Hello, I am back with another chapter after so long. I was just really busy with job searching. I am proud to announce I have finally succeeded in finding one. I will not go into too much detail since I have little need to relay every last bit of my personal life. On another note, the spring weather is finally making its mark and I am loving every last bit of it.

This chapter will focus primarily on Iruka and his relationship with Naruko. I am sorry but Sasuke will have to stay out of sight for a while.

Disclaimer: The elements in this fiction are originated from its original owners but the plot in which it is taking place are my own. Some of the plot bunnies are based off of Victor Hugo's Novel; The Hunchback of Notre Dame.

Chapter 6: An Unanticipated Kindness


Madara rode atop his horse, scanning the busy streets. It was his self proclaimed duty as police official to see that any unnecessary stains be washed out. This meant gypsies in general. Many years ago, he had led a genocide that would have succeeded had his cousin Fugaku, the new King not put a stop to it. He sneered in disgust. He abhorred the gypsy race far more than any of the citizens of Konoha included. (1) In his mind, they were deplorable as any Jew, Muslim, and homosexual out there. He gagged at the implication. In his mind, gypsies were wicked, abhorrent, lustful, heathens that did as they pleased and not care to who or what they destroyed. They were simply wretches that went unchecked and needed to be stopped.

His thoughts were not completely unfounded. Very few alive know today the true reason Madara the way he did. Decades previous, Madara had been part of a political branch of the Uchiha family. They consisted of his father, mother, and brother Izuna. He had been but 19 at the time and had a far different personality than he did today. Madara had been arrogant yet upbeat, boisterous, slightly impulsive, and rarely showed his soft side to all save for his family. Alas came one tragic night. Madara had returned from a night out with some friends at the local pub. Upon reaching home, he came upon a horrifying sight. Four masked figures were standing over the butchered bodies of his family and servants. The figures all ran at having been discovered and took off with their stolen goods. The bereft young man managed to catch one of the robbers and injure his leg. (2) He later had the robber taken to Court of Justice and found out that he was part of a gypsy caravan. The robber in turn for the murder and theft of the royal Uchiha family was executed.

That day, Madara went from a fun loving young man to a cold, vengeful man hell bent on seeing all gypsies destroyed. He had lost his mother, father, and younger brother, Izuna who had been 14 then. The memory of seeing their butchered battered bodies always haunted him. For every gypsy killed, was another step to avenging his slaughtered family. In the present, the man in question was doing a perimeter check around the castle. It was rumored that a gypsy woman was seen poking about the premise. And from what his sources told him, she would appear just a foot from his nephew Sasuke's bedroom window.

"Now what would this gypsy wench want with my nephew? I will just have to find out" he vowed.


Iruka rode atop his horse, (3) Umi alongside the channel. He had a day off from his normal shift. He was actually quite relieved. Today Madara had ordered a double security around the palace. It had been found out that Sasuke had snuck out of the palace. The younger prince would not reveal his reasons and as a result was banned from entering the outside for a while. Once news of there being a gypsy woman came about, Madara pulled out all the stops. Iruka could find it safe to say that he was more or less disgusted. He despised Madara's treatment of the common folk; especially gypsies. It made him want to be ill when he would speak of them like they were worse than vermin. It added insult to injury knowing neither he nor anyone could do anything to stop it. His thoughts were interrupted when he saw someone approach him. He stopped his horse and faced the person. The person was a young woman, he could tell. Her face was concealed by an orange head scarf that hung over her eyes and upper body. She adorned a long white skirt and black boots for it was now cold.

"Yes, young lady. How can I assist you? I am not on duty but I will see what I can do to provide my services" he offered gently. The woman replied.

"Tell me good sir. What be the status of young Prince Sasuke?" she asked. Iruka sighed. "As of now the young prince is currently under lock and key by orders of the king. He was caught leaving the castle grounds without permission".

The girl gasped. "Is he alright?" she gasped in concern. Iruka inhaled deeply. He hated to dash this young woman's dream but it was necessary. "Young woman, the prince is alright thus far but as of recently….he is engaged to the Lady Ino. So whatever feelings you had for his majesty I am afraid they are for not" he told her sincerely. The girl gripped her scarf tightly around her.

