Knock on Wood Konoha Part I

by LlewellynPrince

Naruto makes a dangerous choice to protect someone he cares about and finds allies he never knew he had. Meanwhile a string of resurrections bring the past to the forefront and forces old hatreds into the present and Iruka struggles with the family legacy left to him, that will decide the fate of Konohagakure and everyone in it.

7. Kowasareta memori

ooo000ooo

Chapter 6

Kowasareta memori

Memory that has been broken

Hope begins in the dark, the stubborn hope that if you just show up and try to do the right thing, the dawn will come. You wait and watch and work. You don't give up. – Anne Lamott

ooo000ooo

Present Day

: :ANBU Briefing Room, ANBU Headquarters, Konohagakure: :

Kakashi scanned the gathered shinobi with his visible eye. Ibiki's team was due back from the Valley of the End today and Kakashi wasn't the only one eager to hear their report. Kurenai had beaten him here, Gai, as he had always been these last few weeks, was with her. Kakashi still hadn't managed to pin down Konoha's Green Beast and find out what was wrong with him.

Genma and Raido had shown up shortly after, still showing the bruises earned during their last mission. Yamato and Sai were present, taking up the wall on either side of Kakashi and just as eager to hear any possible news about Naruto and Sasuke.

Everyone wanted to hear news about the young shinobi. Every ninja that had born witness to the final battle with Kaguya and Black Zetsu knew the battle would have been lost without them. Stories of the battle they'd begun following the war had taken on epic proportions in the village.

Kakashi just wanted his students back in one piece so he could make an attempt at apologizing for his failure and to celebrate the shinobi they'd become. He hadn't seen Sakura much lately, he'd learned from Tsunade that the young kunoichi had begun pulling away from the Hokage and Shizune and almost everyone outside the Rookie Eleven. Kakashi didn't blame her. He hadn't exactly dealt with the loss of his own genin team well, but he was disappointed that hadn't come to him.

He'd seen her talking to Iruka over ramen at Ichiraku's a few days ago. He didn't blame her for feeling more comfortable with the Academy sensei then with Kakashi himself. He'd paid more attention to Sasuke and Naruto during his time as their sensei, distracted by their special situations. He suspected that was one of the reasons she'd turned so quickly to Tsunade when the opportunity arose. Kakashi owed her a pretty big apology. Maybe he'd ask Iruka for advice. The sensi had been gone when Kakashi had woken up the morning after their tryst, nothing but the wards rustling in the wind to signify his hasty exit. Kakashi had been impressed with his skill, something that was happening with starting regularity in relation to the young teacher. The academy sensei was turning out to be so much more than he'd been expecting, thinking about him was starting to take up the majority of Kakashi's time and the last time he'd been so focused on one thing he'd created his famed chidori technique.

It was odd, that it had ended up being Iruka who earned Kakashi's focus. He'd had a handful of lovers over the years, even a few that had lasted more than a week or two in duration. But none of them had been as fascinating as Iruka. A simple chuunin academy teacher who was skilled enough in taijutsu to take down a Hyuuga genius and to last against Kakashi. Who was always perfectly respectful when he was telling off his superiors and whose temper was twice as strong as his chakra.

He was nothing like Rin. In fact, if Kakashi really thought about it, Iruka had much more in common with Obito. Before he'd been crushed in the rock slide. The same loud personality and determination and fearlessness that Kakashi had looked down in his childhood teammate until it was too late. Maybe that was why he was so drawn to Iruka. Although that was a terrifying thought in and of itself.

Ibiki entered the room then. Flanked by two ANBU who, judging by their slumped postures, were exhausted. They were empty handed. That didn't bode well. The room fell silent.

Taka appeared in a flash of smoke and leaves, but stayed off to the side. The highest ranked ANBU tended to stay hands off and allowed his subordinate commanders to run their divisions and missions with little interference. The man was still a complete enigma to most of Konohagakure's ninja. No one knew his identity or even his age and no one had ever seen his face. Kakashi assumed they were around the same age, but it was also a tradition that the head of ANBU's identity always remained a mystery. The myth was that it was same shinobi since the time of ANBU's inception during Tobirama's reign.

There were long running bets among ANBU members and so far no one had been able to conclusively prove any fact about Taka. They couldn't even prove that it wasn't the same person since its founding. Given ANBU's purpose and role, having someone in Taka's position wasn't absolutely necessary. The Hokage still have orders personally for missions, but Taka acted as a kind of organizer and tasker, as well as an advisor to the Hokage. Every ANBU held him in high respect. Kakashi, like all the others, had a powerful desire to see him fight, but wasn't expecting to get lucky any time soon.

Ibiki didn't beat around the bush. "There's no sign of them in the Valley of the end."

Murmurs of disbelief rose.

"What about tracks or a trail?" Someone demanded. Ibiki had refused to allow Kakashi to join the team travelling to the Valley, citing Kakashi's close relationship with the boys and his inability to remain unbiased. Kakashi could understand the logic, but couldn't stop the thought that the outcome might have been different if he'd been there.

Ibiki shook his head, "It doesn't look like anyone's been there for weeks."

Kakashi could feel the anger build, almost completely overwhelming the dark pit of dread slowly growing larger in his chest. Where the hell were Naruto and Sasuke? The longer they stayed gone, the harder it would be for them to come back. Sasuke was already in danger of being named a missing nin again and Kakashi knew that despite Naruto's heroics, there were still those who wanted him gone permanently and would use any excuse to make it happen.

