A/N: The mysterious Tuesdays! Beware of the angst.

Chapter title taken from the song "By My Side" by 3 Doors Down. I own neither the song, nor any of the characters from Naruto.

"I need another like a brother
For a crying shoulder
And this could be the last time
You will stand by my side
Well I can feel my soul it's bleeding
Will you fly with me this evening?"
"By My Side," 3 Doors Down

I do own the three morons in here: Hideki, Ogano, and Yurika. I also own Sashimoto Ayame. And the random shopkeeper Okiku.

It's an AU!

Chapter Six: Stand By My Side

May 20

"And Genma-sensei is allright. I liked him better when he was on crutches, though. He couldn't chase me down then. Though, really, he doesn't often catch me. Aren't you proud, 'Kaa-chan, 'Tou-chan? He's Tokubetsu Jounin, too. I'm not as fast as Haya-kun, but Genma-sensei has been on crutches for eight weeks...so maybe that means he'll speed up. I told you about his leg, but I'm pretty sure his knee was hurt, too. Anyway...oh, hang on, that's Haya-kun coming."

Iruka twisted from where he knelt before the October Memorial. His knees and legs were completely numb, but he did not have to twist far. He tried to muster up a smile, but he just could not. It kept trying to fold up into tears.

Hayate was coming down the path, hands behind his back, worrying his lower lip with his teeth. He looked even more mournful than usual, and a little upset. His gaze kept darting around, never quite focusing on Iruka.

Despite his agitation, he knelt beside Iruka and paid a brief service to the names carved into the stone slab. Then he turned to Iruka. "Eeto, sumanisen, Iruka. I told Genma-sensei I knew where you were, and he told me to come get you. I'm really, really sorry, but he's really, really mad, and I know I shouldn't interrupt because it's Tuesday but--"

"Daijoubu, Hayate." Iruka managed a little smile at last, which made Hayate stop fidgeting. "Just let me say goodbye, and I'll come."

"Hai," said Hayate, with relief evident in his tone. He nodded, and went to stand some ways back up the path, giving Iruka his privacy. Hayate was a good friend like that.

"Well, you heard Haya-kun. I'll come back later, 'Kaa-san, 'Tou-chan," Iruka told the stone, softly. He stood, wobbling on legs that had no feeling at all. He half-staggered up the path.

This memorial stone was not the Hero's Stone--it was the October Memorial. This one had the names of all the non-ninja killed in the attack of the Kyuubi no Kitsune, two years ago. Iruka's parents had been ninja, but not Konoha. They had never served Konoha as ninja, merely as a medic and a fish-monger. He felt that they deserved better--a better monument, a better death, a better anything--but there was nothing he could do about it.

Iruka stumbled up against Hayate and leaned on the smaller boy. "Ittai. My legs," he moaned

Hayate wobbled under Iruka's weight, but found a balancing point and held it. Iruka had almost ten pounds on him. "You shouldn't kneel so long. It's bad for your feet." Hayate paused to cough. It was the fourth week of May now, well into spring, and he was sounding worse everyday.

Iruka stood on his own feet, which were now tingling painfully. He listened to Hayate cough. "Urgh, you ever going to hack up that lung?"

Hayate gave him a rather dark look. "Probably not," he rasped. "It's pretty firmly attached. Or so I hope."

Iruka smiled a little. He was surprised when the smile--which had been a pretty good one for a Tuesday--made Hayate wince. Iruka wobbled a bit when Hayate hit him in a very sudden and hard hug. Iruka moved quickly and hugged his friend back, smiling to himself. Hayate's solution to Tuesdays were frequent hugs. Iruka appreciated it, he really did. It reminded him that he really was not all alone, even if he felt like it.

"So, are they at the training grounds?" Iruka asked, after a moment.

Hayate made an affirming noise into Iruka's collarbone, then pulled away. "Aa. We've got a mission, actually. Okiku-san wants us again to help deliver her goods. I think she likes us, Genma-sensei said that she requested out team especially."

"Because you're so cute and polite," Iruka jabbed, gently. "Allright then. Itte."

Hayate nodded, a very tiny smile on his face.

Iruka could tell both Ayame and Genma were bewildered. Ayame was less than confused. She knew him from the Academy. Tuesdays were not a good day. Genma, however, was quite concerned. He had asked Iruka if the boy was sick. Twice. Iruka brushed it off and said he was not. Hayate backed him up. Iruka sighed as he stood patiently outside Okiku's little shop with Ayame. Genma and Hayate were inside, getting the boxes of goods.