"So I heard" she whispered bitterly. Iruka felt terrible. "Must be another of the prince's fangirls. It is too bad. She seems to be a rather sweet kid".

"Well young lady, I apologize for not having delivered much happier news. Good day ma'm".

The girl nodded sadly and went on her way. Iruka watched her go with sad eyes. He thought to ask that he escort her. The man never got his chance when the woman tripped over her scarf. The girl cried as she landed hard on the cobblestone pavement (ouch).

"Shoot! Madam are you alri-"

The scarf fell off to reveal a girl of 17 with golden blonde hair and bronze skin and sapphire hues. She gasped upon realizing her identity had been revealed. Next to her was her was a pouch. Naru looked up at Iruka with horror. "Oh shoot". She picked up her fallen pouch and scarf and ran off without giving Iruka a chance to speak.

"Wait! Stop!"

Iruka sighed. "It looks like my day off will have to wait". With that he rushed after her.

Hours later…

Iruka searched the village up and down. He almost screamed in frustration at not having found the girl. He was not one to jump to conclusions but he found it strange that she would suddenly have a pouch full of money. He searched his mind for places he hadn't looked.

"Of course! How could I have not known to look there! Of all places, I did not think to search there!"

He rode his horse into the northwestern part of Konoha; the seedier branch of the village where the vagrants, beggars, thieves, prostitutes and all dregs of society hung out. The brunette scanned the houses and alley ways for the flaxen haired female in hopes of striking up a conversation with her. Iruka nearly fell off his horse when a scream reached his ears.

"Let's go Umi" he called to his horse and rushed to the source of the sound.


Naru ran as fast as her legs could carry her. She had just escaped the soldier she had spoken with about Sasuke's whereabouts. He had appeared to be one of the less hostile ones. But when her scarf came off she panicked and ran as fast as she could lest she be taken in for interrogation. Finally she lost him at the northwestern village of Konoha. It was a dangerous place to be especially for women like her but it was the last place anyone could think to look or so she hoped.

She waited in an alleyway corner for several minutes before heading out again. It would take her at least three hours to reach the gypsy compound. She walked about for several minutes not caring to search for possible dangers.

"Sigh, well perhaps I can catch Sasuke when he gets out of his confinement. I was lucky not have been spotted by that monster Madara or the archdeacon. Those two are so repulsive and their whole fire and brimstone philosophy. If I don't get home soon, uncle will have me tied to the stakes for three days" she mused.

She walked forward unaware of three men watching her from behind. One of the men was in a black cloak peering at her from behind a ledge while the other two were sneaking up behind her. One of the men stepped on a twig making the girl turn her head backwards. She barely got a chance to scream before the two men grabbed both her arms. Naru screamed and struggled to break free of their strong grip.

"Let me go! Murder! Murder!"

She continued to thrash but the grip of the men was too strong. "Where are you taking me, I ask you? Who has put you up to this?!" The men cackled. He used his free hand to rub a strand of her hair making the girl shiver in disgust. "Just you mind your pretty head, little lady. No one will hurt you as long as you do as we say".

Just before they could get any further, the two men were knocked forward. Naru quickly scampered away. Standing above was Iruka and his horse Umi. He had his sword in his hand ready to strike.

"If any of you ever try a stunt like that I will run you both over" the man threatened the two recovering kidnappers. Naruko stood rooted to the spot. This soldier…had just rescued her. Her. A gypsy of all things. The sound of multiple hoofs came their way. The rest of the other soldiers were headed their way. Naru instinctively made to hide but her feet kept her where she was.

The first in line was a spiky white haired man with a mask over his right eye and a soldiers uniform with the Uchiha Clan symbol on the breastplate. He addressed Iruka with a criticizing tone. "I looked everywhere for you. And here I find you in this place even though you are supposed to be off duty!" Iruka sighed.

"It was but then I was greeted by the young woman over there and went to go speak with her. When I found her, she was being molested by those two brutes on the road here. I want them arrested for attempted kidnapping".

Kakashi looked to the brutes and nodded. "Arrest them and bring them to the courthouse. They are to be brought in for questioning". The rest of the soldiers did as they were told and apprehended the brutes without little resistance. The black cloaked man growled in anger and retreated back inside the house. Kakashi began to prod his horse forward when he noticed Iruka had not moved. "Iruka?" he asked. Iruka looked to his lover. "I will be with you in a short while but first I must talk with this young woman here".