"Have any sources reported sightings?" Sai spoke up. His relationship with Team 7 was difficult and Kakashi still worried that the attachment was stronger for Sai than the other three. Sai needed a family and he wanted it to be Team 7 but Team 7 was currently shattered and it showed. Sai was slowly reverting to the personality he'd had before he'd met Team 7. Yamato had expressed his own, similar concerns to Kakashi during a recent investigation into a possible Root member. The possibility that Root was still operating had brought back nightmares for all three of them and the frustrations stemming from their failure to find anything were feeding into everything else. The war against Kaguya and Black Zetsu was finished but the battle for Konohagakure was far from over.

ooo000ooo

Present Day

: :Hyuuga Compound, Konohagakure: :

Neji and Asuma had been confined to the Hyuuga Compound until their tests had cleared. A messenger had come to Hiashi's personal office only moments earlier to tell him that the Hokage had cleared both shinobi to return to duty. It hadn't even taken forty-eight hours for Tsunade to make her decision and while Hiashi was surprised at the speed, he wasn't surprised at all by the outcome. Tsunade trusted her instincts and her shinobi beyond all else. What the Konoha Counsel called impulsive and emotional Hiashi was coming to see as true leadership and a mentoring that diverged from Sandaime's methods of more focused teaching. It would be interesting to see where the village would go under her leadership now that the war was over.

The Hyuuga Clan hadn't changed much, despite the massive change the village had and was still under going. As Hiashi walked through the compound the cherry blossoms were lush and danced in the light breeze. Members of the clan went about their business, training and tending to the grounds almost as if the outside world didn't exist. It was a mindset Hiashi had once fully embraced, but had begun to question in recent weeks. Hanabi, now heir to the clan, was fully immersed in her training and ecstatic to have Neji back. The bond the two shared was far stronger then the bond Hanabi and her older sister shared. Though Hinata had always doted on her, her weakness had made it hard for Hanabi to look up to her sister. Hiashi knew he bore some of the blame for their failed relationship, he'd failed as a father to guide both girls and while he was making up for that lost time now with Hanabi, he couldn't quite seem to do the same with Hinata. His oldest daughter was rarely at the compound these days; it was almost as if she'd been sucked out of the clan by the world outside and had never looked back.

Hiashi saw her randomly in the village, most frequently with her team or the other members of the Rookie 11. A brief run in with Tsume at the Hokage Tower had confirmed that she spent most nights at the Inuzuka or Aburame Compounds. Tsume hadn't been too willing to talk about it. She disagreed with almost every decision Hiashi had ever made, though he'd never seen her as angry as when he had removed Hinata as the heir to the clan and replaced her with Hanabi. Hiashi stood by his decision and remained confident that Hinata would eventually return. He was more concerned with any influence Tsume would exert while Hiashi wasn't there to mitigate it.

Neji's return had taken up most of his time the last few days and Hiashi was angry that Hinata had not even come by to see her cousin. He assumed that would be rectified soon enough, especially with Neji's release and return to service as a Konoha shinobi. He'd expected to see Neji's genin team as well but they had also remained surprisingly absent. Hiashi knew there had been rocky points in their relationship but Neji had seemed close with Tenten, Lee and Hinata in the days before his death. The complicated workings of young relationships hadn't interested Hiashi when he was their age and they still didn't now, but that didn't stop it from worrying him on occasion. Not all the members of the Rookie 11 were a good influence according to the Hyuuga Elders and Hiashi had a hard time making arguments for them in certain cases. The Elders had quieted down recently, the actions of the Rookie 11 during the war spoke for themselves, but Hiashi knew it wouldn't' stay that way for long.

Hiashi turned a corner, neatly sidestepping a maid with her arms full of laundry. The rooms Neji and Asuma had been confined in were perhaps the most comfortable prison cells in the village. They opened straight into the lush gardens and with the warm spring weather it was more a vacation then anything else.

They were sparring as Hiashi arrived; the wisp of smoke from Asuma's most recent cigarette was faint on the air. Hiashi refrained from commenting, given what Asuma had been through, and he paused to watch them fight. Neither seemed to have lost any of their skill in the time they'd been gone. There was an underlying intensity to their fight, a slight desperation. They were itching to get back to the lives they'd lost. Hiashi had been there when they told Asuma he had a daughter he couldn't see until he'd been cleared.

It took a moment for Neji and Asuma to finish their match. Neji had grown by leaps and bounds through his training but Asuma was one of the most experienced and seasoned shinobi in the village and they came out surprisingly equally matched. Hiashi joined them in the training area once the dust had settled.

"Uncle," Neji bowed respectfully and Asuma nodded.

"Your dedication is admirable," Hiashi commented.

"Not much else to do," Asuma shrugged, running a hand through his hair.

"Is there news from the Hokage's Tower?" Neji asked, showing an impatience that was out of character.

Hiashi allowed a small smile to cross his face, "Yes, you've both been cleared to return to duty immediately."

Asuma's entire posture changed. "Well then, thanks for the room but if you guys don't mind I've got somewhere way more important to be."

Neither Hiashi or Neji tried to stop him, simply nodded their goodbyes as the jounin disappeared in a flash of smoke and leaves.

"How are you feeling?" Hashi asked, once they were alone.

Neji shrugged, "Fine. I remember parts of the fight but that's all."

"Umino landed a few good blows," Hiashi agreed. The office worker had landed a lot of very good blows and it had surprised Hiashi to see that level of skill from the schoolteacher. He'd never considered the clan-less teacher a truly gifted shinobi, what with his work split between the Academy and the mission's desk and so few actual missions.

To be fair, Hiashi and the academy teacher had never gotten along. They'd fought viciously over the years about Hiashi's children and the Hyuuga clan leader had twice attempted to have him removed from the academy. Both times Sandaime had refused, arguing that Iruka was there for a reason and he would not remove him for something as petty as a disagreement with the parent of a student. Was this newly demonstrated skill why Sandaime had refused to remove the young instructor?

"Uncle?" Neji frowned. Hiashi had fallen silent, a frown marring his normally stoic face. "Where's Hinata?"

ooo000ooo

Present Day

: :Residential Neighborhood, Konohagakure: :

Hitsugya Toshiro was only six, but he was already smarter then pretty much everyone else. The couple he'd been placed with apparently refused to believe the extensive warning they'd received when he'd been left with them. He'd eavesdropped on the conversation after they'd sent him to the tiny back room and locked the door. It had taken all of a few seconds for him to pick the lock and slip into the hallway where he could hear the conversation clearly. The medical shinobi that had dropped him off had left quickly, but in his place two jounin Toshiro didn't recognize had arrived and begun briefing the shinobi couple.

