_****End of Flashback***_

Sasuke twitched. So he had Iruka to thank for the damn ramen obsession.

Come to think of it the sensei was the only one who didn't seem annoyed by Naruto's obsession.

The bastard.

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Yamanaka Flower Shop

"They were talking about what?!" Ino screeched, staring at Sakura in disbelief.

Sakura hissed, "Be quiet, I don't want anyone else to hear yet."

"Mom, I'm going out for a while!" Ino yelled over her shoulder, grabbing Sakura and dragging her out of the store.

*****An Hour Later*****

Sakura took a ship of her juice and sighed, Ino sat down next to her on the bench. Tenten and Hinata, whom they'd run into on their way out of the flower shop, were sitting on the other side of the table.

"Wait, they were talking about what?" Tenten exclaimed, leaning forward over the table.

"She was talking to some guy named Denzo about exiling Naruto when he turns 18!"

"Wait, do you mean Danzo?"

The three girls turned to Hinata.

"You know who that is?" Ino asked, eyes blazing.

Hinata nodded, blushing. "I-I heard Ir-Iruka-sensei talking about him once."

_*****Flashback*****_

"_Damn bastard! Who the hell does he think he is? The Hokage!?"_

_Hinata stared at Iruka, as the young teacher muttered angrily to himself and stomped around the room, picking up papers and kunai and sorting everything into drawers and stacks._

"_Um, sensei?" Hinata squeaked._

"_Sick son of bi-HINATA!" Iruka froze when he saw the shy student in the doorway. How long had she been there? Had she heard him? "Crap, er, um, heh, sorry, can I help you with something Hinata?"_

_Hinata watched her teacher have a mild panic attack when he finally noticed her. "Is so-something wrong sensei?"_

"_Um, no, why would you think that?" Iruka sweat dropped._

"_You're muttering curses."_

"_Oh, that. That…was just me blowing off steam. Don't worry about it." Iruka laughed nervously._

"_Who are yo-you mad at?" Hinata blushed._

"_Bloody, mud eating bastard, Danzo. Er…You didn't hear that," Iruka muttered, making another stack of papers._

_*****End of Flashback*****_

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Kakashi frowned as he sipped his tea and listened to Kurenai and Anko debate over something, he didn't remember what. He'd tuned out of the conversation almost immediately after it started and buried his nose in the latest issue of Icha Icha Paradise.

"Anyway, I heard they're having a hard time at the academy," Asuma commented, eyeing Kakashi.

The lazy jounin gazed back at him.

"The teacher's are having problems, too many students, too few teachers, and apparently way too many over protective worried parents." Kurenai explained. "I guess Iruka's been taking the brunt of it."

Kakashi stared into his tea for moment before swallowing the rest of the cups contents. Kurenai studied him, keen red eyes that went through anything in their path. Kakashi met her eyes.

"Has he said anything to you about it?" she asked.

"He hadn't said anything about the academy to me," Kakashi shrugged, "He hasn't said much of anything really."

"Weird, he's been your touchstone for how long now?" Anko broke in. "A couple of months"

Anko, Kakashi decided should never, ever be allowed to grin in front of grown jounin, let alone children.

"Something like that."

Kakashi glared at her and when she grinned back viciously decided he wasn't going to say anything.

After a few more minutes of meaningless conversation Anko stood, tossing a few coins on the table to cover her lunch and headed for the door.

At the doorway she paused and tossed a glare at Kakashi over her shoulder.

Kakashi blinked but she was gone before anyone could move.

"Well," Asuma sighed. "That went well."

"Now I'm curious." Genma announced. Raido sighed; it was never good when anyone in this group was curious.

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Izumo and Kotetsu sat quietly in the tree above the jounin training grounds. The Hokage and several of her most trusted jounins were holding a private council. It would have slipped beneath the two hunter's radar if they hadn't over heard that Jiriaya was attending.

Now after listening for an hour they were beginning to wonder why they had bothered coming at all.

"So Danzo wants to kick Naruto out of the village huh?" Genma muttered.