"If it would please you, Iruka I would very much wish to speak with her as well" he turned to the rest of his troupe. "You go on back without us". The soldiers spoke to protest but did as they were commanded. Once they were gone, Iruka turned his attention to the woman attempting to sneak away.

"Stay where you are. We wish to ask some questions of you, if you will allow us" he suggested. Naru faced both of the soldiers with an aloof gaze and stiff posture. She had been taught by her uncle to never allow herself to get caught or interrogated by a soldier. It always ended with a jail sentence or hanging.

"I suppose you want a proper interrogation seeing as you both chased me all the way over here" the woman accused hotly. "Or perhaps you want to know why I was carrying that sack of gold with me. I didn't steal it if that is what you are wondering. I earned it".

Iruka shook his head solemnly. "Actually, I just wanted to ask you some questions and also to see if you are alright". Naru scoffed before giving a bitter sarcastic laugh. "I suppose an interrogation first then a hasty arrest". Kakashi spoke this time. "An arrest is the least of your worries since you have committed no crime" he consoled her. Naru relaxed her posture a little but then reached for her ankle and pulled out her dagger.

"As if I would be led astray by pretty words or false encouragements" she sneered. "All soldiers are the same; they see a gypsy and assume they are out to break laws or are performing witchcraft". Kakashi and Iruka looked to one another. Iruka stepped off his horse.

"If it makes you feel any better, you shall be relieved to know that is not the case here. Now that explanations are out of the way, perhaps an introduction is in order".

Naru stepped back perplexed. "Wait you are not going to arrest me?" Iruka shook his head.

"As was said before, you did not commit any crime so arrest are out of the question". Naru stood up and put her dagger away. "huh' you know you are not like the other soldiers I had the displeasure of meeting in the past" she mused out loud. She crossed her arms. "So if I am not under arrest what do you two want?" she asked.

"For starters, we would like to know your name" Iruka proceeded with a smile. Naruko smiled sensing that this man indeed meant her no harm or ill-intent. "Naruko but everyone else refers to me as Naru".

"Naru" Iruka whispered letting the name test on the tongue. "I am Iruka and the white haired man over there is Kakashi and as you already know we are soldiers in charge of protecting the Uchiha Family". Naru giggled. "A dolphin and a scarecrow, how cute" she squealed. (4) Both the men grimaced in response to their name's meanings. It was quite degrading to have been called rather unmanly names but to be discussed openly was a whole different matter. Kakashi decided to change to subject.

"Say Naru, if you don't mind me asking; what were you doing so near to the palace? If I am not mistaken, you are the mysterious gypsy girl that has been seen poking about the palace as of late".

Naru twirled a strand of hair next to her ear embarrassedly. "I was looking for Prince Sasuke to be honest. See me and him have an…" she shifted her eyes back and forth trying to find the right words to say. "It's best I don't say it here. Perhaps on a different day. I have to get home anyway. My uncle will not be pleased to see me out this late".

Kakashi and Iruka nodded. "Perhaps some other time then, Naru-chan" Kakashi relented. Naru adjusted her scarf around her head. She waved them off. Until our next meeting" she said before facing them again. Please tell the prince that I hope to see him once he is allowed outside again". Kakashi and Iruka both got back on their horses and rode back to the palace. In the shadows, the cloaked figure watched the scene unfold with anger. "Those dratted imbeciles can't even do that one simple thing I paid them to. And what did that witch want with the prince anyways? I will have to look into this matter myself". The man drifted further back into the shadows.


The next day, Iruka roamed the streets on his horse, Umi. Once he and Kakashi returned home, they were immediately ambushed with demands from their comrades of what took them so long to get back and why was it so important to talk to a girl. Kakashi came to his lover's defense and explained they wanted to check to see if she was alright and such. The following day, Iruka took up his horse without Kakashi's knowledge and rode out into the village. As much as he loved Kakashi, the guy could sure be over bearing and borderline overprotective. He stopped at the riverside hoping to catch a glimpse of a certain blonde in an orange skirt.

He was overjoyed when he spotted the woman. Next to her was her pet fox, KonKon. He prodded his horse slowly toward her so as not to frighten her. "Naru-chan, it's me Iruka" he whispered. The young teen smiled at him. KonKon sensing the approach of a stranger got into a defensive stance and growled at the intruder.

