Sorry about the lack of update. Been working, moving, and looking for a new place to call "mi casa." I've also been dealing with family issues and friend issues. It's hectic. However, it's the same stress from this hectic lifestyle that inspired me to write.
Go figure.
I don't own the characters, but they own me.
Prank 3
"You wanted to see me, Hokage-sama?"
Iruka peeked past the heavy wooden door and into the sunlit room. His eyes glanced over the large desk full of some unopened and some sprawled out scrolls of various sizes. Books and towers of paperwork pyramided before an old and lightly-cloaked man. The elder, looking up from his tasks, glanced at the entrance to acknowledge the boy's arrival.
"Ah, Iruka! Come in. Have a seat."
With a nod and a soft grunt of affirmation, Iruka did as he was told. Quietly making his way towards the plush chair in front of the large mahogany-colored desk, Iruka took a moment to glance down at the superior ninja. The Hokage had returned to his paperwork the moment the boy stepped into the room, his hand moving in graceful gestures to write down responses and comments to the files before him.
The test had begun.
Iruka had been called into this office far too many times to not be ignorant of this game Sarutobi-sama had been playing with him. Granted, it had taken a while to figure it out, but it had been quite simple due to his constant and repetitive visits. The Hokage, in all appearance, it would give the impression that he was ignoring the boy, taking precedence over the paperwork before him rather than getting to the task at hand with his summoned visitor. This could not have been further from the truth. Iruka knew what the Sandaime was doing. He knew he was being carefully observed and assessed for a flaw or a slip of character, despite the other's appearance. That was how he had been "caught" for his past pranks.
The man wasn't the Sandaime for nothing. Then again, Iruka wasn't the number-one prankster in Konoha for nothing either.
Taking care to keep his breathing calm, Iruka sat "patiently" for the Hokage to finish, inwardly restraining his body from panicking. Iruka knew that even if his chakra grew a notch above standards, his eye brow twitched involuntarily, or if even a single droplet of sweat formed before his brow, he was done for. Total control of one's body was needed to win this game.
What made it even more difficult was the fact that he didn't know why he had been summoned here in the first place. He hadn't done anything… yet. Still, he refrained from saying anything. Instead Iruka gave a bored pout at the elder, idly cleaning the grime under his fingernails then scratched an area in his lower left leg with his right toe to give the appearance of youthful impatience.
Being "too proper or too calm", he had found out earlier, had also ended the game.
One thing was for sure, since figuring out the grasp of this game, Iruka had been getting away with more and more of his pranks. Iruka did not know if the Sandaime was aware of Iruka's understanding of the test, but the he wanted to give the elder a bit more credit than that. Iruka had taken these trials as a form of "training" to help control his emotions and to hone his skills as a ninja. If he passed, he reckoned that then the Hokage would "forgive" his childish tricks as a reward. A win-win situation, if you asked him.
A tired and almost disappointed sigh broke Iruka away from his musing. Tilting his head in quiet inquiry, he watched as his superior set down his pen and entwined bony fingers underneath a wrinkled and age-spotted nose. For a while nothing had been said, causing more tension to fill the room, but Iruka was an experienced player of this game. He would not lose this time. The other seemed to know this and nodded to himself, deciding to go a different path.
"Iruka, what are your intentions towards Naruto?"
Iruka flinched. There was just something about the Hokage's stern and cold, authoritative voice that always got to him, especially when normally the elder would speak to him almost like an equal. Cursing himself inwardly for his reaction, thus having lost the game, Iruka sighed, but then directed a curious but steady gaze at the elder.
"I don't understand what you mean, sir." Perhaps the Hokage could mistake his flinch as that of shock? It was still too early in the game to have completely lost. However Iruka then knew that would not be the case as the elder rose his hand up to halt any further thoughts and protests.
"No games, Iruka. I've been receiving reports that you have been following the boy for quite some time now. Although no interaction has been made, it's still highly suspicious, even for you."
Inwardly, these words brought a surge of anger to the scarred-nose boy. It wasn't as if he was doing anything wrong. He was simply "observing" the little twerp, and last he checked, there was no harm in that. If he had done anything against the boy, then Iruka would understand the Hokage's concern… but following someone consistently wasn't basis to be called into the office, otherwise he'd never leave this room.
So the Kyuubi had a name? Naruto? That had almost made him scoff. The Hokage also had someone keeping track of him, eh? That, in itself, wasn't surprising. Perhaps it was a Jounin, or an ANBU, Iruka thought excitedly, if during all of his "stalking" he didn't take notice of anyone else in the perimeter. Iruka would have thought, however, that the Hokage wouldn't mind these extra pair of eyes on the Kyuubi. Musing over the Sandaime's words, Iruka then realized what had fueled his anger. The whole nine-tails incident was still too recent for Iruka to have completely forgotten the mannerism of his former protectors, however he was still able to recognize the disappointed tone in the Hokage's questioning; in fact, there was a hint of parental protectiveness TOWARDS the Kyuubi!
On the other side of the desk, Sarutobi quietly observed as the melee of emotions flashed through the recently-graduated chuunin's eyes. He could only imagine what the young man was thinking; then again, there were times when he wondered if he should even bother trying to figure out what went into that boy's head. Iruka was a clever boy, a quick thinker that could analyze the situation in several possible angles, and then respond to the best advantage. Of course, it was these very same attributes that got the boy into trouble the majority of the time. While it was true that many children had become orphans as well during the Kyuubi attack, Iruka had been the only child without an extended family to fall back to. It didn't help that his family had no known bloodline and had once been considered "outsiders" and "enemies of Konoha". This secluded Iruka even more so from the villagers and their willingness to help the orphan.
