The Art of Breathing

Chapter 8: Catch your Breath

"We're always one breath away from something, living or dying, sometimes it just can't be helped" – H. Gudenkauf

...

"Haha. Look at you, all wrapped up." Iruka looked up to the doorway. His former field partner smiled as he entered the room.

Iruka had been waiting in an outpatient room for a medic to finally finish the paperwork so he could leave. When he'd come in for treatment last night after taking Naruto out for ramen (and giving a stern lecture), the medic had unsympathetically lectured him about not seeking immediate care. With that Iruka had been signed in for overnight observation.

Yuuto was always the one to come when any of the squad had to be signed out of the medics care. None of them could ever hide an injury from him. For all that he joked about Iruka being a 'mother bear', Yuuto was the one that had the protective streak. It was one of the many reasons Hachi, Madoka, and he had thought Yuuto was more experienced. He acted like a leader who cared about his subordinates, always paying attention.

Yuuto's smile dimmed and a small tremor shook his fingers. Iruka barely caught it and stared with a look of almost fascination mixed with concern, before dragging his dark eyes up to meet Yuuto's.

Wearied, guarded, green eyes studied Iruka's face with a muted desperateness. The smile faded into something with a darker edge on the corners of his mouth.

"I thought… When I found out what happened… that you were hurt, I thought I might have lost you as well."

Yuuto moved to a chair and sat down. Looking at his tightly clasped hands, the memories of the dead flitting along the edges of his mind.

A grim little smile made its way to his lips and he looked back up. "I'm glad that's not the case."

Iruka met his eyes solidly. "Hey now, you know I'm harder to kill than that."

Yuuto huffed a little laugh, running a hand through his dark hair. The tension left his shoulders. His face relaxed into a wry smile, with the shadows in his eyes receding until they were easily overlooked.

But Iruka knew better than that. Knew his partner better than that.

So when Yuuto abruptly stood up and joked, "Well then Iruka, let's stop wasting the medics time and get out of here, eh?" Iruka just smiled and got up to leave with him.

It wouldn't do to leave his partner to dwell too much on might have beens. He took blame on himself too easily.


"Are you ready for team assignments tomorrow?" Yuuto asked as they ambled down the road.

"I just know they're all going to complain" Iruka grumbled. "I spent the entire year analyzing test results and writing up personality profiles so the most compatible would be chosen to make up each team, and what do they do? They only look at grades. That or for another so-called 'tried and true' team" he complained.

Yuuto relaxed enough at Iruka's rant to let out a huff of laughter. "Well, the team set up can't be that bad," he reassured "otherwise we wouldn't have anyone pass the secondary exam." They turned toward the Hokage Monument and continued in that direction.

Iruka snorted and shook his head, as a light breeze kicked up a small whirl of dust on the road. "The teams are balanced, to a point" he explained. "But due to skills and personalities, only a few even have the slightest chance at passing." Iruka sighed, "It will depend on the jônin who administers the test and if they actually want a genin team."

Yuuto stayed silent in agreement.

A slight frown tugged at the edge of Iruka's lips as he turn his head toward the overlook platform.

Yuuto perked up. "Something wrong?"

"Hm? No." said Iruka, "The Hokage's at the overlook. I meant to talk to him about Naruto."

"That's right you did graduate him last night. Did the kid turn in his ninja registration yet?"

Iruka turned back to him. "How did you even? … No, never mind. I did graduate him. Naruto preformed Shadow Clone Jutsu and helped bring in a traitor. That's more than most graduates can say." He picked at a bandage by his jawline. "As for the registration, that was one of the things I wanted to speak to the Sandaime about."

"Ah. Well then, let's go talk to him." Yuuto said, a smile on his face. He pulled Iruka towards the overlook, ignoring protests. "There's no time like the present."


"Hokage-sama!" They landed from a jump onto the Hokage Monument overlook. Yuuto shot Iruka a humored look, eyes twinkling. "We've been looking all over for you."