"KonKon, down boy" Naru commanded gently. KonKon calmed down but still glared at the brunette. Naru rolled his eyes. "I'm sorry about that. He doesn't really like strangers and is very protective of me" she explained. Iruka nodded understandably. "It's alright. I am sure in time, we can get to know each other on better terms". Naru giggled. Iruka smiled. This girl knew how to lighten the mood and her giggles were all the more refreshing. Naruko stopped laughing and turned to him with a neutral expression. "We can't talk here but if you meet me later on at the outskirts beyond the bridge, I will gladly explain everything there. Come now KonKon and let us leave the man to his duties". The fox snorted and followed after his mistress.

The day became the afternoon and Iruka set out for the bridge. As he reached the middle, he found Naru gesture to him to come closer. "Deeper in" she whispered before hitching a ride upon Umi. KonKon sat atop Umi's mane. The pair rode from the bridge and into the forest. It was upon reaching the middle did Iruka realize that something seemed eerily familiar about the place. "Stop" she commanded. He did so. Once he stepped off, his eyes drifted off into a specific direction. This was the same place Naru had led Sasuke to not too long ago.

"Follow me and we can talk when we get there". Iruka grabbed his horse's reigns and led Umi through the thick brush. He finally left the brush and into an open field. For a moment, no words left his mouth. He stepped forward slowly taking the scenery in. He turned his head to face the girl and inhaled.

Naru… . . ?" he exhaled. Naruko rolled her eyes. "To explain to you why the prince and I know one another and such, of course" she retorted like she was repeating an answer to an ever questioning toddler. Iruka held a baited breath and listened to the girl tell her version of things. She explained to him of the events leading from the festival to their marriage "contract" up to Sasuke's involuntary career as a performer.

"So that is why I was at the palace. I wanted to be sure that Sasuke wasn't shirking his contract and such. We gypsies have little regard for ceremony but marriage is not something we take lightly". Iruka nodded but his attention was more focused on the old farm next to them. His eyes became cloudy and wistful. Naruko noticed his gaze and smiled.

"I see you have noticed. I showed this to Sasuke just a few days before. I was told that this farm dated back to before the gypsy raids of twenty years ago. Anyways, the family ran off once it got out they were harboring a family of gypsies and were forced to evacuate. By the way, why is this old farm such a value?" she inquired coyly. She then noticed Iruka's whole demeanor begin to change. His head was hung shadowing his eyes and his fist were balled up into fist. He was shaking almost as if he was struggling to contain himself lest he do something…drastic.

"That…barn…this field…this place…was my home" he growled before lifting up his head to reveal angry yet pained brown eyes. Naru eye's widened and her mouth hung open. "And the family who lived there was not harboring gypsies...they were gypsies!"

Naru stumbled backwards startled by the previously gentle man's anger. KonKon reared his body ready to defend his mistress from this supposed 'threat'. Iruka closed his eyes slowly and then exhaled to calm himself.

"Yes, Naruko…I too...am a gypsy".


Very interesting. The old farmhouse has more secrets to tell. Who was the mysterious man who was deadest on capturing Naruko? That, my friends is for me to know and for you to find out. In the next couple of chapters. I apologize if the rescue scene was not more epic or exciting. I am keeping in tandem with the novel's plot and character design. Don't be mistaken; Iruka is no coward or a push-over. When it comes down to it, he is quite the force to be reckoned with. There are many examples of this in both the manga and the anime.

Iruka's backstory will be expanded upon in the next chapter and how he came to be in the royal guards. He is not angry with Naru per say. He just has many emotions that come with being in that place. Stay tuned for more.

Chapter Footnotes

(1) This would be the mindset of every political and religious leader of the time. Anyone that was not of the Christian faith was dubbed a "heathen".

(2) Court of Justice; a place where the accused are sent and to be tried. Something I wanted to add.

(3) Umi will be an appaloosa; a white horse with brown speckles and patches on its mane. They are quite beautiful horses. I thought it would be perfect for Iruka since Umi means "sea".

(4) Iruka means "dolphin" and Kakashi means "scarecrow" in Japanese translation. Their parents must have not been so creative, eh?"