Disclaimer: No, I do not own Naruto or the characters.
Iruka's emotions
Naruto's speech
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He looks at me from the corner of the room, where he's been hiding all morning. He's a very friendly person, don't get me wrong, but he doesn't particularly like the limelight. I can see it in his eyes: the pride, the happiness, the sense of peace and love. I'm so damn lucky . . .. And he wouldn't even consider that this is all because of him. That's just who he is.
He's the man who supports you from behind, the hand at your back so you know you're not alone. And for so long, I was alone. So alone and lost and hurt . . .. It could have gone the other way, you know. I could have ended up like that arrogant teme—but my brother saved me. Hardly anyone gives him credit for it either . . .. like I said, he manages to stay out of the limelight.
I step up to the podium in the middle of the balcony as Tsunade-baa-chan motions me forward. There are loud cheers and I can't help but marvel at how different things have become. A part of me wants to spit off the stage into that crowd waiting below, see how they like being on the other end of the torture, humiliation and degradation I was subject to through my childhood. Then that voice in my head (which will forever be his, for better or for worse) chastises me and I smile lovingly down on my village, knowing I've changed the people for the better—knowing I forgive them even though I'll never forget.
As everyone's eyes are on me during my inaugural speech, my eyes are on him. I watch the play of emotions across his face as I deliver the speech I wrote and practiced for hours to get it just right.
Pride. Unconditional love.
The crowd waits with smiles on their faces.
I bet you thought I'd wear orange, huh?
A smile crinkles his eyes in silent laughter.
Laughter bubbles up here and there.
But I've changed. Not too much, I'm still me. I'll always be loud, cheerful and stubborn. I like to think that I'm a little wiser though, a little more demure—and yes, I know what demure means!
Another soft smile appears, as he's shaking his head softly.
The crowd titters again. Someone at the back (who sounds suspiciously like Anko) cheers loudly.
Some of you have a little to do with that. When I was a child, the people of this village mistreated me.
Anger, eyes flash as his head snaps up.
I hold my hand up to silence the crowd, who are somewhat nervous and a few are even ashamed, trying to melt into nothing.
It didn't break me though; it made me want to work harder, to prove I was good enough to be standing here today. I proved you wrong, didn't I? You don't have to feel bad though, I understand, I really do. You were all hurting and I was an easy scapegoat—I don't blame you, not really. I will never forget and to be honest, I don't want to. The trials I went through will help me to be a better leader—they have already made me a better man . . .. So as a better man, I forgave you. It wasn't always like this, though. A twelve-year old doesn't understand things quite the same as a twenty-year old.
Sadness, commiseration and helplessness dance across his features. He almost looks like he wants to reach out and comfort me. Knowing him he does.
The crowd is watching me with bated breath. Several have their heads bowed.
There was a point in my life where I almost gave up. I had just failed miserably and I wanted nothing more than to never wake up. Then a man approached me, promised me recognition if I stole something from Sandaime-oji. And I did it.
Shock. Pain. I never told him I wasn't planning on making it through that night. It hurts him to know; I can see it in his eyes. Now he really wants to reach out and fold me in a hug.
The crowd's eyes are all on me now—no one is looking away anymore—I have everyone's attention.
But he tricked me. He tried to kill me. He called me a monster and I wanted more than ever to curl up and die. Just die.
More anger and pain. It never ceases to amaze me how his face is like an open book. He takes a step forward, his urge to comfort almost overwhelming his politeness, a hand reaching out for me, then falling soundlessly to his side.
Then came the moment that changed me forever for the better. The moment I chose the kind of man I wanted to become. The moment that is the reason I am standing here today, alive, well, forgiving and ready to take this village forward into a better future. The reason I have spent the last eight years willing to die for this village and the people in it. The reason I give people second chances, the reason I love with all of my heart, the reason I wake up every morning happy to be alive and have another day in the sunshine.
Puzzlement. Confusion, but it's laced with happiness now. He is a little calmer as I move into a more positive space.
The crowd is now smiling, nodding, looking up at me with the newfound respect I gained from the Fourth Great Shinobi War burning in their eyes.
My brother, my guardian angel, my Iruka-nii swooped in and saved me. Yes, swooped. Not dramatically—flashy is more my style, not his; more like a leaf falling gently in the wind onto your shoulder or in your hands. He saved me from death when he took a shuriken to the back, certainly, but more importantly, he saved my heart from turning to a blackened stone when he loved me for me—when he proved to me I wasn't the monster you all thought I was.