Toshiro was only in his first year at the academy in a class with students coming up on their final year, due mainly to his father's insistence that he was a genius. Toshiro himself hadn't been too keen on being years younger then everyone else, but his entrance test had placed him in Iruka's class. Iruka had pulled him aside his first day at the academy and asked the six year old why he was there. He hadn't been happy when Toshiro had simply responded that his father had enrolled him because he didn't have time to take care of him. Toshiro had sat outside Iruka's classroom when his grandmother had come down to the academy to discuss the situation with Iruka because his father was too drunk to do it.

In the end, Toshiro's ailing grandmother had managed to convince Iruka to allow Toshiro to not only stay at the academy, but to remain in Iruka's class. Since Iruka was pretty much the only adult, besides his grandmother, that Toshiro respected and had no problem allowing Toshiro to stay late after class it worked out. He'd earned Toshiro's undying devotion for helping him take care of his grandmother when her illness became too much for the six year old to handle and discretely paying the many medical bills she'd accumulated when his father was gone on mission or too sober for Toshiro to get at his wallet. Iruka was the only person Toshiro had trusted with the issues about his father and in return Iruka pretended not to notice that Toshiro had figured out the truth about Iruka's parentage and several other things Iruka had been keeping secret. Like the fact that Iruka was worried about Root ANBU's growth in the past few months and that he had access to the sealed Uchiha compound.

Toshiro's intelligence was how he knew the two shinobi he'd been placed with were members of Root. Iruka taught his students that one way to tell how honest a person was, was by how real their emotions felt the moment you first time met them. The couple had greeted him at the door with smiles and a warmth that was so cold it made Toshiro, who usually preferred the cold, shiver. The wards inside the house were advanced and Toshiro recognized several from the various scrolls Iruka kept hidden around his apartment. The hallway had several other rooms, all with locked doors and Toshiro hadn't seen wards that strong outside the Hokage's office.

He inched towards the living room.

"Keep him here, don't let him out of your sight."

"He's just a child. What possible use is he?"

"He's important. He's close to Umino."

"Umino has had a lot of students over the years, they're all important to him because he has no control over his emotions."

"This is different, Umino and the boy's father had it out in front of the Hokage. She intervened. It's clear the boy is more important then the others."

"Do you think Umino has the same relationship with the boy as he does with the jinchuriki?"

"That's what the Council suspects. You need to question the boy while he's here, but be careful. Umino thinks he's a genius."

"You're kidding."

"No, Umino has a good record spotting genius. He taught the Hyuuga genius, the Uchiha, Nara, and he has a couple in his current class, besides the boy, who might qualify. If Umino thinks the kid is that smart then he probably is. Be careful. We can't afford any mistakes right now."

"What are they going to do with him?"

"Nothing for now, they just want something to keep Umino in check. They might place him in Root eventually."

"Should we start preparing him for Root?"

"Go ahead, but don't do anything that might reveal who you are. We can't afford any distractions right now. The plan has to go off without any interruptions."

Toshiro slipped back into the small room and relocked the door. He'd stay tonight he decided, they had to let him go to class the next morning in order to keep up appearances. He could warn Iruka at the Academy.

ooo000ooo

Present Day

: :Archives, Hokage's Tower, Konohagakure: :

Iruka hefted the last box of scrolls with a grunt and carried it to the shelf. The archives of the Hokage's Tower were a maze of shelves dating all the way back to the founding of the village. Trying to keep everything organized and up to date was nearly impossible. Iruka had put in plenty of overtime attempting to sort them out and had never succeeded in getting more then a few rows in. They'd tried making it a C or D rank mission for genin teams but one attempt by an unsupervised genin and a forbidden scroll had scrapped that plan, along with half the building.

Iruka had never minded the filing though. It was mindless work and he spent the majority of the time thinking about other things. The other ninja who worked in the Hokage's Tower never bothered him; too worried they'd get dragged into the filing. He was pretty sure that the shinobi who didn't work in the building didn't even realize there was an archive. Even Iruka himself had never made it back to the oldest scrolls. He'd tried once when he was young and bored and it had taken Fugaku and Sandaime three hours to find him. Iruka had thought it was funny, Fugaku had not and Sandaime had just banned Iruka from entering the archive unsupervised. He hadn't lifted the ban until three years into Iruka's position at the mission desk, which had always amused Kotetsu and Izumo.

A sudden overwhelming force of chakra washed over Iruka like a cold bucket of water. He'd long since gotten used to their sudden appearance and he took pleasure in the fact that he'd learned quickly how to conceal any reaction to it.

Iruka didn't pause in his work as he spoke. "Something I can help you find?"

"Where is the boy Iruka?" Koharu's voice was cold as ice.

Now that he thought about it, Iruka didn't think she'd ever spoken to him in any other tone. He played dumb; it was always guaranteed to infuriate her. "Which boy?"

"You know which boy. Don't play dumb, we don't have time for this." Homaru had no patience; he shared that trait with Danzo. Koharu was the only one of the three who was any good at playing the long game and even she'd been no match for the Uchiha. Fugaku had laid plans that would still be effective a hundred years from now and he'd put gears in place to insure that those responsible for the annihilation of the Uchiha Clan paid for their crimes. Even Iruka wasn't aware of all his plans and between himself and Itachi they'd ensured that even in the events of their deaths Naruto and Sasuke would be protected regardless of what the Council was expecting.

"Last I heard they were battling it out in the Valley of the End," Iruka slid the last scroll in place and turned. They were blocking him in; they had a habit of doing that whenever they spoke to him. It was funny to watch them try to corner him when Kotetsu and Izumo were there, they always inched around and forced the two Konoha Council members to shift as a joke. One day they'd literally gone in circles for ten minutes before Koharu had realized what was happening. Iruka figured that by this point Koharu and Homura might actually hate Kotetsu and Izumo more then they hated him just for the constant mocking.