"Oh, look, it's Scar-face!" jeered a voice Iruka knew too well.

Irritation flared to life at the old moniker. Iruka looked up from his sandals. Several of the older Academy students--a year ahead of Iruka--were there on the street. They were still Genin team now, if the bewildered Jounin back-tracking was any indication. Iruka noted that the Jounin looked awful young, like Genma. Iruka paid little attention to him, though. Hideki, Ogano, and Yurika were moving closer. Hideki was grinning. Iruka's fists itched to wipe that grin off.

"Sad today, Scar-face?"

Iruka tried to grin. "Oh, only sad because someone was stupid enough to make you Genin." As insults went, it was a poor one. Iruka knew it, and that annoyed him even more.

"Oh, but who got the lowest grades on the last test?" Yurika jeered. "Huh, I'm surprised they graduated you, dunce."

"Hey, stop that," Ayame said, but she was largely ignored.

"I know why Scar-face is sad today," Ogano said, smirking. "It's 'cause he misses his mommy, yeah? Poor little Scar-face."

"I'm sure you miss your sister, too," Iruka answered, tone cutting. He did not want to deal with this today, but if he had to he was going to make a fight out of it. It was better to fight than cry where everyone could see him, and he was going to do one or the other. His hands were shaking now, his breath speeding up. He was angry.

"You leave my sister out of this," Ogano snapped.

"Oh, but you were the one who brought up dead family members." Iruka bared his teeth in a snarl.

Ogano winced, then lunged. Iruka was ready for it. He blocked the first three strikes with ease and got in a punch that would likely black Ogano's eye. Ogano howled, and Hideki jumped into the fray. From the sidelines, Yurika was cheering and Ayame was shouting. Iruka was a little over-matched and did not care what the girls were up to. Neither boy was faster than Hayate, and Iruka outweighed them both, but there were two of them and both were good at taijutsu. Iruka was only just capable of fending them off using the Konoha style.

He was beginning to shift into the liquid forms of Kiriga taijutsu when he felt a sudden flare of chakra behind him. An instant later, Hideki was bowled out of the fight by a furious foot to the face. Hayate fell in with Iruka on the remaining attacker. They got in several good blows before Hideki came back, and the fight was devolving into a brawl by the time the two Jounin pulled their Genin apart.

Genma's hand was like steel on Iruka's upper arm. It was probably bruising, he thought distantly, panting for breath. Hideki had gotten a solid kick into Iruka's ribs. The other Jounin had his unrepentant Genin by the collars, and was shaking them like a pair of puppies. Both Jounin were demanding explanations of their respective students. Ogano was the first to recover.

"Iruka started it, he always starts fights--"

"URUSEI!"

The group quieted in shock. Iruka winced and swiveled around to stare at Hayate, anger forgotten.

"Don't you dare lie!" Hayate snapped, still shouting with an impressive volume. His eyes were flashing and his chin was up. He looked absolutely spitting mad.

Iruka had forgotten that even shy, quiet, polite little Hayate had a temper. He rarely ever showed it. Genma had not known Hayate had a temper in the first place, and had let go of the small boy's arm in shock.

"You were picking on him because it's Tuesday! I saw you, don't you dare lie! And you jumped on him first, wouldn't your mother be so proud, picking on some--"

Hayate never got to finish. Ogano wrenched away from his Jounin mentor and punched Hayate square in the face.

Hayate went down with a yelp. Genma dropped Iruka and lunged to break up the fight again.

Iruka darted forward, shouldering Genma aside to crouch beside Hayate. Hayate had both hands clapped over his nose and was wearing the peculiar look of surprise that meant it had not started hurting...yet. Iruka snapped his hands through a familiar set of hand-signs, and spun chakra through his fingers. There was blood trickling out from under Hayate's hands. Iruka brushed them away, his own hands wreathed with blue-green chakra, visible even under the sunlight.

"Hey, let me see, 'kay? C'mon, it's allright," Iruka murmured.

Hayate had started making noises like little hiccups, which meant that he was trying his best not to cry, because getting hit in the nose really hurt. Iruka knew that quite well. Iruka was far more focused on Hayate's nose though.

