Disclaimer:I do NOT own Naruto. The brilliant Masashi Kishimoto does.

Warning: My fanfic will diverge from Naruto chapter 511 so my story won't follow anything after that! This story is taking place after Naruto was sent off to be "hidden" along with Killer Bee and the Eight-Tails in that monster-filled island. But as always, keep in mind this is a fanfic so the history of the characters may also be different!

Reynard

Chapter 2


"I made no mistake," Tsunade repeated as her eyes narrowed, her patience stretching thin. It was Kakashi's right to question her judgment especially after his last A-rank mission with Iruka. However, he was allowed to question her only once. She would not tolerate his stubbornness especially on this matter.

Kakashi's fists clenched ever so slightly. "Iruka has the skills of a good shinobi but he does not have the character for it – he has too much heart. He also gets easily distracted and easily fooled. In our last mission together, a couple of years ago, he received severe wounds that he never should have gotten because he opened his ears to an enemy ninja. That mission had been his last A-rank mission as I recommended to the Hokage." He then lifted the file to draw attention to it.

"But this... This is a Red Vault mission. This has the potential to be an S-rank mission. It's bad enough that he potentially endangers himself in high-ranking missions – that should be more than enough reason to forbid him to go – but he also endangers his comrades. Sandaime Hokage, for all of his compassion and high regard of Iruka, agreed with me."

Tsunade eyes narrowed even further into slits. She had already lost count on how many times she has been compared to the Sandaime Hokage. Unfortunately, the Yondaime Hokage perished as a hero too early for her to also be compared to him. Tsunade had always held her sensei in high regard – as a shinobi, as a leader and as a man. Isn't she following his footsteps after all? His principles, his beliefs – his will of fire?

But she was not perfect and she was definitely not Sandaime. She was the Godaime and she damn well deserved the respect and obedience of her shinobi.

"I am sending Iruka on this mission for a very good reason, brat," Tsunade almost spat, her amber eyes fiery as she stood up to her full height and stared at the younger shinobi – the shinobi who had been selected as her successor before she woke up from her coma. She could understand where Kakashi was coming from but in the end, it was her decision that mattered. "You'll understand when you get there so to make sure that he doesn't endanger himself and everyone around him, stick close to him!"

Konohagakure's strongest kunoichi slammed her palms against her desk with a loud bang, signalling the end of the discussion. She sat back down and Kakashi stiffly bowed his head.

"As you will, Hokage-sama."

"It is as I will. Now send for Iruka. He's the only one who hasn't been informed yet."


I'm so stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid!

Iruka banged his head for the umpteenth time on the Missions Desk, making his co-workers look at him either in worry or bewilderment. It was not very like him to hurt himself by introducing his forehead to the wooden surface continuously with a loud 'bam'.

He could still remember the words Kakashi said to him a few years ago after his last official A-rank mission...

"Only the naive see only the goodness in everyone and that naivety can throw your loved ones into a world of misery. Have mercy on them and harden your heart when duty calls."

"Stop looking back and staring behind you all the time, Iruka-sensei. You will make those around you suffer."

I seem to really be a pain to be around with, aren't I? Iruka thought glumly as he recalled the statement Kakashi made less than an hour ago. He had been emotional and touchy and so upset that Kakashi still thought he was nothing but a thorn to those around him that he had lashed back without thinking on his words.

"You are wrong, Kakashi-sama. Do not worry; no one around me is suffering because there is no one walking by my side."

No matter how many times he played it around his head, those words were the words of one indulging in self-pity; it was quite appalling. Had he really become so weak?

You're stronger than this, Iruka! Remember your roots! Remember who you are!

He owed it to his parents to hold his head up high and to walk forward with his back straight and his gaze facing forward. Kakashi was right: there was no point in looking back with sadness and regret. If he ever looked back, it should be to draw strength and not to get weakened.

Especially now. With the shinobi world as it was at the moment, he could not afford to hesitate anymore. He had to be decisive and ruthless.

His time was coming – that he knew from deep within him.

The question was whether or not he would stand alone.

"Umino Iruka-san."