"Yur not going to let him though right?" Raido asked, he'd always had a soft spot for the bright child.

"Of course not but there is the matter of Umino, Kakashi have you turned up anything?"

The silver haired jounin shook his head, his signature book for once missing from his hands. "Only that he knows Shinji's girlfriend," he nodded to the wild haired next to him. "And that he mothers Naruto too much."

"Mothers?" Izumo mouthed to his partner.

Kotetsu grinned crouching and leaning over the edge of the branch to get a closer look, "Iruka's gonna love that one," he snickered.

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ROOT ANBU Headquarters

"Danzo-sama here are the reports you asked for."

"Good, you're dismissed."

Danzo waved away the masked Root ANBU away without a second thought and opened the folder in front of him. Staring at the picture pinned to the front.

Warm brown eyes stared back and he felt the bile rise in his throat.

Even after all this time, those eyes had never changed. No one else had seen that though, none of them had bothered to look close enough to see it.

The ice behind the fire.

Sarutobi had seen the ice inside the fire.

Ishidachi the fire inside the ice.

Only he had been able to see the truth. The others too blinded by their own ideals and hope to see who, what they were truly dealing with.

Fugaku had been close, closer than the others, seeing a frozen fire that need only to be thawed by one capable of doing so, but the man had also been blinded by his love for the one who had become his heir and student.

By all rights he should have been Danzo's student but the boy had some deep seated resentment of the ANBU and turned him down every time he asked. But more than that his resentment seemed to turn to hatred where any member of ANBU was concerned.

Danzo had never been able to learn why. The only Special Forces shinobi the boy had shown any respect for had been the hunters, ANBU, Jounin, and special Jounin be damned.

He glared at the picture again.

Those eyes were still the same.

Time didn't change them.

Loss didn't even fracture them.

He wondered if death would scratch them.

If the boy who refused to forget would become the man who set the world on fire.

* * *

…diwedd....


	5. Syrthio

Title: Knock on Wood Konoah

Part 1

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Syrthio

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Every man has his own destiny: the only imperative is to follow it, to accept it, no matter where it leads him.

Henry Miller

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A wise, well…long lived…man had once told Iruka:

"Shadows are our past, sharp and suffocating and darkening over time, the light is our present, bright and there. Our future is masked in darkness, unknown and bleak."

Iruka wasn't one to dwell on the past.

He'd over looked it often enough for the sake of the future. He could forgive people for hurting him but not for hurting others; that selflessness was why Sandaime had worried so much, why Iruka had become so secretive, why Kikyo, Yajirobi, Niku, Izumo, and Kotetsu so protective.

It had started as duty and ended as loyalty and love.

For all his scheming and hopefulness not even Sandaime had seen it coming. Not that they blame him, they hadn't seen it coming either not until after it had already happened. It made them an excellent team and bound them together in a way a simple oath could not, much like the Rookie 9. And it made them failures as shinobi, not that they cared. It had never been the ninja arts Iruka and the others had preferred. They had always been better suited to the martial arts and to Bushido, the sword art practiced by Iruka's step father Umino Koji and favored by Orochimaru. The old ways that had fallen out of favor with the majority for the newer, easier ways.

It fit better with their duties as well. Most ninja depended heavily on genjutsu and ninjutsu; there were only a few like Maito Guy that specialized in taijutsu. The more control you had over your body and your mind, the better balanced you were, the easier it was to break a genjutsu and to battle ninjutsu of the highest level.

It was knowledge pasted down through the oldest clans Aburame, Inuzuka, and Uchiha and those few outside the clans privileged to know and the even fewer who learned on their own. Those who had taught Iruka and the others had spared no expense in their lessons and they had taught them well. But they had also instilled a tremendous sense of self worth and independence in them, making it hard for them to work with others outside their group. Part of the reason they were all so isolated and angry, they had never found any bonds that tied them to the village. Sure they had plenty of bonds that bound them to one another, to their loved ones, but that was it. Nothing tied them to the village and they drew the line at what they would sacrifice for it.