"That was months ago," Koharu pointed out, which meant she and Homura had already sent their spies out to check and they'd come back empty handed. Ibiki's investigation must have returned empty handed as well.

"If you can't find them what makes you think I can?"

The looks they gave him spoke volumes. "We are not fools Iruka."

Iruka had long since gotten past being polite when the Council cornered him in private. "I beg to differ, but I guess it's a matter of personal opinion."

Koharu's chakra slammed into him like a wave, she liked to use it to intimidate anyone she felt was being disrespectful. "You know where Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke are, don't you Iruka?

"No, I don't. Don't you think I'd be there with them if I did?" Iruka snarled.

They studied him in silence for a moment, weighing what they thought they knew of him and the situation. Someday Iruka was going to take great pleasure in informing them of every single mistake they'd ever made, starting with his birth and ending with whatever it was that finally led to their deaths.

"Loyalty to the dead will get you nowhere. You should reconsider where you stand, you might find yourself more welcome," Homura warned.

"More welcome where? In your little Root Army? No thanks. I'll stick with what I've got." Iruka responded coldly.

"We stopped you from becoming a jounin Iruka. We can take away your chuunin rank as well, or your position at the Academy. Don't forget that." Koharu hissed.

"How could I when you remind me every chance you get."

"Perhaps if you'd listen for once we wouldn't have to," Homura pointed out.

Iruka bristled, opened his mouth to speak but Koharu cut him off.

"Watch your step Iruka, you could always end up joining your clan much earlier then you were planning." Koharu warned; a cruel smile twisted at her lips. She never forgot to remind Iruka that she'd had a hand in killing his entire family.

"You mean the clan you wiped out? That one?" Iruka snarled. He never failed to loose his temper when she brought it up.

"Think carefully Iruka, that the only thing that kept Uzumaki Naruto alive was your presence. If you are gone there are those who fear the boy might become uncontrollable and thus a danger to the village. And you know what happens to those that are considered a danger to the village." Koharu, Homura and Danzo had considered the Uchiha a threat to the village and the lengths they'd gone to see them destroyed had far surpassed even the evil Orochimaru had been capable of.

"Not to mention what is to be done about Uchiha Sasuke. He is technically a missing nin and it would be easy to make him one again. It would be foolish for the village to trust him again after everything he has done." Homaru added, his voice heavy with the implication of what they would do to him if they got the chance.

Red started to bleed into the corner of Iruka's vision, his fists clenched so tightly his knuckles turned white and he had to fight to control his chakra. But there were more important things at stake than Iruka's pain and the desire for vengeance that ate away at him as soon as night fell. "What is it exactly, that you're suggesting I do?"

Koharu's smile was smug, "While the two of you may not like each other, for some reason the Hokage trusts your opinion. So much so that she asked you to investigate the Hanta, which is quite ironic. We want you to insure that she never finds them."

"And what about Naruto and Sasuke?" Iruka demanded.

"They will be left alone for now, though the matter will have to be revisited when they return," Homaru made it sound like they were doing him a favor.

"Fine," Iruka's voice was full of venom. Koharu and Homura didn't seem to notice, too smug in their victory as they teleported out of the archive room. As soon as they were gone Iruka put his fist through the wall.

ooo000ooo

Present Day

: :Hokage's Tower, Konohagakure: :

In the hallway outside the Archives Room, Kurenai and Gai stared at the door in horror.

"Oh my god," Kurenai breathed.

"We must report this at once! To blackmail someone as honorable as Iruka-sensei with the lives of his students!" Gai hissed. He started for the door but Kurenai grabbed him.

"Gai, wait! Wait." Kurenai took a deep breath to calm herself. A fired up Gai was hard to handle, especially when it concerned an injustice. He didn't have it in him not to try to fix it. He was practically on fire and it was the first time she'd seen him anywhere near the man he was before the war since the final battle.

She tugged Gai away from the door. "It sounds like its been going on for a while so why hasn't Iruka said anything?" She questioned. Iruka wore his heart on his sleeve, had since the day she met him. He'd never been afraid to speak out about something he disagreed with no matter what someone's rank was. "We need to wait and talk to Iruka first. He's hasn't reported it for a reason."

Gai paused and frowned, clearly struggling. He couldn't argue with Kurenai's logic and his own knowledge of Iruka supported her opinion. Still, to not say anything when the teacher was clearly being threatened. What if Naruto and Sasuke returned? What about the hundreds of other students Iruka had had over the years? Gai was firm, "We cannot wait long."

"We can find him this evening." Kurenai promised. "Come on." Kurenai tugged him away from the door and Gai followed reluctantly. They hurried out of the building without bothering to leave the scrolls they'd come to return.

ooo000ooo

Present Day

: :Far Outside the Village of Konohagakure: :

Naruto collapsed onto the hard ground with an 'oomph' and sent up a cloud of dust that briefly encompassed him. Sasuke coughed theatrically next to him and a brief, halfhearted shoving match ensued before Sakura put an end to it by collapsing on top of both of them.

"Holy crap," Kiba gasped for air. Shino and Hinata were propped up against him, both breathing hard.

"That was incredible," TenTen breathed, leaning against a rock and soaked in sweat. Lee was still running around the valley with a maniacal smile on his face, stopping briefly to check on his teammate and the others.

"I'm so hungry," Choji whimpered, sprawled out flat on the ground. Shikimaru and Ino were both using him as a pillow.

"We should have brought food," Sakura agreed as Naruto' stomach growled.

"Ugh, I don't know if I have the energy to make it back." Ino groaned.

"Tell me about it," TenTen agreed, watching as Lee finally made his way back to them. "Maybe Lee can just carry us all back."