Iruka suddenly jumped up in surprise, completely caught off guard. He had been so deep in his thoughts that his guard had been down. He cursed mentally. Even Naoki had noticed that he kept on drifting off...

...But he had a good reason for it.

It's just that he couldn't explain the reason.

"Shizune-sama," he greeted, straightening. Shizune seemed bewildered with his initial reaction when she called his name. He seemed to have been day-dreaming although what he was thinking of did not seem pleasant. She gave him a firm look then nodded to him.

"Hokage-sama requires your presence," she said formally. Iruka just nodded and left his post to follow her to Tsunade-sama's office.

Shizune knocked on the thick wooden door as he waited behind her. When a "Come in!" was yelled out, the Hokage's secretary slowly opened the door before motioning for Iruka to enter. The Chuunin sensei bowed politely to her before stepping through the doorway. She followed after him and shut the door behind her.

Iruka gaped at the difference in the room. The first thing he noticed was that there were no windows, thus making the door the only way out of the room. Then he noticed the silver tuft of hair.

He paled.

The last person he wanted to see at the moment was locked inside the Hokage's office with him!


Kakashi looked at the younger man coolly although inside he was seething. He really had nothing personal against Iruka – it's just that the Chuunin was too soft-hearted... and indecisive... and reckless... He was like a jinx. Sure, put him in any C-rank mission and below and he functioned perfectly. But B-rank and above?

He was a disaster waiting to happen.

Kakashi still didn't understand why Iruka had to be included in this Red Vault mission but Tsunade said that he would understand the reason soon enough. What if she was wrong and it was too late?

He was also thinking about how the Black Fox would respond to the presence of Iruka. The shinobi had requested for back-up. How would he react if he found out that one of the shinobi sent to assist him was an incompetent Chuunin? Kakashi knew that the Black Fox would be disappointed at best and enraged at worst.

But as Tsunade said, her will was law.

So he had to keep Iruka close to him and make sure the man did not get into trouble.

Tsunade was giving the Chuunin sensei the news. "Iruka, you are to be sent as back-up for a shinobi who is near the end of his Red Vault mission."

Kakashi watched Iruka's reaction closely. When the Chuunin first entered, Kakashi saw a mixture of shock, embarrassment and panic when Iruka laid his eyes on Kakashi. But when Tsunade told him the reason why she summoned him to his office, instead of stuttering and questioning the Hokage as to why he would be sent on such a mission, the Chuunin straightened his back as his eyes became dark and serious. It was a soldier's stance and Kakashi was surprised by it.

"As you will, Hokage-sama," he said firmly. Determination and conviction shone through his words and the way he stood. Kakashi almost believed that he would be different from their last mission.

Almost.

After all, to see was to believe.

Their first skirmish will show the Jounin if Iruka really had taken his words to heart all those years ago.


When Iruka finally finished packing his necessities for the journey, he stopped and carefully straightened as he looked around the small house he grew up in with his parents – and after he lost them. It was a small house with the central room being the combined dining room and lounge. Only a small counter separated the kitchen from the dining area while a doorway beside his couch led to a small hallway where the entrances to the two bedrooms and his one bathroom were. He walked around, looking carefully at each room and tried to memorize every small detail, even the speck of dirt here and a forgotten scrunched up piece of paper there...

...As though he was never going to see these rooms ever again...

Iruka lingered the longest in his parents' room. He would only sleep there whenever Naruto came to visit so that they would both fit on the bed, which was a queen-size. Of course, with all the shifting, kicking and punching Naruto did in his sleep, he would have preferred it to be a king-size but he really couldn't bear to take away his parents' bed.

Iruka looked at his clock on the mantel by his fireplace, where a picture of his family, his students, Team 7 and Naruto were located. The clock showed 9:15am. The meeting time was 10:00am.

It's still early. Good.

He picked his pack up before slipping his arms through the straps and hoisting them on his shoulder. He smiled wistfully as he set up his traps and locked his front door. With one last lingering look at the house, he gave it a small bow then headed off to an apartment he knew well.

Naruto's.