All these things piled up with countless others conspired to make them failures in the world of the ninja. That had never mattered to them, nor those unfortunate enough to love them. Fugaku had snorted and said 'That's the way it's always been.' Tsume and Shiba had shared a look and shrugged. Naruto hadn't givin a flying fuck and neither had the rest of the Rookie 9.

In reality they hadn't suffered anymore than any other shinobi, but they were selfish and angry and hurt and they'd nursed those scratches into cuts and then into gashes that wouldn't heal.

They wallowed in their wounded pride and their loneliness until they couldn't feel it anymore. It was foolish to do especially in their line of work.

Iruka who hated pointless death and suffering had found the one thing he couldn't let go of. It was going to cost him, he knew that but the burning blackness inside of him, the pit in his stomach wouldn't let him forget.

He loved them too much to let them be forgotten.

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Kakashi had made up his mind the first two weeks into having Iruka as his touchstone that he wanted more than just professional friendship. He wanted the other man in his bed for a reason other than duty.

He'd been making progress; in the past week and a half Iruka had softened and even cooked dinner several times. They'd talked over good food and better sake and Kakashi had been patient with the physical side of their relationship because Iruka didn't strike him as the type to just have sex without emotional attachment.

In fact he'd willingly bet Iruka was a virgin. The tattoo on his chest, right over his heart of a lotus flower just convinced him further. Kakashi could last a few more days without sex. Tsunade, Kurenai, Shizune and several others had agreed that with Iruka's old fashioned morals sleeping with him while he was Kakashi's touchstone probably wasn't a good idea. Kakashi was fine with that, it wasn't like there was a lot to give up, he hadn't been in a relationship in years and he didn't necessarily want love either, friends with benefits was fine by him. He just wanted that physical connection to another person.

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It had taken Iruka a few days to figure out what was happening. That Kakashi was actually growing on him. He'd had a minor breakdown in his kitchen, scarring the hell out of Naruto and Anko but relaxing Kikyo and the others. Iruka could handle being in love, provided it was from a distance, but if they get to close he starts to worry too much, to try and divide his attention and he already had so many things that need his attention.

Then of course came the problem of figuring out what to do about it. If Kakashi was really falling in love with Iruka it was going to disrupt their plans and Kikyo was not looking forward to redoing everything she'd already done.

Iruka had no interest in owning another person's heart; especially not right now…when things were starting to heat up.

But what to do about it?

"Alright, I have a plan!" Kotetsu announced as the group lay sprawled out around Iruka's living room, sake bottle's littering the coffee table in the center.

Iruka lifted his head off the pillow, blinking blearily at his teammate. "Seriously?"

"It's better than the last time you had a plan right?" Kikyo mutters.

"Please say its better then the last time you had a plan," Niku groaned.

Izumo snorted a laugh into the cushion his face was buried in.

Yajirobi whimpered from the floor.

"It is," Kotetsu slurred. "We lure him to Iruka's bed room, spring a net trapped like that one we used on Tsume-sensei that one year, remember that?"

The entire room collapsed into giggles.

"That was hilarious," Anko wheezed.

"Wait, wait, I'm not done yet!" Kotetsu paused to get his breath back and take another sip of sake. "Trap him in the net, tie him up and …… kill him!"

"It might be the sake talking…but that sounds like a good plan," Kikyo slurred.

"We are not killing Kakashi." Iruka muttered, burying his head in a pillow.

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Kikyo stumbled her way home around 3 a.m. They'd been drinking for hours and the effects were taking a while to wear off, even with her metabolism. She stumbled up the steps to her apartment, feeling like there was something she needed to remember but couldn't for the life of her. She finally reached her door and fumbled in her pocket for the keys.

She nearly fell on her face when the door opened before she even got the keys out of her pocket. She looked up and blinked.

The face swam, then sharpened and the handsome features of her live in boyfriend, Takehito Shinji, came into focus.