Lee collapsed next to her on the ground with a cheer, "Two hundred laps completed! I cannot feel my legs anymore!"

"Or not," Kiba muttered.

"I think I have enough energy to get about halfway back," Hinata said softly. Shino nodded in agreement.

"Great, one of you can carry me," Sakura groaned.

"We should start heading back anyway, it's getting dark." Sasuke commented.

It took a while for everyone to drag themselves to their feet. Lee made it two steps before collapsing face first back onto the ground and TenTen and Shikimaru had to haul him back up.

Naruto predictably caught his second wind first and fired a wicked smirk at Sasuke. "Bet I beat you back teme."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed as Sakura groaned. "Not a chance in hell dobe."

"Great," Ino muttered as the air started to crackle with chakra.

Kiba smirked and jumped in, "Bet I can beat both of you."

Naruto let out a whop and took off, Sasuke and Kiba hot on his heels.

"Well I'm not going to be last," Ino declared, with a significant look at Sakura, who glared back at her. Shikimaru rolled his eyes with a sigh.

They took off, bounding and pushing the limits of their chakra reserves. Kiba almost ran into a couple of trees and Naruto ended up in a lake twice, but they made it over halfway back to the Village of Hidden in the Leaves before they had to stop and simply walk the rest of the way.

"Man, that was awesome!" Kiba cheered, slinging his arms over the shoulders of Hinata and Shino.

"Right! I wonder if that's how your dad was so fast?" Sakura pondered, linking her arms through Sasuke and Naruto's.

Naruto paused, the thought had never occurred to him. "Huh, that'd be crazy."

"Has Iruka-sensei said anything about your father?" Tenten asked.

Naruto shrugged, "No, I haven't really asked."

"Your dad was one of the most influential shinobi in the history of the village, but no one ever talks about anything except the way he died. It's kind of weird," Ino commented.

"Yeah, Kakashi-sensei talked about him once or twice, but he always looked like it hurt him a lot to talk about it. I tried not to ask," Naruto admitted. It had been the same with Jiraya. "Besides, he died protecting the village and me, that's all I need to know. I had a family even though he was gone. Iruka-sensei was always there, even when I was too young to realize it. Itachi too, later."

"Itachi?" Sasuke asked, surprised.

Naruto glanced at his teammate. "Yeah. We got to talk a couple of times, before he died. He taught me a lot of important stuff."

"About what?" Sasuke demanded.

"Being Hokage, what it takes and what's really important. I didn't realize it before, but Iruka-sensei was telling me a lot of the same stuff. Do you remember when he had to teach us that class on the shinobi rules?"

"The one where he got to rule three and got so angry he threw the textbook out the window?" Sakura asked. It had been her textbook he'd tossed and she'd never gotten it back.

"He made us memorize them anyway." Kiba sulked.

"He also said some of them were wrong," Hinata added quietly.

"A lot of them were wrong," Choji muttered.

"Yeah, but I didn't get it. Not then anyway, I do know though," Naruto shrugged self-consciously. "To protect and lead the village it has to respect you and to earn that respect you have to prove you're the strongest beyond everything else. If the village doesn't acknowledge you completely you can't be Hokage."

"It makes sense," Shikimaru admitted. "Itachi was a missing-nin but he was still influential in the village after he left. Just a whisper of him being in an area and the village would change its entire security posture. They wasted hundreds of man-hours trying to track him down and sent the strongest shinobi in the village after him all at one time. He influenced policy and law without having to set foot in the village. Not to mention how things will change when what really happened to the Uchiha Clan comes out."

"If it comes out," Sasuke murmured. The others looked at him in surprise, except for Naruto, who just looked sad.

"Why wouldn't it come out?" Ino demanded.

"Itachi didn't want it to come out. He said it would do more damage to the village if we revealed it now. Iruka-sensei said the same thing." Naruto answered, he didn't sound happy about it.

"No one would believe it anyway," Sasuke commented despondently.

"Then we'll prove its true!" Kiba declared.

"If Iruka-sensei wants to wait, he probably has a good reason." Hinata cautioned.

"There's only a few Hanta left. If their enemies managed to turn the entire village against them, it wouldn't matter how strong they were." Shino added quietly and Choji nodded in agreement.

"My dad says you always have to remember that the people you're fighting beside have their own families. Their own people who matter. Just because you don't see them, doesn't mean they aren't there." Choji's voice was low. His father never spoke about the subject in anything above a whisper, a show of respect to a universal truth that had more influence on the outcome of a battle then anything else. "Who knows who else Iruka-sensei is protecting?"

"You're family's not always defined by blood," Naruto exuberance returned with the words Iruka had spoken to him when he was young, and alone and so angry.

"Hell yeah!" Kiba cheered. "We're family!"

"Definitely!" Ino agreed as they approached the gates.

The conversation changed quickly, easily among friends who considered themselves family. "I'm hungry, want to pick up food before we head back to Iruka-sensei's?" Choji suggested.

"You're always hungry," Shikimaru muttered, but no one argued.

"I kind of want dango," Sakura rubbed her stomach as it growled.

"And ramen," Nartuo added, his stomach far louder then anyone else's.

Sasuke groaned. "No more ramen, dobe, you're brain's turning into a noodle."

"No it's not!" Naruto's response was loud and indignant, like all those arguments they'd had in the academy. A hard reminder that while they'd grown, they were still young. Just barely beyond children and still struggling to figure out what it meant to be an adult in the world of shinobi. So far it was off to an interesting start.

Shikimaru sighed and stuffed his hands into his pockets as far as they could go. He had the nagging feeling he was forgetting something. An itch in the center of his back that he couldn't reach no matter how he bent or flexed.

ooo000ooo

Present Day

: :Village Gates, Konohagakure: :

Temari did her best not to yawn as their delegation from Sand and the welcoming party from Konohagakure went through the standard greetings. Gaara looked as interested as he ever did, face blank and eyes cold. His diplomats were mostly used to it now, conducting their work around Gaara's disinterest in the everyday social graces that diplomacy survived on. Fortunately Gaara's strength still spoke for itself.