Iruka still didn't know when Naruto would be back but he wrote his student a letter nevertheless. He didn't want to leave without telling Naruto the things he wanted the blond to know the most.

You are my mother, my father, my sister, my brother. You are my family. I love you.

Iruka took the key to Naruto's apartment out of his pocket. He unlocked the front door before slipping in quietly.

Naruto's apartment was clean despite his absence since Iruka would clean it up for him every other day. The Chuunin padded over to Naruto's bed and couldn't help smoothing the bed covers. He then placed the letter he wrote on the side table by the bed before exiting through the front door. After giving the landlady the key to Naruto's apartment, he rushed off to the rendezvous point outside the village gates.

When Iruka arrived, he saw that there were already four people waiting. With his heart pounding, Iruka realized that all four were wearing the ANBU uniform with masks included.

As he cautiously approached them, he realized that one of the four was a woman. Her hair was tied at the base of her neck in a low ponytail. She wore hoop earrings and she was much shorter than him. In fact, two out of the four were shorter than him. The female he could understand but the other one was a man; he was either really just naturally short – or he were younger than Iruka.

Could he possibly be a teenager?

There's no need to worry, Iruka reprimanded himself. Hatake Kakashi was also only a teenager when he became an ANBU captain.

But the fact that teenagers need to be sent to such dangerous missions was disheartening. Then again, who was Iruka to judge? Even he himself had only been a teen when he was sent to his first A-rank mission.

"Iruka-sensei," one of the taller men greeted. He had shoulder-length sable-coloured hair and there was something familiar about his drawl...

Shiranui Genma.

"Good morning," Iruka greeted with a bow as he threw the information at the back of his head. His gaze shifted to the tallest of the men so far and he could only guess that this was Genma's usual teammate.

Namiashi Raidou.

The only one missing from the usual group was Yamashiro Aoba and that was only because he was in the Land of Lightning with Naruto, Maito Gai and Yamato.

He turned his gaze to the shortest man. He had short jet black hair and, judging by the skin exposed at his upper arms, pale skin. Iruka had some idea as to who he could be but he was not entirely sure yet. If it was who Iruka thought he was, he would have disapproved of him being here since he was concerned for the younger man's safety. Then he realized – and remembered – that the person he was thinking of was from ANBU. If Iruka, a mere Chuunin, was in this mission, then he certainly deserved to be in this mission as well.

As for the woman, if he could only hear her voice...

To his absolute shock, the female ANBU raised her hand before sliding the mask off of her face.

"Wolverine," Genma protested, vexed.

"He would have known sooner or later," Nara Yoshino retorted as she gave Iruka a curt nod. "I'm positive you saw it in his eyes that he was slowly deducing who we were. He does work closely with the Hokage – both the Third and the Fifth – you know. In fact, anyone who works at the Missions Room can probably instantly recognize you through your voice since it's your second home."

There was a deep sigh and Genma slid his mask to the side as well. He stuck a senbon between his teeth before giving Iruka the same curt nod as Yoshino did.

"So do you know who the rest are?" Genma asked, his tone light. Iruka hesitated for a moment before answering.

"I think that might be Namiashi Raidou-san," Iruka said as he looked at the tallest ANBU. Raidou slid his mask to the side and gave him a small smile. Iruka then turned to the last one – the only one he wasn't sure about.

"I'm not a hundred percent confident but... Sai?"

The pale dark-haired ANBU shifted his mask to the side and gave his typical smile. "I'm impressed, Umino-san."

"Iruka," the Chuunin automatically corrected and Sai's smile widened.

"Iruka-san," he replied with a polite bow.

When Naruto first introduced Sai to Iruka, the younger man had been extremely nervous and fidgeted constantly. After Naruto told Iruka about Sai's past, Iruka felt nothing but compassion for the young former Root-shinobi and so, he easily welcomed him. Sai eventually became more comfortable around him although he would always still be embarrassed to call Iruka by his first name. Iruka was actually quite fond of Sai despite some of the younger man's tactless and naive moments. He honestly found it all amusing.