"Uh…hey…"

Shit. They'd had dinner plans she realized and judging from the candle melted down to nothing on the table he'd waited up for her. Shit. Shit. Shit.

His warm eyes were clouded, hurt she realized and she winced as she entered and he closed the door behind her. He was dressed in nothing but sleeping pants, the firm expanse of his chest distracted her for a moment.

"Are you alright?" His voice was low, he looked nervous.

Kikyo was well aware that she was the more outgoing in their constructed relationship. Shinji didn't feel confident in her attraction to him, but despite Kikyo's many and vain attempts to deny it herself it was true and strong. It made the situation that much more bittersweet.

The first guy in years that she'd ever felt this way towards and their relationship wasn't real. He was on a mission to investigate her; she was in it to keep an eye on him and his superiors. It broke her heart and it must have shown on her face because Shinji moved forward suddenly and swept her up into his arms as tears started slipping down her cheeks.

For the first time in years Kikyo cried against his chest.

It must have been the sake.

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Sasuke frowned as he watched Naruto out of the corner of his eye. They were walking down Konoha's main street, towards the Memorial Stone. Naruto had showed up at his home, somehow knowing exactly which room was his in the huge Uchiha compound. He thinks, that maybe Iruka, let it slip as in gave Naruto explicit directions. He wouldn't put it past the surprisingly sneaky teacher.

Regardless, Naruto had shown up just after breakfast and asked, demanded, dragged Sasuke out. He wanted to visit someone, he'd said, and he wanted to introduce them to Sasuke. It made the Uchiha heir uneasy. He'd barely spoken to anyone since his return to the village. Only Naruto, Sakura, and the rest of the Rookie 9 including Lee and Tenten had made a serious effort to talk to him. The only adults that had come by had been Iruka in the company of Anko, Kikyo, Yajirobi, Izumo, or Kotetsu. They had been awkward visits, Sasuke hadn't known what to say, what they wanted to hear and none of them would tell him.

They were persistent though, and that was what un-nerved Sasuke the most. It was a terrifying feeling; having so many people suddenly focus their complete attention on you. Iruka and Naruto especially had this…incredible…insane ability to make you feel like you were surrounded by them body and soul, completely overwhelmed and unable to escape.

And completely and utterly safe and loved. It was a heady feeling that terrified Sasuke. He didn't remember ever feeling that way before, not even with his parents or Itachi.

It is, he realizes, a gift that lies solely with Iruka and Naruto and it's probably some form of projection or chakra manipulation but for him not to sense it either means its far to advanced for Naruto to know so he at least must be doing it naturally. Which means Iruka is too because that's the only place he could have picked it up. He briefly entertains the thought that it might be a bloodline trait, but Iruka and Naruto aren't related by blood in even the most distant relation and while the Yondaime was handsome he wasn't….like that.

Sasuke wonders if anyone could do that the way the two of them can and then berates himself for being foolish. Of course there is someone out there that can do it as well…just not in Konoha…or in any other ninja village he's been too.

He glances at Naruto again as they continue walking. He can feel it wrapping around him now, like a warm blanket contoured to every corner and nook of his body.

It's comforting in a way Sasuke doesn't think he deserves. Naruto is too bright for him, too warm, too…good. Sasuke is black and dark and cold and afraid to touch Naruto for fear of ruining that blinding light he's come to love.

Wait? Did he love the blinding light or Naruto? Or were they the same thing? Did he love Iruka? What the hell was wrong with him? He didn't deserve either of them.

"Oi Sasuke which ones?"

"Huh?" Yanked out of his unpleasant thoughts Sasuke's head snapped around. They were at a flower stand; Naruto was giving him a concerned look and pointing to two bouquets. "What?"

Naruto frowned, "Which bouquet?"

Sasuke frowned and studied the flowers; one was a bouquet of soft pinks and yellows, the other blood red and deep blue. "What are they for?"

"Iruka-sensei's family."

Aren't they dead? He's glad he didn't speak the words out loud because a look of immense sadness swept over Naruto's face for just a second and it wrenched Sasuke's heart to see it. "The second one," he points to the blue and red and Naruto grins.