Kankuro's shoulders vibrated slightly. He was yawning under his mask. Kankuro was better at the diplomacy aspect then either of his siblings and he frequently handled matters in Gaara's place. Konohagakure held a special meaning for the three sand siblings though, so they always came together when there was a need to visit. Temari had been hoping Shikimaru would have been part of the welcoming party, but so far she hadn't caught sight of him. They hadn't seen each other much since the end of the war and those few crazy weeks after the final battle when everyone had been trying to get home and figure out what to do next. She was a little unsure where they stood now. Despite the strong relations between Sand and Leaf she knew their budding relationship wouldn't last without one of them moving.

Sand was stable, her brother had seen to that. What would happen if she left didn't worry Temari. Her brothers would be fine. So would Sand. They had a promising new crop of genin and Temari was actually looking forward to the next Chuunin Exam. It was her official reason for serving as a member of the diplomatic party and it looked like it was going to be the most peaceful one she'd ever seen. She wasn't going to leave however, unless Shikimaru asked her too. She wasn't going to be one of those women who followed guys around like puppies. She had too much self-respect.

She studied the welcoming party again. Shikimaru still wasn't there, neither were any of his friends. She would never admit it but she'd been looking forward to seeing them all again. Sai was in the welcoming party though, along with Yamato. Temari recognized them both though she'd never really worked with them. She knew Sai, from his pale skin and blank face, as Sasuke's replacement on Team 7 during his time as a missing nin. Yamato had been Team 7's jounin-sensei during Kakashi's absence. Gaara had informed her that Naruto had liked them both, despite the situations surrounding their presence.

The thought made her wonder where Naruto and Sasuke were. Gaara received regular updates on the status of the search and he'd been disappointed when the most recent investigation had come up with nothing. The main reason Gaara had agreed to come on this trip was the chance to talk to Ibiki and Hatake about the investigation. He'd been sending Sand shinobi out to follow their own leads on the possible whereabouts of the last Uchiha and Uzumaki but they hadn't had any more luck then Konoha's nin. It was confusing, even with Naruto and Sasuke's skills they shouldn't have been able to hide for this long. Every shinobi nation was looking for them.

Though she would never say it out loud, deep inside Temari wondered if they were still alive. Gaara was insistent though, that Naruto and Sasuke were fine and given what Temari had seen them do, she couldn't really argue with him. If there was one person who could pull off the impossible it was Naruto.

She yawned and glanced around. The diplomats were taking forever, blocking a large portion of the road through the gates and into the Village Hidden in the Leaves. A few civilians had inched by, trying to remain as inconspicuous as possible around a large group of foreign shinobi. There was a surprisingly large group walking towards the gates now. Temari squinted. The sun was behind them, making it hard for her to make out their faces. Something made her turn though, a sudden pit in her stomach as she recognized that certain gait Shikimaru had when he was walking, exhausted and thinking too hard. He was with the rest of the Rookie 11 and Temari couldn't stop the soft gasp when she recognized the two boys walking close on either side of Sakura.

Her gasp made Shikimaru's head snap up and his face pale.

Kankura, Gaara and the rest of the diplomatic parties turned to her.

"Temari, what's wrong?" Gaara's voice was cold.

She pointed. Too stunned to do anything else.

ooo000ooo

Present Day

: :Village Gates, Konohagakure: :

Shikimaru's head snapped up at the sound of a very familiar gasp.

Temari was standing at the gates with the diplomatic party from Sand. Both her brothers were present, along with Yamamoto, Sai and several high-ranking Konoha shinobi there to greet them.

And here they were, just walking up to the gates like there was nothing wrong.

That itch turned into a white hot flash of terror. No one in the village knew Naruto and Sasuke were back. They'd spent the last few weeks hiding in Iruka's carefully shielded apartment for their own safety, but now they'd walked up to the village gates in broad daylight. Shikimaru was reminded of the lesson his mother had always drilled into him when he was in the academy. It's the small things that get you, she said; the best plans in the world fall apart because of little details that get over looked. In the excitement of learning a new jutsu and the rush of adrenaline from the run, Shikimaru had completely forgotten the need to sneak back into the village.

"Shit." Shikimaru couldn't help it when Temari raised her hand and pointed right at them.

"What?" Ino was instantly ready for a fight.

"This is my fault," Shikimaru muttered, "Damn it, I wasn't thinking." It had been a long time since Shikimaru had wasted energy panicking about anything, but he could see Sai and Yamato in the Konoha welcoming party. If they were there Kakashi and the other jounin would know what had happened in minutes. So would the Hokage.

One by one the other members of the Rookie 11 realized what had happened.

"Naruto! Sasuke!" Sai's excitement was clear and it made Naruto feel slightly guilty for shutting the other boy out. Sai had never done anything wrong and Naruto considered him a good friend, but he hadn't been with Sakura when she and the others had banged on the Iruka's door and demanded to see Naruto and Sasuke. The connection with Sai didn't run as strongly yet, but Naruto wanted it to. He still considered the pale former Root ANBU a member of Team 7. He'd have to work on it now that there was no point in hiding in Iruka's apartment.

"What do we do?" Kiba hissed.

"Go with it," Shikimaru's mind spun, "Pretend we snuck out of the village to search and found them."

"Yamato-sensei! Sai! Look we found them!" Sakura's voice boomed with false enthusiasm.

Lee jumped in, "My friend Gaara from Sand! How wonderful to see you on this glorious day!"