"And you would have recognized me as soon as you heard my voice since we've had so many parent-teacher meetings after all the trouble Shikamaru got into during his time at the Academy," Yoshino added with a smirk. Iruka felt humbled by her compliment and he blushed.

"Is everyone else on this mission part of the ANBU?" Iruka questioned to take the attention off of him.

Genma nodded. "Yes, everyone assigned on this mission is part of the black-ops. Of course, you're the exception, Sensei."

Iruka bit his bottom lip. Maybe this was the reason Kakashi had given him such an intense look during the mission brief. He was the only non-ANBU assigned to this Red Vault mission! If he were in Kakashi's sandals, he would also be wondering why the hell the Hokage would send an Academy teacher whose last A-rank mission had almost killed him. Heck, Iruka was wondering why these four weren't asking him what he was doing with them.

The four then began replacing their masks.

"Just a word of caution, Iruka-sensei," Raidou suddenly spoke up. "The other three ANBU joining us in this mission are ones you do not know."

Raidou didn't need to say more. It was a warning that Iruka would probably be belittled and harassed by the other three ANBU. They would probably openly call him a burden and deem him unfit for the mission.

He would just have to ignore them and do his best.

Easier said than done.

Four shadows suddenly dropped around them and Iruka realized that the rest of the team arrived.

One was obviously Kakashi. Iruka would recognize that gravity-defying puff of silver hair anywhere. He was looking straight at Iruka and the Chuunin almost took a step back, intimidated at the intensity in that gaze. Trying with all his might, Iruka was able to break the eye contact to look at the other three ANBU.

The first one that caught his attention was the biggest out of the three. He was also the biggest in the whole team and he could not be shorter than six-and-a-half feet. He was also well-muscled, making him a very daunting figure. He was also noticeably bald and there was a double 'X'-shaped scar on the top of his head. A bear-like mask covered his face.

The one next to the giant was a delicate-looking kunoichi. She had dark blond hair that was tied in a high ponytail with several needles protruding from it. Two long loose strands framed her face and she wore a cat-like mask.

The last member of their team had dark hair that was tied in a high ponytail at the left side of his head. Like the kunoichi with the cat-like mask, two strands of hair framed his face, which was covered by a bird-like mask. Besides the ANBU tattoo on his left arm, there was another tattoo on his right arm. The red tattoo's shape was unlike any other Iruka had seen before. The dark-haired ANBU also had kunai strapped on his thigh outside of the pouch. It was quite unusual.

"Iruka-sensei, wear this."

Iruka snapped his attention back to Kakashi and he saw that the older man was holding a white mask out to him. Unlike the ANBU mask which was moulded to resemble animals, the surface of this mask was blank and a flower was painted on it instead.

Iruka shut his eyes and gathered all of his strength. He had to be strong. He had to be strong!

He released a deep sigh and applauded himself when his voice remained calm when he asked his question.

"Is that a daffodil?"

There was a pause. "I am not quite sure but this was the mask Tsunade-sama instructed me to give you."

Iruka just nodded stiffly before taking the mask and donning it.

They had no idea what the flower meant to Iruka. He could already feel their curious and damning looks. They would think that he was being touchy and sulking for not being given an animal mask like them. They would think that he was being overdramatic by reacting the way he did upon seeing the mask. They would think he did not even deserve a mask since he did not deserve to even be in the mission. They would think that he was a burden and that he would just make the mission more difficult.

They had no idea what the flower meant to him...

...And he would do everything he can to make sure that they never would.


Why did Iruka look haunted by the mask Kakashi handed him?

Tsunade had given him the mask that morning when he went to her to inform her of their departure. Kakashi did not question her then since he thought that the mask had no special meaning. Of course, he did not expect Iruka to be given an animal mask like an ANBU since those masks have to be deserved so he thought it appropriate that the mask have a flower on it instead. He thought that it was just a mask to soothe the Chuunin by allowing him to hide his emotions from them – and so that he could feel a bit more like them.

But Kakashi had seen it. He had seen the pain in Iruka's eyes before the Chuunin swiftly closed them.

"Is that a daffodil?"