When Sarutobi himself admitted the Uminos into Konoha, it was only because they did not have a bloodline that they could be permitted into the village. Iruka's father, a hawk-eyed and broad-shouldered warrior, had kneeled before the Hokage in desperate position, with his forehead touching the ground, as he begged for sanctuary. Iruka's mother, with swollen belly about to burst with life, could only lower her eyes in humbled stare. Although the eyes were averted, Sarutobi could still remember clearly how expressive those eyes were; so shamed, so saddened, and yet, so hopeful to give a better life to the one growing inside her. They had fled their homes, in the Water Country, due to political reasons. Their new Mizukage, who had acquired his position from his victories in the war, was a womanizing fiend and had wished to expand his bloodline greatly. He had threatened to kill off the unborn child, and then mate with the married woman for his own needs. Still, as leader of a ninja village, Sarutobi was prepared to deny them access, in fact, he had done so by turning his back on the refugees then and there at the gate. The war was still fresh in his village's minds and he could not allow the opportunity for a sneak attack.
But, if the Uminos were anything, they were persistently stubborn.
For two weeks the Uminos had "camped" outside the main gate of Konohakagure. Iruka's father had set up a small tent just a few meters from the wall, and would disappear at intervals during the day as he hunted for food and brought water back to his wife. Other times he would be found outside the tent, re-sewing his worn-out and tattered clothing. Iruka's mother, on the other hand, would earn a small keep by sharpening the weapons of whoever would pass by. Many, who had asked for her skills, had left impressed with how sharp and well polished their weapons would turn in the end. When the sun was especially harsh on her, she would sit beneath the shade of the gate to do her trade and would sometimes start trading dirty jokes with the guards on duty.
It didn't take long for the curiosity of the villagers to get involved with the situation. Women and grandmothers of the village would sometimes come out and offer fruit and other pre-cooked meals to the soon-to-be-mother to help provide essential nutrition to the unborn child. Children of all ages would swarm around Iruka's father as he entertained them with weapon tricks such as juggling kunai and target practice. Still, despite the seemingly accepting behavior of the village, they were still cautious about the two, and had still refused to allow them stay.
And then Iruka came.
A young Tsunade was the one who brought attention to the mother's labor. As a mednin, she had wanted to keep tabs on fetus' progress. Although the family was considered an "enemy" to the village, a life was a life, and this child was not to be blamed for their parent's transgressions. She was about to do her bi-weekly check up when she noticed that there was a fluctuating of chakra coming from the Umino's tent. Although the chakra was non-threatening, several of the jounin guards and an ANBU had come to investigate. One of the jounins even went as far as to peek into the tent, only to scramble back (followed by a few choice words that had come from inside the tent), his face flushed red with embarrassment. When inquired, he could only choke out a few words before he then grabbed Tsunade by the wrist and pushed the mednin towards the opening. After gathering her wits, Tsunade took in the situation before her and gasped. There laid a birthing mother, lying on her back, body drenched with sweat. Her breath was coming out in broken harsh gasps and she muttered the occasional curse word just a notch above slight hearing range. Her husband sat beside her, soothing her hair in nervous and broken movements, with an expression of confusion and fear etched in his chiseled face. The mother-to-be and the mednin both looked up and each met each other's eyes. Tsunade would still recount how Iruka's mother's eyes were so happy and yet fearful, but what she remembered most was the slight apologetic look to them.
This would not do! There was no way would she allow a child to be born in such conditions, especially when there was a fully functional hospital available nearby. Snapping into authoritative mode, Tsunade ordered the husband to pick up his wife and follower her back to the hospital. When one of the Jounin guards intercepted, she simply glared at him and pushed him aside. Of course the girl was not cautious of her strength, so the ninja had flown back a few feet. Tsunade had then declared she would take full responsibility of the family up until the child was born, and then it would be back to the decision of the council and the Hokage.
In the end, the council had allowed the Uminos to stay in Konoha, however under permanent probation. Although the two head Uminos had behaved in accordance to the land's laws ever since, and had even participated in several missions for Konoha, they would never be recognized as shinobi of the land. Sadly as well, even though they had fought bravely against the Kyuubi, and had given their lives up for the protection of the village, they were not recognized as Fire-country shinobi, thus their names would not be placed under the memorial… much to Iruka's dismay. Sarutobi had guessed that had been one of the underlying cause for the boy's misbehavior, but that was life, and sadly, there was nothing he could do about it. However, because Iruka had been born within the walls of Konoha, the probation had not fallen onto him, and for that the elder was grateful.
"What's with that smile, old man?"
A simple blink was all the sign that the Hokage was surprised with the interruption. It had only been half a minute of real time that had passed, but he had become so involved with his musing that he had nearly forgot about his audience. Iruka was starring back at the aged ninja, and just like his mother, his eyes were expressive and lively with whatever the owner was feeling. At this moment they were still frustrated yet slightly amused, perhaps at catching his leader off guard. With a simple intake and release of breath, Sarutobi returned his attention back to the chuunin before him, smile never leaving his wizened face.
"You have improved in your tracking and stealth, according to the reports submitted. You simply need to be more aware of your surroundings. One of my ANBU quoted "… the teen was good at hiding his presence to everyone around him. I had but taken my eyes off the teen for a second and it had taken me nearly ten seconds more to locate him once more. The chuunin's only flaw, however, was that he was overly focused on the target. I had sent him warning signals and they had gone either ignored or unnoticed…" You've done well to definitely make a good impression on this particular ANBU, but now, Iruka, I ask you again. What are your intentions towards the boy?"
Bah! Why am I stopping here? Probably because I figured I may as well pause here and update before I completely forget about this fic. I think I may know where I want to go with this story… I want to bring Young Kakashi in it as well, and Kakairu'ness is a possibility, but then again maybe not. I don't want to make it a cliché story.