It was hard to tell who looked more startled. The Konoha delegation at the sight of Naruto and Sasuke or the Sand delegation at the sight of Lee in all his green glory barreling toward their Kazekage, then hugging him tightly.

ooo000ooo

Present Day

: :Hokage's Office, Hokage Tower, Konohagakure: :

Iruka slipped through the chaos of the mission room and into the quiet of the Hokage's Office. Tsunade was in a meeting with the village elders, Shizune was at the hospital. ANBU left cursory guards on the office when the Hokage was out to protect any important paperwork but they'd been letting Iruka in without question for years. They barely even glanced at him now and he kicked the door shut behind him. Tsunade's office just boarded on organized due to Shizune's tireless efforts and Iruka sighed as he set the stack of papers down on her desk. Tsunade's sake habit was obvious, usually Shizune was better at hiding it.

Iruka slipped his copy of the cabinet key out of his pocket and grabbed the closest stack of papers. For some reason every Hokage he'd ever know was against filing paperwork. Tsunade just left it in stacks until someone else, usually Shizune or Iruka, finally broke down and did it for her. Sandaime had believed in taking people at their word and personal communication. The Third had ignored the piles of papers until they'd fallen on him or some poor shinobi unlucky enough to be in his office at the wrong moment. Both of them ignored Iruka's insistence on getting the paperwork done and out of the way.

Or, Iruka sighed, ANBU decided they'd had enough of the paperwork getting in the way and just stuffed random handfuls into random drawers for one of the office workers to find later. He started pulling the crumpled scrolls out of the drawer and doing his best to flatten and role them neatly. Most were too damaged to salvage and Iruka realized exactly how long it had been since he'd done the filing. It had been the first job he'd had in the mission room, when Sandaime had asked him to fill the position he'd been looking for a way to pull Iruka out of the darkness he'd sunk into following the annihilation of the Uchiha Clan and the last of Iruka's family. It was a classic Sandaime move, Iruka mused and one Iruka himself had not realized until many years later. He'd kept Iruka close not just to protect him but to protect the village from a very angry young man. He'd pulled the same thing with Naruto and demonstrated why he was the only Hokage that had ever earned Fugaku's full esteem.

Despite everything, Iruka still held the old man in high regard and missed him terribly. Kikyo had always warned them that eventually the quality of those elected to the position of Hokage would decline. Iruka had worried that it would come with Sandaime's successor, but he had to admit that Tsunade was holding her own. Iruka still didn't like her. Though if he was honest, it was more an issue of trust, then like. He still had a hard time looking past her bloodline and abandonment of the village after the death of her lover Dan. She was loud and opinionated and stubborn and in an odd way she reminded him of a lot of Kikyo and Tsume and a little bit of Mikoto. Umino Kohari, the woman Iruka would always consider his birth mother, had a stillness that none of the others managed to carry and Iruka had learned from her to walk softly and strike swiftly.

The recent rash of resurrections, two more had been discovered last night and quickly handled by ANBU, worried Iruka. Neither Koharu or Homura were powerful enough to pull them off and Kabuto had refused to explain how he had done so to anyone except Iruka and Yajirobi. That meant there was someone involved that remained unseen by Iruka or anyone helping him. Someone was walking far more softly then anyone Iruka had ever encountered before. Which made every step Iruka or any of his friend's took a huge risk. Iruka refused to put Naruto or the others in the line of fire. They might be chuunin now and on their way to adulthood, but they would always be the little children Iruka had shielded from the monsters hiding under their beds.

He frowned and burned another scroll that was too damaged to repair. He could hear faint footsteps outside the office and felt Tsunade's chakra clearly. Her meeting with the village elders must have ended early. That had been happening a lot lately and it wasn't a good sign of stability at the leadership level of the village. Now that things had quieted down the village elders and the council were pushing their own agendas again. Trying to consolidate power and grab everything they could. It made Iruka angry and a little bit sad that the people tasked with protecting the village were so self-absorbed and willing to sell out the health of the village for their own personal gain.

Tsunade swept into her office with her usual presence and headed straight for the bottle of sake she kept hidden in her desk. Shizune entered more quietly, closing the door behind her and shooting Iruka a tired smile. "Iruka-sensei, sorry to disturb you."

Iruka shrugged and smiled. "You're fine, I'm just trying to catch up on the filing before the weekend. Besides, it's your office."

Shizune smiled bashfully. It might have been the Hokage's office but Iruka ended up taking care of most of the paperwork inside it.

Tsunade downed half the bottle of sake and belched loudly.

"I take it the meeting went well?" Iruka joked.

Shizune laughed, Tsunade snorted in derision.

"Those fools want me to release control of ANBU to the Konoha Council." Tsunade snarled and took another drink.

Iruka's blood went cold. Was that why Kaoru and Homaru had cornered him, testing the waters before they tried to grab ANBU and effective control over the majority of Konoha's fighting forces from the Hokage? Granted Iruka wasn't in the best of positions to do anything about it but the council was clearly covering their bases. If the council got their hands on ANBU they'd turn the entire organization into their personal army, Iruka and most of his friends would likely be dead in a week, along with Naruto, Sasuke and many of Iruka's other students.

Tsunade held the bottle out to Iruka. "I told them no way in hell but they're pushing the issue. They think it would be more beneficial if I was free to worry about the overall safety of the village instead of having to micro manage missions and ANBU."

Iruka took the bottle. "No offense, Lord Hokage, but I handle most of the mission paperwork and organization."

Tsunade pounded her fist on the desk. "That's what I told them. We have mission's desk workers for a reason and the damn process works fine. No point in wasting time fixing something that isn't broken."

I'll bet they just loved that, Iruka thought and took a long pull from the bottle. If anything that would make them fighter harder to take away ANBU.

Tsunade sighed. "Have you found out anything about Hanta?"

Iruka shook his head and slipped Shizune the bottle when Tsuande wasn't looking. The other woman disappeared silently, taking the alcohol with her and leaving Iruka and the Hokage alone. "There are stories, but no one knows anything concrete." Iruka lied.

Tsunade looked openly disappointed and leaned heavily on her desk. "Damn, I was hoping one of you would find something."

Iruka frowned, "One of us?"

"I asked the brat to look into it too," Tsaunde explained.