"Awesome!" He grabs the flowers and the stand owner waves them away when they try to pay. Naruto must shop there a lot, Sasuke mused to get that kind of treatment.

Naruto cradles the flowers gently and Sasuke decides to prod the blond and find out what's going on. "For his parents' right?"

Naruto nods, "Yeah, Iruka-sensei and I go together once a week, but he goes by himself or with one of the others every other day, I go when he doesn't."

Sasuke nodded though he didn't really understand. "You never knew them though?"

Naruto shrugs, and looks at him with a heart broken grin. "I don't remember, but I know Iruka-sensei and really that's all I need. I mean can you imagine the people that trained Iruka-sensei?"

He knew what Naruto was talking about. They had all learned their first year at the academy that Iruka was an orphan and the stories of where he had come from, who had brought him into the world. It was one of the world's great mysteries.

"What were their names?" Sasuke asks as they continued toward the stone. He can see it now, ahead of them through the trees. It gleamed in the sunlight and looking at it made Sasuke queasy.

"His mother's name was Mori, Sarutobi Mori."

They stopped in front of the stone. Mere paces from one another and Naruto met his eyes as it clicked.

"Sarutobi? As in…"

"She was the only daughter of the Sandaime."

"Iruka is the Third's grandson?!" He says it with a note of disbelief.

Naruto just nods.

"Who was his father?" The words barely make it out of his mouth, a sick feeling coming to his stomach. The daughter of the God of Ninja wouldn't have married just anyone.

"On the record, it's his step father, Umino Koji, a bushido samurai from Mist."

Sasuke's eyes narrow as Naruto kneels and places the flowers on the ground in front of the memorial stone.

"Who was his real father?"

Naruto straightens, eyes shadowing as he turned to face the Uchiha.

"Who?" He can hear his heart pounding in his ears; everything else is starting to fade except for Naruto's voice, which reverberates through his skull.

The world around him fades as Naruto speaks.

"Uchiha Fugaku."

He can't think. He can't speak. He can't breathe.

….diwedd….


	6. myfi y glaif

Title: Knock on Wood Konoah

* * *

Part 1

* * *

myfi y glaif

* * *

He who lives by the sword, dies by the sword.

Proverb

* * *

Naruto stands silently. He can't sympathize with how Sasuke feels, on any level, but he knows what the other boy needs.

Silence and support, Iruka-sensei had always said were the best things you could ever give anyone facing a life altering truth.

So Naruto sat back on his heels as Sasuke stared uncomprehendingly at the memorial stone.

It took a few minutes, longer then Naruto has expected, but Sasuke eventually snapped out of it. His eyes landed on Naruto and made the fox child take a step back. His eyes were burning, the eternal fire of the Uchiha clan alight in his eyes. Naruto reframed from asking whether or not it was in anger or joy.

It was good though, to see the light back in Sasuke's eyes. Naruto had missed it.

"How?"

Naruto blinked. "Err you mean the birds and the bees…?"

"No, baka, what happened? How did they meet? Who knew?"

"Uh…" Naruto trails off. He'd heard the story of course, from Iruka no less, but he felt uncomfortable sharing it. Instead he grabbed Sasuke's hand and pulls. "Come on."

* * *

The Uchiha compound had once been the pride and joy of Konoha. Ancient buildings from before Konoha had been Konoha, sprawling grounds of airy, high ceiling buildings, Zen gardens filled with lilies, lotus flowers, and bamboo, stone walkways, and hide-a-ways in every corner. Everything had been built by hand by the original members of the clan, planted, placed, and carved by the same tools they used to kill. Iruka had always been incredibly proud of the place, had spent his childhood exploring it, the hidden rooms, secret levels, and underground tunnels.

He was sitting on the back steps of the main house, facing the Zen garden that had gotten Uchiha Mikoto through two pregnancies and endless nights of worrying about her husband, family, and clan. It was aptly nicknamed Mikoto's Heart and years after her death was still alive, even if it had never rivaled the beauty it had maintained during her life.