"Hello Yuuto, Iruka." The old Hokage didn't turn from the monument, his robes flapping in the gentle wind.

As they approached, Iruka asked "Did Naruto submit his ninja registration?"

"Yes" came the reply. The two came to a stop next to the timeworn man. "Yesterday I treated him to a stern lecture over a bowl of ramen. He's been walking on clouds since he graduated. He intends to become a full-fledged shinobi and earn the respect of the village." Iruka continued with a chuckle. He was proud of his student, even if the boy caused so many disruptions in class.

The Hokage was silent for a moment before stating, "That may be a difficult goal for him to achieve."

Yuuto's eyes took a sharper look as he paid more attention to the conversation. Iruka looked slightly put out, "What?" he uttered.

The Sandaime's saddened gaze remained locked on the stone visage of the Yondaime Hokage, "Only we who were adults at the time of the Great Battle know the truth about the boy and the nine-tailed fox that plagued our people until its defeat a dozen years ago."

The Hokage took a puff on his pipe and sighed, smoke curling away on wind. "Disclosure of that secret is strictly forbidden under pain of the severest penalty our laws can inflict."

Clasping his wrinkled, callused hands behind his back, the old man continued. "As a result, the children know nothing of this. Among his peers at least, Naruto's secret is safe."

Yuuto moved to stand closer to Iruka, eyes focused on the village leader. A sudden gust of wind blew leaves by. "It was the dying wish of the Yondaime Hokage that our people would see Naruto as their savior and hero. He made that wish for him, sealed the child's fate … and died."

Yuuto closed his eyes. For all the differences, this story seemed remarkably familiar.

As for Iruka, he was a little stunned. He'd never known the Fourth's wish. It hadn't been until recently that he had fully accepted that Naruto was just a boy with a terrible burden. Though he hadn't scorned the boy previously. He wouldn't have gone out of his way for him.

"Naruto was sacrificed for the safety of this village, to become the living prison of the Kyuubi no Yoko."

The Hokage still refused to turn around. "But that is not how the adults who are aware choose to see it," he lamented. "Instead they treat the boy with hostility and so scornfully that the children who have no idea have picked up on it and perpetuated!"

The Hokage closed his eyes and tilted his head downward. "Iruka… can you imagine?"

"Imagine what, sir?" Iruka questioned. He wasn't sure he really wanted the answer.

"Imagine how it must feel… so much hatred and hostility. To be treated with a loathing so intense… to know that so many around you would deny you the right to even exist?"

Iruka inhaled sharply, tightening his hands into fists. He didn't know how to reply. He could barely begin to picture such an existence.

Yuuto, however, turned in silence to look out over the village. He knew what it was to be ostracized and loathed, but not to this extent. As a child he'd been avoided in school, his relatives hated him and spread nasty rumors about him so that he was watched and avoided. At Hogwarts he was alternatively worshipped and vilified depending on public opinion. Still, Yuuto had found at least a few people who accepted him with all his flaws, as Just Harry. He'd lost most of them as well, but at least he did have them for a time.

The old Hokage turned, giving them a nod as he left for his office.

Yuuto and Iruka remained at the overlook for a while longer, thinking about what they had just learned.


The Monday of team assignments saw Yuuto was cleaning out his classroom and getting his grade book ready to turn into the academy's main office for processing. Boring tasks, but necessary ones. He marked the last exam grade and final average for Yuya Yoshimura, the last student on his list, then squinted at the clock.

3 o'clock. Iruka should have finished team assignments a few hours ago.

He grabbed his grade book and walked to the office, passing a jônin in the hallway. He shot a look back as he kept his stride.

That messy, silver hair reminded him of someone, ANBU maybe? Yuuto mentally shrugged to himself. It wasn't his business anyway.

But that didn't mean he wouldn't double check with the secretaries in the office, that the ninja was supposed to be in the Academy. The Mizuki incident left him a bit more cautious about people in general.

Especially ninja.