It was not broken, which was a relief, because Iruka was not anywhere near good with broken bones. It was bleeding profusely, however. "Moderate hemorrhage, probably anterior," Iruka thought, touching his fingertips to the bridge of Hayate's nose. "Yes, mucosa already irritated by his allergies, and the trauma was just too much..." Iruka traced a very light pattern over Hayate's face, working his healing.

With the Mizu no Ketsueki no Jutsu, Iruka was perfectly attuned to the flow of water--and therefore blood--in the flesh beneath his hands. It was simple to coax the blood to clot faster, just by thickening it the tiniest bit by drawing the water away from the edges of the torn blood vessels. Some of the water he drew out trickled through the blood on Hayate's face, thinning it. Iruka worked the water out, smoothed over the jagged edges of the ruptured vessels. He stopped the bleeding, and made sure some of the swelling would stay down until he could get some ice. He dropped his hands and sat back, studying Hayate's face to make sure he was not bleeding anywhere else. Then he dropped the jutsu with a single sign.

"Arigatou," Hayate whispered, voice raw and hoarse, eyes wide and startled.

Iruka shook his head, and smiled a little. "We need some ice, it'll keep the swelling down. Okiku-san will probably give us some."

Iruka realized, then, that everything was suspiciously quiet. He looked up to find the others all staring down at him and Hayate. Genma looked quite speculative. Ayame looked bewildered, as did the other Genin and their Jounin. Iruka realized that he had just used one of his Kiriga healing jutsu in front of them all.

Iruka gulped.

Tuesday was not a good day.

"...and that's what happened, Sandaime-sama," Iruka reported, with a heavy sigh.

The Hokage peered over his current paper, then went back to it. Iruka knew he was not being ignored. The Hokage was a very, very busy person, and needed to get a lot of work done. It was very kind of him to let Iruka come and talk to him, Iruka knew. So Iruka kicked his feet, bumping the bottom of his chair, and waited.

"I don't think you need to be concerned, Iruka," the Hokage said, finally, setting his papers aside.

"But it was--"

The Hokage waved his hand. Iruka stopped trying to talk. The Hokage smiled, and it was a real smile that touched those dark eyes beneath the grey brows. "Do you foresee your actions having consequences that will hurt the village?"

Iruka thought. "Ano...I don't think so."

"Then why are you so worried?" The Hokage picked up another set of papers and examined them.

"But I though I wasn't...supposed...oh. Oh." Iruka grinned as it dawned on him. "I'm not supposed to use the jutsu of my parents in full sight of anyone or in any way that may harm Konoha. It doesn't say I can't use them at all, ne?"

"Hmm? What you learn on your own time does not concern me. Nor does any jutsu your teacher may approve of." The Hokage sent a sidelong stare across the papers to Iruka. "Genma has an interest in medical jutsu. You may want to talk to him if you would like to learn any."

"Hai!" Iruka jumped to his feet. "Arigatou, Sandaime-sama."

"Now, if you're done, I have a meeting to attend." The Hokage smiled at Iruka. Iruka beamed back.

A/N: Teasing and tears and realizations and lo and behold, loopholes in the law! Iruka and the Sandaime make a very sneaky pair. I'm not sure I want to tangle with those two.

As a side note, tomorrow I go and get my wisdom teeth out. Please wish me luck!

Next time, PEANUT-BUTTER! And explanations from the rascally Iruka.

A grand thanks to my faithful reviewers: Ice Dragon3 and Esoteric Memories!

Sumanisen A very polite aplogy, a step above gomen nasai for politeness

Daijoubu I'm fine, it's fine

Kyuubi no Kitsune Fox of Nine Tails, or maybe better translated as Fox-Spirit of Nine Tails

Itte Go, let's go (I think my translator sister said, so blame Samurai101 if it's wrong)

Urusei You're noisy, shut up, a slighty rude way of telling someone to be quiet

A note on Iruka's medical jargon up there: Big words for a twelve-year-old to be using, but Iruka's father worked in Konoha's hospital, and he had a big hand in Iruka's raising and training. Basically, what Iruka said was: moderate--not serious--bleeding to the front of the nose, nose already irritated, blah blah

Mizu no Ketsueki no Jutsu "Water of the Blood" no Jutsu, the best fangirl attempt I have. A water-based jutsu, allowing control of water within blood, be it a human body or no. A Kiriga medical technique.