Iruka took a deep breath, the smell of fresh rain, bamboo, and clean air filled his lungs, giving him a rare sense of peace. Steam rose from a pot of tea sitting next to him on the step, resting on an antique tray that had been a gift to Mikoto's mother on her only daughter's wedding day. The silver had been carefully melted and formed into the shape of cranes taking flight, a tribute to Uchiha Kari's ANBU mask. Even now it was still easy to recall the image of the formidable old woman who had slipped Iruka candy when he parents weren't looking and showed him the easiest and quickest way to slit someone's throat.

He was still sitting in that same spot, in nothing but his pajama bottoms when Naruto appeared, dragging Sasuke behind him. Before they had even reached him Niku appeared, carrying a tray containing a new pot of tea and three cups. She disappeared as quickly and as quietly as she had come, taking the old pot of tea away with her.

"Iruka-sensei!" Naruto wasn't even phased by her actions, well aware that as the oldest son of the clan head Iruka was entitled to special treatment and that those who worked with him, who followed him, treated him the way he would have been when the clans had been the true power in Konoha. The Old Ways.

"Naruto, Sasuke, good morning." Iruka smiled and gestured for them to sit, handing them both a cup of fragrant jasmine tea when they had. As usual Sasuke sipped his politely while Naruto just barreled on.

"I told Sasuke-kun about your parents."

Iruka hid his surprise well, noting that Sasuke's hard gaze had landed on him the moment he'd entered the garden and hadn't moved since.

"He wants to know the rest of the story."

Naruto would always guileless, so utterly incapable of cruelty and betrayal. There was a lot Sasuke could learn from him, Iruka realized. A lot that a lot of people could learn.

"What exactly do you want to know?" He kept his voice calm, sensing Sasuke was a frightened cat, ready to scratch, claw, and leap away at a moments notice.

Sasuke frowned, thinking carefully, and wondering exactly how much Iruka would let him know. "Everything."

Everything, naturally. Who didn't want to know everything Iruka sighed. "It's a long story Sasuke."

"I don't care."

Iruka sipped his tea, savoring the flavor before speaking. "The Senju and Uchiha clans were the founders of Konoha. The Senju of the Forest were born on this land, the Uchiha were orphans, no one knew from where."

Naruto broke in, "So where are they from?"

Sasuke sighed in annoyance, "Dobe…"

Iruka smiled, "The Uchiha are from all over, they were a small group who united back before any of the Hidden Villages were formed. They were mercenaries until they settled in this area and teamed up with the Senju. They helped them gather the other clans, Inuzuka and Aburame first. Then the others."

"Then how are they a clan?" Naruto asked.

"Because the two that started the group were the parents of Uchiha Madara and Uchiha Izuna."

"What were their names?" Sasuke asked.

"Uchiha Ash was their father's name, they mother was called Kikyo. In fact, that's who Kikyo is named after."

"Really!?" Naruto is always enthusiastic when it comes to learning things about Iruka's family, mostly because he's always felt more like a member of that family, then his own.

"Yep, it's a tradition in the clan to rename the strongest female of a generation after the matriarch."

"What was Kikyo's name before they changed it to Kikyo?"

Iruka paused, "Actually I don't know, I've never known her as anything else. Kikyo was a genius, they knew very early on that she would be the strongest."

Naruto nodded in understanding, Sasuke's unerring gaze was still locked on Iruka.

"The Uchiha's became a clan when they began founding Konoha with the other clans. It made people nervous that they still referred to themselves as mercenaries. Senju Hashirama, the First Hokage, convinced Uchiha Ash and his sons Madara and Izuna to officially become a clan and Ash and Izuna, and Kikyo thought it was a good idea. They knew that most members of the cgroup wanted to settle, there had been several marriages within the group and children were coming. They wanted a place where the children could be raised and taught safely. Madara didn't want to but the majority won over and they agreed, thus becoming the Uchiha Clan."