The brat being Kakashi, Iruka mused and a cold pit formed in his stomach. Was that why Kakashi had tested his abilities the other day? Because he suspected something? The fear was there for a moment and quickly gone with the realization that Kakashi would never have slept with Iruka if he suspected him of being a member of the Hanta.

"Taka too," Tsunade added.

That didn't worry Iruka. Taka was loyal and he'd been Hanta long before he'd become the head of ANBU. Taka would lie, stall, hide, kill or destroy whatever necessary to keep any secret Iruka asked him to and he understood the importance of keeping the identities of the last Hanta members secret.

"Maybe there's nothing left to find." Iruka suggested, keeping his voice light.

If anything that made Tsunade look even more upset. "Maybe. I'm not ready to give it up just yet though. I have faith you, Kakashi, or Taka will come up with something. You're excellent shinobi."

Iruka was taken aback at her open admission. He'd never had a conversation with her like this. "Lord Hokage-"

"Tsunade," she interrupted him. "You can call me Tsunade in private Iruka, it's fine. I'm sure you didn't call Hiruzen Lord Hokage while you were playing shogi."

Iruka flushed and rubbed at his scar. "Well no," he admitted, "But we had a much different relationship then you and I do Lord- Tsunade."

She nodded as if she understood, "He was like a father to you."

Iruka paused and decided to take a risk. "In a way."

Tsunade arched an eyebrow at the statement. "Go on."

"I had a father Tsunade, a good one. And I had several teachers who were like fathers to me. By the time I came under the care of Sandaime I didn't want another one. I owe him more then I care to admit because of the way I treated his efforts to care for me, but it wasn't just me. He cared the same amount for everyone in the village." He was and always would be the ideal of the idea of the Hokage, even Iruka would admit that.

Tsunade smiled softly, "He was a father to the whole village."

"Yes, he was," Iruka agreed.

"What was your father like, Iruka?" It was a surprisingly personal question and Tsuande gaze was calculatingly curious.

"My father?" Iruka repeated, a little surprised and very wary.

"Father's shape their sons," the Hokage mused, "Look at Naruto and Sasuke. What was yours like?"

For a moment Iruka had nothing to say. It had been years, almost a decade he realized sadly, since anyone had asked about his father except to criticize his parenting. "It depends on which one you're asking about. The man who raised me, Umino Ikkaku, was a shinobi. A jounin who specialized in taijutsu and had the patience of a saint. He left ANBU when they got me because he didn't want to miss a moment of my childhood. Most of the shinobi he worked with looked down on his decision and the idea that he was willing to put something above his duty to the village."

Tsunade started digging around in her desk for another bottle of sake. "Who was your birth father?"

Iruka blinked. "What?" The Hokage let out a cry of triumph when she found another bottle and set it on the desk between them.

"You said he left ANBU after they 'got' you," Tsuande repeated; resting her on her laced fingers. "Where'd they get you from?"

It was the little things that always got you Iruka mused. A small slip of the tongue that most wouldn't have noticed made for a small demonstration of why Tsunade was the Fifth Hokage. He debated how to answer. Honestly? That he'd been brought to their doorstep by bloody, betrayed Fugaku on a night that had resulted in the death of Hashirama's only other descendent besides Tsunade.

This was a pinnacle moment Iruka realized. Either he and Tsuande maintained their adversarial relationship until one of them, most likely Iruka, finally lost or they finally moved towards trusting one another. She was one of the best choices in the village to protect Naruto and the others. Between her position as Hokage and her connections outside the village she could keep them safe almost as well as Iruka and her attachment to Naruto and Sakura ensured she wouldn't be swayed to let anyone seriously hurt Sasuke.

She was a Senju though and it was hard to forget all the stories he'd heard as a child. It was a moment of dark humor that he was sitting across from her now. A generation ago it wouldn't have been possible, but a lot of things had changed since then.

"The woman who gave birth to me died when I was a few days old. The man who killed her entrusted me to the Uminos."

Tsunade looked surprised. "Damn. I'll admit that is not what I was expecting to hear from you of all people sensei."

Iruka shrugged self-consciously. Half the time he didn't believe his own story, he couldn't blame others for being surprised. "Sandaime kept it quiet, for my sake." And his own Iruka thought but didn't say.

"You seem surprisingly well adjusted despite that," Tsunade commented, taking a drink from the new bottle and pushing it towards Iruka.

Iruka raised an eyebrow, "If you say so." He wasn't at all but if Konoha's greatest medical nin wasn't going to say anything then neither was Iruka.

Suddenly, Tsunade sighed. "I spent a long time trying to live up to my grandfather and his brother. It didn't occur to me until I was an adult that I didn't have to."

Iruka nodded, he'd had a similar lesson. Most children did.

"I need the Hanta Iruka," she continued, "An organization like that is exactly what the village needs right now. Hope, honor, a return to the glory days."

Iruka couldn't argue with that. "Why don't you create a new group to take up the role of the Hanta?"

"It wouldn't be the same. I'm ashamed to say the situation is too far gone for a simple band aid." She looked honestly upset and a little bit guilty. "The Konoha Council want ANBU, the village elders want the ability to create and control missions. They both want me gone and god knows what they want to do to Kakashi, Naruto and Sasuke."

Iruka knew but he stayed silent. It was clear Tsunade understood the seriousness of the situation.

"I don't know why we don't get along Iruka. Though I admire the guts you had to break my arm while I was breaking yours."

Iruka blushed; surprised she'd brought it up. "Well I –"

"Don't apologize," she interrupted, "There aren't many people in the village who speak as freely as you do. It can be a welcome change, when it isn't annoying."

Iruka shot her an annoyed look and she smirked.

"It works both ways sensei." She still wasn't completely sure why Sandaime had trusted the chuunin so much. She thought she caught glimpses every once and awhile but whatever had forged the Third's iron trust in the academy teacher had yet to show itself fully to Tsunade. What she had seen though, was enough to make her curious.

ooo000booo