The question had been asked calmly and Iruka's face had been expressionless but he did not fool Kakashi.

The flower meant something to Iruka personally.

"We are headed east," Kakashi said out loud in a commanding tone. "The Black Fox will meet us en route to the eastern border of Fire Country. He will provide us with additional details. Go!"

The nine shinobi acted immediately and began running towards the east with Kakashi on the lead. Although the ANBU members could go faster, they had to go below their maximum speed for Iruka. Kakashi glanced behind him.

"Iruka," he called sternly. "Stick close to me."

"Yes, Hound-sama," Iruka replied obediently as he sped up a bit to catch up to Kakashi and stay slightly behind him on his left. His voice was a bit different, muffled by the mask.

"There's no point with codenames," Kakashi told him patiently. "You know exactly who I am so just address me by my name. I will introduce the other three to you later since I'm sure you've already deduced who the other four are."

He knew that Iruka was looking at him in shock. He might not think much of Iruka's excess of compassion but he was aware of Iruka's powers of deduction. He might not be as clever as Shikamaru but he knew that Iruka was resourceful and sharp.

No, it wasn't Iruka's brains that he was worried about.

It was his heart.


A/N: Another chapter done! This was very hard to write... Well, the second half of it anyway. The main reason it took me forever to write this chapter is because I was hesitant as to who to include in the team. I wanted to use as many Naruto characters as possible but due to the setting of this fic, I couldn't use ones I wanted to be there (e.g. Yamato, Aoba, possibly Gai) so I had to debate about my options with myself... It was not pretty. But next chapter should be exciting... *smiles secretively* =D This chapter is dedicated to the first reader of the last chapter... The-Lady-Smaell! She has also been devotedly reading all of my fics, which really, truly flatters me! *HUGS*

The-Lady-Smaell – Hello my dear, dear Milady! XD As usual, your reviews put the absolutely biggest smiles on my face. You can never do wrong in my eyes, LOL! I'm truly flattered that you think my story is original. I originally intended to put Naoki in this but gosh darn it, he didn't fit. And you even reviewed "The Dangers of Kindness"! I WUV YOU! HAHA! Did you know part of the reason I updated Reynard was because of your review for that fic? Ah, you are my new muse! *blushes* But anyway, that shows how reviews DO kick me off my butt and start updating! Thanks muchness again!

Kick-Aft – Yay! I got you interested! Haha! Thanks for letting me know! I hope you enjoyed this chapter although I found it such a pain to write and I'm not sure if it's up there but ah well... We must move on! Thanks again!

Ryu Earth – Another one of my regulars, LOL! Hi! I'm glad you liked the Red Vault and my characterisation of Kakashi! Hmm... Not sure if he'll be much liked in this chapter though although I personally like him in this! Thanks for reviewing!

ShiroLight - Yeah, a lot of people didn't expect the Red Vault to be that... Was everyone expecting something more spectacular? Eeep! LOL, 'owl impression'... As for the Black Fox, you'll just have to wait and see... Who knows, maybe you won't wait for long... *secretive smile* As for Iruka, he might seem a bit weird in this chappy and that will be cleared up later on in the next chappies... MUST... not... give... it... AWAY... Anyway, thanks for truly thinking this fic is original... Hopefully, you will still believe that with the upcoming chapters!

-usagi018- - Erm... Iruka... Weak... Erm... You'll see! Haha! I'm glad you're looking forward to it! I hope you enjoy this chapter! XD

eyes0nme19 – Aww! *blushes* Thanks! I hope you continue to love my story... This chapter may be a bit confusing but hopefully I'll improve with the upcoming chapters with the help of my reviewers. Thanks for the numerous compliments! *HUGS*

nequam-tenshi – NOT giving anything away! =) Hopefully this update was soon enough for you. I hope you enjoyed it! Thanks for the review!

tina – Aww, thanks! I'm glad you like this fic so far... I hope you continue to like it! Thanks for reviewing!

Thanks to all my readers, to everyone who added this story to their favourites or alerts list and to those who reviewed the mini-prequel "The Dangers of Kindness"! THANKS!

Ceil Scheherazade