Iruka paused to sip his tea, "As you both know, when the time came to elect a leader Madara wanted the position, his father and brother however, knowing him better then most, pushed for Hasirama to take the position and eventually he won. Madara took it as a personal betrayal and when he tried to take over the Uchiha clan, his brother Izuna fought him and defeated him and banished him from Konoh," he paused to let that sink in. That Madara hadn't been the stronger of the two brothers like most believed. That it had actually been the shy younger brother who was most fit to take their father's place. "Ash and Kikyo were away on a mission when it happened but he supported Izuna's actions. It broke Hashirama's heart more then theirs to banish him, as he'd always thought of Madara as a brother."

"Wait, so he didn't know that Madara had tried to become leader?" Naruto asked.

Iruka shook his head, "The Uchiha clan is by far the most secretive of Konoha's clans. They kept all their internal conflict and issues to themselves. Hashirama never knew and no one was ever told and eventually things settled down, allowing both clans to grow and prosper. The Uchiha clan blossomed but their secrets and their desire for privacy kept them isolated from the rest of the village. Because of their close bonds with the Senju clan the Uchiha's always held a position of power within the village which created problems with the other clans and shinobi who were jealous of their position and power."

"But they earned it," Naruto muttered.

"They did, but most people didn't know that. And even those who did, not all of them were friends either. The only true friends the Uchiha's have ever had were the Inuzuka and Aburame clans."

"Not the Senju?" Sasuke this time.

Iruka smiled softly and shook his head, "The relationship between the Senju and the Uchiha is very complicated. The Senju are the leaders, the healers, the Uchiha are the warriors. The Senju the light, the Uchiha the darkness."

"The Senju planned, the Uchiha made it happen," Sasuke murmured.

Iruka nodded. "Both with incredibly strong bloodlines and members who were legends in their own time. As the clans became more powerful and developed their techniques, it became more and more common for them to isolate themselves from others. Its frowned upon when clans teach their techniques outside the clan, it's an unwritten law for clans to inter bred. Blending bloodlines, allowing a child to be born with that much power causes more problems then it fixes in the minds of people who fear what's stronger then them."

"What does that have to with you being my brother?" Sasuke demanded.

Iruka continued as if he hadn't heard. "My mother was Sarutobi Mori, Asuma's older sister and the Sandamine's only daughter. She was…beautiful. Not in the traditional sense of face and body. She was rather plain in that department, but she had spirit, fire. Excellent with taijutsu, not that great with genjutsu, but as the oldest daughter of a powerful shinobi and the Hokage most people saw her greatest value in the children she could bare."

Naruto winced.

"My mother didn't want to settle down and have a family. She was only twenty when the council started pushing hard for her to marry and have children. Naturally, she rebelled. That's when she met my father," Iruka paused to take a sip of tea. "Uchiha Fugaku was the only son of his father, only child actually. Like my mother he rebelled at the though of marrying and having children to please the clan elders. He was a shining star in ANBU, just made the rank of jounin in the same test as my mother. He wanted to fight. He'd become the leader of Konoha's hunters a year before and loved it. He met Mori during a meeting with the Hokage, just before the Yondamine was inducted. The affair started soon after. They wanted to marry but their closest friends, Inuzuka Tsume and Aburame Shiba knew it wouldn't' be allowed and convinced them to keep it quiet."

"Kiba and Shino's parents," Naruto stated more then asked.

Iruka nodded and continued, "Regardless, word got out. Sandamine and his allies tried to convince them to end it before any of their enemies learned of it. Fugaku was engaged to Uchiha Mikoto, a skilled and powerful jounin in her own right. A marriage arranged years before to provide the clan with the best chance for a strong heir, but heedless of the warnings of the people around them the affair continued for two more years, until Mori became pregnant. Once Sarutobi learned of the pregnancy, he and the three clans Uchiha, Aburame, and Inuzuka and their allies moved quickly to cover it up. Mori and Fugaku realizing that they could never be together, finally agreed to marry others. Fugaku married Mikoto who was in love with him despite everything that had happened. Mori agreed to marry a swordsman from Mist named Umino Koij. Famed in his own land as an elite samurai, he brought most of his clan's best warriors with him when he moved to Konoha and they blended with the Uchiha clan."