More shock and still confusion.
I am talking only to him now; I turn slightly, more towards him.
He wasn't the first to acknowledge I wasn't a monster. Sandaime-oji had advocated for me for a while, for sure. But he was the first to risk his own well being, his own friendship to protect me, to take a stand and declare that he would stick by me even if it meant Mizuki would kill him too.
Sadness, anger, love.
It wasn't until much later, when he was hospital bound and I heard nurses talking that I realized exactly the depth of what he'd given up for me. Mizuki was his lifelong friend—they'd known each other since before their ninja academy days, he was his best friend. And yet, Iruka was willing to lose that for what he believed in. I decided that night, standing beside him in that hospital room, watching as he fought for his life, while I was safe—that he was everything I wanted to grow up to be.
Surprise, fondness, shock, happiness. He wrings his hands in obvious discomfort. I think I'm making him feel slightly embarrassed. He's not used to such high praise, I suppose, mostly because he hides his good deeds.
He was willing to die to protect a boy no one else gave a second glance. To look beyond my circumstances, beyond what everyone else saw when they looked at me and beyond what he had lost already and could lose…. to see a boy, like any other. A boy that knew what it was like to cry himself to sleep, to have only hate-filled glares to keep him company. I think he saw a little of himself in me—and for that, I'm both grateful and proud. He was willing to stand alone if it meant standing up for what he believed in. Since then I have watched him and my awe has only multiplied. Men and women like my brother are the legs this village stands on and you would do well not to forget that, because I never will.
Flabbergasted, speechless.
He doesn't think he's anything special, but that's what makes him even greater. Sure, he isn't a jounin—but he's so much more. He is the smile we all come home to in the mission room; he is the teacher who loves every child that passes through his door. He makes everyone feel loved, needed and he works harder than most. As his little brother, I was lucky. I was an insider, a privileged guest into his life. I got to be there to see moments he hides from everyone else; when he dragged himself home after a long day at the Academy followed by a shift in the missions room. I was there when he gave up his lunches to feed hungry students. I was there when he gave the jacket off his back to less fortunate villagers. I was there when he fed the strays and there when he felt so awful that he cried himself to sleep.
Shock. Embarrassment. I clench a fist under the podium.
He tried to hide it, tucking me into the spare room in his apartment on nights it wasn't safe for me to spend in my own home because of angry mobs or nights when I came back from missions injured. Then he would quietly go off to his own room and I would hear whispered prayers for my safety followed by gut-wrenching sobs. It broke my heart, but I knew my brother. I knew he thought he had to carry the weight of the world and I knew he thought a child like me shouldn't have to. It made me sad to think he cried for me, but I was honoured as well. He loved me. He cared. He never cried for himself.
Shame. Mortification. Helplessness. I never told him I knew. He never wanted me to know.
I want to be able to be that selfless, to be that hardworking. I want to be that loving, that kind, that caring. I'm still not sure if I ever will be, but I know that he will always be there for me, will always support me, will always be the wind beneath my wings.
Embarrassment. Shyness. Love.
Today, I become the Hokage. I am expected to be brave, to be selfless, to be wise and to be strong. A kage is considered the most formidable ninja in his or her village. And I hope that I will live up to that. I pray that I will do a good job. And I want to thank my brother for getting me here. You are my hero, Iruka and you always will be. I love you, Iruka-nii.
Pride.
"I love you too, Naruto." And he finally emerges from the shadows to envelop me in a hug. I lean down (it's still strange to me that I've grown taller than him) and his familiar scent, the smell of sunshine and safety that comforted me as a child, washes over my senses. This is Konoha and I am home.
The crowd cheers and I turn to them, dragging my former-sensei-turned-big-brother with me, despite his embarrassed blush and flustered protests. (He can really dig his heels in when he wants to, but there are certain advantages to my new height and youthful strength.)
As the crowd continues to cheer and Tsunade-baa-chan links hands with me on my other side, I lean in to whisper to Iruka, "So, Hiashi-teme finally agreed to let Hinata marry me, since I'm Hokage now and not just a scruffy street rat. Will you be my best man, Nii-san?"
He glares half-heartedly at me, "And will this wedding turn me into as much of a spectacle as you have managed today?"
I laugh and reply, "I make no promises." He smiles and squeezes my hand.
"I would be honoured."