Naruto and Sasuke listened with rapt attention and Iruka smiled.

"Koji was a good man, Mikoto was a good woman. They didn't deserved to get caught up in everything but they handled it with grace and honor. Koji fell in love with my mother quickly and she with him. Soon enough Fugaku and Mikoto fell in love and what had been a passionate forbidden romance between my parents became a strong, binding friendship. Mori and Koji joined the hunters and when I was born I was raised in both households. The best of both worlds you could say, I grew up with four parents, dozens of highly skilled aunts and uncles, all of whom became my teachers. That's pretty much it."

Naruto's eyes narrowed. "The hell it is!"

Iruka smirked. "It's all you get to hear right now."

"What about the nine-tails?" Sasuke's eyes narrowed.

Iruka pauses, letting the sudden gut wrenching pain wash over him and fade before he answered, "When the nine-tails attacked my mother and Koji and many of the others went to the front lines to hold off the demon while the Uchiha clan tried to find a way to send the demon back from where they had summoned it. They died on the front lines along with a lot of other people," Iruka ruffled Naruto's hair as he spoke. "After that I was officially an orphan because it would have been to dangerous to reveal I was Fugaku's son. Sandaime made sure I was never adopted and I lived on my own in an apartment. I spent most of my time split between the Uchiha, Inuzuka, and Aburame clans and the Hokage so that nobody got suspicious."

"And that's it?" Sasuke didn't sound convinced.

"That's all there is to the story of how I'm your brother, anything else will have to wait for another time."

Sasuke frowned, he wanted to argue but the haunted look in Iruka's eyes made him think twice. Naruto gulped down the rest of his tea breaking the silence and Iruka sighed.

"There are a lot of stories Sasuke, you'll hear all of them eventually. Naruto can attest to that."

The blond nodded furiously, "They all like to talk about the past, their stories are hilarious!"

Iruka smiled, "Some of them you're too young to hear."

Naruto sputtered, "I'm 18!"

Iruka sighed, "Definitely too young."

Naruto and Sasuke shared a curious look. What kinds of stories were too much for a legal adult?

"Iruka-sensei…." Naruto started innocently. Iruka eyed him warily.

"What about Itachi?" Sasuke questioned silenced both Naruto and Iruka and they turned to him.

Iruka sighed, "You've heard the story, Itachi wasn't lying when he told you that he was forced to execute the clan."

"So the Uchiha's were going to try and take over Konoha?"

Iruka bristled, "No, that part was a lie cooked up by a very dangerous, evil man."

"Danzo," Naruto supplied, eyes bright with anger.

Sasuke tensed.

"Yes, he managed to start that rumor and by the time we took steps to combat it it was too deeply engrained in certain minds. Add to that, the fact that our parents and the other hunters were friends with Orochimaru before he…left. We were cornered."

Sasuke's knuckles were white.

"It was Fugaku's idea, the only way to insure the survival of the three of us outside Danzo's sphere of influence."

"And no one in Konoha thought about helping us? Thought that maybe Danzo was lying!?" Sasuke was on his feet now, anger rolling off him in waves.

Iruka reached out to him, hand resting on the young man's shoulder. "It was as much our fault as theirs."

"So!?"

Wounded pride was a dangerous thing, Iruka knew. It made people desperate and desperate people did things they never would have considered before. "So our stubborn refusal to stick with the Old Ways made the people pushing for change nervous and we were out numbered." Iruka continued before Sasuke could break in. "Nowadays however, more and more people are starting to look to the Old Ways because of everything that's happened."

Sasuke blinked as Iruka's meaning sunk in. "What are you going to do?"

There was a pause, then Iruka smiled, something feral and soft at the same time. "I'm going to burn it to the ground."

…diwedd…


End file.
